“No, my mother always thought the town was possessed,” Mom answered.
Dad added, “I guess when I was younger, I didn’t really care about the history. Now that you’re here, Mike, it gives me an excuse to come more often.”
Sydney and I exchanged a quick look. I knew what she was thinking.
Get those locks changed.
“How about some lunch now? I know I’m hungry,” Sydney announced.
Mom sighed and nodded her head. “Lunch sounds amazing. I heard about a place I wouldn’t mind trying out if you guys are up for it. Turner’s Seafood.”
“That’s a great place to eat,” Sydney said. “It’s right around the corner, a short walk away. And…”—she looked at my dad—“they have great cheesecake.”
“That sounds like my kind of place!” Dad said.
The moment we walked into the restaurant, I heard Marie let out a squeal of delight.
“Sydney! Mike!”
She hugged Sydney and said, “It’s about time he manned up and took you off the market.”
Sydney gasped, took a step back, and said, “Marie!”
That was all it took for my mother to jump in.
“Hi, Marie, I’m Paula, Mike’s mother. This is Dex, his father.”
Marie’s eyes lit up like the Fourth of July as she shook both of my parents’ hands and then turned to Sydney.
“You’re meeting the parents. Things must be serious. I knew you were holding out on me at the clinic. The girls are going to be elated.”
I groaned internally at the idea of the gossip mill flowing now.
“They came into town to visit Salem, and I offered to show them around,” Sydney clarified.
“After she got dressed and came downstairs from Mike’s room,” my mother threw in.
I ran my hand down my face and groaned. My father leaned in and said, “And you wondered why we got divorced.”
“We should probably take our seats, the hostess is waiting for us,” I said, prompting my mother to say good-bye to her newly appointed best friend, Marie.
Lifting her hand in a wave, Marie called out, “I’ll be over in a bit before I leave!”
On the way to the table, Sydney poked me in the side and pointed.
“Look! Your dad is checking out your mom’s ass.”