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Luckily, he and Dad were downstairs in the man cave watching football. But avoiding my sisters, not so much. Sabrina and Mika were fraternal twins and were as different as their names but were the best of friends. Sometimes I envied their relationship and although I was the oldest, I relied on them for guy advice. We had a video call a couple of hours ago since both their flights had been cancelled and they couldn’t reschedule until the day after Christmas.
When they found out who I’d been stranded with, they wanted all the details. But things got tricky with Mom listening in. So, I ended up texting them a few details with a promise to catch them up when they arrived.
Mom set a bottle of wine on the table, then gave me a long look before she answered. “Well. I guess it didn’t take too long. Why? Are you dating someone? Did you and Kyle get back together?”
“No. And I haven’t dated Kyle since last year, Mom. No, I was just curious. I’ve been thinking a lot about my future. I wanted to run some things by you and Dad before I make any changes, but I’m pretty sure I’m done traveling. Overseas for sure.”
“Oh, Nori! That’s wonderful. Let’s tell your father.”
“Mom, wait. I wasn’t going to say anything until after Christmas. It can wait.” Darn it. I wanted to ask her more about her and Dad and see what she thought about my feelings for Dean. I couldn’t stop thinking about him, and maybe I could still salvage the mess I made. But before I could push mom for more specifics, Tyler interrupted.
“Hey, Nori. You got a sec?” Walking into the dining room, he swiped an appetizer from the tray mom was attempting to keep away from him.
She rolled her eyes. An expression I’ve seen her give Ty at least a thousand times. “It’s not time yet. And I didn’t make extra since your sisters aren’t here. Didn’t I put enough snacks downstairs for you?”
“Do you ever?” Ty grinned, sidestepping her as she playfully slapped his arm.
“Go on, Nori, take your brother somewhere else to talk, otherwise all the food will be gone before dad gets up here. I’ll let you know when the roast is ready.”
A bottomless pit. Even at twenty-nine. Tyler smacked his lips. “Mm m-mm.You should sell these, Mom. I’ll be out front, Nori.”
Out front? That was weird. But I had one more question before I followed him. “Mom, when you said it didn’t take long with Dad to know that you loved him. How long before you knew?”
“Okay, what’s going on? Is there a man you’re not telling me about? I swear if you tell me it’s for a story you’re writing, I’ll ground you from dessert.” Laughing, she placed her hands on her hips and stared me down, well she had to look up since I had a couple inches on her.
There was no way I was missing out on dessert. My mom’s cooking was the best and it would be unheard of for me not to eat two desserts when at home, so not getting a piece of my mother’s triple chocolate Yule log cake wasn’t going to happen.
“Promise me you won’t go overboard, okay? Okay, so hypothetically, let’s say I met a man I really like. Would it be weird to, you know, be in love with him after a short period of time?”
Please say no, please say no.
I could tell by the way my mom’s eyes went wide and biting her lower lip that she was doing everything she could to keep from screaming in excitement. She tried her best to stay out of all her kid’s love lives, but we knew she and our dad wanted to see us happy and settled with someone of our own. And they wanted grandkids. She loved to remind me that by the time she was twenty-eight, she’d already had all four of us.
Mom sank into a chair, folded her hands on the table, and smiled at me. “Hmm, well, I guess all things considered; love doesn’t happen on a timetable. It just…happens. For me, at least, because I can’t speak for your father, I guess I knew after our first date. Now, I’d only had one kiss from him, but oh, what a kiss. And he was so charming and attentive. And he brought me flowers. I couldn’t wait to get home and tell my sister.”
A day. One date and mom knew my dad was it for her. But was that love?
“Wow, that’s pretty fast. When did you say it to him?”
“Oh, um. I guess right after he told me he loved me. That was probably a month later. Then he proposed a month after that. We got married six months later and then you arrived ten months after that.” Sighing, she rested her chin in her hand and stared off into the distance.
Leaving her lost to her memories, I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Mom. That helped. I’m going to go see what Ty wants.” Grabbing my cardigan on the way out, she called me back.
“Wait. So, you didn’t tell me. Who is this mystery man?”
“Oh, well, like I said, it’s all hypothetical.” Avoiding eye contact, I gave her a little wave as I left the room.
“I’m not buying it, Nori Lee Yagasaki. This conversation is not over.” Her voice rang out through the house. I stepped onto the front porch. Tyler was leaning up against one of the pillars, speaking to someone standing in the late afternoon shadows.
“Hey. Who are you talking to?”
Tyler straightened, walked over to me, and placed his hands on my upper arms. Whomever he was just speaking too was effectively blocked by his large frame as he stepped close.
“I want you to know, I’m okay with any decision you make.” Tyler bent his knees so we could be eye-to-eye. “Your happiness is all that matters to me.”
“What are you talking about?” I took a sniff of the air. “You been into Dad’s peppermint Schnapps?”
“Nope. Although, that’s a good idea.” Chuckling, he dropped his arms, then swept his left one toward the walkway. I followed his movement and came face to face with Dean.
