Page 195 of Till Summer Do Us Part
“Yeah,” I answer. His ball goes off to the right, so I step up to the tee and get in position.
“What have the last two weeks been like?”
“Well, still reeling over the scandal of you not being a real therapist.”
He rolls his eyes. “Grow up.”
“Grow up?” I chuckle. “Dude, you’re selling a scam.”
“And yet, you’re still here.”
I let out a heavy huff. “Yeah, I know, something might be wrong with me.”
“Nah, you’ve just been swooped up by the Sanders Effect, trademark.”
“You really have issues.”
“Am I the one with the issues, or are you?” He lifts his brow, causing me to laugh.
I think I’m the one with the issues.
“So once again, how have the last two weeks been?”
Moving on with the change of subject, I glance up at him, a smirk on my face.
“Ah.” He nods. “No need to say more. I can see from the look on your face that it’s been good.”
“Really fucking good,” I say. “I’ve stayed at her place almost every night. I’ve taken her to mine a few, made her dinners. We joined a pinochle league, and we are fucking terrible.”
Sanders chuckles.
“But we’re learning, and that’s all that matters. We’re still doing our cooking class and killing it. I’ve brought her flowers at work, and honestly, I’ve had the best fucking time. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy. At least not for a really long time.”
I felt immense pride when my app sold. It was an incredible experience. But this feeling? Feeling so connected to a woman that dreams are made of? Nothing could ever surpass that. She’s simply it for me, and there’s both joy and relief in feeling that.
I putt the ball and miss terribly, pushing it to the left.
Sanders retrieves our balls as he says, “How is Mika?”
“Doing well. We, uh, we had brunch with our mom the other day. It was at a restaurant, and I gave Mika an escape route if things got too heavy. He wound up staying through the entire thing, which I was proud of, but fuck was it awkward at first.”
Sanders chuckles. “That’s how it usually goes. How did it end?”
“Good. I gave Mom a hug, and Mika stood his distance and waved. But we promised to do it again in a few weeks.”
“That’s progress,” Sanders says.
“Little progress, but I was happy about it.”
“When do you think you’ll introduce your mom to Scottie?” He sets down his golf ball and gets into position.
“Uh, probably not for a little while and not before Mika and Mom have a better understanding of each other. I don’t want to make Mika feel pressured to make amends because Mom met Scottie.”
“That’s really considerate,” Sanders says, hitting his ball off the lip of the cup. He snaps his finger in disappointment. “Does Scottie know that?”
“Yes,” I say. “I’m very open and honest with her about everything.”
“Good. I’m sure she appreciates it.”
