Chapter 26
My screaming phone breaks through the silence at ten o’clock on Sunday morning. I leap to grab it from the nightstand, hoping to avoid waking Andrew, but as soon as I hit the silence button, I see his eyes slowly open and peer at me. The word Mom flashes across the screen and I feel a panic rising in my chest. Immediately, I assume the worst. What if it’s about Dad? He’s been doing okay for a while now, but the fear is still there in the back of my mind. “Sorry.” I mouth to him as I hit the answer button.
“Hello?” I answer quickly, bringing the phone to my ear.
“Tyler? Are you okay?” My mom asks, like she didn’t just give me a heart attack.
“I’m fine. I just slept in today.” I say, laying back down on my pillow. My head is pounding from those stupid shots last night. “What’s up?”
“Well, I’m glad you’re okay.” She huffs. “Mary Sue cornered me at Bible Study this morning and said something strange. She said that she saw you riding in the back of a Police Car last night.”
Dammit, Mary Sue.
“Tyler, are you there?”
“Yes Mom. I’m here.” I sigh. “It’s not what you’re thinking. I wasn’t in trouble.”
“Well, it certainly sounds like you were.” She huffs again into the phone. “Why else would you have been in a police car at two in the morning?”
“I went to Short Creek last night with some friends and we had a few drinks. We decided we were better off not driving, so Andrew called a friend to give us a ride. His friend just happened to be an on-duty police officer.”
Mom pauses. “And I’m supposed to believe that?”
Andrew covers his face with a pillow, attempting to stifle a laugh before climbing out of bed and moving towards the bathroom.
“Well, that choice is yours, I guess. I’m not sure what else to tell you.” I say. “It’s the truth. If I was in jail, I wouldn’t be able to answer my phone. I’d be sitting in a cell until Monday morning when the judge gets to work.”
“Why didn’t you think about how it would look if other people were to see you?” She mutters.
“You’re kidding right?” I say, rubbing my temples. It’s too early for this shit. “Don’t you think it would have looked worse if I had gotten arrested for drunk driving? Or if I had gotten into a wreck and hurt someone?”
“Maybe you shouldn’t be drinking.” She argues.
“Maybe you’re right.” I say, rubbing my temples. Mom has definitely gotten back to her old self since Dad’s heart attack.
She sighs. “Well, I’m glad to hear that you’re okay. I have to get to service. How about you come over for dinner tonight?”
I grimace and play with the fringe on my blanket. “Okay, I can do that.” As much as I’d rather not, I haven’t spent much time with them lately and that was the entire reason I stayed here. I need to do a better job of that.
“Good. We will see you at six. Bring that boyfriend of yours too. I’d like to meet him.”
“I don’t have a boyfriend.” I lie and turn to face Andrew, who has materialized in the doorway. He raises an eyebrow.
“Nice try.” She scoffs. “I’ve heard all about that Hayes boy. I’ll see you both tonight.”
Before I can answer, the call disconnects. I guess it’s now or never.
I lean over and take a sip of my tea while I wait for my lunch. Andrew and I are grabbing a bite to eat before going to work on cleaning up his new building.
“So we were the talk of the Baptist Church this morning.” Andrew recalls with a laugh, leaning back in his chair. “It’s been a while since I’ve had that kind of problem.”
“I don’t know about ‘we’, but I apparently was.” I say, stirring my drink with my straw. “I mean, it’s fine. It’s not like it was the first time I’ve been the talk of the town. Not even since I’ve been back. You wouldn’t believe the rumors about my breakup.”
“Oh, I’ve heard them.” He laughs. “I can’t believe your ex is in prison for extortion. I thought this town taught you better than that.”
I laugh at his joke, but the look on his face tells me he isn’t joking. “Seriously?” I say with a groan.
“That’s only the most recent story.” He laughs. “There have been a few.”
“Man, that’s the downside to a small town, I guess. Everyone thinks everyone’s business is their business. And most of the time, there is no truth to any of it.”
“BINGO.” He points to me as our food is placed in front of us. “Luckily, I’ve never been seen as anything but an angel.”
I furrow my brows back at him. “What about that time you released a pig into the hallway of the High School for your Senior Prank?” I ask.
“How did you even know about that? I mean.. they never proved that was me.” He says, looking around the diner as though he’s making sure no one is eavesdropping.
“Or what about…” I start.
“Okay, that’s enough. Eat your food.” He laughs.
“Anyway, not only does my mom think I was in jail last night, we have now been summoned for dinner tonight. You can totally skip out on it if you want to. I’ll cover for you.” I say, stealing a fry from his plate.
“If you wanted fries, why did you order a salad?” he reaches for my hand as I grab another fry from his plate, dipping it into my ranch dressing.
