Page 37 of Fire and Icing

“Oh.” Mom’s voice is neutral. “Oh,” she says a second time with more disappointment.

“We’re friends, Mom. Just friends.”

“Friends is a great start,” she says. “Your dad and I were friends. A lot can …”

“Okay, Mom,” Mitzi interrupts. “We’d better let them get back to their dinner.”

“But you are single?” Mom asks again.

“I am,” Emberleigh says. And then she adds, “Happily.”

“Oh, dear. Well, okay,” Mom says. “Maybe if you just …”

“I’ll call you later, Mom.”

“Okay, Dustin. We’ll let you go,” Mitzi says quickly.

We all say our goodbyes and then I click the end call icon.

“Sorry about that,” I say to Emberleigh.

“They’re adorable.”

“Is that what we’re calling it?”

“Really. You all seem so close.”

“We are. Family is everything.”

She nods, but doesn’t add anything about her own family.

“Do you miss them?” she asks.

“I haven’t had much time to miss them, but … yeah. I do.”

We stare at one another. The moment is comfortable, but it feels like it could quickly turn awkward.

“Okay,” I say, reaching for the box with our dessert. “Who saved room for tiramisu?”

“I definitely always have room for dessert,” Emberleigh says.

I crack open the box and hand her a clean plastic fork. “Ladies first.”

She presses her fork into the soft cake and lifts the bite to her mouth. I watch and wait for her reaction.

“Mmmmm,” she hums.

I take a bite. “Delicious. Man, this is good. I think I found my new favorite Italian place.”

“Really?”

“In Waterford? Yes.”

We take turns taking bites. Neither of us says much. We don’t talk about my family or hers, even though I want to ask her a hundred questions.

As we’re finishing our dessert, I circle back to our conversation about all these rules Emberleigh thinks we need.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about when it comes to your rules,” I assure her.

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