Page 88 of Studious
“That’s me,” he says with a smile. I’m so proud of how comfortable he seems around her. I’m the one who’s nervous, and that’s totally weird.
We step inside the house, which smells delicious. Mom offers Alden something to drink, and we all stand in the kitchen while she fusses with the tortilla press.
“You make these?” Alden asks in wonder.
She smiles. “They’re better when they are fresh.”
“Wow,” he whispers.
“Tell me about yourself,” she says. “How did you meet my Danny? Are you a lawyer, too?”
Alden tells her how he works at the firm but is a bookkeeper, not a lawyer.
“We always knew Danny was going to be a lawyer. He was arguing before he could talk.”
“Mom, that’s impossible.”
“I could show you proof.” She sets down a bowl and goes into the bedroom, then returns moments later with a photo album.
I groan. “No. Mom!” She swats my hand away and opens the book. There’s a photo of me naked, sitting in the mud. “Great.”
Alden chuckles. “You’re cute. I’m astonished my mom hasn’t pulled out the baby pictures yet.”
“Oh, I’m going to ask her,” I threaten.
“I was awkward then and am awkward now.”
“You’re way more confident these days.” I kiss the top of his head and then realize my mother is watching. Her eyes are wide and happy. Oh well. Bringing him here feels like it means something.
Mom flips through the book until she finds a photo of me at about ten months old, standing up, insisting on holding a toy. “See? You were arguing, even without words.”
I purse my lips. “What can I say?”
We offer to help Mom make dinner, but she shoos us to the living room, where we look through the old photos. When we come across some of my dad, Alden asks softly if that’s who he is.
“Yeah. I don’t really remember him.”
“He was a good husband,” my mom calls. “Although he let you eat mud, and I told him off for it.”
“Mom!”
Her wistful expression makes me forgive her for any mortification she’s causing.
And as I look at her, I realize her experience has affected my attitude toward love my entire life. Maybe more than Brian, even though he’s the one I always blamed. Because she loved my dad with her whole heart and lost him.
I glance at Alden. Is he worth the risk of pain? While the answer frightens me, I’m pretty sure I know what it is.
Mom interrupts my thoughts by calling, “Let’s eat!”
We all gather at the table, and Alden takes healthy portions of everything. That makes me happy, because I know my mom likes to feed people and she likes to see guests enjoying their food. But we don’t make it far into the meal before she’s back to making me feel like I’m fifteen.
“Alden, do you know how Danny came out to me?”
I scrub my face. “So we’re doing all the old stories. Okay.”
Alden gives me a gentle look. “I’m loving this, actually. Most of the time, I’m the only one who gets embarrassed.”
“Not by a long shot.” I sigh. “Continue,” I tell my mom, then take a bite of my taco, knowing where this is going.
