Page 56 of Love Undiscovered
The boys clean up after dinner. We always do, if Mom and the girls cook, we clean, and vice versa. My dad has always done it that way, so the rest of us do too.
My sisters all leave soon after, but I stick around with my parents. It’s my favorite time of Sunday dinner. Dad and I have a bourbon, Mom has a glass of wine, and we sit on the back porch. After the chaos of dinner, it’s the perfect counterpoint.
Until Mom starts talking that is. “So, Chancey, tell me about Remi.”
“There’s nothing to tell, Mom,” I say.
“But you brought her to The Chesterfield,” she says.
“That’s a nice place, son,” Dad says.
“A friend of mine set me up on a blind date, he picked the place. Sorry to disappoint.”
“But, Audrey said you were cozy,” Mom says.
“We were dancin’, Ma.”
“You always were such a good dancer, Chancey,” Mom says, patting me on the shoulder. “Did you have fun?”
I think about it for a minute. Contemplating what to tell her. I could never tell her the truth about the bet, she’d be disappointed in me. Which begs the question, why am I doing this? Should I be disappointed in me? It’s certainly not right to be doing this to Remi, she doesn’t really deserve the deception, even if she does freeze me out most of the time.
But the other part of me thinks, it’s for the twenty-five hundred, man. So you can reward these two amazing people right here. And it’s only a month. It’s not like you’re marrying the girl. Four dates, give or take a few, some quality time between the sheets, everyone has a good time, no muss, no fuss.
“I did have fun,” I say. “She’s a great girl. Smart and really pretty. And she challenges me, you know?”
“It’s good to be challenged, son,” Dad says. “Keeps you sharp.”
My phone buzzes with a new text. I pull it from my pocket. It’s not a number I recognize so I silence it and make a mental note to read it later.
“I’d love to meet her,” Mom says.
“Mom, it was one date, don’t get ahead of yourself.”
“Well, you know, Chancey, usually you just, what? Hook up with these girls? You don’t date them. And I certainly never meet them.”
I choke on my bourbon. She pats me on the back.
“What makes you say that, Mom?” I ask, my voice suddenly raspy.
“Well, I know things Chancey, word gets around, you know. And your sisters tell me things,” she says.
“I’m never telling any of them anything again,” I mutter.
“I love how close you are to your sisters. It makes me more proud than you’ll know. Knowing that I raised children who love and care for one another.” She starts sniffling a little bit.
“Oh, Ma, don’t cry.”
“Are you alright, baby?” my dad asks. “Annalise?”
“I’m fine, Brian.” She pats him on the knee. “I just get a little emotional over my kids.”
Dad hugs her around the shoulders and gives her a long kiss on the temple. After all these years, they still have so much love for one another. I like knowing that it’s possible for some people.
Shit, maybe relationships aren’t such a bad thing after all.
