Page 78 of February

“After this, we can be done,” he said softly to her as they walked.

“Done? I thought there was a thing after this.”

“It’s like a party or something, where there’s food and some faculty are supposed to be there, but I don’t really want to go.”

“Why not?”

“I like it here; it’s nice, but I don’t think I want to go here.”

“Okay. Do you know why?”

“It’s nothing about LSU. It’s more that I like Tulane more.”

“Well, it’s up to you, but we can stay, if you want.”

“No, it’s a long car ride back, and we have dinner to get to.”

“It’s just a reservation. I can ask them to change it for later.”

“No, you can’t. Well, you can, but you shouldn’t.”

“Why not?” Monica turned her face to her son, whose cheeks were now flushed. “What did you do, Aaron?”

“Nothing.” He held up his hands in defense. “I just told Bridgette that she should join us because it’s my last night here, and she’s cool.”

“You invited Bridgette toourdinner?”

“Yeah. And I changed the reservation to three people in case you were worried about that.”

“I wasn’t. Aaron, you shouldn’t have invited her. She probably had plans but felt guilty about turning you down.”

“She said she was free.” He shrugged. “Besides, Mom, she’s really nice, and she seems smart, too. Plus, she’s pretty.”

“Aaron…”

“What? I’m only saying that you haven’t dated anyone since Mom. You and Bridgette looked good together, though. She even laughed at your jokes, and, like,no onelaughs at your jokes.”

“People laugh at my jokes,” she said in mock-offense.

“Not really,” he argued.

“Pay attention to the tour,” she said with a playful slap to his shoulder.

When Aaron returned his attention to the guide, Monica looked down at what she was wearing. Was it okay for dinner with Bridgette? They weren’t going anywhere fancy. She’d onlymade a reservation because she knew they would be starving, and she didn’t want them to have to wait. She supposed that if they skipped the whole meet and greet, they could get back to the hotel in time to change before dinner, but she didn’t know what to wear. It wasn’t a date. Aaron would be there. She shouldn’t dress up. She should be casual and stop worrying because this was just a dinner for Aaron to say goodbye to Bridgette.

“Mom?”

“Yes?” She looked over, expecting Aaron to be there.

“The tour is over.”

Monica turned around, finding her son about ten feet behind her, pointing to the open door of a building where the rest of the tour group was headed.

“Okay,” she said.

“You’re still walking.” He laughed.

???

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