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Mittens and Zebra, the two gray striped cats that my parents have, chase each other across the living room, tumbling into one of their famous wrestling matches that they’ve been doing since they were kittens. Mittens swipes Zebra across the nose, and Zeb howls in pain.
“You two are worse than kids. No respect for Jenni’s piano performance.”
When Jenni finishes the song she’s playing, she looks up at me. “Hey, babe.” She gets up and walks up to me, slinging her arms around my shoulders. I try not to stiffen. It’s so strange having her touch me like this, but it’s nice too, which puts me on treacherous ground. I can’t enjoy this too much.
“Wes,” my mom calls to my father. “Look at how adorable they are together.” She claps her hands giddily.
Dad looks at us from over the book he’s reading in his favorite chair by the fireplace. “I see that.” He sets the book down and uncrosses his legs. “Is dinner ready yet?”
“I’ll go check with Lidia.” She heads toward the kitchen.
Jenni and I settle on the love seat across from my dad, and Mittens jumps up to curl up in my lap. “Sausage is going to smell you on me, and it’s going to make him terribly jealous.”
Zebra rubs against Jenni’s legs. “Noodle will be jealous too, but he’ll pretend he doesn’t care.”
Dad smiles at us. “Noodle and Sausage. It sounds like they go together. Maybe it’s a sign.”
I don’t want to think about that. And from the look on Jenni’s face, I can tell she doesn’t either. But then she catches herself and flashes a big smile.
“Oh, Babe! Your dad is so right. It’s definitely a sign.”
Dad eyes the warmth between us. It may be fake, but even I’m starting to buy it. “I’m surprised you two are still dating after Valentine won the race today.”
“I never said I was happy about it.” Which is true.
Jenni only smiles and elbows me playfully. “He forgives me though.”
Do I though?
“He might be a little bit of a sore loser, but our love is strong enough to withstand a little bit of jealousy, isn’t it, Babe?”
She really wants to twist that knife, doesn’t she?
I force a smile that I’m not feeling. “It sure is,” I say through clenched teeth. She’s going to pay for this later. How? I’m not sure yet, but I’ll think of something.
Lidia comes in. “Dinner is ready.”
Dad stands eagerly, setting his book on the table beside him. “Good. I’m starving.”
The dining room still has the original woodwork from the 1800s, with the same table that’s been there all along. Much of the furniture is original to the home and has been restored. The home has been in the Keith family for years and has been passed down from generation to generation.
Jenni takes a seat beside me, and my parents settle in their usual seats with my dad at the head of the table and my mother sitting beside him. My parents have a solid marriage with the kind of love story I’d like to have for myself one day. They’re united and have withstood the stresses of running a worldwide commercial real estate corporation after all these years.
My father offers a blessing on the food, which looks to be roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and a variety of vegetables.
After the prayer, we dig into the food.
“Just think of all these years we’ve had Jenni over to share our dinner with us. I always hoped for a day that she would end up with one of my boys, and here we are.” My mom’s eyes glisten, and she wipes a tear away.
Great. Now my mom’s crying, and I feel terrible for lying to her. I lean over to Jenni to whisper in her ear. But with her this close to me, I can smell the lavender shampoo she’s using, and it’s doing funny things to my insides. “Maybe this is a mistake.”
She looks up at me and whispers back, “It’s a little too late for that now. We’re in this thing.”
“Look at the two of them whispering sweet nothings to each other,” my mom coos to my dad. “Next stop, marriage, and a whole slew of babies.”
Jenni stiffens at her words. It’s slight, but I don’t miss it. Am I that repulsive to her?
“Maybe we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves,” she says.