Page 27 of The Fadeaway
“Lunch.”
“Are we going to hunt rattlesnakes and mountain lions?” I laugh awkwardly as I clutch my purse like a lifeline in my lap. Not sure about cell reception out here, but maybe I can get a text to go through. I have no idea who I’d call in my hour of need. That’s a shitty realization.
“Not today, Kitty, not today.”
When the house comes into view, a wave of relief washes over me and then it hits me. “Oh my God. Are we at your parents’ house?”
A cocky grin pulls up one side of his mouth and he settles a big hand on my leg and squeezes. I’m sure it’s meant to be reassuring, but my body tingles and clenches at the contact that’s gone before I can even properly enjoy it.
“This is the best way I know to get you your answers.”
“Couldn’t we have just called your mom and asked her? This seems like overkill. I can’t just barge into their house and interview them.”
“Relax. The whole family is over for lunch. We do it every Sunday.“Cuantos mas seamos, mejor.”He winks. “The more, the merrier.”
Since it looks like I’m not getting out of this, I take in the beautiful Spanish-style house. Joel parks under the port cochere and kills the engine. I glance out my window and down the mountain looking over Valley. “This view is incredible.”
He nods in agreement without looking and opens his door. “Ready?”
“Anything I should know? It’s been awhile since I’ve met a guy’s parents. And not usually before we’ve had our first date.”
He shrugs like it’s no big deal. “Just don’t let Dylan saw you in half.” I give him a quizzical look. “You’ll see.”
He leads me through a house which I silently catalog with amazement like I’m on an episode of MTV Cribs.
“My mom will be in the kitchen,” he says as we walk toward the sound of voices.
It’s in this moment that I realize I should probably have checked my hair and makeup, maybe had him swing by my apartment so I could put on something besides leggings and an open back t-shirt. There’s no time for any of that now, though. I’m pulled into a room and all eyes are on me before I can even think through what it is I would have worn had I known.
There are at least ten women in the room and one by one they each notice the girl next to Joel. Unfortunately, that girl is me. The room feels too quiet and too concentrated on me for two whole seconds before Joel breaks the silence.
“Hey, Ma,” he says and walks us toward a gorgeous woman standing on the other side of a huge island in the kitchen. Joel’s mom is hot. I’ve never called someone’s mom hot, but it’s the best way to describe her. Hair the exact same color as Joel’s, she’s tall and fit just like her son but in a feminine way. Her eyes are a shade lighter, and her smile holds none of the arrogance his does.
She drops the scissors she was using to cut the stems off what looks like two dozen white roses. The rest of the room has gone back to whatever it is they were doing and ignoring me – thank God.
Mother and son embrace and then Joel drops a kiss to her cheek. Her face lights up with such happiness it makes me miss my own mother.
I’m frozen watching the interaction when Joel steps back and places his hand back at my side. “Ma this is Ki – Katrina.”
“How lovely to meet you, Katrina.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Moreno. You have a beautiful home.”
“Thank you, dear. Call me Isa.” She shoots her son a look that I can’t decipher.
“Katrina is working on a school project and had some questions about Mexico in the early 1900s – you know about the time you were born.”
She swats at him, but her smile stays intact. “That’s wonderful. What sort of school project?”
“Oh, I—” I wasn’t prepared to give my elevator pitch. What if they think it’s the dumbest idea ever? Will they still help me? “I wrote a screenplay based on the great, great-grandparents in the movie Coco – Hector and Imelda, and it was selected to be this year’s Spring Showcase performance.”
“You didn’t tell me that part,” Joel says, astonishment in his tone. “That’s incredible, Kitty.” He doesn’t catch the nickname that rolls off his tongue. “I love that movie.”
“You do?”
“Dylan made us all watch it many, many times,” Isa adds.
“My son did the same thing. That’s actually where I got the idea.”
