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“Of course she was. How was shift?”
“Fine. Busy. You can definitely tell the kids are out of school for the summer. Lots of accidents.”
Mom pulls out a pitcher of lemonade and two glasses. “Oh no. I hope nothing too serious.”
“Not on my shift, thankfully.” I decide to change the subject because kids getting hurt, or worse, isn’t a pleasant subject. “What have you been up to?”
She hands me a glass of lemonade and we sit down at the dining room table. “Well, Max and I went to the movies the other day and saw Top Gun two.”
“How was it?”
“It was good. You’ll like it. Then Max and I went dancing at the American Legions Hall last night.” My mother blushes.
“And?” I’m sure I don’t want to hear this, but I’m obligated to ask. She is my mother.
“And we had fun.” She plays with an imaginary piece of lint on the table.
I can tell she wants to tell me more, so I goad her. “And. What aren’t you telling me, Mom?”
She looks up at me and there’s a twinkle in her eyes that I haven’t seen in over twenty-five years. Since my father died. “I really like him, Hudson. He treats me well. We have a lot of the same interests, and he makes me laugh.”
My heart warms in a way that I didn’t expect. She looks happy. “Mom, this is a good thing, right?”
“Yes. Yes, it is.”
“Then why do you look so nervous?”
She gets up and goes into the kitchen and brings back a hand towel. “I don’t know. It’s just you and your father…” She pauses.
“Are you afraid I’m going to be hurt? Because we’ve talked about this and as long as you’re happy and he treats you well, I’m good with it.”
“How about you and him meet? For dinner. You’re on shift again on Monday, right?”
I nod.
“Great. I’ll make dinner Tuesday and you and Max will get to know each other.” She’s so hopeful. How could I ever say no?
“Of course. Sounds great.”
She claps her hands and runs back into the kitchen and comes back with a notepad and a pen. “This is going to be so great. I’ll make my lasagna, and you and Max can get to know each other.” She repeats as she jots down a list of ingredients she’s going to need from the grocery store.
“Mom. I have some news, too.” I suppose it’s confession time.
She puts the pen down and gives me her full attention. “Go on.” She’s always been good with that. Whenever I wanted to talk or tell her something, she always gave me her full attention.
“I’ve met someone. Her name is Kate, and she’s amazing.”
“Is this the girl you went to be with last weekend? On Father’s Day?”
I nod, “Yeah. That was an anniversary of sorts for her. Her parents died in a fire when she was just a little girl. Last week was the twentieth anniversary of the fire.”
“Oh dear. How horrible.”
“Yeah. So, I stayed with her, so she wasn’t alone.”
“How did I get so lucky to have such an amazing son?”
I can feel myself blush, so I continue. “Anyway, Kate and I went out on a date the other day for lunch, which then turned into running errands together. Tonight, I’m making her dinner.” I look up at the kitchen clock, but I still have time.
