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Mom turns to leave, and Charlize looks at me questioningly.
“I’ll see Mom out. You finish getting ready,” I say, leaving her to walk Mom out.
I talk with Mom for five minutes while she catches me up on her latest news. She also tells me she’s impressed I’ve found a woman who values family. I don’t miss her jab at Jill who would never have put her parents first for a dinner. I then make my way into the bedroom where Charlize is rummaging in her purse, pulling items out and dumping them on my bed.
“So, that might just be my worstmeeting the mother of the man I’m sleeping withmoment of life,” she says.
“I thought it went well.”
Her eyes widen. “That’s because you’re a man and have no clue on the workings of a woman’s mind.”
“I’m well-versed in the workings of my mother’s mind. Trust me when I tell you it went well.”
She drags a bottle of perfume and some other beauty product out of her purse and places them on the bed. “All I can hope is she doesn’t hold today against me.”
“She wants to have dinner with you, Charlize. My mother doesn’t have dinner with people she doesn’t like.”
She pulls wet wipes out of her purse, looks at them, and then puts them back in. She then drags a nail file out and spends a few moments contemplating it.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“I’m figuring out what I can get away with not taking today.”
I eye her purse and recall the night we met. “In your emergency kit?”
“Yes. I’m lightening the load for the hike.”
“You don’t need to take any of it. I’ve got everything we’ll need in my backpack.”
She looks at me like I’m a clueless male. “I highly doubt that, Owen.”
“So, you’re planning on taking your purse on the hike?”
More of that clueless male look. “Of course. We’ll put it in your backpack.” She finishes rummaging in the purse, picks it up, and shoves it at me. “Now, I know you wanted to leave hours ago, but after meeting your mother and vomiting dicks all over her I need caffeine, and you’re going to make it for me. The coffee war starts today.”
I look down at the purse I’m now holding, mentally figuring out how to fit it in my backpack that’s already full. Then, meeting Charlize’s gaze again, I say, “I do believe I’ve already given you my sample of coffee.”
“We need to start from scratch. I was under the Owen sex spell that day.”
“If you’re not under it today we need to skip this hike so I can fix that.”
She moves to me and places her hand to my stomach. “I’m always under it, but the fact I’ve misplaced my earrings thanks to all that sex you insisted on means it’s dulled enough for me to be objective about your coffee.” She gently smacks my stomach. “Let’s go. Oh, and just so you’re prepared, we may need to stop on the way to get a snack for me. I’ve got a lot to process after the events of this morning and I always do that best with snacks.”
I’d stop ten times for ten different snacks if that’s what Charlize wanted, and that isn’t something I’ve ever done for anyone.
I’m the guy who makes plans and sticks to them.
I don’t like being late.
I don’t like unexpected things delaying me.
I don’t like stopping on road trips.
All those things are out the window now.
And I am more than okay with all of this.
* * *
