Page 48 of Four Weddings to Fall in Love
Max:Anything you don’t eat so I can plan the menu?
Me.Olives.Grapefruit.Brussels sprouts.
Max:Noted.
Me:I’ll bring dessert.
Me:In case you were wondering, that wasn’t a euphemism.
Max:I didn’t assume it was.
I imagine him saying that with a very straight face and suppress a laugh.
Iris looks up from her bowl.“You have to tell me more about this guy.”
“One day,” I say.“Maybe.I hope.”
Monday evening, I’m wondering what I should eat for dinner and how many more days I can put off grocery shopping when my phone rings.I’m not surprised to see it’s my mother.
“Hi.”I plop down on my couch.
“Kim!How did it go on Saturday night?”she asks.
“At the wedding?You were there the whole time.No need to ask.”
“Aiyah!You know what I mean.”
Of course I do.I just can’t resist being smart with my mother on occasion.I should resist such temptations, but I don’t.
“I got home safely,” I say.
My mom sighs in frustration.“Did you invite him in?”
“For coffee?For a nightcap?”
“What’s a nightcap?”
“Look, he dropped me off, that’s all.”
Did my motherwantme to invite him in and sleep with him?Is she that keen to have Max as a son-in-law?Or is she worried that if I sleep with him too early, he won’t think I’m marriage material?
I figure it’s best I don’t know, so I change the topic.“Did Freddie get to the airport okay?”
“Traffic was bad, but we got him there.”Mom sniffs.“I can’t believe he lives so far away.He said his girlfriend is from Waterloo, so maybe they’ll move back here one day?”
“Right.”I’m sure that’ll happen.Freddie and his non-existent girlfriend.
“He won’t let us talk to her on the phone,” Mom says, “but maybe she can talk to you, and you can report back.”
“Uh, okay.I’ll ask.”
“Are you seeing Max again?”she inquires, smoothly moving the conversation back to my romantic life.
“I don’t know.”My goal is to provide as little information as possible for now.
“Did you at least get his number?”She sounds exasperated.“Or give him yours?”
“I have his number.”If I said no, she might ask Gladys to procure his number for me, and I don’t want to make this any more complicated than it needs to be.
