Page 19 of False Start
It’s my turn to smirk at my sister. Ben walks up to share the doorway with her, and she goes mute. I pick up my suitcase and send a wink in Zina’s direction. One day, she’ll find the perfect man to love her even though she was obsessed with having a penis when she was young. Weird kid. “See y’all in the car.”
The trip from Baton Rouge to New Orleans is just over an hour, but as usual, the ride puts me straight to sleep. I’m thankful for the reprieve from having to pretend there’s not something bubbling between me and the quarterback. However, I pay for it by waking up in his arms. I know Ben nor my sister missed it while I was unconscious. I play off my immediate escape from his hold by sitting up and stretching, but Bryant has none of it. He pulls me directly back to his chest and wraps his arms around me.
“We’re fifteen minutes out,” Ben announces.
I begin to squirm against my captor. “Let me go,” I whisper.
“Mmm.”
Whatever that means. I struggle again and this time he releases me to pop up into an upright position and scoot away from him. “Fifteen minutes to Mom’s?”
“Yeah,” my sister says with a smile on her face.
The trip comes to an end and Ben pulls into the drive of the large, brick home I grew up in. My mom and both of my grandmothers are standing on the front porch waiting for us with huge, warm smiles, and my heart soars when I see them.
“I can’t believe Grandma Rose is here,” Zina says of our grandmother who lives in a nearby home for patients with dementia. We haven’t seen her since the summer, and steady communication is difficult when she’s not always lucid. Seeing her here to greet us brings a smile to both of our faces.
Zina and I both leap from the car and charge Mom, Grandma Rose, and our Granny Hazel. We wrap the women in hugs and although Grandma seems confused, she’s still happy to see us and to be in the middle of so much excitement.
“Phillip!” she yells my deceased grandfather’s name and takes off down the porch stairs in a hurry. We rush after her to prevent her from falling, but she’s too quick. She walks past Ben and heads straight for Bryant. Bryant is more than a little bewildered as my strange grandmother wraps her short arms around him.
My mother reaches her first and gently reminds her, “Rose, this gentleman isn’t Phillip.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell Bryant and attempt to extract him from the situation.
And then he does something wonderful and unexpected. He wraps his arms around my grandmother and hugs her back. “There, there, love.”
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” she tells him.
“Mrs. Rose,” my mom starts, “why don’t we scrounge up something to drink for Mr. Phillip?”
Grandma leans back and smiles at Bryant who is over a foot taller than her. “Be right back, sweetheart.”
God. I haven’t seen her smile like that since my grandfather died ten years ago. My heart further melts into a big pile of goo when my sweet Grandma Rose looks back at Bryant as she walks away and waves the sweetest little wave. The big, tough quarterback smiles at her like she’s the love of his life and waves back. It feels like I’m watching intimacy not meant for my eyes. But I’m glad I saw it. I’m glad I saw her this happy again.
“Would you like to come inside?” I ask him, all of a sudden endeared to him on a level I didn’t wish was possible.
“Yeah, I really would,” he answers. “I’d like to see the place where you grew up.”
I don’t know why I’m inviting him further into my life. I don’t know why I can’t shake him. I should be running for the hills and far away from him. He’s going to hurt me, and it may be completely unintentional, but it’ll hurt just the same.
Zina and I lead the guys inside to the large family room filled with large, comfy taupe couches and a brick fireplace. Ben and Bryant both busy themselves looking at the pictures on the walls of our family while we step into the kitchen and help Mom and our grandmothers with cookies and drinks, because honestly, I don’t think Zina or I know what to do with these two dudes in our house.
“Can I help with anything?”Bryant steps in behind us and asks.
I swear to the good Lord above, my mother blushes as she steps forward and shakes Bryant’s hand. “Robin Hale.”
“Bryant Hudson. Your home is as lovely as your daughters, Mrs. Hale.”
“Oh.” My mothergiggles. “Please call me Robin.”
Oh my God. I look across the room at Zina who is working through her breaths to keep from laughing. Bryant shoots me a wink as Ben steps into the room. Granny Hazel loses her fucking mind when he does. “Well, damn, I didn’t think my lady parts worked anymore.” And then she pops her teeth out, winks, and tells Ben, “My teeth come out, Tiger.” If that isn’t bad enough, she then sticks her tongue in her cheek and does a blow job motion. Ben doesn’t know whether to run, laugh, or cry. Bryant and Zina have chosen laughter. My mom is mortified, and Grandma Rose is oblivious as she stares on at Bryant.
“I’m moving in,” Ben finally says, and it’s the last straw for Zina who bursts into unbridled laughter.
“Phillip, let’s go sit, sweetheart,” Grandma Rose says and grabs Bryant by the hand. He very sweetly goes with her into the family room without a second thought.
“You girls brought home Bryant Hudson and Ben Slate,” Mom says. “A woman couldn’t ask for better son-in-laws.”
