bragged that knowing how to handle my mom and dad had become an art form to her. Although she and my father had a love-hate relationship, she claimed the hate part was merely his way of projecting from inferiority he felt due to her arguing skills.
While waiting for our guests to arrive, I frantically tapped a rhythm on the granite and hadn’t realized my mom had been watching me until she tilted her head with concern. “You okay, honey?”
At that moment, the intercom buzzed and I shouted, “I’ll get it!” I rushed toward the door, and when Walter announced through the speaker that Lori and Cannon were on their way up, my anxieties when into overdrive. The few minutes it took for them to emerge from the elevator felt like an eternity.
“Hi,” Lori said with a relaxed smile. “Ready for this?”
“No. Maybe we should wait and tell them another time.”
“Relax, Shane. It’ll be fine.” She patted my arm and walked past me. Cannon grinning as he followed his wife into the apartment wasn’t helping my nerves in the least. It wasn’t his head on the line.
By the time I forced my feet to move, sweat dampened the back of my neck. The quicker we got this over with, the better. I walked in just as my dad asked, “What brought you guys to New York?” As he uncorked a bottle of wine, with that question he unknowingly caused a new wave of panic to engulf me.
“We needed to meet with a possible new artist,” Cannon said innocently. He and Lori made themselves comfortable at the kitchen island while I hovered like a guilty criminal.
“It smells amazing Lei Lei.” Lori expertly changed the subject. “It’s been way too long since I had your lasagna.”
“I made it knowing you love it so much.”
“Sorry we invited ourselves over for dinner.” She didn’t look the least bit sorry.
“Honestly, I was shocked. You never make time for us when you’re in New York,” Mom teased, glancing over her shoulder as she pulled out a massive baking dish from the oven.
“That’s because your husband doesn’t like me.” When Dad’s head flipped up, she grinned. “Where are the spawns?”
“Siarra is at a friend’s tonight. I fed the boys already, and now they’re playing video games.”
“Wow… Miss Tyrant is allowing that on a weeknight?”
“Shut up. I wanted to enjoy my best friend’s visit.” That only meant I didn’t have the monsters to supply a distraction.
“We do have a lot to catch up on,” Lori nonchalantly admitted.
“I can’t wait.” My mother lifted the lasagna before asking, “Shane, can you grab the salad?”
With shaky hands, I carried the big bowl into our dining room. When I was the first to sit, Dad misinterpreted my reason. “Someone is hungry,” he said with a smile, pouring out the wine that I wished was for me.
“Yeah… you know me with lasagna.” Despite starving, the way my stomach twisted made me nauseated. I had no idea if this would come up during the meal or after. Normally, I’d be scoffing down half my serving the moment it was placed before me instead of pushing it around, waiting for the fireworks to begin.
But the conversation’s starting with Lori reminiscing over her and Mom’s high school days relaxed me enough to somewhat enjoy what I was eating.
Ten minutes in, just as I had resigned myself that it would be later and not now, Lori asked, “Remember how your father freaked out when you announced you weren’t going to college?”
Instantly, the hot lump of pasta, cheese, and sauce lodged in my throat, causing me to choke.
“Oh my God, Shane,” Mom said, thumping my back. “Are you okay?”
“Wrong pipe,” I croaked, gasping for air and then downing half a glass of my water. During it all, Cannon seemed a bit concerned, but his wife merely smiled and winked. It was so strange. I wondered if Lori hated me and if this was all a plot to kill me.
At least she spared me more bouts with death for a solid five minutes, only to bring up Mom’s lack of a college education again. But this time, she said, “Actually, you both did pretty well without those dumb pieces of paper declaring a useless degree.”
Mom shrugged. “We got lucky.”
“Well, it wasn’t all luck,” Dad interjected. “I don’t regret skipping out of NYU.” His gaze landed on me. “I do wonder what would have happened had I not dropped out.”
“For one… you wouldn’t have followed your dream and have the amazing