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Mama looked between us, her smile fading. “You kept this from me for months?”
“Look what you did,” I teased Luke, slapping his chest lightly and trying to keep the mood light. “Don’t be silly. We’ve been dating, but it hasn’t been serious—”
“It was serious for me,” Luke said.
My heart leapt. My smile slipped into shyness. “Yeah?”
“Of course.” He turned to my mother again. “We’ve been dating a little while, ma’am, but I’m sure Minty wanted to make sure it was going to last before bringing me home.”
“Well, I’m so glad he has.” Mama beckoned us to sit down on the sofa.
I hesitated, the ever-present stain catching my eye, but I guided Luke to sit down anyway, shifting so that I perched with my ass on the edge of the seat. Even so, I couldfeelthe stain behind me andslightly to the left. It radiated with shame.
Determined to block it out, I smiled at Mama as she took the La-Z-Boy chair opposite us. Cruelly, the memory ripped through my mind:My face pressed to the sofa cushion, agonizing pain—
“Here’s your gift,” I said, shoving my hand into my purse and withdrawing the card. I held it out to her, hoping I could distract myself with her joy when she saw what I’d bought her. “I hope you like it.”
She took it from me, but put it aside. “That can wait.” Her eyes gleamed and her smile teased. “Do you know what can’t wait? Getting to know Luke here.”
Stars shone from her eyes as she took him in. I turned, truly seeing him for the first time all morning. I’d been so preoccupied with my own thoughts and feelings that I hadn’t really paid attention to anything else.
He was handsome, like always, but he’d scrubbed up extra nicely. His matte-blue sweater brought out the glossy highlights in his eyes, and his shaggy, dark-blond hair was artfully tousled in a way I often admired. He didn’t even use product. He just put his hands through it, and somehow it came out like that.
Pride flooded me. Luke was my boyfriend. Mine. And I’d brought him home to my mama, and she was impressed. This was going better so far than I’d possibly imagined when I woke up this morning.
Mama leaned forward, elbow on her knee and chin in her palm. “How did you meet?”
On the way over, we’d agreed on a story.
“We met through a friend,” Luke said. Which wasn’t even untrue since Barry had arranged our introduction.
Mama tilted her head. “Oh? Which friend? Daniel?”
She adored Daniel. Who didn’t? “No, Barry,” I said. “He’s known Luke for a while, but it just occurred to him recently thatLuke and I might get along.”
Mama laughed. “Better late than never.”
“Exactly. Everything in its own time,” Luke said calmly, taking hold of my hand and squeezing my fingers. “If Minty had shown up any earlier, I might not have been ready for him.”
Biting her lower lip and leaning back, Mama tilted her head. “You’re a little older, aren’t you now?”
“I am, yes.”
“How old exactly?”
I hadn’t counted on that question, though I should have. Would it matter? She was only six years older than Luke herself. She’d had me so young—at just eighteen.
Luke didn’t hesitate or seem ashamed. “Thirty-four.”
“My Mitchell’s only twenty-two…” She trailed off like she wasn’t sure what she thought of that and wanted us to be the ones to tell her how to feel. I was accustomed to that role, so I took charge.
“Mama,” I said, leaning forward to pat her knee. “It’s fine. Luke’s a good influence on me.” I turned to him with a smile. “Aren’t you?”
“I keep him out of trouble as best as I can, ma’am.”
She giggled. “All right, well, so long as you’re looking after him. Keeping him safe.” Her eyes tightened at the edges. “You are being safe, aren’t you?”
The double meaning of the word, the specter of AIDS and everything that went with it, hung over the room like a sword.
