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“Of course! Of course!” She eyes Noel for a moment. “You’re not one of those types that eats like a rabbit, are you?”

Noel snorts a laugh and I answer for her. “Noel eats almost as much as I do.”

Ma releases a deep breath. “Whew! Because I made garlic bread, fettuccini, and homemade pesto sauce.”

“That sounds amazing,” Noel says.

Ma grabs two of my nicest plates and whispers something to Charlie before turning toward me and Noel again. “So, tell me about yourself!”

Charlie adds food to the plates, arranging everything perfectly, like a restaurant would.

Noel blows out a small breath as she thinks. “I teach history at Arlington U. I’m from a small town in Maryland, which is where my family still lives. Except for my grandmother, she lives here in the city.”

“Wonderful!” Ma says, grabbing two candles from under my sink and carrying them to the table and lighting them. “Do you have a big family?”

Noel smiles. “I do, three siblings.”

“And do you want a big family?” Ma pries, her voice tight with excitement, and her eyes wide as if already picturing a dozen grandchildren.

“Ma!” I groan. “Enough with the interrogation.”

Noel laughs and Ma throws her hands in the air. “What?” she says. “It’s a normal question.”

“No, it’s not,” Charlie says, pinning his wife with a serious expression.

Noel and I glance at each other and can barely contain our laughter.

Ma looks unamused as she turns and grabs napkins and silverware. Within five minutes my dining room table is set for a romantic date night, food included. Ma is a woman on a mission, apparently.

“Do you cook for Colby every week?” Noel asks.

Ma finally stops and rests against the kitchen counter. “I do.” She smiles. “He bought me an apartment here when he signed with the Eagles, and I told him I’d do it to pay him back. But years later, he still pays me anyway.”

Noel looks up at me, her eyes are soft. She doesn’t appear bothered by my mother cooking for me even though I’m thirty, and that’s a relief. I realize it could make me look like a huge mama’s boy. But hopefully she knows me well enough by now to know that I simply enjoy taking care of the people I love. And before Charlie, Ma needed my help. And it’s not exactly a burden since my house is always clean, and every week my fridge is full of homemade Italian food.

“Well, let us clean up and then we’ll get out of your hair.” Ma turns on the water and grabs the scrub brush for the dirty dishes and Charlie sidles up next to her.

“You guys don’t have to rush off,” I insist. “Stay a while and chat.”

Ma widens her eyes at me, and I know that look. I can practically read her mind. She’s silently urging me to spend time alone with Noel, to woo her.

I widen my eyes back as if to say we have plenty of time to get to know each other.

Ma purses her lips and raises one eyebrow. Her expression is conveying, no you don’t, you’re already thirty.

Noel and I sit down to eat while Charlie and Ma clean the kitchen up in record time. The kitchen is in view of the large dining table, so we awkwardly watch them do their speed clean.

“Something tells me your mother wants us to spend time alone,” Noel whispers.

“She wants grandbabies,” I whisper back.

Noel laughs, choking on the noodle she just put in her mouth.

Ma and Charlie make their way over to the table, the kitchen now pristine. “You two are adorable over here giggling,” Ma gushes, patting me on the head.

Charlie shakes his head at the woman, but he has a fond smile on his face. “We’re going to head out, glad I could finally see you, Colby, and lovely meeting you, Noel. We hope to see more of you in the future.” He winks at Noel and her cheeks grow a shade darker.

Ma kisses the top of my head and says, “Non rovineare tutto, mio figlio.” Which is don’t mess this up, my son, in Italian. I’m not fluent like my mother, but I’ve heard this expressions enough over the years to understand it.