wasn’t as quiet as Dad. Especially because she was wearing her ugliest and most-comfortable shoes, which made her sound like a Clydesdale when she walked. “You are staying here. I haven’t seen you in months, and we need to get wedding planning.”
“Oh, Mom, that’s not –” Kayla was interrupted by Mom grabbing her and dragging her away.
I’m so sorry, Adam mouthed at Kayla as she was led away.
“She’s been planning a wedding since we knew we were having at least one daughter,” Dad said to Adam. “It’s pointless fighting it.”
“I hope Kayla’s going to tell her that we didn’t want a huge thing. Just my family and hers and a few of our friends. It’s going to be expensive enough flying them all in to wherever we’re going to have it, even though I don’t have a huge family,” Adam said. He didn’t know my mother at all.
“I hate to break it to you, but I think she’s already got a venue chosen,” Dad said. “I’ve tried to stop her, but once she gets something into her head she just goes for it.”
“See? This is what you get to look forward to,” I said to Adam as Stryker started taking requests and I moved toward the living room.
“Hey, Katiebug, can you come help me set up the bed downstairs?” Dad gave me a look that meant he wanted to talk. At least he was more subtle about it than Mom.
“See you later, future big brother,” I said to Adam as I followed Dad down the stairs to the basement. The violin music faded behind us, and I hoped Stryker would be okay on his own for a few minutes. My mom had a serious problem collecting furniture, bordering on an obsession, and most of it was stored in the basement. Since I’d been at school they’d painted the walls and moved some of it out of the way so you could at least walk from one side of the room to the other without climbing over something. Sort of.
The bed for Kayla and Adam to share was shoved in a corner, so Dad and I moved it out a bit so they could at least get in and out of it without crashing into one of the lamps Mom couldn’t say no to, or the gigantic chest that could have passed for a coffin.
“He’s an interesting young man you brought home, Katiebug. Is he your boyfriend?” He pulled a sheet set out of the ‘rustic’ dresser Mom had paid an arm and a leg for.
“Well, Dad don’t beat around the bush.” We shook the sheets and set about making up the bed. “No, he’s not my boyfriend.”
“But you want him to be.”
I wished everyone would stop asking me that. “I don’t know what I want. Right now, after everything with Zack, I can’t really think about dating. It’s just too complicated.”
“I think that’s a good plan, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to work. Sometimes life gets in the way.”
“Hmm,” I said tucking a corner of the fitted sheet over the mattress.
“Mom doesn’t like him, does she?” I said.
Dad spread the flat sheet out and started tucking it in, looking down at the drawing Stryker had done. He really was crazy talented.
“I’m not so sure about him myself, Katie. He’s not who I would have chosen for you.”
“I’m not choosing him. He’s just a guy I’m hanging out with.” That was all he needed to know. I would rather dive naked into a volcano than admit to Dad that Stryker and I were having casual sex. Hell, my parents hadn’t even had ‘the talk’ with me. They’d handed me one of those books with graphic anatomically correct drawings and said to come to them with any questions. Little did they know that Britt’s Dad had a secret porn collection we’d sampled during junior high sleepovers when her parents went to bed.
“Have you heard from Zack?” Dad said as we tucked the quilt over the flat sheet. I knew he wouldn’t have brought it up, so Mom must have convinced him to do it.
“Not really. I think his parents are keeping him on a short leash. I’ll have to see him soon enough.” Bless our legal system for drawing this whole thing out longer and longer.
“He’s talented.” Dad tossed a pillowcase at me and I slid it over one of the pillows. It took me a second to shift gears and realize he wasn’t talking about Zack.
“Yeah, he is.” I sighed.