CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE Cooper
“You’re smiling at me again, Mrs. H..”
She blinked and shook her head after my observation. “Oh, am I?” she replied. “I’m sorry, Cooper. I guess I’m happy you joined us for dinner.”
“I always eat here, Mrs. H.,” I stated. “Figured you might be sick of me by now.”
Mikey’s mom rested her chin in her hands, gazing at me and smiling again. “Can you do me a favor, Cooper?” she asked.
“Will you stop staring at me if I do?” I asked.
Mikey grabbed my arm. “Be nice, Coop. Mom’s been swooning nonstop all day.”
“Okay, Mrs. H., lay it on me.”
“Could you call me mom?” she asked. “Like Michael does.”
That wasn’t the favor I’d imagined. “Really?” I asked, looking from her to a grinning Mikey. “Just Mom? Just like Mikey does?”
“I’d like that, son,” she said, reaching for my hand. “I think of you like another son already.”
Of course, I cried over her request. Why wouldn’t I? I had the best boyfriend in the world now and an extra mom to boot.
“Okay, you two balls of mush,” Mikey said. “Enough of this gooey stuff.”
“Why now? I asked. “Is it because Mikey and I are a couple?”
“Something like that, kiddo,” she answered. “That and I just love you so much.”
“Gee, Mrs. . . . Mom,” I corrected. “I feel so special right now.”
“That’s because you are and I haven’t told you that enough.”
“Is someone dying?” I asked jokingly.
Both Mikey and his mom sat up straight in their chairs.
“God no,” Mrs. H. said, covering her mouth and turning white.
“Thank God,” I stated. “I just got a new boyfriend and another mom. I’m set for life,” I added.
“That you are,” Mikey agreed. “Let’s help our Mom clean up. Tomorrow is the first of September and we have to start packing for college.”
“Where’d the summer go,” I asked. “Maybe we can catch a swim before we leave town?”
“How about we have you take some swim lessons first?” Mikey suggested. “I’d like to brush up too.”
“Good idea, boys,” Mrs. H. said.
“That’s why I have you, Mikey,” I stated. “You said you’d protect me, remember?”
He stood up and grabbed my plate. “That I did, Coop. That I did.”
* * *
“Your mom was so sweet tonight,” I said while undressing. “She really was nice to me.”
“Like she said, she loves you, Coop. And so do I.”
“I think she’s just happy we’re a couple. My mom and dad have been acting all goofy as well,” I said. “I bet they’d hoped for this to happen for years.”
Mikey pulled his T-shirt over his head. “I think so too.”
I moved closer to him after noticing a necklace around his neck. “Why are you wearing this?” I asked, lifting the ring from his bare chest. “Shouldn’t Mom be wearing her Mother’s ring?”
“She asked me to wear it,” he said. “She wants to add Dad’s stone to the ring too.”
I rolled the ring around in my fingers, wondering why she’d ask him to wear it, while also trying to not go all molesty on his chest. “Looks good on you. Maybe I can wear the necklace sometimes?”
Mikey pulled me closer and kissed the top of my head. “I bet Mom would like that?” he whispered into my hair. “She loves you,” he added.
“I gathered,” I quipped. “She seemed different tonight.”
Mikey nudged my stomach with his elbow. “Don’t start that, mister.”
I jumped back, tugging him toward the bed. “Well she did,” I defended. “In fact, both of you did.”
Mikey turned the light off on the nightstand and elbowed me to my side of the bed, facing me. “We both love you, Coop. Especially me.”
I snuggled closer and kissed him. “Wanna have sex or snuggle?” I asked, feeling warm and sort of tired.
“How about we snuggle? And I won’t let go of you all night, promise,” he whispered before kissing me lightly.
I lifted the necklace from his skin and held it against my cheek. “A stone for your dad will be nice,” I said. “I bet you miss him.”
“More than I thought possible, Coop, but I’m happy I have Mom and you.”
“You’ll have me for as long as you want, Mikey. I hope you know how much I love you.”
“Is your love enough for a lifetime?” he asked, kissing my eyelids?
“That, plus one thousand years,” I answered.
“I’ll take it, my love.”
“My love?” I teased. “That’s a first, Mr. Hill.”
“But not the last. I have a lot of time to make up for the years I missed, Coop.”
“That’s okay, Mikey. Eighteen years wasn’t that long.”
He pulled away and the light from the street lamp revealed his wet eyes. “You’re right. How about we take it a day at a time and make sure we count the days slowly?”
“I like that,” I said. “Can I hold this in my hand while we snuggle?” I asked, tugging on the necklace.
“As long as you hold me tight too.”
“Deal.”
I don’t remember falling asleep that night. I guess it didn’t really matter because my life felt brand new for some reason.