Page 25 of A Layperry's Heart
“As you say.”
We walk into the kitchen where Mama is taking a tray of enchiladas out of the oven where she was keeping them warm. Half of them are covered in her homemade red sauce and the other half are covered in her green sauce. My mouth immediately begins to water with anticipation. It’s been too long since I’ve had Mama’s cooking and I tell myself I’ll be better about coming here to visit; especially if I only have so much time to do that before…
“Sit down, sit down,” Mama says, pulling me from my thoughts. Gendry and I sit beside each other at the little round table. Mama carefully sets the tray down before pulling out three plates for us. Then she sets down forks for everyone.
Enchiladas with a side of beans and rice. She even has a container of sour cream for me, knowing I love adding that to my beans and rice. My heart aches as I think about leaving her behind. I might have gained a partner but I’m worried about losing my family.
I haven’t even made a definitive decision yet and already I’m mourning things. I need to get a grip. Maybe I’ll sit down and talk to Mama about it, see what she thinks before I decide anything.
“What are you waiting for, mijo? Dig in,” Mama says, passing me the spatula so I can serve myself.
“Sorry, Mama. My head is in the clouds,” I say with a chuckle.
Her eyes dart between myself and Gendry. “I see that.”
I place two enchiladas onto Gendry’s plate, one with red sauce and one with green. Then I grab myself two as well. I take the translator from my ear and hand it to Mama.
“Put this in your ear. It’ll make it so you and Gendry can speak and get to know each other.”
Mama looks skeptical but she takes the translator from me and places it into her ear. As she serves herself, she looks to Gendry expectantly. He takes a giant mouthful of enchilada and grins. It makes him look like a chipmunk with a cheekful of nuts and it further proves how far gone I am about him because I find the gesture ridiculously adorable.
Gendry quickly swallows. He speaks to Mama, his words deep and guttural. It’s been a long time since I’ve been unable to understand him. His words flow over me and despite the fact that I don’t know for certain what he’s saying, I can tell he’s happy based on the tones of his voice. I’m embarrassed to admit that it’s also making me kinda horny to hear him speak his native tongue like this.
Mama’s eyes widen as the translation device does its job, allowing her to understand him. She turns towards me.
“Do you also have one?”
I shake my head. “Just the one. I have no idea what he’s saying right now. Hopefully only good things.”
Now there’s a twinkle in her eyes and I’m not sure I like where this is going.
“Tell me,” she starts, getting a little smile on her lips. “What are your intentions with my boy?”
“Mama!” I say, letting out an embarrassed groan. “Don’t ask him that! He’s very honest and he’ll actually tell you anything you ask him.”
“Well, I’d like to know. Is he here to stay? Is he stowing you away in the trunk of his spaceship and taking you away from me? These are things mothers should know, mijo!”
Gendry begins to speak and his eyebrows tell me he’s actually explaining everything to her in a very serious matter. Gendry knows when to be silly but when it comes to matters of the heart, he’s always very straightforward and serious. It’s one of the many things I adore about him. I just wish he wasn’t spilling his heart out to my mother on the first meeting.
Although, based on the look on her face, maybe Gendry always wearing his heart on his sleeve isn’t such a bad thing after all.
“Thank you for your honesty,” Mama says with a nod. She takes a bite of her food, chewing slowly. I dig into my own food as well, wanting to keep busy so my heart doesn’t explode from panic.
“Has he told you all our secrets?” Gendry snorts, shaking his head. “Okay, that’s good at least.”
“He said he cares about you a great deal but despite all the affection he has for you, he would never ask you to leave me behind to fend for myself. He says family is very important.”
“Oh,” is all I can manage to say. “That’s umm, that’s good.”
“Anything you’d like to add?”
I turn towards my mother. Clearing my throat I say, “I care about him a great deal as well, Mama. This is like nothing I’ve felt before.”
My mother reaches over to me, taking my hand in her own. “Long ago I’ve accepted that the future I saw for you was not the same future you would achieve. I wanted you to marry a beautiful woman but then you came out to me as gay. I wanted you to be a lawyer but then you told me, quite fiercely, that your passion was hair. I wanted you to marry a rich man,” she says, her eyes darting over to Gendry. “But now you’ve brought home an alien.” Mama finally gives me a grin. “What am I going to do with you, mijo?”
“Keep doing what you’ve always done.”
“Love you until you eventually ship me to a nursing home,” she says, nodding her head. Gendry asks something and Mama giggles. “A nursing home is a place where nurses are available around the clock to take care of people who have a hard time taking care of themselves.”
