“What?” I ask, thoroughly confused.
“Hi, there,” my mother finally joins in on the conversation as I stand tall again while my knees crack from the pressure. “We saw you a couple of weeks ago at the gelato place. My grandson, Oliver here, has been obsessed with the lemon flavor ever since you recommended it to him,” she says to Amelia. And now I’m even more caught off guard.
But Amelia doesn’t miss a beat and continues talking to my son. “It’s the best kind, huh, Oliver?”
“Yes. And when I eat it, I make this face ‘cause it’s so sour.” Oliver scrunches up his face and puckers his lips.
Amelia laughs, and God, that sound is one I haven’t been privy to from her just yet. Although I guess every time we’ve interacted so far has been less than amusing for her.
“That’s the best part. And then your tongue gets kind of fuzzy too, huh?”
“Yes!” Oliver agrees enthusiastically.
Brayden clears his throat, much like I did earlier, to break up the moment. “Well, this has been fun, but we’d better get going if we’re going to make our reservation.”
“Oh, yes. Sorry.” Amelia turns to Oliver once more. “It was nice to meet you, Oliver.” And then she glances at me with a much softer look on her face than before. “Have a good night, Ethan.”
But before I can reply, Brayden interjects while glaring in my direction. “You two have fun. I know we will.” He places his hand on the small of her back and begins to lead her away.
“Don’t have too much fun,” I call after them like a petulant child, and once they’re out of sight, my eyes drop down to my mother’s, whose brow is arched so high, it’s almost hitting her hairline.
“Care to explain that comment to me, son?”
“What?” I fake nonchalance, but I know my mother can see right through me.
“Who is that?”
“Yeah, who is the lemon lady, Daddy?” Oliver asks as he tugs on my coat.
I sigh, relenting to the fact that I know neither of them is going to let this slide. “Her name is Amelia St. Clair, and she’s a marriage therapist whose office is also in this complex.” I point to her door as my mother glances in that direction and then back to me.
“Oh, well, isn’t that rich?” She chuckles.
“Uh, it’s been interesting, to say the least.”
“And that little comment you made to her date? That doesn’t have to do with the fact that she’s…”
“Pretty, Daddy. She’s really pretty. Her hair is yellow like sunshine and lemons.”
Smiling down at my son, I can see that he’s already smitten with Amelia too. Welcome to the club, kid. “Yes, she is very pretty.”
“We should be her friend. I like making new friends.”
“Yes, Ethan. You should definitely try to be her friend,” my mother suggests with a bounce of her eyebrows.
“All right, you two are high on sugar right now, it seems, so let’s get some dinner and then get home, shall we?”
“Where are we going, Daddy?” Oliver asks as I grab his hand and walk out to the car with Oliver and my mom in tow.
“I was thinking John’s Incredible Pizza so we can play lots of games and win prizes.”
“Yes!” Oliver jumps across the asphalt until we arrive at my car. I open the door and help him inside, securing him in his booster chair before shutting the door.
“Now that your son can’t hear, care to tell me what that was all about?” My mother crosses her arms over her chest and stares up at me.
“Amelia and I haven’t exactly been cordial with one another, given what each of us does for a living, but I was eager to get things back on the right foot before I realized she was being picked up for a date tonight.”
“And how did that make you feel?”
I glare in her direction. “I know what you’re doing, and it isn’t going to work. Amelia and I are adults, and she can date whomever she wants.”
“It doesn’t bother you?”
“Mom, I love you, but I don’t have time for a woman, let alone a relationship. And truthfully, I don’t know that I ever will again.”
Her lips fall into a frown. “I met someone.”
“What?” Her admission catches me by surprise.
She nods. “I have. I never thought I’d move on either after your father left, but life is too short to spend it alone. And you’re a man…with needs…”
I hold my hand up. “Please don’t finish that sentence. I can’t talk about this with you.”
She shrugs. “I’m just saying. If you like her, which it seems that you do even though I know you’ll stand here and deny it until you’re blue in the face, the least you can do is try, Ethan.”
A heavy sigh leaves my lips. “I have tried before, Mom. And look where that got me.”
“Not every woman is Monica.”
“No, but any woman I bring around will impact Oliver even more. I don’t want to risk him being left behind for a second time. And he’s older now too. He’ll remember it.”
“You think he doesn’t ask about his mom?” she counters. “Because he does.”
“I know, and that’s hard enough to explain. So what if someone comes in, someone who is around, and things don’t work out, and he has to see her all the time? That’s going to be ten times harder.”
She holds her hands up in defeat. “Okay, I won’t push anymore. I just know that you are far too young and handsome to be alone.”
Pulling her in for a hug, I kiss her temple. “Well, I got my good looks from you.”
“And your sarcasm.”
“My best quality, in my opinion.”
I say goodbye to my mother and then head for the restaurant where I plan to kick ass in as many arcade games as I can to win prizes for my kid. Let’s be honest, though—I enjoy this place probably more than he does.
John’s Incredible Pizza serves a pizza buffet and endless self-serve ice cream, and then you can purchase tokens to play arcade games and ride bumper cars in exchange for tickets. They also have this coin game where you have to time the drop of a coin to push others off the edge of a cliff. It’s insanely addicting, and Oliver always whines when I get sucked into it.
“Just one more minute, Ollie.”
“But Daddy…I wanna ride the motorcycle.”