Page 25 of Four Letter Feelings

Chapter 10

The first few weeks of school passed in a haze of hockey practice, beer and lectures. Before he knew it, he was sitting on a plane bound for Canada. He still hadn’t heard from Chelsea, and the two dates he’d been on with Adrianne had both been less than stellar. He wasn’t even sure why he had committed to a second date, she was nice and they got along well, but that was as far as it went. That wasn’t to say he hadn’t gotten laid, but his mind was still preoccupied with the melodic laugh and hour-glass curves belonging to the beautiful woman from Iowa. He couldn’t quite figure out why she hadn’t called. As far as he was concerned their kiss was more than enough to warrant a call-back, and the fact that it still bothered him, also bothered him. He didn’t get bent out of shape like this over a woman. It was completely out of character for him and try as he might to put her out of his mind, she just wouldn’t leave.

Vanilla beans and clementines.

***

Standing outside his childhood home Jeremy hesitated. Part of him was looking forward to spending a few days with his parents, but another part was anxious that he’d get back into the vicious cycle of arguments with his dad over his disappointing life choices.

“You’ll catch cold if you stand out there too long, Jeremy!” his mother warned from behind the door.

“How do you even know I’m out here, Mom?”

“Moms know everything. Get your butt in here, Dad’s cooking pancakes.”

“But it’s noon,” he said, as he pushed the door open.

“Yes, but it’s your favorite. You’ve been gone for a long time, Jer. We’re having ‘prodigal son has returned’ pancakes to celebrate.”

“You realize I’m only here for the holiday, right?” he asked suspiciously, as he stepped into the house motioning for AJ to follow.

“Well, yes. Of course I know you’re only here 'til Tuesday. That doesn’t make it any less of a celebration. C’mere and let me look at you!” She stepped out of the living room into the hall and pulled her son into a hug.

“Mom. You saw me a few weeks ago!”

“Yes, in passing,” she answered, stepping back from him. “Oh! You brought company!”

“Uh. Yeah. Mom, this is AJ. AJ, this is my mom, Laurel.”

“Well of course it’s AJ, how lovely to meet you!” she exclaimed enthusiastically, extending her hand.

“I’m sorry for the intrusion, Mrs. Lewis. Jer said you were cool with me tagging along for the weekend. We don’t have any training and I’m caught up with everything else and it’s been so long since I’ve been up north … I can totally grab a hotel room in town… I—”

“Dude. Stop. You can totally stay here, right Mom?”

He suddenly felt like a seven-year-old kid again, asking his mom if his friend could stay for dinner, or if he could go across the street for a sleepover.

“Sure, Jer. Like she can say no standing there in front of me, in this awkwardness, right now.”

“He’s right, AJ. You’re always welcome here, of course. I just wasn’t expecting you… I guess it just slipped your mind, Jeremy.” Her tone carried a slight sharp edge that Jeremy was sure was obvious enough for AJ to pick up on. “Come in out of the doorway, AJ, let’s get you boys settled in and we can all have pancakes.”

“It’s ok, Mrs. Lewis. I can head into town and make myself busy so you guys can hang out together.” Jeremy glared at him with a definite, ‘don’t you dare leave’ vibe. “I don’t want to impose on you, or get underfoot, especially since you didn’t know I was even coming.” He returned Jeremy’s glare and Jeremy instantly felt a pang of guilt for not having been more honest with his friend.

“I insist, AJ. Come in, drop your bag in the guest room and join us in the dining room for pancakes, I’ll just let Tom know we’ll be needing another stack.” She smiled a warm and genuine smile, seemingly over the fact that Jeremy had neglected to tell her he was bringing a guest and just happy that her son was there at all.

“C’mon. Let’s dump our bags upstairs before we eat.”

“Is the guest room next to your room? I need to know where you’re sleeping so I can murder you during the night for not telling your freakin’ mom that I was coming with you,” he hissed.

“That’s our Jeremy, acting before thinking. Right Jer?” Tom appeared in the hallway.

“Dad, please don’t start. I just got here.”

“Is that why you brought your friend with you? As some kind of wall to hide behind so we don’t have to face the difficult discussions?”

Jeremy stayed silent, deciding it was better than being confrontational right off the bat, but he couldn’t work out why his dad had to be such a monumental A-hole right from the minute he crossed the threshold.

At least let me unpack before you break out the asshole, Dad.

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