“You saw. They make a game out of it.”
“I’ll bet they were concerned,” he said.
“They were.” I picked up my bra and put it on.
“Do you have to do that?”
“I wish I didn’t,” I said. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Good.” He stood up and kissed me, then ducked down and handed me my shirt.
If I had my way, my family would never see Jake. I’d live a double life, and they’d both be completely oblivious. It didn’t seem natural for the two worlds to exist at once. When I pulled up to the house, my mother was outside smoking a cigarette.
She ran up to give me a hug when I got out. “You look so happy.”
“Do I?”
“Yes, you’re totally different. You got back together with him, didn’t you?”
“We’re not doing question and answer time, Mom.”
We walked back inside, where my father sat on the couch watching a cooking show. “You did it!” he said, standing up to give me a hug.
“What is wrong with you people?” I asked. “Are you psychic?”
“We’re your parents.” My mother walked into the kitchen and pulled out another cigarette. “We know you better than you know yourself.”
“Well, it’s not something I’m willing to talk about.”
I followed my mother into the kitchen, where she stood in front of the stove. “Your cousin’s coming over. She’s been asking about you.”
I sat down at the table. “Did you tell her anything?”
“No.” She turned back with her brow ruffled. “I didn’t tell her anything.”
“They were on the phone for an hour,” my dad called out from the living room.
“Seriously?”
“We didn’t say anything bad.” She turned her focus back to the food.
“What are you cooking?” I asked.
“Meatball marinara.” My mom ducked under the sink to pull out a stock pot and started filling it with water. “We got the good meat, too; none of that fatty stuff, since we can afford it now.”
“Yeah.” I smiled. “We can, can’t we?”
She shook her head. “You know, I still haven’t figured out what happened.”
“It’s a mistake with the system,” my dad yelled.
“Bull,” my mom said. “There’s no way they would erase our debt just like that.”
“They’ll catch it,” he said. “Be careful. I’m telling you.”
“I don’t think we have anything to worry about,” I said.
“Do you know how it happened?” my mother asked.