Parents – Cameron
Chapter forty
It was time.
With the renovations complete and the beer now brewing, or whatever it was that beer actually did to be made, and my house on the market, we decided to meet the parents. First up—mine.
They agreed to have us over for brunch rather than breakfast since they lived in Fish Springs, which was a good forty-five miles or so away. Jay was already there when we arrived. I’d asked him to join us to help break up any awkward tension, not that I thought there would be any. But just in case.
Mom had the house smelling delicious with spices including vanilla and cinnamon, so I knew she had made her delicious Cinnamon Coffee Cake.
I hoped she made an extra one we could take home.
She greeted us at the door with hugs for both of us, which made me happier than I wanted to admit.
Everett needed more unconditional love in his life, and that was something my mom was pretty good at.
“Come on in. I have tons of food on the bar. Your dad has already started.” She peeked around the corner to glare at him, but Dad just shrugged and kept eating.
“We’re informal around here, Everett.” I guided him to where the food was laid out, and we loaded our plates.
Jay walked into the room and gave me a high-five. “Everett. Good to see you again.”
“You, too.”
We sat around the table, chatting between big bites of her delicious spread.
She’d made three types of eggs, two different sausages, toast both wheat and white, and even pancakes.
There were a few plates of fruit and neatly cut avocado slices, though I had no clue how she managed that without turning them into mush like I normally did when I cut avocados.
There was something for everyone, proving once again how amazing she was.
“Let me get you another coffee, Ever.” I picked up his mug with mine and headed into the kitchen.
Mom joined me a moment later. “Hey, you.” She bumped her hip into mine. “He’s really a cutie, right?”
“He is. And so sweet.”
“Jay said he was a grouch, but I don’t see that at all.”
“Well, he can be. Today, he’s on the sunny side.” As I fixed our mugs, Mom looked thoughtful. “What do you have rolling through your mind, Mama?”
“Ah… you know me so well.”
“That I do.” I leaned over and kissed her cheek. She really was a great mother, having overcome the worst heartbreak and managing to carry on even if it was just for us boys.
“I just want to say that it’s sometimes difficult in a relationship to pull together despite having very different backgrounds. Try and use those differences as learning opportunities, and a means to grow closer.”
“That sounds like good advice.”
“Well, that’s because it is, smart ass. Hope you listen to it. I know he’s from the city with a more educated background. He’s refined.”
“Are you saying I’m a heathen?”
She snorted. “If the shoe fits.”
I laughed. “Well, guess you’re not entirely wrong. I’m a lot more of a free spirit, while Everett can be wound tight. But we’re paving new middle ground.”
“Good. ‘Cause he’s a keeper.”
“Thanks, Mom. I think so too.”
On the way home, I was smiling like a loon, and of course, Everett noticed that. “What’s got you all happy?”
“My mom really likes you. In fact, I’m pretty sure she’d trade.”
“Trade?”
“Me for you.”
Everett giggled, covering his mouth. “I’m not arguing. She gave me her number, insisting I call if you misbehave in any way.” He wiggled a finger at me.
“That I believe.”
We went back to my place, since I was working on remodeling his.
It would help me get some before-and-after photos for my portfolio and get his place ready to sell, since we already agreed to move in together.
I felt a new confidence in my abilities that I hadn't had before since getting my license and leading the reconstruction on the brewery.
Everett made me feel like I could do anything.
I'd been hiding my true feelings for entirely too long.
He didn’t care for the location of my place though, so we’d look for something else long-term, or I'd build him his dream house if I had to. For now, we were comfortable and spent the rest of the day cleaning, since his parents were due the next day.
Thankfully, they’d be staying at a hotel.
However, they were still coming here for dinner, which meant Everett was on a tear sweeping and mopping floors, scrubbing every inch of the guest bathroom and kitchen.
At the same time, he had me tackling baseboards and windows.
I thought it was a lot for one short visit, but I wasn’t about to tell Everett that. I went along with whatever he wanted.
In the end, the place smelled fresh and pine-scented. More importantly, it was Everett-approved for his parents.
When they arrived the next day, he introduced me. “Cameron Tilliyard, this is my mother, Miriam Lundy.”
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Lundy.”
His mother shook my hand. “Please, call me Miriam.”
We went through the same routine with his father, Daryl.
Afterward, Everett showed his parents to the table.
He poured wine for everyone, while I scooted off to the kitchen to finish the meal.
We’d done almost everything ahead of time, so it was mostly about arranging everything in serving dishes and bringing them to the table.
Everett called it family-style dining, but to me, it was just dinner.
It made my mother’s point about our differences hit home, though.
He could call it whatever he wanted as long as the food was good, and it definitely was.
As the last of the food was brought out, I sat beside Everett. “I hope you all enjoy. Please.”
“Thank you, Cameron.” Miriam nodded, and we all plated the food to start eating.
So far, so good. His parents weren’t cold by any means, but certainly not the embracing charm of mine. It wasn’t bad, simply not the same, and I could live with that.
Everett cleared his throat. “Mom. Dad. What time would you like to go see the brewery tomorrow?”
His mother’s eyebrow arched up—just the left one. I didn’t know how she managed that look, but I immediately knew this was going to be an issue. “Everett, darling. Why would we go there? I’d rather not spend the day schlumping around some peanuts on the floor of a brew house.”
“Oh, it’s not that at all.” I wasn’t about to let her make assumptions about Everett’s hard work. “It’s a very pristine environment. It has to be for a lot of health-code reasons, but more importantly, Everett wouldn’t allow anything less.”
“I see.” She said in a way that told me she didn’t see at all. “That’s not why we’re here, anyway.”
“Then why are you here?” Everett asked. He was hurt by her lack of enthusiasm.
“To see you, of course. And meet this new man of yours.” She held her hand out to me as if I was a specimen.
“But—”
“Everett.” She cut him off like he was four years old, not a grown man. “When you’re through playing country out here, come home and get serious about a career.”
“This is my home. And my career.” He held his hands up as if he’d told her this a thousand times, and I was pretty damn sure he had.
And I’d had enough. When she opened her mouth to say more, I stood. “Mrs. Lundy. You need to listen to Everett. You’re making yourself miserable over this instead of celebrating his success and happiness. Surely, you can see the wedge you’re shoving between yourself and your son.”
Miriam’s mouth fell open, but she only lost her decorum for a second. She stood and smacked her husband’s shoulder. “Come, Daryl. We’re going. Thank you for dinner.”
“Wait.” I hurried to the kitchen and, on a whim, grabbed my mother’s coffee cake that she’d sent us home with.
“Here. A little something for breakfast. My mother made it and asked us to pass it on to you.” Okay, that was a little white lie, but Everett didn’t even flinch when I told it.
I’d begged for the cake, because I loved it so much.
But I wanted to share it with them as a tangible way of showing that our differences could be good.
She took the cake and looked down at it. “Thank you.” Her voice was softer now, so maybe I’d made my point, or at least some point.
Then they left. Everett didn’t even walk them out the door, but as soon as it closed behind them, he visibly deflated. I pulled him to standing and wrapped my arms around him.
He buried his face in my neck. “Thank you,” he muttered against my skin.
“Any time, Ever. I’ve always got your back.” There was nothing I was more sure of.