Page 63 of Hounds Ascend
“I didn’t know if he was going to take the job or not until last week. He accepted their offer and we loaded up our things and came home. I was ready to be back, I missed my girl. It’s so good to see you, baby,” she beams and looks over my shoulder. I follow her gaze to find Cass and David walking toward the kitchen, talking about machining tools and the fabrication shop.
“Looks like they’re getting along just fine,” I smile looking back at her.
“They seem to be. And he is just as handsome as Mindy said! Speaking of…when is she going to be here?”
“Cass talked to Linc earlier and they were just about to head this way. She should be here any minute now. Until then, come see the house!”
I grab her hand and nearly drag her into the kitchen. I take her on a tour of the entire house, which is now fully furnished, decorated, and stocked with groceries. We got Cass’s man cave set up along with my office and have the other rooms set up as spare bedrooms adorned with a set of bunk beds and a queen bed in each.
My mom marvels at the house the same way I had when I firstsaw it and it gives me a sense of pride. I’ve just finished showing her the wine room when the back door pops open and Mindy and Linc walk in.
“Margie!” Mindy runs past everyone and hugs her. The two of them had become close because they had one thing above all in common, they both worried about me.
“Hey, Min.”
“Alright you guys, let’s eat!”
I lift the lid on the pot that is filled with a cream-based shrimp and corn soup with garlic toast on the side. I distribute plates and utensils and Linc and Mindy are spooning rice onto their plates before I can even move out of their way. David is right behind me, but my mom and Cass are standing a few feet away whispering. I eye them suspiciously and Cass looks up just in time to get a good look at my face.
Immediately he busts out laughing and makes his way over to me.
“Is he telling secrets from my childhood?” I ask as my mom approaches.
“Not a chance, sweetie.” But the sly grin on my mother’s face says otherwise.
“Hmm,” I sigh, but don’t press the issue.
Once everyone is seated at the dining room table that’d just been delivered last week, my mom insists that we say grace. She makes it short and sweet and we dig in.
Dinner is a success and I learn that Cass and David worked together on a job a few years before he had opened his own shop.They know a ton of the same people, too. Linc didn’t know much about what Cass and David were talking about, but he listened intently anyway since Cass has just hired him at the shop. Cass says he’s eager to learn, too.
Me, Mom, and Mindy are talking about how my mom’s stay in Ohio was and what she did. She’d crocheted fifteen blankets, watched every Harry Potter movie more times than she could count, and did a ton of cooking. That was her life while David worked, that and worrying about me.
“If you would’ve returned a phone call or two every now and then…” she chastised.
“I did! I’ve talked to you every day for the past two months!”
“Yeah, but before that. Before that I was lucky to hear from you once every month. That’s okay, though, cause I’m home now and I know where you live.”
“Good. I might ignore your calls just so you’ll show up.”
“And she will,” David chimes in and the two of them share a googly-eyed exchange. My mom is happy, finally, and it looks good on her.
After dinner, we make our way onto the back patio. The sun has just started to set and once again, the beautiful hues of the evening sky dance atop the water. Sitting at a table around the pool, my mom and David smoke cigarettes while Cass and I head inside to grab a few beers for everyone.
“I like them,” Cass says as he opens the fridge and fills his arms with as many cans of Bud Light as he can hold.
“Whew! Good thing, cause I kinda like them too,” I joke as Igrab three Smirnoffs from the bottom drawer in the fridge.
“They’re good people. You’re a lot like her, you know.”
I grin at his compliment and start toward the back door. “Thanks, baby.”
I always take it as a huge compliment when someone mentions she and I being alike. I’ve always strived to be like my mom. She was my biggest role model. As the night goes on, my mom and David leave early to get to their hotel since they have a busy week ahead of them. They’re buying a house and have an entire house full of things to move in a short amount of time. Cass offered his assistance and told them he’d ask some of the club guys to see if any of them were free to help, too.
Once they’re gone, Mindy and Linc leave shortly thereafter. I have no complaints about that, though. I’ve enjoyed our evening with our family and am ready to clean up and relax. At least that was whatIhad in mind. Fifteen minutes later, I have a clean kitchen and a boyfriend that’s dragging me out of the back door.
He opens the door to his black F-150, the truck he’d just bought that is identical the rental he’d had in Cali. I’d wondered when he brought it home if he’d actually bought the rental, but it has a few differences. The interior cloth is a much darker grey and the steering wheel has thirty different controls, and this truck has a sunroof.
