AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And I may never run out of tampons and pads again until I hit menopause.
Somehow, my bed has acquired a new mattress topper. Where there once was the cheapest bedding I could afford, I now have high thread count sheets, plush blankets, and a hoard of matching pillows.
Oh, and one day, Beau up and bought the rental house we’re living in. Is anyone surprised that he nonchalantly left the deed to the house — in my name — on the kitchen table for me to find? I didn’t know whether to throttle him or suck his dick. I decided on the latter that night. This is who he is. He loves big gestures to show me how serious he is about my family. Our family.
And, we’re having family meetings about building out the attic to house a mother in law suite for Jeannette. She’s done with Highland Park. Neither is the old ranch house in the country suitable for Beau’s mom.
Having this man around the house feels lovely when I get home from work. I thought I had enough when it was just me, Micah, and the friends that regularly visit. But Beau makes home feel like a softer place to land.
I still insist we live on a budget. But yesterday, I pretended not to notice when Beau grabbed the credit card bill before I could get to the mail. I'm still trying to figure out how he managed to pay it off without access to my accounts.
The new English teacher has twenty years of prep school experience, so he's working out fine. I probably don't want to know what Beau promised that teacher to convince him to relocate here from Dallas, but I'm not looking that gift horse in the mouth.
Beau's busier than three people with his football schedule alone. But when he's here, he's really here.
Last week was Homecoming, and tonight is a by-week for the team. Micah is with his dad in Tyler for the weekend, and Beau has promised to make the most of this weekend.
Straight after school, Beau drives us to a house in the country.
"Wait," I say, frozen in the passenger seat after he parks at a ranch-style house at the end of a long driveway.
"What's wrong, babe?" Beau squeezes my hand.
"Is this your house? I mean, your granddad's house where you've been staying with your mom?"
"Yeah," he says nonchalantly.
I swallow. "Are you about to introduce me to your mom?"
"Jeannette's been bugging me to introduce you for weeks. This is the first weekend since I started coaching that I'm not chasing my tail, so now's the time."
I look down at my clothes and sigh. "I would have changed," I mutter, retrieving some makeup from my purse. I then pull down the visor mirror and try to freshen my face. "No more surprises like this. A girl needs prep time."
Beau waits patiently, silently, while I apply fresh lipstick.
"Okay," I say, inhaling deeply, then exhaling, giving him a smile. "Ready."
"She's going to love you," he says.
"She's probably wondering who the harlot is who has been keeping her son out all night at least twice a week."
I'm exaggerating, kind of. Beau's been a fixture in our lives, staying long after Micah goes to bed. We stay up late, making out like teenagers most nights. On nights when Micah visits his dad's house in Tyler, Beau will stay over. We can't keep our hands off each other. Or mouths. It's gotten to the point where my body tingles with need at the sound of his footsteps on my front porch or his key in the lock.
I don't know what I was worried about with meeting Beau's mom. She greets me with a hug, and dinner is filled with conversations about mutual acquaintances in Dauterive. Sometimes I forget this town is so small; she knows most of the people I know.
Though I'm stuffed from her delicious fried chicken and potatoes dinner, she shoves a bowl of banana pudding in front of me at the end of the evening.
"I see where Beau gets it from," I tell Jeannette, digging into the scrumptious dessert. "He never stops heaping good things on my little family."
Jeannette smiles knowingly at Beau, but I don't question it. I'm too stuffed to solve the puzzle of what those two are saying to each other silently.
"I raised him right," she says to me.
Oh yeah, I'm going to like this woman. I wish more mothers in the world would own the fact that they did the best they could.
On the drive home, I slouch in the passenger seat and rub my tummy. "Food baby," I moan. "Going to put on comfy leggings when we get home."
Beau laughs. "Glad I packed 'em, then. You can change on the plane."
