I’m clasping a purple box, and open it to find various chocolate truffles inside. After popping one in my mouth, I realize it’s mint chocolate. My favorite.
“Patrick! Dinner’s ready.”
I scramble to close the box just as Mom swings open my door, eyeing the letters scattered across my bed.
“Are those—? Love letters? From girls?”
The truffle box tips from my hands. Chocolate scatters across my quilted bedspread.
“Mom! Can’t you knock?”
“I can’t believe this,” she says, brushing aside chocolate and sitting next to me on the bed. She picks up a letter and starts reading: “‘I can’t stop staring at those ocean eyes. Love, your secret admirer.’ Oh! Someone’s in love with my beautiful son!”
I don’t think there’s anything worse than your own mother reading romantic letters addressed to you out loud.
“They’re right. You do have such beautiful ocean eyes!”
“Mooom,” I moan. “Stop.”
“Sandy, what’s going on in here?” Dad says as he barges into the room, eyeing us. “Leave our son alone. Don’t you see he’s busy with—?”
“Look, Bob!” Mom waves a letter in the air. “Our son has a secret admirer.”
This issuchan invasion of privacy. Why didn’t I lock my door?
Dad sits on my other side and slides an arm around my shoulders. “Really, son?Wow. I’m so proud.”
Ugh, this is the last thing I wanted.
“What’s going on in here?”
Now Pearl’s skipping into my room, and I want to melt into the floor and disappear from this realm.
“Your big brother’s got a secret admirer,” Mom says, fanning a handful of letters in front of her face so my little sister can see.
“Ooooo,” Pearl coos, plucking one from her hand. “Are these from Sara Lin?”
“Oh! Patrick,arethey from Sara?” Mom adds, acting way too nosy.
Before I can reply, my dad thumps a sturdy hand across my chest. “Son, when a man finally decides to love a woman—”
But he’s cut off by Pearl screeching, “It’s mint chocolate!” She’s collected a few truffles in her hands and is already popping another into her mouth. “Patrick’s favorite!”
“I always thought you two were made for each other,” Mom tells me.
Pearl tosses a chocolate at my head. “How long have you been dating?”
“What are you alltalkingabout?” I burst, face reddening. “Of course they’re not from Sara Lin!”
Mom blinks. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.Pleasejust leave me alone. I can’t deal with you all barging in on my life like this.” I scoop letters into my backpack then sling it over my shoulders. “I’m outta here.”
And that’s how I end up at Kiki’s Chicken Kitchen. Vicky’s a reasonable person of sound mind, unlike my family, and she’ll know what to do.
We find an empty table in the back corner. She makes sure her manager can’t see us before she turns to me, arms folded over her apron.
“You’ve got five minutes.”
