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JADA
Before I head over to Carter’s house, I make a quick stop at the grocery store. I want to make a good first impression with his mom, so I plan to bring her a little gift.
Normally I’d go for a box of chocolates, but I recall Carter mentioning the chemo affects his mom’s appetite and taste buds, so I decide some flowers and a card might be a safer route.
Once I’m in the store, I head straight to the flower aisle and grab some tulips. I choose the freshest bouquet I can find, ensuring that the scent is strong and the petals aren’t wilted.
Then, I make my way to the greeting cards section near the checkout lane. I settle on one with an oil-style painting of two deer on the front – it’s simple, a tad cliche, yet super pretty.
If I’m gonna be a fake girlfriend, I’m gonna be the best fake girlfriend he’s ever had.
Once I pay for everything, I head to the car and start it up. Before I pull out of the parking lot, I glance at my phone. There’s one unread message from Carter.
Mom wants pizza tonight, is that good with you?the text reads.
I unlock my phone and type out a quick response.Sounds good to me!Once I hit send, I toss my phone onto the passenger seat and drive toward Carter’s mom’s house.
Carter is already waiting for me on the porch when I pull into the driveway. As I step out of the car with the gifts in my arms, he meets me at the bottom of the porch stairs and gives me a hug.
“I hope you don’t mind us getting takeout,” he says. “My mom’s not feeling well enough to cook today, and I’m a disaster in the kitchen. And a lot of foods make her queasy lately, but pizza’s one thing that never gives her problems.”
“I don’t mind one bit,” I say with a smile. “Pizza isalwaysa good choice.”
He leads me to the front door, holding it open for me so I can walk inside first.
“She’s here, Mom!” Carter calls from the entryway.
As I step into the living room, I spot his mother sitting in a rocking chair. She’s a short, thin white woman who looks to be in her early 60s. She’s wearing a teal blouse tucked into a pair of loose brown slacks. There’s a quilt draped over her shoulders, and her head is covered with a knitted pink beanie. Upon seeing me, her weary expression brightens almost instantly.
“Mom,” Carter begins. He ushers me across the living room with a gentle pat on my lower back. “This is my girlfriend, Jada.”
“Hello, Jada!” she says, clasping her hands together. “You can call me Honey. Carter’s been telling me all about you.”
“It’s so great to meet you, ma’am!” I say with a grin. “I brought you a little something.”
I hand over the bouquet of tulips and the envelope. Tears well up in her eyes as she smells the flowers and opens the card.
“You are so sweet!” she says. “Carter, where did you find her?”
“At the Clearwater Ocean Resort, remember?” Carter says.
“Right, right. That comes as no surprise. It’s such a romantic place,” Honey says, chuckling.
There’s a knock at the door. “That’s probably the pizza,” Carter says. “Get yourself comfortable, Jada. I’ll bring everything in.”
I sit down in the loveseat near Honey’s rocking chair. I was initially nervous about this whole get-together, but upon seeing how kind Carter’s mother is, I realize I’d had nothing to worry about.
“I’m so glad Carter has finally found someone,” Honey says. “He deserves someone that makes him happy.”
I can’t help feeling a little guilty, knowing that we’re lying to her. But in a way, Iammaking Carter happy, so she’s not exactly wrong.
“Well, I try my best,” I say, twirling one of my braids around my finger. “We’ve only recently gotten together, but we keep each other company. We’ve been going on dates every weekend, just having fun together and getting to know each other more.”
“That’s so good to hear,” Honey says with a warm smile. “What did you do last weekend? Carter hadn’t mentioned that to me…”
“Uh…” I pause for a moment to think of a plausible yet interesting date idea. “We just took a trip to the zoo together! It was a lot of fun.”
Honey chuckles. “Carter has always been fond of animals. When he was a kid, he was really into dinosaurs,” she says. “I don’t think he realized they were extinct, though. And every time we went to the zoo, he’d getsodisappointed that they didn’t have a stegosaurus.” She lets out a laugh.
