“Well, you told me he’s not married. Does he have any kids??”
I snort. “No. Nothing like that.”
“We’re getting somewhere. What else?”
“He has a full-time job and doesn’t live with his parents, so that’s a bonus.”
“That is a bonus.” My mom takes her hands off the piano keys when the song ends and shifts her body toward me. “You should be with someone who’s not afraid to show you off to their family.”
“I know, Mom. Trust me when I say that both of us wantnothing more than to tell our families. But we have some obstacles to get over, and there are a few other people that we need to tell before we come out.”
“You know we’ll like him either way.”
Yeah, until she finds out who it is I’m seeing.“I hope so,” I whisper.
I feel her burning a hole in the side of my face, but I master the act of a sullen teenager and keep my eyes on the ivory and black keys, waiting for her to give up and leave. Seconds later, she does just that and kisses me on the cheek before heading in the direction of the living room. The vibration of my phone with an incoming text makes me jump in the quiet room. Snagging it from the piano lid, a smile curves my cheeks as I see a message from Brandon.
B: SOS.
B: I seem to have lost my girlfriend.
Me: Funny—I was about to send out the same message looking for my boyfriend.
B: I deserve that.
Me: You do.
B: Come over tomorrow?
Me: I get off at 5.
“Harvey,I can’t date your son. He’s old enough to be my father,” I tell him, letting him down gently.
His buddies at the table shake their heads because they’ve seen how drawn to me Harvey has become. Both setsof my grandparents passed away when I was a baby. So I don’t know what the dynamic should be like since I’ve never had grandparents to hang out with. But if they’re anything like Harvey, who’s in his late seventies, then I feel like days would be spent this way.
“Nonsense,” he waves me off.
“How old is your son, Harvey?” I ask out of curiosity. He may have told me before, but Harvey tends to talk a lot, so it’s sometimes too much for me to remember.
“He’s forty-seven,” he states proudly.
I shake my head and point a finger at myself. “I’m twenty-one. Your son is old enough tobemy father.” I tell him again. I leave my table full of retirees to head back to the bar. Dropping the empty glass off, I make a loop around to pick up my other table’s check to close them out and finally get started on some closing work.
“You don’t have, what do the kids call it these days–daddy issues, do you?” Harvey asks when I make it back to them.
I cover my snort with a giggle. “Who teaches him these things?” I ask the table.
“No clue, sweetheart. Harvey, she’s already got a boyfriend.”
“What?” he asks, offended.
“Yeah. You didn’t see her canoodling with that gentleman a while ago?”
Canoodling?I mouth, trying to keep my laughter at bay.
“Pish posh.” He waves them off. “As the saying goes,nothing lasts forever.”
I laugh and place my hand on the seatback of their booth. “I hate to break it to you, Harvey. But this one’s not going anywhere.”
