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I stared at our hands before answering, "Yes, it was his birthday yesterday, but I don't know. He hadn't gotten it yet when we last talked."
"That's too bad. Let me know what Aaron says once he gets it," my father sighed.
My father had helped me with the scrapbook. Most of the pictures were ones he had taken of us as we were growing up. My mother didn't know that my father helped me assemble it last month. She would have been hurt and jealous that I did not involve her.
Before we could discuss it any further, my mother walked in and cleared her throat. "Dinner is ready if you want to get up and come get it."
My father and I exited our seats and followed her into the kitchen. There were three plates, each set up with steaming hot food. We were having lobster tails with mashed potatoes and green beans. My father loved lobster tails; it was one of his favorite meals. I liked it well enough, but tilapia would always be my preferred seafood.
"This looks amazing, Darla," my father said as he grabbed his plate and hurried back into the dining room, eager to dig in.
"Yeah, Mom, this smells great," I said, picking up my plate and heading back into the dining room.
The three of us took our seats as we started to eat. The lobster tail was hot and tasted delightful, while the mashed potatoes were the perfect fluffy consistency. I could do without the green beans, but I knew my mother would throw a fit if I didn't eat everything.
"How is the songwriting going?" My father asked after he finished his last bite on his plate.
I shrugged; I moved my green beans around, as they were the last things on my plate. The last time I sold a commercial jingle was last month, but the song from before that was still doing well. I had been working on some original material, though.
"I have a new song I've been working on."
"We'd love to hear it, dear," my mother said.
I didn't have my guitar or anything, but I could always sing it acapella. My new song was about unrequited love, and I hoped my parents didn't read too much into it.
"Okay, you want me to just sing?" I asked, unsure if they wanted me to serenade them or just talk about the song.
"Sure," my mother said, setting her fork down and focusing on me.
"Okay, it is rough right now, but here you go," I confessed before singing.
The song was about Aaron and me from when we were in high school, but I hoped my parents wouldn't notice that in the lyrics.
"I watched you walk down the halls, but you didn't notice me. We sat together in class, but you couldn't see we were meant to be. Oh, we were meant to be."
As I sang, I got more emotional and closed my eyes.
"We were meant to be, but you never noticed me. Your eyes were closed to what we could be. All I ever wanted was for you to see me."
Once I had finished singing, my eyes opened.
"That was great, honey. Colton is going to love this," my mother suddenly said.
Who was Colton? And what was he going to love?
I glanced toward her and saw that her phone was out, and the camera was on me. She must have recorded me, which wouldn't be the first time. But who was Colton, and why would he love this?
"Who is Colton?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest, hoping that it wasn't another potential man my mother wanted to set me up with.
"Colton is just a friend with a son in the military who would love to hear you sing," my mother confessed.
I shook my head, "Mom, why must you constantly try to set me up with these random men?"
"Honey, you're beautiful and single. What else am I supposed to be doing? Plus, I'm not trying to set you up with anyone. I just thought Colton's son could use some hometown music."
"I'm not single," I blurted out, surprising myself.
Everyone at the table froze, including me. Did I say that out loud?
