Page 36 of Twenty Years Later

"Just like you have something on your mind," she said, eyes narrowing in on me.

"Hmm. Not sure what you're talking about." I turned away from her to grab the turkey deli meat from the fridge.

"Alexander Xavier Hernandez, don't even try that with me. I'm your mom."

Oh, damn, the whole name, huh? "It sounds like I'm about to be grounded for two weeks," I joked, remembering all the times I'd been in trouble as a teenager.

"You're not there yet. We'll see how this conversation goes, though." Her tone was even sharper now.

"Okay. Well, what exactly is it you want to know?" I asked, putting some lettuce on my sandwich and stifling a smile as I thought about Jayda asking if I ate vegetables.

"I'd like to know more about this situation with Jayda from the other night," she said, her eyes shrewd.

Man, she just went right there, didn't she? Thinking carefully, I put the other piece of bread on top and carried my plate to the table. "What about her?" I said, trying to keep my tone casual.

My mom laughed as she followed me to the table and took a seat. "The way you're acting tells me everything I need to know."

What did that mean? "Which is?" I dared ask as I bit into my sandwich.

"Which is... you like her."

Yep, she pretty much nailed it. But I wasn't going to admit it.

Of course, she continued on anyway. "And I can see why. I remember her from high school, and I always thought she was a sweet girl. And obviously, she hasn't changed much. She even looks the same."

Taking another big bite, I nodded a little when she looked at me.

"So what are you going to do about it?" she asked.

I held up a finger as I chewed, trying to buy some time. So not what I wanted to talk about with my mom. But she was acting kind of like a dog with a bone at the moment, and everyone in my family knew when she acted this way, there was no escape. My mom could be downright scary, even to my dad. Heck, especially to my dad.

She patiently waited for me to finish, not saying a word, just watching. Finally, I shrugged. "Honestly, Mom, not much I can do about it."

"Why not?" she said, her eyes piercing me.

"Because of the distance."

She raised her own shoulders in a shrug. "So?"

"So... neither of us is going to move."

"How do you know that?" she asked, those eyes not wavering from my face.

Sighing, I responded, "Because she lives in Maine, near her parents, and I highly doubt she wants to move away." And I certainly couldn't leave my family either.

"And you?"

I moved my plate away, not feeling very hungry anymore. "Same."

"So you don't want to move because of us?"

"Right. Of course," I admitted.

She slapped the table with one hand, making me jump a little. "Well, that's just bullshit."

I felt my jaw drop in shock. My mom rarely cursed. In fact, I didn't even remember the last time.

"You heard me," she said, glaring at me.

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