Page 132 of The Jerk in Apartment 1B

“Just wait till I meetyourparents,” I say as I sit next to Trina. “There’s going to be payback. I’m going to ask your mom to tell me everything. And I’m going to ask to see pictures of your teen years.”

“No,” Trina groans. “Those were the worst. I wore way too much makeup. I looked like a clown.”

“When are you two heading to Chicago?” my dad asks.

“Probably Wednesday afternoon,” I say. “Why?”

“Your dad and I were thinking of going there as well,” my mom says. “I haven’t been to Chicago in years. I’d like to see all the holiday lights. Maybe do some shopping.”

Trina’s face lights up. “You could meet my parents. We could all have dinner together.”

“That’s a good idea.” I look at my parents. “What do you guys think?”

“We could do that,” my dad says, looking at Mom to agree.

“I’d love to meet them,” she says.

“Great!” Trina gets her phone out. “I’ll text them right now to let them know.”

My mom gets up. “I’m going to get dinner started.”

“Do you need some help?” Trina asks.

“No, you stay put. Carl will help,” she says, referring to my dad.

They go to the kitchen. It’s open to the living room and I can feel my mom watching us. She’s been doing it since Trina and I got here. She was shocked when I told her I was bringing Trina home with me. She assumes that means we’ll get married since Megan was the only other girl I brought home.

“Let’s take a walk,” I say, getting up.

“Outside? It’s freezing.”

“You’re from Chicago. You can handle it. Come on.” I look over at my parents. “We’re going for a walk.”

“Okay, honey,” my mom says, smiling at me.

Trina and I get our coats and go outside.

“Why’d you want to take a walk?” Trina asks.

“I wanted some time with my girlfriend without my parents watching us.” I take Trina’s hand as we walk down the street.

“I think it’s sweet. They seem really happy that we’re together.”

“It’s because they didn’t think I’d ever date again. They never pushed me to find someone, but they also didn’t want me being alone for the rest of my life.”

“I like your parents. I feel really comfortable around them.”

“Yeah, they’re easy to get along with.”

“I never liked Asher’s parents. They were so uptight. I always felt like they were judging me, like they thought I wasn’t good enough to be with their son.”

Trina hasn’t seen or spoken to Asher since she gave him the ring back. But she still talks about him sometimes. I wish she’d just forget about him, but I know that’s not realistic. He was part of her life for a long time, just like Megan was a big part of my mine.

“What were Megan’s parents like?” Trina asks.

She does this sometimes. She asks me about Megan. A few months ago, I wouldn’t have reacted well to that, but now I’m okay with it. And the more I talk about her, the easier it gets. It’s nice to no longer have to hide that part of my life.

“Her parents are great,” I say. “I usually call them a few times a year to see how they’re doing.”

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