Page 22 of Saddles & Suits

“I like the way you think, baby,” Jack says admiringly. “We’ll need a break from all those blowhards at some stage. So, plans?”

“I’ll come up on the Friday,” I say, mentally rearranging my schedule for that week. “Probably in the morning.” I’ll need to arrange a tux for myself too. I’ve never had a tux before, since I just don’t attend events that require them. Hell, if Jack and I stay together, is that going to change? Should I look into buying one instead of hiring?

That’s a question for another day. One thing at a time.

We wrap up the call, and I immediately dial another number.

“Hello?”

“Mum? Hi. How are you?” I say the words perfunctorily because she gets huffy if I don’t ask.

She laughs. “I’m well, thanks, Seb. Need something?”

Ouch. “Why do you assume that? Maybe I’m just calling to say hi.”

“My beloved son, you call me every Monday and come for dinner every second Wednesday, but other than that, I only hear from you if you need something.”

That’s not true. Is it? Oh my god, am I a bad son? “I’m so sor?—”

She laughs again. “Don’t be sorry. That’s more than a lot of my friends get from their sons. Now, what can I do for you? Is everything okay? Jack’s well?”

“He’s fine,” I say automatically, still low-key worried that I’m the bad egg of her three children. One of my sisters has a baby, so I can’t compete with that, but I thought things were pretty even between me and my other sister. “Uh, that’s actually why I’m calling. What should I get him for Christmas?”

There’s a little silence, and I pull the phone away from my ear to make sure the call hasn’t dropped. “Hello? Mum?”

“I’m here. Just wondering why you think I, who’ve met Jack once, would know that better than you, his boyfriend.”

Uh-oh. This isn’t going to go well for me. “It’s not that, exactly. More that I’m not sure what type of gift it should be at this stage of our relationship. Like, am I thinking in the range of a skydiving experience, or something more sentimental?”

“Again,” Mum says dryly, “why do you think I know more about what stage your relationship is at than you?”

She might have a point there. Clearly I’m losing at being a good sonandat being a good boyfriend.

“I’ll have a think about it,” I concede. “I’m sure I’ll come up with something.”

“I’m sure you will,” Mum says, clearly humoring me. “But while I have you, let’s talk about Christmas.”

“Oh. Okay. Um… is it still lunch? I can do dinner if Simone has to go to her in-laws.” It’s easy for me to be flexible, since I don’t have in-laws to worry about.

“Actually, I was going to ask if lunch was a conflict for you,” Mum counters. “Are you spending any time with Jack’s family? You know the traffic between here and Melbourne is horrible on Christmas Day.” She says something else, but I’m stuck on the whole “spending time with Jack’s family” thing. Today is just one curveball after another.

“We haven’t talked about it yet.” Fuck, is this like the ball? Does he assume that I’ll be going with him to his family’s Christmas celebrations?

There’s another very loud silence from Mum, and then she says, “Okay. Well, you know that Jack’s welcome to join us. In fact, I thought he was going to. So do your sisters—Tamara already bought him a gift.”

This is a nightmare.

“We just haven’t finalized things,” I manage to get out through my suddenly dry throat. “I’ll let you know for sure in the next day or so.”

Mum chuckles, and I know I haven’t fooled her. “I’ll let you go, then. I’m sure you have a lot to do still this afternoon.”

I somehow get through the end of the call, then stare at my phone like it’s a venomous snake. Now what? How do I ask Jack if we’re spending Christmas together?

By text. Sneakily.

Seb:

Hey, forgot to say… my sister already bought you a Chrissy present. Just so you’re not blindsided. She’s like that.

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