Page 54 of Scrap Metal & Love Reforged

Seth frowned and wrinkled his nose, pretending to give the matter a lot of thought in his typical overacting way. “On one hand, you’re attractive, artistic, motivated,andintelligent,” Seth said, “and it’s rare to find all of those attributes in the same person. Also, the sex is good, and I appreciate that. On the other hand, your parents have anarmyof garden gnomes.”

He parked behind my mom's green Saturn. “It’s not an army,” I said.

“It’s…” Seth trailed off and looked out the window. “Ten. Twelve. No, fourteen. That’s an army of garden gnomes. Evenonewould be too much, but forgivable. Fourteen, though? I hope they did not hire little people.”

“You’ll know what to buy them for Christmas next year,” I said, opening the passenger door.

Seth heaved an exaggerated sigh. “But at what cost?”

I laughed. “You’re right. I do not know how your pride could possibly recover from purchasing a garden gnome.”

“It would not,” he said gravely.

As we walked up the path together, a dull ache formed in my chest. This was my childhood home, where I had grown up with Skye and Jackson. And I hadn’t seen my parents in so long, much less with a boyfriend beside me. Hopefully, they’d take this well. If not, I’d just ruined Christmas dinner. Maybe I should’ve prepared them or warned them about Seth. Even though I knew that in a perfect world I should never have towarnanyone about my boyfriend, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that I needed to in this case. Maybe I shouldn’t have just sprung this on my parents. Maybe we should’ve come at another time, during a non-holiday dinner.

“Everything will be fine,” Seth said, as if he sensed where my thoughts had gone. “Try not to worry.”

But I knew that was impossible, and I suspected he knew it. We weren’tina perfect world, and we never would be. At best, I could hope for the best and prepare for the worst, and if the worst should happen, at least I could count on Seth for his unwavering support.

With determined cheerfulness, Seth rang the doorbell and stepped back on the porch to wait. We waited, seconds seeming like hours. I scarcely dared to breathe. The door opened to my mother. Her brown-blond hair had turned mostly gray, and new wrinkles traced beneath her eyes and across her forehead. But my mother’s eyes were the same vivid blue. Her smile was just as kind and patient as I remembered.

Her gaze landed on Seth with obvious confusion. Then my mother looked at me and unleashed an earsplitting shriek. She pulled me into an embrace with force more than most people would probably expect from a tiny woman like her. I laughed. “Hey, Mom. Merry Christmas.”

“You made it!” she exclaimed, squeezing me tightly.

“Yeah. It’s good to see you.”

My mom released me abruptly and waved at Seth. “And who is this? Your friend? I thought you were bringing…” She trailed off.

I had saida date. I wondered if she was putting the pieces together and if she had already guessed what Seth’s presence meant.

“I’m his boyfriend,” Seth said, flashing his most charming smile. “And you must be Troy’s beautiful mother. I love your garden gnomes. They really bring some character to the place.”

“Boyfriend,” my mom repeated.

If she hadn’t gotten it before, she definitely did now. “Eight months and counting,” I said.

“Well, I was not expecting this,” she said, “but come in, come in!”

I entered first, smiling at the banisters wrapped in faux holly and pine. The house smelled of vanilla and cinnamon, part cookies baking and part Bath and Body Works room spray. As Seth came behind me, his hand brushed the back of my arm. A shiver traced the length of my spine, and when I glanced back at him, he smiled encouragingly.

I wasn’t alone in this, and I never would be again.

We walked into the living room, where my father sat on the sofa.It’s a Wonderful Lifeplayed on the TV. Watching that was an annual Christmas tradition, and at this point, I was fairly sure that my father could recite the whole film word for word. “There’s my boy!” my dad exclaimed, clambering out of his chair.

My father was a huge man, built like a tree, and always had been. His brown hair was flecked with white; that was new. A dull throbbing spread through my chest. I’d missed so much in an attempt to outrun Jackson’s death and my parents’ concern.

“And this is Seth,” my mom said, “Troy’s boyfriend.”

My dad paused, looking dumbstruck. “Boyfriend?”

I nodded. “I—um—it’s a long story.”

“I’ll say!” Dad exclaimed. “I didn’t even know you were into guys. When did that happen?”

This would be harder. “Since high school,” I admitted.

“And you never told us?” my dad asked.