The Bird and the Worm

“Brian. Fix your collar. You look like I tried to strip you in the car.”

He half-smiled. “Well, you kinda did.” He snickered, and then we walked up the steps, Brian taking my hand with one hand and then ringing the doorbell with the other. “I mean, I won’t say anything to Mom and Dad, but…y’know. There are things I don’t forget.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. I knew he wouldn’t forget a few things. But that look in his eyes was unfair. “After all, you let me-“

“Brian!” Papa Gates exclaimed, opening his arms wide and hugging his son. Brian, of course, had to release my hand, and he wrapped his arms around his father, patting his back. “And you’ve brought the wife with you. Good, you mother has been dying for some real conversation. The old man isn’t much use for that, if you know what I mean.” He winked, and then cracked a smile- that smile had to be in the Haner genetics, because both Brian Sr. and Jr. pulled it off perfectly each time they tried it.

“Sure, sure, dad. Can we come in? I can smell Mom’s cooking from out here.”

“Of course, of course. Heather, want me to take your jacket?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m alright, I can-“

“Oh don’t be silly. You may be Brian’s wife, but you are our guest.” I shrugged out my jacket, and Senior hung it up in the coat closet, smiling at his son and then glancing over at me, smile still intact, as we all headed toward the kitchen to greet Deb. “Deborah, honey, guess who decided to grace us with his presence.”

Deb turned around, a huge smile on her face, and she pulled me into a hug. “Oh Heather! How are you? How’re you and Brian doing? Does the bed smell funny? Have you been trying all the different-“

“Mom!”

She smiled, pulling back and holding my chin. “Sorry. I’m still in McKenna mode, you know. The girl just turned sixteen, so she got to hear about all the things you two have probably-“

“Mom, please.”

Deb smiled again, patting my cheek and then glancing over at her son as he came to my side and slid an arm around me. “Sorry,” she said to him, laughing a little. “I’d just assumed that you two were, you know, experimenting with-“

“Yeah. It’s great. Really. Can we please eat now?”

I glanced up at him, raising an eyebrow. “Is my cooking not good enough for you, mister?” I laughed a little. “Fifteen whole minutes spent on pancakes and all.” As if that constituted slaving over a hot stove.

“Your cooking is fine, love,” I saw his mother smile out of the corner of my eye at his terms of endearment, “but Mom made lobster.” I let the eyebrow relax. “Would it help if I told you that the salmon you made last week was the best I’d ever had?” I thought about it for a moment, and then I nodded. “Alright then. Thank you, love.” He touched my chin, giving me a short kiss, and then we all sat down at the table while Deb pulled the lobster dishes from the counter and set the plates before us, leaving one for herself. “I haven’t had Mom’s cooking in at least a year.”

I laced my hand into his, my thumb brushing over his wedding ring.

Deb watched us for a moment, and then she cleared her throat slightly. I pulled back from a soft kiss that Brian had decided I needed, and when I made eye contact with her, she smiled fondly at me, which made my heart pang for a moment before Brian squeezed my hand.

“So Brian tells me you’ve been looking for a place within a record company, Heather. How is that going for you?”

I smiled. “It’s actually going well. I have a meeting with them next Wednesday at 3:00.”

“Really.” I nodded. “Well that’s wonderful.” All four of us had to process a bite of the lobster before she spoke again. “And what about your family woes? Has any of that taken a turn for the better?” I shook my head. “Well that’s too bad. I would adopt you, but as you’ve married my son, well. That just makes me feel like your mother anyway.” I blushed a little.

“Thanks, Deb.” I picked up another bite of the lobster and chewed on it for a moment, trying to think of more conversation, then swallowed. “How’s your tour going, Senior?”

He wiped a bit of food from his chin. “It’s been going pretty well, actually. I’m home for a couple of days, then it’s off to the East coast for about a month and a half. I actually just did a show for the kids at Brian’s old school.” He and Brian exchanged short glances. “His sister doesn’t seem to impressed with my humor, but that’s alright. The kid’s only a junior in high school. She probably has a…different sense of humor.”

“How is McKenna? I haven’t seen her in ages.”

“Well if you two stick around until two or three, you should be able to see her before she disappears into her room and listens to that awful music of hers.” He shuddered, and I raised an eyebrow, giggling a little.

Brian leaned close to my ear. “She’s nothing like the rest of the family. She’s having a Hannah Montana phase.”

My eyes widened, and Senior nodded in agreement. He was obviously confused as to why the sister of a rock star was into the complete opposite genre, but I knew Senior. He was probably also not going to say anything because he was hoping she’d grow out of it and discover the Misfits or even the Smashing Pumpkins. Secretly, I knew that Brian had to be.

I couldn’t imagine having a sister that was into anything other than music like Brian’s. I couldn’t see how Brian survived having a sister that probably didn’t even listen to his music to tell him if it needed working on or not.

Then again, I had a feeling that his brother Brent probably did things like that for him.

“So Brian.” He looked up at his mother. “When can we expect to see little Brians or Heathers running around?” I blushed slightly and he squeezed my hand.

“Um, actually, Heather has some time left in college, so we’ve decided to wait until she’s out of school, and now I’d feel bad if I slammed a kid on her while her career was taking off.” He glanced over at me, and I smiled at him. “And besides, we’ve only been married for less than three months.” Every time he said that word, I practically got chills. I loved that he could say ‘married’ and make it sound sexy, whereas if I said married, it would sound mundane and boring. “Probably a little too soon to start having kids.”

Maybe he really was much better at this game than I was.

There was silence for a few minutes.

Then, “Well shit, Brian, maybe there is hope for you after all. Your mother and I actually did something right.” Senior sounded…well, astounded…and he very discreetly folded his hand into Deb’s. I smiled a little. It was kind of sweet that people their age still felt like people our age inside. “First you get over Michelle so fast after meeting this girl that it gives us whiplash, and then, even after you’ve made her your wife, you’re still practically courting her.”

“I guess there wasn’t much chance for that on tour, Pops.” He sighed, taking another couple of bites. “I just think that if she’s going to give so much up for me, that’s one thing she should still be able to experience.” He ran his thumb over the back of my hand, winking over at me. “And besides. There’s way more brownie points that I can cash in on when we-“

“Brian!”

He chuckled, and I felt myself blushing ridiculously. “Sorry, love.” I pretended to be angry at him. “Um… I love you?”

I sighed, pretty much placated but still attempting to keep the façade alive. A few seconds later, I realized failure. “I love you too. You’re forgiven.”

Deb and Senior exchanged a small glance. They looked so happy for us, and my parents were so…ashamed of us. I mean, that was just fine with me, because that just meant I would spend more time with his parents than mine, but it still made me wish there was something I could do to patch things up with my mother, even though I still didn’t fully understand why she was so frustrated with me.

Deciding that it didn’t matter, I enjoyed the dinner and conversation that Brian’s parents gave, and we hung around until two, when Brian and I left to pick McKenna up from school.