Page 68 of Intermission

I’m selling it too hard.Shut up, Faith!

Mom tilts her head. “How old is this boy?”

“Nineteen.”

“He’s a freshman, then? At the... community college?”

“Uh...” I squirm. “No. He graduated with Gretchen.”

Mom makes a sound caught somewhere between a gasp and a grunt. “He was inGretchen’sclass?”

I nod.

“Are you hearing this, Joseph?”

“Mm-hmm . . .”

She turns her gaze on Ryan. “And you encouraged this? Did you know how old this Noah Spencer was when you agreed to take him on an overnight trip with your baby sister?”

“Yes, I did. That’s why I wanted to meet him. But he’s a good guy. They’re really cute together.”

“Cute?” The word clicks with a cold, staccatoT. “Cute? My little girl is dating a college sophomore, and you think it’scute?”

Blood pounds at my temples, thrusting heat through my skin. “I’m not a little girl anymore, Mom. I’m almost seventeen.”

“Your birthday isn’t until October. You arenot‘almost seventeen.’” Mom turns her gaze on Ryan again. “Tell me, Ryan. What reasons might a twenty-year-old man have for chasing after a young girl like Faith?”

“He’s nineteen,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Well, he can’t be nineteen for much longer if he graduated with Gretchen. She’s been twenty for several months now.”

“Noahisstill nineteen, right?” Ryan asks me, frowning. I don’t think he cares, but he is a stickler for having his facts straight.

I nod. “Until almost the middle of September.”

“There you have it. Noah is still nineteen for several months. If you’re going to nitpick Faith’s age, Mom, you have to nitpick his age the same direction.”

After nearly ten years out from under our parents’ roof, Ryan isn’t as easily cowed by Mom’s intimidation tactics as I am.

He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. “Believe me, Mom. Dad. Noah Spencer is a solid guy. I really don’t think you need to worry about him.”

A vein twitches in Mom’s neck. Her lips press together as she pulls off her reading glasses. “Nineteen is still too old for Faith. End of discussion.”

“He’s a nice kid, Mom,” Ryan repeats. “I’ll vouch for him. Heck, I’ll vouch for both of them. Faith’s a pretty dang good kid, too.”

Ryan is the best. The. Best.

“I said,end of discussion.” Mom puts her glasses back on and picks up the magazine. “Faith, you are not to date this Noah character. Period.”

“You haven’t even met him!”

“And there is no reason for me to meet him since you are not going to be dating him.”

My chest squeezes as if my heart has collapsed in on itself. Even so, I hate the whine in my voice when I plead my case to my father. “Dad? Come on. If you’d just meet him, talk to him, you’d see that Noah is a—”

“You heard your mother.”

“Now,” Mom re-opens her magazine, “I intend to put this behind me and enjoy the rest of a rare afternoon with my son and his future wife.” Her words are clipped. “Faith, I think you could benefit from some time alone in your room. I knowIcould benefit from you having some time alone in your room. Go.”