“Where’s my boy?” Brenda says when she walks in.
I need to remember to lock the damn door. I could have at least had a second to snap out of the daze I was under. A daze that obviously Tenn is regretting, so I just need to let it go.
“I’m going to check dinner,” I mumble as I rush into the kitchen.
Turkey looks great, potatoes are almost done, and the stuffing is ready for the oven. Damn, I’m proud of myself. Hopefully it tastes as good as it looks.
I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I turn my head. “Hey, Mom. It’s all going good in here, don’t worry. Do you want some wine?”
She smiles and squeezes my shoulder. “What’s going on, Regan?”
“What do you mean? Nothing, I’m just finishing dinner,” I say, looking away from her. She’s my mom, she knows when I’m fucking lying.
“Dinner looks and smells delicious, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the look of fear on your face when I walked in. Your messy dress and flushed face. Were you and Tenn fooling around when we walked in?” she asks.
“What? Did I miss something?” Brenda interrupts.
Awesome, both moms. Where the fuck is Tenn now? He shows up at the bar when I need help, yet here with these two know-it-all vultures he’s never around.
“Nothing, you didn’t miss anything. There wasn’t anything going on, Mom. I was fixing the couch cushions when you walked in. Obviously, my dress rode up when I was bent over, which is probably why my face was flushed. You scared me when you walked it, that’s all. Now who wants wine?” I explain, opening the cabinet to get the glasses.
“You’re lying,” my mom says, taking her glass of wine.
“You definitely are. You can’t fool us,” Brenda says, sipping her wine.
This is not how today is supposed to go. I worked too fucking hard. “No, I’m not. Tenn, I need help,” I yell. Fuck this. I’m not dealing with this.
Of course they laugh, and I’m getting pissed. It was nothing with Tenn, just a weird moment that has passed. I don’t know why they want to push me about it when I said nothing happened. It’s obvious I don’t want to talk about it.
“Tenn,” I yell again.
“What?” he asks, pushing between our moms.
“I need help in here please,” I say with pleading eyes.
He laughs and wraps his arm around me. “Sorry. What’s going on?”
“Well, I think you and Regan were fooling around when we walked in, but my darling daughter doesn’t want to talk about it,” my mom says, looking between the two of us.
Tenn looks down at me and for one brief, millisecond that look is back. Quickly it is replaced with his playful wink. Fuck.
“No, we weren’t fooling around. Regan was annoyed with me because she’s been busting her ass with this dinner, and I’ve done nothing. I told her to relax and held her down on the couch. Nothing happened,” he says.
What the hell? He told the truth. There was no joking, no stupid sexual jobs, it was what happened.
“Alright, I can see that,” Brenda says.
I’m so confused right now, so I push the moms out of the kitchen and tell them to go sit down. Turning around I see Tenn mashing the potatoes.
“What the hell was all that?” I whisper.
“What? You wanted my help and I helped.”
I grab his arm and turn him look at me. “You never tell them the truth like that. Why did you?” He puts some potatoes on a fork and holds it out for me to tastes. “Awesome. Now answer me.”
He leans his tall body against the counter and shrugs. “I can never please you. If I joke with them you get pissed. If I tell them the truth you get pissed. What do you want me to do, Regan?”
“Ugh, I don’t know. I’m used to you joking I guess, so it shocked me.” I step closer and smile up at him. “Sorry, I’m just all over the place.”