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“Way to make a guy nervous,” I joke while looking down at my watch. “Well, I have to get going, but same time tomorrow?”
“Same time tomorrow, my friend.” He has a warm, gentle smile and waves as I step onto the elevator.
After arriving on the fifth floor, I knock on Natalie’s door, feeling a little nervous myself, but I don’t plan on letting her know this. The girl is nervous enough for both of us. She opens the door and stands there looking lovely as ever in that same damn gorgeous dress she was wearing when I left her earlier.
“Are you ready, beautiful?” I feel the anxiety radiating off of her body.
“Ready as I will ever be,” she says, putting what I assume to be a fake smile on her face.
“It’s going to be fine. My mom is very excited to meet you, and I won’t leave your side. I promise.” I kiss her on her forehead and take her hand in mine, intertwining our fingers.
When we walk out of the lobby entrance, I see my mom standing outside the car, leaning back against the door. I start to say, “Mom, this is—” but my mom cuts me off.
“Oh, Natalie, it is so nice to finally be properly introduced to you!” She wraps Natalie in a giant bear hug. “I couldn’t wait for Nate to finish with the tour. He was taking forever!”
“Jeez, mom,” I interject, but she ignores me as she fawns over Natalie.
“Mrs. Thomas, it is so nice to meet you,” Natalie replies with a radiant smile.
Seeing the two most important women in my life looking so at ease with each other is really pulling on my heartstrings.
“Oh please, just call me Linda,” my mom says. “And what a gorgeous dress!”
“Oh, thank you,” Natalie politely responds as her cheeks turn the lightest shade of pink.
“Ok, well, we should probably get going,” I say, sliding into the driver’s seat.
Natalie sits in the back with Nick, and I hear them say hi to each other while my mom gets into the passenger seat. When we arrive at the restaurant in the North End, I give my keys to the valet service so that we don’t have to deal with finding a place to park in the city. The restaurant is pretty busy, but I had made a reservation, so we are seated promptly at a big booth in the corner of the main dining room, giving us plenty of privacy. Natalie takes a seat on one side, and I slide in beside her. My brother and mom sit opposite us.
“This place is really nice,” Natalie says, scanning the menu in front of her. Then she looks up at me and smiles, and I can see that all previous doubts have vanished from her mind.
The young waiter comes over to introduce himself, and he pours us each a glass of water then leaves to give us a moment with the menus.
“So, Nate, how are your classes going?” my mom asks.
“They’re going pretty well. A lot of my credits were transferred over from my other school, so I’m still on track to graduate on time.”
“Well, I’m very glad to hear that, and Mark told me that Tom is very pleased with your work at the club. He says he’s never had anyone work as hard as you,” she adds, quickly looking down at her menu.
“Yeah, I’ve enjoyed working at …” but a thought disrupts me. “Wait, when did you see Mark?” I look over at Nick. He brings his menu up high to cover his face.
Why do I feel like I’m missing something here?
Without looking away from her menu, my mom responds, “Oh, you know, here and there, I suppose.” She brings her attention over to Natalie. “And Natalie, how are your classes going, dear?”
Natalie looks like she is about to answer her when I cut in. “Sorry, but what does ‘here and there’ mean?” I look over to Nick for support, but he hasn’t moved a single muscle this whole time and continues to hide behind his menu.
“Well, Nate, if you must know, Mark and I have been spending time together. He enjoys my company, and I enjoy his. We have a lot in common, and to be honest, I don’t feel like I need to explain myself when I am your mother.” My mouth falls open in shock, but my mom doesn’t notice since every word she spoke was said to the menu in front of her and not to me.
Mark?
The same Mark who gave me my first job. The guy who did everything he could to find me a job in Boston so that I would be able to continue working while attending school. And the same guy who has, for several years, played the part of the father figure I had been missing and needing in my life.
Looking across the table at the woman in front of me, knowing the turmoil she’s gone through in life, I realize how significant this moment is.
“Mom.” I reach my hand across the table and gently place it on top of her shaking one. “I’m happy for you, really.”
She finally looks up at me. “You are?”