“Because there is no salad in the world, or at least in Southeast Kansas, that is as good as a Grilled Chicken Salad at Red Maple. I just want a couple of fries.” I say, sticking out my bottom lip for effect.
He rolls my eyes. “Fine. I’ll share.” And he rotates his plate so I can reach them more easily.
“Want a bite of my salad?” I ask, holding up a forkful of lettuce.
“Gross.” He takes a huge bite of his burger. “You are eating my lunches lunch. Anyway, dinner tonight at your moms. I’ll be there.”
“You don’t have to do this, you know.” I say. “My parents are… a lot.”
“Listen, I told you. I’m in this for the long haul. I might as well meet them now and get it out of the way.” He says, reaching one arm across the table to squeeze my hand.
“You don’t know what you are in for, though.”
“We’ll see,” he winks, throwing a fry into his mouth.
We pull up to the curb in front of my parents’ house, and Andrew puts the truck in park. Anxiety is coursing through my veins for whatever reason. I’m almost thirty years old. How do my parents hold this much power over my relationship? It’s not like I’m going to end things if they don’t like him. But it would honestly make life so much better if they all could just get along. Especially since the two of us are already very intertwined.
“You ready for this?” I ask, turning towards him.
He leans forward and lightly kisses my lips, just softly enough that he leaves me aching for more. “Let’s do it.” He says, leaning his forehead against mine.
I sigh and climb out of the truck, waiting for him to join me before we walk up to the door. He grabs my hand and squeezes it gently.
We approach the house and I knock on the wood entry door. It swings open quickly and my dad is standing in the doorway, beaming at us. I smile as I take in the sight of him. The heart attack was the wake up call he didn’t know he needed. Thanks to being a bit more selective of what he eats, and taking evening walks with my mom, he already looks healthier. His face is thinning out and even his waistline is hanging over his pants less and less every time I see him.
“Ty!” He says, about three notches too loudly. “Come on in here.”
“Hi Dad.” I say as I move in to give him a hug. “This is Andrew. Andrew, this is my dad, Jerry.”
“Hello, sir,” Andrew says, leaning forward to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, Andrew. What’s your last name?”
“Hayes.” He replies.
“Hayes. Who’s your dad?”
My stomach flip flops. We haven’t even made it into the living room yet and Andrew is already on the spot with questions about his difficult family dynamic.
“He’s actually not from around here. You might know my late grandpa, though. His name was Charlie Hayes.” Andrew says, changing the subject, following my dad into the front room.
“Ole Charlie Hayes,” Dad says with a bit of a sparkle in his eyes. “He was the mail carrier at one time, wasn’t he?” He pauses for Andrew to nod yes. “He was a good man. Sorry to hear about his passing.” Dad says.
“Thanks. Yes, he really was a good one.” Andrew says, taking a seat on the couch, as I follow. As soon as my body touches the sofa, my mother’s voice from the kitchen causes me to bolt right back up.
“Tyler! Is that you?” My mom’s voice carries through the house.
“I’ve been summoned.” I say with a nervous laugh. “Be right back.”
I round the doorway into the kitchen and I am taken aback just a little as I see the kitchen counters covered dish after dish of food. “Wow, Mom. Happy Thanksgiving.” I say. Food has always been her love language, and she is expressing her love loudly today.
“Oh, don’t be silly,” she says, waving her potholder in my direction.
“Mom. This is a lot of food. How many people did you invite over?” I ask, moving closer to inspect what she had made. The counter is covered in matching dishes full of pulled pork, coleslaw, mac and cheese, roasted potatoes, rolls, and peach cobbler.
“Just the four of us. I just felt like cooking today.” She says, pulling her towel off of her shoulder and then wiping her hands as she examines the buffet in front of her. “I… might have gone a little overboard. I suppose.”
I put my arm around her shoulder and hug her from the side. “Just a little. It looks and smells amazing, though.”
“Did you bring Andrew?” She asks, wringing her hands as though she just needs something to do.
“I did.” I nod. “He’s in the living room with Dad if you want to meet him.”
“I’ve been asking around about him. No one seems to have anything bad to say about him.”
“Well, that’s promising.” I say, stealing a roasted potato from the pan and popping it into my mouth. “They must not have seen him in the cop car with me last night.”
Mom rolls her eyes and lets out an exasperated sigh. “Let’s eat, you felon.”
I shake my head and follow her towards the living room to retrieve the boys. However, when we enter the living room, there’s no one to be found.
“Jerry! Where’d you go?” Mom yells down the empty hallway.
Mom and I exchange a look, both fully aware of where they’ve disappeared to.
