The Fake Girlfriend Rules

“Of course, come on. I'll even introduce you to some of the stars that are here.” My parents follow me through the studio. I show them a few of the other sets, and my father snatches a doughnut off a table as we pass by.

“Stephen,” my mother snaps.

With a mouth full of jelly doughnut, my dad shrugs his shoulders. “What?” he mumbles. “You were warned that I'm hungry.”

I introduce my parents to Rod Greenefield, famous for his role in the blockbuster hit Ride, and Kelly Nester, who my mother recognizes from her favorite soap opera.

“Oh my God,” my mother says as she stops in her tracks. I expect her to point out another actress she recognizes, but instead, her eyes don't glisten for a star, they sparkle for someone she knows just as well as I do. “Is that Lyllian Hoxie?”

Before I can say anything, my mother calls out her name, causing Lyllian to whip around. Lyl squints her eyes, her lips instantly curling into a smile.

“Mrs. Meyers? Is that you?”

My mother holds her arms out and waves Lyllian in for hug. “Oh my, I haven't seen you in such a long time. How are you? Let me look at you.” She holds the outside of her arms and looks her up and down. “You look just like your mother.”

Lyl gives her a big hug. “I'm doing really good.”

“And your mom, how is she?”

“She's good, too.”

“And your father?”

Lyl scrunches her face up and rocks her head on her shoulders. “Eh, he's all right, I guess. We don't talk that much, but he seems fine when I do talk to him.”

My mother purses her lips and frowns, but quickly turns it into a grin. “I didn't expect to see you here. You know, every time Doug comes down, I always hope to see you with him.”

“Yeah, he's thrown out the invite before, but I never wanted to intrude on you guys.”

“Honey,” my mother says, smoothing her hands down her hair, and holding her cheeks, “you would never be intruding, you're practically family.”

“And who is this beautiful woman?” Jim asks as he steps up beside us. “Our next Marilyn Monroe?”

“Oh, stop,” my mother says as she blushes. “Maybe in my younger years,” she teases.

“Jim, this is my mother, Mindy, and my father, Steve.”

He shakes their hands. “It's nice to meet you both. I see you've already met our newest addition to the team, your son's girlfriend, Lyllian. She's a natural, too, fits right in with us.”

“Girlfriend?” My mother's head whips over her shoulder, her eyes wide with shock. “When did this happen, and why didn't I know about it?”

“Um, yeah, Lyllian and I have been dating for a little while now. I'm sorry, I thought I told you, but I guess it slipped my mind.”

Lyllian spots my discomfort. She moves to my side and slips her arm around mine. “We meant to tell you, Mrs. Meyers, but we weren't sure how you'd feel about it.”

“I thought you were just roommates and friends.” My mother looks over at my father, and asks, “Did you know about this?”

He shakes his head no, and stuffs another doughnut in his mouth. He wants no part of this conversation. My father is the type of guy who just sits back and keeps his opinions to himself.

“So, you're telling me you've been a couple for months now, but you never once mentioned it? I don't understand, Douglas. Why would you hide this? You know how much we love Lyllian.”

“I know, and I swear, I really was going to tell you, but if it didn't work out for some reason, I didn't want you to resent her or me for how it might have ended. I know how much you love Lyllian, I just wanted to protect all of us.”

“He's telling you the truth, Mrs. Meyers.” Lyl squeezes my arm tighter. “We were worried about that. We didn't mean to hide it for this long, it just ended up that way.”

My mother's eyes veer, bouncing between both of us. Thinning her lips, her brows dip in hard. I don't know if she's buying our story. My mother's known Lyllian for as long as I have. She looks at her like a daughter. That's how close Lyl and I have been all our lives.

Does she see through us?

I wait for her to say something, but she's being so damn quiet. Her finger taps against her chin as she just glares at us with this look of disbelief. The corner of her lips lift up, and her chin tucks into her neck. She parts her lips, about to speak, but quickly closes her eyes and waves a hand in the air.

“You know what, it doesn't matter. If you two are happy, that's all I care about. Besides, I always wanted you two to date when you were younger.” Her thin lips become a huge grin. “I knew you were a perfect match. I was right, Stephen, wasn't I? Didn't I always tell you they'd make a cute couple?”