Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
JOE
My mother took a sip of her coffee, some discount brand straight from the can. That was her favorite kind of coffee. Whatever the best deal was.
“I don't know, Joey.”
She still called me Joey, and she called my son Joey Jr. He was currently sound asleep in the living room in my dad's recliner. She’d made his favorite spaghetti casserole for dinner. He had, in fact, told her about our conversation on the drive over here.
“I don't trust Thea’s father,” my mother added.
“Well, I don’t think Thea trusts her father either. You know that what happened hurt her as much as me.”
“I know, but I didn't like the way her father treated our family like we were less than,” she said pointedly.
“Thea never felt that way, and her family doesn't think we're less than anyone now. I know her mom passed away, but she never thought that about us.”
My mother smoothed a hand over her mostly silver hair, which was twisted into a braid that hung down her back. She let out a soft sigh, eyeing me cautiously. “You love her, and you plan to marry her. After only four months.”
My father, bless his blunt-speaking self, peered over his newspaper, offering, “Hon, I asked you to marry me after one month, and all I'd gotten was a kiss on the porch.”
He grinned at me and winked before raising his paper back up and continuing to read. My mother’s cheeks flushed slightly. “I know, but—”
I cut in, “Mom, it's not like we’ve just met each other. We’ve known each other since we were kids.
“Is she going to move up here?”
“We haven't figured that out. All that matters to me is that I love her, I want to marry her, and I want to introduce her to Joey. The rest we can figure out.”
“But—” she began again.
“Mom, please. You're a big part of my life. You and Dad. I know I don't have all the answers, but I have the most important one.”
“What's that?”
“I love her, and she loves me.”
My mother's eyes teared up, and she smiled softly. “You always were a softie. You were so brokenhearted in high school when her dad wouldn’t let her see you anymore. I just don't understand how come you didn't fall for Joey's mom like this.”
“Oh my god, Mom. We’ve been over this. I met Vanessa at a bar. It was a hookup.”
My mom gasped, her hand flying to her chest, showing some faux outrage, in my opinion. Meanwhile, my dad chuckled.
“I like Vanessa as a friend, but we’re not going to be together like that. I can't believe you're saying that when lately you've been trying to get me to fight for full custody.”
My mom sighed. “You're right. I'm not being reasonable. Are you going to bring Thea to see us soon?”
“It depends on if you're going to be nice to her,” I said pointedly, taking a swallow of the so-so coffee.
“Your mother will be nice to Thea. She's just going to worry. You were pretty heartbroken before,” my dad interjected.
“I know, and I understand.”
“Isn't she some bigwig lawyer in Boston?” my mother asked.
“She works for a law firm there. She has a small apartment that probably costs a fortune.”
My mother clucked. “Exactly. What if she wants to stay there?”
“Fine with me. People commute all the time. We’ll figure it out. She's too important to me to let geography get in the way.”
My mother drained her coffee and gave me an assessing look. “You find out what she likes, and I’ll make dinner for her.”
“I will, Mom. Thank you.” I stood and pressed a kiss to her cheek.