“She’ll whip out a baby photo of you in the nude wearing a handbag?”
I laugh. “Ironically, I do have a photo like that. I’ve never brought a girl home…”
More silence. I hate silence.
“Are you saying you’ve never been in a relationship?” she asks, somewhat shocked at my admission.
“Yes,” I admit, not ashamed of my playboy nature.
“Wow,” she exclaims over the receiver. “After all these years, how do you get out of staying with a woman?”
“Easy,” I answer. “I just wasn’t interested. I didn’t exactly mingle with women wanting a relationship.”
There’s noise in the background. Morgan apologizes, saying goodbye and hanging up the call. A few minutes later, I get a text.
Morgan: Don’t for one minute think you’re getting out of that conversation.
It was bound to come up, and if life has taught me anything so far, I need to start being honest with everyone and myself. Sure, I have a past. Don’t we all? But I’ve left it all behind. My baggage didn’t carry itself here to Los Angeles, and I’m certainly glad that Morgan is equally baggage free.
***
The food smells delicious, and true to Charlie’s word, Lex is great at the barbecue. There are many guests who Charlie introduces me to, from her neighbors across the street to Lex’s parents and sister. I politely say hello, making small talk like the well-mannered son my mom raised me to be.
And of course Kate, who has conveniently positioned herself next to the table with the punch under a big sun hat.
“Are you wearing that to shield the Earth from all the galactic forces?” I mock her.
“I’ll have you know that skin cancer is a deadly disease.”
“It is…” I agree. “You turn into a lobster, don’t you?”
“A British lobster at that, but hey, I got the magic juice.” She holds up a solo cup, cheering herself on.
I leave her alone to get drunk and sunburned and see Morgan enter the yard with her dad by her side. He's the spitting image of Scarlett—same eyes and even the eyebrows are shaped the same. Given that he’s from Little Rock, I expected some hick-town old man and am surprised he looks young and fit for his age.
She waves at me and I walk toward her, unsure of whether or not I should kiss her. So, I lean in and kiss her cheek as she pulls back and introduces me, “Noah, this is my dad, Max.”
I shake his hand as a sign of respect, and then offer him a beer. Lex and Charlie have joined us, introducing themselves. Charlie seems to take to Morgan, pulling her aside and introducing her to the girls. This is all new to me. I don’t know why I feel incredibly uncomfortable. It’s like all my worlds colliding in one backyard.
“I’m Ava, Uncle Noah’s favorite,” Ava says confidently.
Morgan leans across to me. “The sleepwalker and toothbrush bandit?”
I ruffle Ava’s hair. “Yep. She also enjoys using my cell and buying apps because Uncle Noah has never had to lock his account before.”
Ava has a way with her words, talking endlessly about anything and everything. Morgan has the patience of a saint, weighing in heavily on which Wiggle she likes best. I don’t even know what the hell a Wiggle is.
Lex’s niece asks Ava to come play, the both of them running off to join the other kids playing chase on the big green lawn.
We sit down at one of the picnic tables when Kate and Mom walk outside with bowls of chips and some salad. I turn my head as Kate sees us at the table, her usual mischievous grin playing on her lips. She leans over to whisper into Mom’s ear before they both turn around and walk our way.
Here we go.
This is it.
Why the fuck are you sweating bullets?
I turn around, pretending not to notice, when Kate purposely wraps her arms around me, giving me a big hug. “Hey, mama’s boy.”