Page 44 of Going All In

“So I, um, talked to Justin. The guy I went out with the other day.” The nerves are back, and now I’m nervous.

Please don’t pull back again.

“I…” She trails off, and I wait.

There’s a moment of silence.

“Holly? You okay?”

“Um. Yes. Actually, can we talk in person? Maybe dinner?”

I silently fist pump.Finally. A dinner that I didn’t have to beg her for or coerce her into. Maybe we’re making progress. If she’ll let me in, help me understand what’s going on with this last wall between us, maybe there’s a chance.

* * *

My phone rings just as I step out of the shower. I check the caller ID and swipe to answer.

“Hi, Mom. What’s up?”

“Hi, honey. How are you?” Mom starts off with her usual pleasantries.

“Good, just getting ready to go out.” I’m hoping she’ll take the hint and make this quick, but this is my mom we’re talking about. Brevity is not one of her many virtues.

“Oh, good. Well, I won’t keep you. I wanted to touch base about the wedding.”

She will one hundred percent keep me on the phone, but I play her game for a bit. “Yeah?”

The wedding is still three weeks away. I know for a fact that she did the dress fitting. She told me about how they’re doing cupcakes, not cake, and that those are ordered. The catering is all set up.

What’s left to talk about?

“You know it’s going to be a simple ceremony, and we’re not doing bridesmaids and so forth.”

“Right,” I say, trying to follow. Can I trim my beard without her realizing I’m multitasking? I could focus, but I’m sure she’d hear the buzzing of the electric razor. Mom picks up on everything. I walk into the closet with my phone still pressed to my ear.

“But I was wondering, would you walk me down the aisle and give me away?” She sounds so hopeful.

I stop looking through my shirts and pay attention. “Of course I will, Mom. I’d be happy to.”

“Thank you, honey. That means so much to me.” She sniffles a little. Probably tearing up, if I know her. “Also, speaking of the wedding…”

What now?

“Do you have a date?”

Ah. Now we’ve moved on to the interrogation.

“No, I don’t have a date yet, Mom. I’m working on it.” I pull a shirt off its hanger and slip my arms into it, then start to button.

“Okay. Well, just be patient. Sometimes great things take a little time.” With that, she disconnects the call, leaving me staring at the phone in my hand.

* * *

I pull up in front of Holly’s building just before six. I’m expecting to have to go fetch Holly from her apartment or wait for her to come down, but she’s waiting in the lobby and stands when she sees my car.

She slides into the passenger side and buckles her seatbelt. “Thank you for picking me up.”

Her gaze is on her lap. I rest my hand gently over hers that’s resting on her thigh and give it a squeeze, then bring it back to the gear shift to pull away from the curb.

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