I move towards the den and pull open the door to find both men leaning over a folding card table, with a gun laying in front of them. My dad turns at the sound of us entering the space and smiles brightly.
“It’s dinnertime.” Mom says with a smirk.
“I was just showing Andrew Great Grandpa’s old World War 2 Rifle.” He tells us proudly.
“It’s actually pretty cool,” Andrew says, without moving his eyes from the piece. “It’s in amazing shape for how old it is.”
“Well, I’m glad you guys had this moment together.” I say with a laugh as Andrew moves towards me. We follow my parents towards the kitchen. “Wait until you see this spread.” I whisper to him.
We enter the kitchen, and his eyes widen. “How many more people are coming?” He mutters to me.
“I hope you brought your appetite!” Mom sings as she circles into the room.
“And an additional army to feed, too.” I say.
“So,” says Mom, passing a bowl of barbecue sauce across the table. “How was jail last night?”
I shoot her an empty stare while Andrew throws his head back into a laugh. I want to be annoyed, but I’m glad she has a sense of humor about it now. She sure didn’t this morning.
“Mom, I’m telling you, we just got a ride home from Derek.”
“So now you’re on a first name basis with the police?” She asks, using her fork to move food around on her plate.
“Well, it’s Fawn Creek. It’s kind of hard not to know everyone in town.” I say, taking another bite of potato.
“I’m sorry,” Andrew says, wiping his face and putting his napkin into his lap. “That was my fault. I didn’t want to chance either of us driving, so I called my friend Derek to give us a ride. He was on duty. I didn’t know anyone would see us. It was pretty late.”
“Well, that was so nice of you to protect my daughter.” She says with a smile.
I shoot Mom a look. She gave me a whole lecture this morning about drinking. But, now that it was Andrew’s fault, we are off the hook. Whatever, as long as she isn’t harping on him about it, I should be thankful.
“What do you do, Andrew?” Dad interrupts the jail conversation.
“I own a contracting company.” He says between bites of food.
“How long have you been doing that?” Mom asks.
He thinks for a second. “About five years now. I live near Fort Hood, and I started it as a side gig to help people with odd jobs. Mostly, I helped wives when their husbands were deployed with things around the house. I also did some jobs to help people get their houses listed before they moved duty stations.” He takes a drink of his tea. “Eventually, I took on enough work that I could quit my full-time job and work for myself full time. I wanted to set my own schedule because Grandpa wasn’t doing well. Because of that, I could run home every other weekend to spend time with him.” He pauses. “Grandpa didn’t make it long, but I’m glad I got to spend time with him while I could. He raised my brother and I, so I just felt like I owed him.”
“That’s really sweet, and I’m glad you got that time with him, too.” Mom says with a soft smile. “So, do you still live in Texas?”
“Actually, my brother and I just bought some land right outside of town.” He turns to smile at me. “We are each planning to build our houses on the land and then use the rest of the acreage to raise cattle. I also bought a building downtown that I’ll be renovating and renting out commercially.”
I brace myself for him to drop the bomb about my bookstore, but he doesn’t. I smile to myself, grateful that he will let me tell them when the time is right.
Mom nods approvingly and shoots me a smile before she goes back to eating her dinner. I can’t remember there ever being a boyfriend or even a potential boyfriend that she approved of. This is fresh territory and I have to admit, I’m enjoying it.
After dinner, back in the kitchen, Mom and I work on cleaning up. She busily fills up plastic containers full of leftovers for me while I rinse dishes and load the dishwasher.
“Thanks for taking some of this home. We can’t possibly eat all of this.” She says, stacking them in a paper grocery sack.
Of course you couldn’t, Mom, no one could. I think to myself.
“I appreciate it. Thanks to you, I won’t need to cook for a week.” I pause thoughtfully. “Well, what do you think of Andrew?” I ask, bracing myself for whatever will come out of her mouth.
“I love him.” Mom whispers into my hair as she pulls me into a hug.
“Really?” I ask, half shocked. I can’t recall a time that my parents have ever approved of one of my boyfriends.
“Yes! He’s so polite and kind. He’s obviously a hard worker, and he is handy, which will make your whole life so much easier. Plus, he lives here. That means that you’ll stay here too.” She beams at me.
Just then, my dad quietly sneaks into the kitchen and grabs two beers from the fridge before moving to stand next to me. He drags me into a side hug. “You found a good one this time, kiddo. Don’t let this one get away.”
“Thanks dad.” I say, taking his acceptance to heart fully. I’ve never seen this happen before. “I’m really glad you guys like him.”
For once in my life, I think I may actually be on the right track. The people I love actually like each other. Is my life finally falling into place?