Chapter 23 Meet the Parents
Davey
The Cheesecake Palace had something for everyone.
You could get lost in a massive booth, eat whatever you wanted in peace, and enjoy cheesecake on your way out.
While I quickly warmed to the idea, Mum would have lost her mind at the mere suggestion of a restaurant without a white tablecloth and none of my past girlfriends would have embraced its casual ambiance.
I gathered this, too, was a test. Bert seemed genuine but determined to put me through the wringer to determine if I was a condescending, pampered asshole.
If you asked Eva, I am sure she’d say I could be.
Tonight, though, I was on my best behavior.
I’d not met the parents in a dozen years—no one ever stuck around long enough to introduce me, or I actively avoided it.
I turned over a new leaf among the many pages of The Cheesecake Palace’s menu.
Conversation focused on the car, work, and other minor things over dinner. I eased into the tougher subjects. And, while we waited to order cheesecake to-go as Eva swore she couldn’t bear the uncomfortable booth anymore, the topics deepened.
“So, Eva says you met at a bar,” Bert said.
“Dad,” Eva groaned, annoyed.
“It is a fair thing to talk about. You’re in a relationship—”
“We are seeing one another. It’s not being in a relationship.”
I ignored her retort and reminded myself about recent baby steps. She let me buy the damn car. She agreed to take me to a wedding as a date and to visit my Mum’s house for a family thing. Whatever she wanted to call it, we were together.
“We met at a bar. She won’t admit I saved her from an asshole hitting on her, but I did. It was her spirit I found incredible. Unfortunately—or luckily for us—my sister hired her. I didn’t know who she was.”
Bert raised his eyebrow in doubt. “Incredible? But you say you aren’t dating her?”
“Ask your daughter about that one,” I said.
Eva folded her arms. “I’m not discussing this with you, Dad. Oh, my God, my back is just… miserable.”
“You should tell the doctor,” I said. “It’s not good.”
“Well, I would but I know he’ll just blame it on me being fat and move along.”
“I’d never let that fly,” I promised. “You know I would come for him. It’s not okay. You’re miserable. I can tell.”
“He’s right. You should tell him. Why would he blame it on you being fat? That’s ridiculous!” Bert said.
“That is what I said. I reacted poorly, but I refuse to accept that is ‘normal’ or ‘acceptable’.”
“Welp, you’re not a woman dealing with shitty physicians,” Eva said.
The server returned. Eva ordered not one but two slices of triple chocolate cheesecake. And, given she’d barely touched her food, it would make up the bulk of what she ate today. She took it on the chin—just like the back pain—but I wasn’t about to give in.
“Have you gotten one of those pillows?” I asked.
“What?”
“The one that takes up the whole bed.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Eva laughed.
“Well, my sister has one. Cal claims he no longer gets any bed real estate, but she said it really helps her back. You should get one.”
“That sounds silly, Davey,” Eva said.
I knew she’d never buy something for herself, but the wheels turned as the bill arrived. I swooped in to pay it, but Eva’s quick reflexes stole it first.
“No. You bought a car. I will pay this tab.”
“Eva, I swear—”
“Nope. I am not listening to your bullshit, David,” she said.
Bert shot me a look of sheer exhaustion, signaling the women in his life ran the show.
“Are you headed back?” Bert asked.
“To Chicago? Yeah. I live on the Near North Side.”
“You came all the way down here just for this?” Bert elbowed his daughter. “That was nice of him.”
“Yes, Dad. It was nice of him.”
“Why don’t we go back and see your mom?” Bert asked.
“All of us?” Eva panicked.
“Yes. I mean, he came all this way. And she’ll tan my hide if I don’t invite him back.”
“It’s getting late—”
“Well, he can stay the night if he needs to. It’s up to you, David.”
“I’d love to meet Mrs. Pavlak,” I said.
My cheerful response wasn’t genuine. I sensed Eva’s mom was rather demanding and probably would be the bigger boulder I’d need to move to get “in” with the family.
“I’ve got to grab something,” I said. “And I’ll be over. Just text me the address.”
Eva flashed a confused look. “Sure.”
I dropped everything, racing into the mall linked to the restaurant once Eva left the parking lot. It was 15 minutes to close, and I was a man on a mission. There had to be a baby store. Indeed, Babies ‘n Bumps awaited. I headed in, flustered. Two girls preparing for close looked at me, confused.
“I need a pregnancy pillow,” I said, breathless.
“Okay. We have one,” the older one said.
“Great, thanks. It’s… not for me. It’s for my partner.”
They grabbed a massive carry bag with a huge snake-like pillow inside and rang it up. As with all things baby-related, the cost was that of highway robbery—nearly $100 for a goddamn pillow. No wonder Eva wouldn’t go for it. She refused to spend money on herself.
