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I shake my head, laughing."Mom! How do you even know what a throuple is? But to answer your question, no Travis is not another boyfriend, he is Andrew's golden retriever."
“Ah.” She bursts into laughter. “That makes more sense. I remember you saying that now.”
After I show them my work setup, and we introduce them to Travis, we settle in the dining room to eat. I arrange the toppings while Andrew finishes up the fajita meat. We dish up, then sit together at my small dining room table. Andrew sits next to me, while my parents are across from us.
“Have you talked with Jess at all lately?” Mom asks as we begin to eat.
I shake my head, chewing my bite of delicious fajita. “I called her a few weeks ago, but she didn’t answer. I meant to call again, but forgot.”
Mom nods thoughtfully. “I spoke to her for some time yesterday. She mentioned that she and Brandon might be moving home soon.”
“Where would they move?” I ask.
Dad interjects. “There’s a base about an hour north of us. It’s all very tentative though.” He glances sideways at Mom. “I told Lori not to get her hopes up, because they could be transferred somewhere else.”
“I can’t help that the thought of having both my girls in the same state again gives me an excitement I can’t contain. Jess always said that once they were permanently transferred home, they would start trying for kids. You can’t blame me for getting excited, Kevin.”
Dad sighs heavily. “I never said you couldn’t be excited. I just don’t want you to be devastated if they don’t end up here. I’m trying to protect you, dear.” Dad pulls Mom into his embrace, kissing the top of her head. Andrew drops a hand from the table, sliding under to squeeze my thigh reassuringly.
“I’ll try getting in contact with her soon, it seems like we have a lot to catch up on. Anyway….” I start, hoping someone hops in to change the subject.
Mom moves on to the next item of business. “Tell me, how did the two of you meet?”
I furrow my brows. “I told you how we met, Mom? Remember?”
“Hush,” she says, waving me off. “Andrew? I’d love to hear how you met and swept my daughter off her feet.”
Andrew nearly chokes on his bite of fajita. He takes his hand off my thigh as he coughs, then takes a sip of his water to wash it all down. “Sorry about that,” he grits out. “I met Josie the day of my best friend’s wedding. I was tasked to be her right hand man, and she put me to work.”
He clears his throat, leaning back in his chair to wrap his arm around my shoulders. “I kept finding reasons to talk to her the rest of the day, and after the ceremony, I planned on asking for her number.”
Mom dreamily sighs. She’s such a romantic.
“Unfortunately for me, she was already packed up and gone. Thankfully, my friend, Marley, was the photographer for the wedding, and had a plan up her sleeve.”
Mom leans forward, setting her elbow on the table, resting her chin in her palm.
“Marley set up a blind date photoshoot for us, and I knew I wouldn’t let her get away from me that time. I asked her out after we got dunked into freezing pond water, and she still agreed. The rest is history.”
Dad eats his food like he’s heard the story a million times, and Mom clutches a hand to her heart. “It’s so sweet, like a fairytale. Meant to be,” she sings.
Andrew leans over, kissing my temple. He winks quickly. “My Gramps, he actually calls her Cindy because of how we met.”
“Cindy?” Dad perks up. “Why Cindy?”
Andrew clears his throat, his cheeks flaming red. I lean into his chest, resting my hand on his thigh. “I found a… crap, what is it called, petals? A crocodile clip?”
“Claw clip,” I correct.
He snaps his fingers. “Right, claw clip. I found the claw clip she left behind. I had planned on finding her somehow, and when I found her again, I’d give it back to her. Both Marley and my Gramps compared it to Cinderella, and when he met her, he started calling her Cindy right away.”
Mom sighs. She hasn’t even taken more than a bite of her food at this point. “That’s just precious.”
“Mom, you need to eat your dinner before it gets cold.” I point out. “There’s plenty of time for talking after.”
Once dinner was cleaned up, we moved into the living room, where Mom and I had a glass of white wine, while Dad and Andrew had an IPA from Jason’s brewery. We talked for a few hours, discussing my business and its future, Andrew’s business, and everything in between.
It’s about nine, and Dad is currently doing his I’m ready to leave, but need to start showing Mom signs so she gets the hint and wraps it up act. He stretches his arms above his head, groaning loudly. “Lor, I think it’s about time we head out, don’t you think?”
