I was forced to stick with that name now… at least until I was certain where Devlin and I were headed. I felt like I needed a couple more weeks to work things out in my head and when I did, then I could come clean with Seth and mom about who Devlin really was. Not that mom would care as much, but I didn’t want to have to ask her to lie to Seth on my behalf.
“And… what does he do?”
“Uh… he’s a painter,” I said, choosing to tell her the career he wished to pursue.
“Really?” mom said, sounding intrigued.
“Yeah,” I nodded, thinking of the painting he had done of me. “And he’s really good, ma. He’s actually going to be exhibited in one of the local galleries in town soon.”
“Wow… does that kind of thing bring in a lot of money?”
“Mom.”
“What?”
“I can’t ask him that,” I said. It’s not polite.”
“I thought you said the two of you got along well.”
I shook my head at her and mom gave a deep sigh. “Maybe that was my mistake… my first mistake in life,” she said.
“What was?”
“Not marrying a rich man,” mom said. “Let that be a lesson to you, Zo… find a guy with money. It’ll save you a lot of worry in your life, and your children won’t have to scrape and scrounge their entire lives.”
“We work hard, mom,” I said.
“Exactly,” she nodded. “Sometimes I think the both of you work so hard that you don’t have a life because of it.”
“Really?”
“Really,” she nodded.
“Then tell me this… when was the last time you went out with a group of friends?” mom asked. “Or went to a party or went on a date? When was the last time you were anywhere you could meet a nice, eligible young man?”
“I’ll have you know that you don’t have to go out to meet nice eligible men,” I said, without thinking.
“What does that mean?” mom asked.
“Uh, nothing.”
Mom stared at me for a moment and then she narrowed her eyes at me. “Hold on, are you dating your roommate?”
“I… no.”
Mom clapped her hands together and laughed. “Is that why you’ve been so tight-lipped about him?” she asked. “Because you and he are—”
“It’s not a big deal,” I said.
“Of course it’s a big deal. And you know why I think that is?”
“Enlighten me.”
“You’re blushing.”
“I am not,” I said defensively, even though I knew she was right.
Thankfully, I was saved the embarrassment of that particular conversation when we heard the door open. “Seth’s here!” I said, jumping to my feet. “At last.”