He opens his mouth to argue. I answer the phone so he can't, turning to put my back against the arm of the couch.
"Hey!" I say with a top shelf fake smile, if I do say so.
My mom smiles back. Dad looks a little sullen. "Hey chicken," she says. "Haven't heard from you all day. What are you doing? Where have you been?"
"Oh, just working on the house with my friend."
"Who is this friend again?" Dad asks a suspiciously, his eyes narrowed.
Grey is frozen stiff at the other end of the couch, well out of frame. I swear I can feel his heart pounding through the couch.
"Just a very knowledgeable friend. I'm lucky, honestly. There's way more stuff to fix than I realized. He's saving my bacon, big time." I can't risk looking at him, but I nudge his thigh with my foot. "What are y’all doing?"
"Oh, not much," Mom says. "Just a lot of--"
"What all did your mystery guy fix? Who is he?" Dad asks. Mom cuts him a look.
"Just a friend, Dad," I soothe, smiling. "Don't worry."
"I don't know how we're not supposed to worry, Molly," he says, and I feel scolded as he continues. "You're living in that broken down house, strange men coming over to work on it--"
Now I'm scowling. "He's not a strange man. He's my friend. Wouldn't you rather a seasoned pro come help me than me cracking my skull on the bottom of my sink? Can't have it all, Daddy!"
"I could if you'd come home."
I sigh, sadness curling around my happy heart. "You know, I'm so tired after working hard on the house all day. Why don't we talk tomorrow?"
Mom's face falls. "Honey, wait, don't go--"
"I really need to. But I love y'all! Okay?"
"Just give us a minute--" she tries to say, but Dad interrupts.
"I don't think we're finished talking young lady--"
"Okay! Love y'all! Gotta go! Kisses!" I hang up on them.
Then I put my phone on silent and put it face down on the end table, feeling as exhausted as I pretended to be with them.
Grey's big hand cups the top of my foot, still pressed against his thigh. "You okay?"
"Yeah," I answer with a sad smile. "Sometimes they feel like a full-time job."
"Are they always so…"
"Demanding? Pushy? Condescending?" I sigh again. "Yes, but Dad was in rare form. I don't think he likes the idea of a man hanging around," I half joke.
Grey snorts a laugh. "You think?"
"I mean, what do they expect me to do? Wouldn't it be worse if I hired a handyman I don't know to come fix things? At least I know you."
"Didn't sound like he'd be happy with any solution but the one."
This sigh comes all the way from my toes. "You're not wrong. Hopefully he figures out that option will never happen so we can all move on." I change the subject, reveling in the feel of his thumb shifting against the fine bones of the top of my foot. “ So, I ate a whole gummy."
"Yeah, you did," he says on a chuckle.
"What's gonna happen? All I know is what I've seen on TV, which is that I'm going to be very dumb and laugh a lot."
