Page 124 of Hate You, Maybe
“Stop. I can’t take this anymore,” Kendal groans. She cues up the video and passes her phone down the table.
“Great.” I shake my head. “Is it too late for me to go eat with Rowan and Wally?”
Kendal grabs the salt and pepper. “Wally’s not on solids yet.”
My dad props the phone against the mashed potatoes, and my mom reaches over to press play on the video of me and the football team singing “Steal My Girl.”
“Everyone ready?” she asks.
I frown at my parents. “Traitors.”
“Sorry, son.” My dad scoots his chair around for a better view of the phone. “But I kinda want to see your face again, too.”
For the next few minutes, my beloved family proceeds to shovel food into their mouths, while also laughing and pointing at the screen as I trip over one of the members of the drill team. When we reach the part of the video whereSayla makes her final speech, though, everyone gets quiet. Focused.
Annnd, I know what’s coming.
“Can we stop now?” I grunt.
“But this is the best part,” Jo crows.
“There’s the face!” my dad aims his fork at the screen.
“That’s just my face,” I say.
“Yep. And you’re looking at Sayla all lovey-dovey and moony-eyed,” Landry snarks. “Wasn’t it just like two weeks ago you were claiming you weren’t into her?”
“Lies!” Jojo cheers.
“Totally,” Landry agrees.
“That wasthreeweeks ago,” I mumble.
“You really do seem smitten with her,” Kendal says. “And I was there during the speech. Trust me. You looked even gooier in person.”
“Dad and I were there too,” my mother says.
“You did great, son,” my dad adds. “And let me tell you, there’s nothing wrong with appreciating your woman.”
My mother clucks. “I’m just so sorry about the theater, though. What a shame.”
“I’ll bet Dex is glad, though.” Landry sends me a knowing smile. “Because his girlfriend’s gonna get her renovation now.”
“Dex has a girlfriend,” Jo teases in a sing-song voice. And I’m about to say something stupid like “what are you, ten years old?” but I slam my mouth shut. Slipping into old juvenile habits around the table with my sisters is way too easy. We start to act like dumb kids again. And anyway, Landry isn’t wrong. Iamglad Sayla’s going to get her theater rebuilt.
“Hey.” Landry kicks me under the table. “You aren’t protesting.”
“Nope.” I dig into the pile of potatoes on my plate.
Jo squawks. “Are you admitting you want Sayla to be your girlfriend?”
“Have you told her how you feel?” Landry asks.
I say nothing. Just shovel more potatoes in my mouth.
“Leave him alone,” Kendal says, reaching over to drop a drumstick on my plate. It’s like she can’t quite give up her motherly instincts even when her kids aren’t around.
“Son.” My dad clears his throat and makes pointed eye contact with me. “If you really like this woman, you need to tell her. I didn’t land your mother by keeping my feelings to myself.”
