“Thank you, Michelle. You two are staying until Monday, right?”
“Right.” ‘Assuming you don’t kick us out after you hear what we have to tell you,’ she added silently. Nick shot her a meaningful glance across the table.
“Can I talk to you later, dear?” Jane asked.
“Absolutely. When?”
“Before you go to bed.”
“Sure.”
An hour later, Michelle brushed through her hair and went to find Jane. She was sitting at the kitchen table. “You wanted to talk to me?”
“Yes, I wanted to ask you a few things. Can we go up to your room?”
“Sure.” They went upstairs and sat down on the bed.
“I’m curious about my son. I know it’s really none of my business, but does he date?”
“Yeah,” Michelle said truthfully. They had been on three dates since she had gotten back to Atlanta.
“He never tells me these things. I know I’m being a typical mother, but I can’t wait until he settles down and has a family.”
Michelle almost laughed at the irony in that statement. If only she knew how close her son was to that. “Oh, I definitely think Nick will have a family. He seems like the type.”
“That’s good. He’s not in a serious relationship, is he? Well, not necessarily serious, but is he seeing anyone?”
“Yeah, actually, he is. I’d tell you about her, but I want him to be the one to do that.”
“I understand. Thanks, Michelle.”
“You’re welcome, Jane.”
As soon as he saw his mom leave, Nick tapped on Michelle’s door. She managed to pull him in and close the door softly without anyone seeing. Then she kissed him passionately, urgently, feverishly. “I hate not being able to do that.”
“I know. What did she want?” he asked. Before she answered, he kissed her again.
“She wanted to know if you were ever going to settle down and have a family. I barely kept myself from laughing. Weird, huh? It’s like she knows what’s going on.”
“She doesn’t, though, right?”
“No. I told her you were seeing someone, but I wanted you to be the one to tell her about the girl.”
He sighed deeply and rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous habit. “We have to tell them pretty soon. We’re gonna have a hell of a time trying to keep this covered up.”
“Well, is your dad awake?”
“Yeah. Is your mom?”
“I think so. Should we just tell them now? That’ll give them the night to calm down. Then in the morning, they won’t be so mad, and I know my mom will try to be supportive.”
“Yeah, I think that’d be good. Once my parents cool off, they should be pretty good about this.”
“How did we get ourselves into this, Nick?” she said softly, leaning against his chest.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head. “I don’t know, but I love you.”
“I love you, too. Should we go get our parents now?”
“Not quite yet. Let’s just forget about everything for a minute and get lost in the moment.”