Page 98 of Some Things Never Change

He shrugged, his gaze dropping to our intertwined fingers. Then he looked back up at me and leaned closer into me. "Because they’re just dreams and I'd rather live in the present, conscious moment with you.”

He kissed me as my heart hammered against his chest. “Let’s finish these bouquets for our moms.”

I chuckled. “You mean, let me watch you finish these bouquets for our moms?”

“As long as you give me kisses for my hard work, then I don’t mind.”

“When you’re this sexy arranging flowers? Of course. You’re such a sucker for me, doing all the hard work and all.”

He beamed his beautiful smile at me. “For you, always, Tink.”

Chapter

Forty-Two

The one thing I knew would make my mom the happiest for Mother’s Day was to tell her I was in a relationship. It wasn’t the flowers or the spa appointments I set up for her and her best friend or even how I was helping her pay off her mortgage that reflected how grateful I was as her daughter. No, none of that mattered.

What would make her happiest right now with her raging grandchildren fever was the prospect of me possibly giving her not just one, but a few grandchildren one day with a great son-in-law. Neither Andy nor I were ready for marriage or children, but I just knew my mom’s mind would go there. So would Auntie Gao’s. Those two often egged one another and I wouldn’t doubt their creative imagination would come to play here, either.

“Hi, everyone!” I said, after Anthony opened the door to the Hughes’ home for me.

Both he and Uncle Gary helped me with the bouquets and vases we brought for my mom and Auntie Gao and put them on the coffee table. Judging by all the chattering throughout the house, everyone was here at the Hughes’ home as I asked them to be.

I told Shoua I wanted to introduce all of them to my ‘boyfriend.’ The smell of food and excitement wafted in the morning air as Auntie Gao, Shoua, my mom, and Jonathan stepped out of the kitchen. We made sure that both Auntie Gao and my mom never cooked for Mother’s Day, so I was certain Uncle Gary ordered catering for brunch. Right at once, everyone started talking to me as if I had two extra pairs of ears.

“So, where’s this boyfriend of yours?” immediately demanded Jonathan. “He’s probably not even real, huh?”

“Is it just you and your boyfriend that drove over today? Andy didn’t mention anything about not coming with you two,” said Auntie Gao, a little worried.

I felt a little guilty that we didn't give our families any more details other than ‘I’m going to bring home a guy I’m serious about.’

“Where did you meet him? At work?” asked my mom.

“How long have you been seeing this guy? You never even mentioned anything much about him to me,” said Shoua. She narrowed her eyes at me, questioning if I was telling her the truth.

“Where’s your boyfriend, Julie?” asked Anthony curiously. “I thought he was coming with you two.” He must have seen Andy grabbing our things from the trunk from the front door.

“Julie, how long have you two been seeing one another? Is he treating you well?” asked Uncle Gary with a soft smile.

I began to feel so overwhelmed by the onslaught of their questions that I took a step back from them. I gave them a weak smile as I was about to try to answer their questions one by one when my boyfriend came through the door.

“Hey, everyone!” said Andy from the door with our bags in hand.

His loud, clear voice cut right through all their questions as they all turned to him. All their faces twisted in confusion as he closed the door behind him.

“Where’s Julie’s boyfriend?” asked Shoua puzzled.

“Yeah, isn’t he supposed to come with you two?” asked Anthony.

No one was catching on that we were together despite the fact we were the only two that arrived. Although I told them I was going to introduce them to my new partner, I never told them there was another person aside from Andy and me in the car.

“He’s me.” Andy smiled at his brother. “I’m Julie’s boyfriend.”

Anthony and Shoua’s confusion morphed into smiles. They started to laugh as our parents gave us disappointed looks. They clearly thought we were both playing a joke on them. Andy and I shared a glance as he placed our bags by the door. They weren’t listening to us.

“Andy, stop joking around,” said Shoua. “We’re being serious.”

“I am telling the truth!” He laughed, and I smiled.

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