Page 158 of Let's Kiss and Tell

“Hey,” he says, “what are you doing here?”

“Just figured I’d visit,” I say as we quickly put our cheeks against each other for what would otherwise be a kiss. “Where are you going?”

“I’ve got to bring the car to the shop. It’s been making this weird noise when I go over eighty.”

“Where’s Mom?” I ask.

“Upstairs,” he answers while putting his shoes on. “You staying for dinner?”

“Yeah.” I nod.

“Okay, I’ll make short ribs. That sound good?”

“That’s great.”

“All right.” He heads toward the garage door. This is usually the extent of our conversations anyway. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

I make my way upstairs and see my mom folding laundry at the foot of her bed like she’s done since I was a little girl.

“Hey, Mom.” I enter, taking a seat on the beige accent chair in the corner of the room.

“Hi, Luce.” She’s happy but not necessarily surprised to see me. I still have a house key, and though it’s rare, I sometimes pop in unexpectedly. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming over?”

“I was running some errands. It was more of a last-minute thing,” I say. “What are you up to?”

“We’re talking about going on another cruise.”

“Again?” I make a tired face. “I swear you go every two months.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“I mean, nothing, I guess. Good for you guys.”

“We found a great deal for a Mediterranean cruise.” My mom continues folding. “You and your boyfriend should come!”

“Oh.” I shift in my seat. “Marsh isn’t my boyfriend.”

“What?” My mom finally looks up. “What happened? He was so smart, and so handsome…and so tall! Why?”

“Because it just didn’t work out, that’s all,” I say as dismissively as I can.

“I really liked him, though,” my mom continues, taking no social cues. “Yourdadreally liked him.”

“Dad?” I scoff. “He didn’t even talk to him.”

“That’s what he said on the drive home.”

My dad really is a man of few words. I should know by now that even though he doesn’t engage in a lot of conversation, he watches from afar. He never even mentioned Marsh the last time we spoke, but when it comes to my dad the old adage is true: No news is good news.

“Huh,” I say. “Well, it doesn’t matter now. That’s all over.”

“Did you know Janelle is dating a doctor?”

“Yep,” I say. My mother has told me twice already that my cousin is in a relationship with someone in the medical field. “You told me.”

“You know we were talking about this in Hawaii. We’re curious who you’ll end up with.” My mom goes back to folding.

“What if I end up with nobody?” I challenge her, feeling a bit testy today.