They handed me the bag, and I was off in a flash—headed towards the address Eva sent.
Despite her constant insistence she lived in the middle of nowhere, I pulled into the drive I remembered within 15 minutes.
The crush of gravel reminded me of our Michigan farm.
The farmhouse was even more charming in this light.
Climbing out, I grabbed my cheesecake, pillow, and rang the bell. A minute later, a blonde woman who looked much like Eva answered.
“God, Eva, your boyfriend is here! Where are you?” She held the door. “I’m sorry. She just disappeared. Come in, please.”
“Hi,” I said. “I’m David. Thanks for inviting me.”
“I didn’t,” she said, cooly. “Bert did.”
“There you are!” Bert said. “This is my wife, Emma. Emma, this is David Delphine.”
“Yep. I guessed that,” Emma said flatly.
She did not offer a hand or shake mine. Oof!
Bert asked, “Want a beer? Eva got some good stuff a week ago as a bit of a surprise.”
“I’m not drinking. I’ve got to drive back—”
“It’s late. You should stay.”
Eva’s mother glared, “Yeah, you’re better off staying and driving in. Evangeline Mary, where are you?”
“I’m here. Calm down!” Eva descended the front stairs. “Hold your horses. I sweated through my work clothes and changed.”
Dressed down, I found Eva irresistible. She was even cuter in shorts and a tank top. I felt the same way I had that night on the beach—unable to look away. It felt special to see her with her walls down—as no one else did.
“What are you holding?” Eva asked.
“I swooped back to grab that pillow since I knew you’d never do it,” I chuckled.
Bert snickered.
Eva sighed, annoyed, “Thank you.”
“What pillow?”
“It’s for her back,” Bert said. “She’s miserable but won’t do anything. He’s trying to help.”
“It is the least I could do, Eva.”
“Well, if we don’t get to our cheesecake, I’m going to murder someone,” Eva rubbed her back. “Can we just sit down on the couch and eat?”
The idea of eating on a couch in a parents’ living room confused me. Mum would have lost her mind. However, their farmhouse’s living room was more family room than drawing room and afforded a casual setting for sucking down cheesecake.
“It’s been years since I’ve had any of this,” I admitted.
“God, I’ve been eating this and ice cream nonstop since I got back. Britain lacks this. I could eat an entire Eli’s cheesecake at lunch I think. I shouldn’t, but I think I could,” Eva laughed.
“You should eat what your body wants. You’re not eating,” I said. “You need—”
“So, I can gain weight, and he can shame me more?”
“I gained forty pounds with your sister and nearly fifty with you. You’re having twins. He’s right that you need to eat. The doctor can pound sand,” Emma said.
I nodded in agreement.
“What did the doctor say?” Emma asked. “Today?”
“Well, the babies are doing really well,” Eva said. “We got some more pictures.”
She flailed, trying to stand. “They’re in my purse.”
“In the entry?” I asked. “I can get them.”
I stood, found her purse, and brought the photos to her mother.
“Oh my. Look at these faces,” Emma cooed.
Bert leaned over from his chair to see. “They’re looking like babies. I swear the technology is getting so much better than when you were kids. Just like Brooke’s kids.”
“And the tests were good?” Emma asked.
“They were perfect,” Eva said. “We’re having two very healthy boys.”
My mouth dropped. “I didn’t realize we were telling everyone the gender.”
“It’s the sex,” Eva corrected. “And I wasn’t planning on a stupid gender reveal. It’s gauche.”
“I agree,” I said. “I just… didn’t know we could.”
“Well, we can tell your mom this weekend,” Eva said. “Since you’re dragging me along to that party.”
“It’s Mum’s birthday,” I said. “I am not sure how it would go.”
“Announcing the sex of our babies to her would be a problem? I mean, we don’t have to make a big deal out of it—”
“She wouldn’t like that,” I said.
Eva suddenly looked sad.
“I would love to,” I said. “But she wouldn’t like it. It’s got nothing to do with you or the twins. It’s just Mum being Mum. Trust me.”
Eva
“I cannot imagine a world in which I would complain. I’m so happy for two more boys,” Mom said.
“I wasn’t too over-the-moon about it,” I admitted. “I wanted a girl—two if we had twins. But… it wasn’t meant to be. I am getting over it. We’ll love them all the same.”
“What is your concern, sweetie?” Mom asked.
“Raising boys to be good men is more of a challenge,” I said. “Toxic masculinity and all of that.”
Mom rolled her eyes. Predictable.
“I think you raise them like any children,” Dad said. “Just raise them to be kind and have empathy. Raise them to care about other people. That’s all you can do.”
I shrugged. My relationship with men remained complicated, even if Davey tried to give his entire gender a glow-up. The pillow may have been stupid, but it showed he cared. I’d never been treated so well by a man apart from my father.