I ignore him, turning back to take in the splendor before me.
The cabinets and drawers are all painted a pale green that complement the dark wood floors and black marble countertops perfectly. A six-burner stove, black farmhouse sink, and a double gleaming oven finish out the area and have me wanting to cry all over again.
“Do you need help?” Eli asks and I know that he’s trying to throw me a lifeline before he just leaves me alone with his mom.
“No, dear. Go visit with your dad. Let Hartley and I get to know each other a little better.”
Eli looks like he doesn’t know if he should argue or not and his eyes ping pong between me and his mom until I finally rescue him.
“We’ll be fine,” I say, giving him what I hope is a reassuring smile.
He still looks like he wants to stay, but finally he turns and heads back into the living room.
I wash my hands, trying to give myself a pep talk.
We’re in a kitchen. This is a safe space. You can make one meal with Eli’s mom and survive.
I dry my hands off and join her at the counter, all of my confidence evaporating with his first question.
“What are your intentions with my son?”
“Uh…”
Susan laughs, letting me know that she was just messing with me, but I have a feeling that this is far from the only thing she’ll be asking me tonight about Eli’s and my relationship.
Now, I just need to survive the interrogation that I’m sure Susan is about to put me through.