Breathing Under Water

Dinner with Family

“Oh my God… You invited a girl home? A real live girl. Honey, I’m so proud of you,” my Mom shrieked.

She wrapped me in a big hug and twirled me around the kitchen. Then she pinched both of my cheeks so hard, I thought she might leave a mark. She was a little more then excited.

“Mom, just be cool. It’s not a big deal. We’re like study buddies, I guess. Don’t make it weird,” I muttered, trying to pull away from her.

“Me, never. You’re Father, I make no promises about. He was starting to think you might be gay -”

“Mom!”

“Not that we care. We love you and support you no matter what. I am excited to meet her though. Is she pretty?”

I sighed and leaned against the side of the refrigerator. Then I said, “Mom, pretty doesn’t even cover it.”

My Mom’s big smile got even bigger. She gave the meat sauce simmering on the stove another stir and said, “Well, I hope she likes spaghetti and garlic bread. Oh, and we’ve got chocolate cake for dessert with raspberry drizzle.”

To my Mother food and love were pretty much the same thing. She cooked when she was happy and that was almost all the time. My stocky build could very easily turn pudgy if I didn’t exercise.

My mouth was already watering at the smell of dinner. I distracted myself from the food by setting the table. The sight of four placemats instead of three made me a little nervous.

I hoped my family didn’t freak Lilly out too much. They were loud, affectionate, and really easy going. My father was technically French, with the last name Pelletier, but my Mother was Italian and she acted it to a tee.

My parents both loved wine, good conversation, and lots of pasta. I was fairly certain they would behave until the second glass of wine. Maybe Lilly and I could escape to do homework before then.

Dinner was on the table when the doorbell rang. My Mom was cutting the fresh baked bread and motioned for me to go let our guest in. I braced myself and then went to do so.

Lilly was standing in the pale glow of our porch light. She was wearing her usual long skirt and heavy sweater. I was pretty sure she was also wearing thick tights under the skirt. (I highly doubted her legs were blue.)

I also noticed that she seemed even shorter than usual in a part of flat Mary Jane’s. I smirked and blurted out, “Did you shrink, Little Red?”

“Excuse me?” she asked raising an eyebrow. “What did you just call me?”

Well Shit… I thought with a mental face palm. Before I could come up with some pathetic excuse, my Mom rushed to my side and said, “ Is this her, Sean? You were right! She is stunning. Please come inside sweetheart.”

Any embarrassment I felt about letting my little nickname slip quickly faded in comparison to what my mother had just said. I’m not sure if Lilly or I looked more mortified. My Mom (of course) didn’t notice a thing and rambled on.

“I’m so glad he invited you over! Come in, please. My other half, Jack, is that big lug planted on the sofa. He always watches the news in the evening. I don’t know why. I swear it just puts him in a bad mood. Pshh… men. Will we ever understand them?”

My Mom didn’t wait for a response. She ushered us into the dining room and my Dad followed behind. I tried to make eye contact with Lilly as we sat down beside each other, but she faced straight ahead.

Then my mom served out huge portions of spaghetti and continued chatting about my Grandmother’s secret recipe. She only paused to take a big bite of garlic bread and groan. Then she raised a big glass of red wine and said, “To Lilly, good company, and chocolate cake!”

“There’s cake?” Lilly said, her voice a bit higher then usual.

My mom patted her hand and said, “Don’t worry sweetheart. If your too full, I’ll cut you a piece to take home. Trust me though, when you see it, you’ll make room.”
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Sorry for the very long wait!!! :( I've been working on some other stories.