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“I was just showing Andrew Great Grandpa’s old World War 2 Rifle.” He tells us proudly.
“It’s actually pretty cool,” Andrew says, without moving his eyes from the piece. “It’s in amazing shape for how old it is.”
“Well, I’m glad you guys had this moment together.” I say with a laugh as Andrew moves towards me. We follow my parents towards the kitchen. “Wait until you see this spread.” I whisper to him.
We enter the kitchen, and his eyes widen. “How many more people are coming?” He mutters to me.
“I hope you brought your appetite!” Mom sings as she circles into the room.
“And an additional army to feed, too.” I say.
* * *
“So,” says Mom, passing a bowl of barbecue sauce across the table. “How was jail last night?”
I shoot her an empty stare while Andrew throws his head back into a laugh. I want to be annoyed, but I’m glad she has a sense of humor about it now. She sure didn’t this morning.
“Mom, I’m telling you, we just got a ride home from Derek.”
“So now you’re on a first name basis with the police?” She asks, using her fork to move food around on her plate.
“Well, it’s Fawn Creek. It’s kind of hard not to know everyone in town.” I say, taking another bite of potato.
“I’m sorry,” Andrew says, wiping his face and putting his napkin into his lap. “That was my fault. I didn’t want to chance either of us driving, so I called my friend Derek to give us a ride. He was on duty. I didn’t know anyone would see us. It was pretty late.”
“Well, that was so nice of you to protect my daughter.” She says with a smile.
I shoot Mom a look. She gave me a whole lecture this morning about drinking. But, now that it was Andrew’s fault, we are off the hook. Whatever, as long as she isn’t harping on him about it, I should be thankful.
“What do you do, Andrew?” Dad interrupts the jail conversation.
“I own a contracting company.” He says between bites of food.
“How long have you been doing that?” Mom asks.
He thinks for a second. “About five years now. I live near Fort Hood, and I started it as a side gig to help people with odd jobs. Mostly, I helped wives when their husbands were deployed with things around the house. I also did some jobs to help people get their houses listed before they moved duty stations.” He takes a drink of his tea. “Eventually, I took on enough work that I could quit my full-time job and work for myself full time. I wanted to set my own schedule because Grandpa wasn’t doing well. Because of that, I could run home every other weekend to spend time with him.” He pauses. “Grandpa didn’t make it long, but I’m glad I got to spend time with him while I could. He raised my brother and I, so I just felt like I owed him.”
“That’s really sweet, and I’m glad you got that time with him, too.” Mom says with a soft smile. “So, do you still live in Texas?”
“Actually, my brother and I just bought some land right outside of town.” He turns to smile at me. “We are each planning to build our houses on the land and then use the rest of the acreage to raise cattle. I also bought a building downtown that I’ll be renovating and renting out commercially.”
I brace myself for him to drop the bomb about my bookstore, but he doesn’t. I smile to myself, grateful that he will let me tell them when the time is right.
Mom nods approvingly and shoots me a smile before she goes back to eating her dinner. I can’t remember there ever being a boyfriend or even a potential boyfriend that she approved of. This is fresh territory and I have to admit, I’m enjoying it.
After dinner, back in the kitchen, Mom and I work on cleaning up. She busily fills up plastic containers full of leftovers for me while I rinse dishes and load the dishwasher.
“Thanks for taking some of this home. We can’t possibly eat all of this.” She says, stacking them in a paper grocery sack.
Of course you couldn’t, Mom, no one could. I think to myself.
“I appreciate it. Thanks to you, I won’t need to cook for a week.” I pause thoughtfully. “Well, what do you think of Andrew?” I ask, bracing myself for whatever will come out of her mouth.
“I love him.” Mom whispers into my hair as she pulls me into a hug.
“Really?” I ask, half shocked. I can’t recall a time that my parents have ever approved of one of my boyfriends.
“Yes! He’s so polite and kind. He’s obviously a hard worker, and he is handy, which will make your whole life so much easier. Plus, he lives here. That means that you’ll stay here too.” She beams at me.
