Shehadbeen a great deal more concerned with me since my grandfather had died around this time last year, and I wondered if it had simply put her mind on family, but this was an escalation on her weekly phone calls.
“It’s just that I’d planned to spend Christmas here,” I said as I stepped out of the elevator, standing in front of the door to the IT department.
A reason, Kit. Think of a reason.
“With, umm. With my boyfriend,” I stuttered out.
My non-existent boyfriend. But Mother didn’tknowthat, Mother was under the impression that Ididhave a boyfriend, and that had stopped endless questions about when I was getting married and settling down with someone nice, so I’d never corrected her.
“That American boy?” she asked cautiously.
“Yes. Andy,” I said, a twinge in my stomach as I directly confirmed it for the first time. I hated to lie, but it didn’t hurt anyone. My parents thought I was happy, Andy didn’t have to know, and I could…
Well, I could pine quietly, and wish it was true, and never, ever think about the possibility that I’d let the fiction go on so long because it was nice to pretend, every now and then, that it was reality.
“Oh, well, ifthat’sall, I’ll have your father book a ticket for him as well. We’ve all been dying to meet him.”
They had? This was the first I’d heard of it.
“Ah, well, I’m not... sure...”
Someone tapped me on the shoulder.
To my horror, Andy was standing behind me.
“Umm,” I said, horror welling up in my chest as I looked at his raised eyebrow.
Damn.
“Listen,” I continued, blood pounding in my ears. Would Andy be angry with me? It was a harmless lie, but perhaps he didn’t want me telling people he was my boyfriend. He didn’t seem to like it when they made the assumption. “I’ll get back to you in an hour, something’s just come up.”
I hung up before my mother could object, shoving my phone into my pocket hastily.
“So,” Andy began, rocking on the balls of his feet. “How long have you and I been dating?”
