Page 99 of Storm Bound
Adam’s mom turned to look at me, and she paused, her eyes went wide, and before I knew it, I was being squeezed to death by her strong arms, yet I didn’t mind one bit.
“Charlie, my dear. Happy birthday! It’s sosogood to meet you. Adam’s told me so much about you,” she said.
“All good, I hope,” I said, and she smirked.
“Of course. I’m Zara, but you can call me Mom. If you want, of course. I wouldn’t want to offend your mom or anything,” she said.
“Mom!” Adam called out to her.
“What?” Zara asked, pulling away from me.
“His mom…” he started and looked at me.
Zara turned to look at me, realization on her face.
“I’m so sorry, sweetie. I didn’t mean…”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” I said, and she took me in her arms again.
“Come on, Zara, let the boy breathe,” Adam’s dad said, and he approached us. “Joseph Kravitz. Pleasure to meet you, son. And happy birthday.”
He extended his hand, and I shook it while Zara still kept me in her arms.
“Mom, come on. We don’t have time. We need to get going,” Adam said.
“But we just got here,” she said and looked from me to Adam to her husband.
“Well, yeah, and the party is starting soon, so…” Adam said.
Zara sighed and approached the coat hanger. “Fine. I guess we can talk in the car.”
She threw it around her shoulders and walked out of the house again. Joseph shook his head and followed his wife, and then it was just the two of us again.
“Talk in the car? Should I be scared?” I asked Adam.
He laughed.
“Only if you’re sane,” he replied and scanned the house. “Are we forgetting anything?”
I looked at the house, our home, and took it in. Yes, it had only been a few days since I’d moved in with him, but it was already our shared space. Our little haven in this wild world we lived in. The living room would always be the place we had sex for the first time, and the bedroom the place where we made up after the Justin nightmare. And there were yet so many more memories to make here.
“No. I think we’ve got everything,” I said, and he smiled, then we walked out and got in Dad’s car that he loaned me for the day so that we could all drive to Mel’s together.
Zara took the passenger seat beside me while Adam and Joseph sat in the backseat. I wasn’t usually nervous when I drove, but with Adam’s parents in the mix, I couldn’t help but feel extra cautious.
“So, Charlie, honey, do you like working with Adam? Or do you think you’ll venture out on your own in the future?” she asked.
That was a strange question to ask. But I couldn’t ponder it for too long. I didn’t want to make a bad impression on the in-laws.
“No, I don’t think so. It’s great working with him. I’m learning so much every day,” I said.
I glanced at the rearview mirror and found Adam’s smile there, warming my heart.
“And are you hoping to become a doctor at some point, too?”
“No, not really. I don’t think I could ever go back to college. And I never really wanted to be one, so…”
“That’s great. Great. Do you think yuh guys will stay here? Or are you planning on moving back to Detroit? Or Chicago?”
