“I was still asleep.”
She frowns. “What? At eleven-thirty in the morning?”
“Yeah.”
She looks at me disapprovingly, like a thirty-four year-old man has no business being in bed until noon.
“You want coffee?” I ask.
“That would be lovely, thank you.” She follows me into the kitchen while I make us each a cup.
“How was your trip? I didn’t expect you back so soon.”
“It was wonderful. That’s actually what I came to discuss with you. Lawrence has asked me to marry him.”
“He has?”
“Yes, and I accepted. It won’t be anything huge, just close friends and family.”
I’m shocked to say the least, and a weird feeling settles in my stomach. Lawrence is some hot-shot lawyer my mom met last year. They hit it off immediately. He’s a good guy.
I haven’t had a father figure in my life for years and since my mom met Larry, it’s strange seeing her with someone other than my dad. But deep down I wouldn’t want to see her alone forever, and I’m glad she’s finally found love again. She took my dad’s death hard and she never really had chance to grieve because she had to stay strong for Grace and I, so it makes me happy to see that she is.
I take a few steps towards her and wrap my arms around my mom. “I’m happy for you, Mom. You’ve been alone for too long.”
“Thank you. And speaking of being alone, it’s about time you found a woman. You’re thirty-four and I’m starting to worry that I’ll never have any grandbabies to take care of.”
“Actually,” I pause for a moment before continuing, “I’ve met someone.”
My mom gasps. “You have? Who is she?”
“Her name’s Amy. I’ve known her a while but for the past few weeks I’ve been helping fix up a car for her, a car her dad left her when he died a few months back.”
Her face lights up with delight. “That’s wonderful. I’d love to meet her sometime.”
I run a hand through my hair. “She’s... upstairs.”
“Oh, I see.” She gives me a knowing look and a smile. “Now I see why you’ve been in bed all morning. So how did the two of you meet?”
“You know Dwight’s girl, Quinn?” She nods. “She’s a friend of hers.”
“So she’s younger then?”
“She’s twenty, and before you ask, it’s not a fling. I’m one hundred percent committed to this.”
She smiles. “I’m glad to hear that. She must be one hell of a girl to get my son to settle down,” she comments.
“Yeah, she is,” I say with pride.
Just then, Amy wanders into the kitchen, wearing one of my shirts as she lets out a yawn, her hair messy and matted. When she spots my mother, her eyes widen and she yelps. “Oh! Oh my God. I’m…” She begins to panic, pulling on the hem of my shirt that falls mid-thigh on her and I laugh, walking over to her and pulling her into my arms.
“It’s okay, it’s just my mom.” I press a kiss to her forehead and she peers around my body at my mother.
“Oh, hi.” She smiles sweetly.
“Hello, Amy. I’m Pamela, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” she replies before turning to me. “I’m gonna go put some clothes on.”
