Page 96 of Come to Me

She takes a seat next to me, pressing her legs against mine. Our eyes connect again, but I can't place her expression.

I turn back to Barbara. "Wasn't Alyssa wonderful?"

"Oh, yes." Barbara nods and sips her drink.

This is her fourth glass of wine.

"How was your trip, Mom?" Alyssa asks. She turns her gaze to her menu, somehow lost in the description of a salad entree.

"Fine," Barbara responds.

"And you enjoyed the play?"

"You know I'm not a theater person, Alyssa."

Then why the hell did she even come?

"We don't need to have this conversation," Alyssa mutters. She buries her head further in her menu. Presses her fingertips flat against the pages.

There's a long silence. Apparently, these two have absolutely nothing to say to each other.

It's broken by a grinning server. "Oh my God, you're Alyssa Summers, aren't you?"

Alyssa looks up from the menu, clearly exhausted. "Yeah."

"I love your show. It's so funny. My roommate and I watch it together every week!"

That gets Alyssa to smile. It's a real smile, and it brightens the whole damn room. "Thank you. That's very kind of you to say."

The server squeals, clearly beside herself with excitement. "Sorry. I shouldn't ask for an autograph."

Alyssa laughs. Under the table, she squeezes my hand. Her fingers are so soft and warm.

"I'll see what I can do," Alyssa says. "But, until then, how about tequila on the rocks? A double. And a wedge of lime if it's not too much trouble."

"No, not at all." She almost jumps up and down as she looks at me. She clearly wants to say something, but she doesn't. "Are you guys ready to order your food as well?"

"Mom? Do you want to go first?"

The server nearly drops her notepad, but she manages to keep it together long enough to write down all our orders and collect our menus. More drinks all around, especially for Mom.

Alyssa turns to me, squeezing my hand tighter. "You think she'll freak if I offer to leave tickets and a signed playbill at will call?"

"She might faint."

Alyssa smiles. "I'm going to say she's barely eighteen. God damn, I would have been just as excited to see... whoever the me equivalent was."

Barbara clears her throat. "I hope that young lady is in school."

Alyssa doesn't reply. I guess she knows better.

"She has a long time to figure out what she wants," I say. I run my fingers over Alyssa's hand to feel for her engagement ring. It's there. More of that weight lifts off my chest. Everything will be okay.

"Well, I hope she's using contraception."

"Mom!"

"She's not going to figure out what she wants if she gets knocked up."