“Joey P stopped by to see your brother and asked if you’d be home in March. You know, he never married that Protestant girl he was seeing. Knew it wouldn’t last. Maybe he can come for dinner when you get here. I’ll talk to his mom and work it out,” says Ma.
My eyes widen as I clutch the phone to my ear. I’m on my way to class, thought I’d check in, and this is what I got—the Italian setup.
I let out a sigh. “If you call his mom, I’m not coming home.”
Her voice tsks. “But, Charm, you’re going to be a lonely old maid.”
I choke back a laugh.
She continues, “I know once you get here and Joey’s here, things will just happen—”
I stop on the path to Dr. Cartwright’s class. Might as well tell her. Should have by now. She’s going to either love Blaze or hate him on sight. “I have a boyfriend, Ma. It’s kind of new, but it’s a real thing. We’ve been dating for a few weeks.”
Perfect days of us together, me at his place, him at mine, barely a night apart. We can’t get enough of each other, both of us eager to make up for so much lost time. I’m falling deeper into his dark waters, drifting and wading, listening to him describe how he grew up—without real love. He’s opening up to me, moment by moment, and I hang on to the seconds, my heart hoping he will give me everything.
Her voice rises. “Why haven’t you told me? What’s this boy’s name? Is he from Mississippi?”
I chuckle. “His name is Blaze, and you never give me a chance to talk.”
“That’s not a real name!”
“Neither is Charisma.”
“What’s his family name?”
“Townsend. He’s one of the football players. Remember when we sat around and watched the Waylon game? He made some big plays.”
I hear rustling and water running. She’s probably washing morning dishes. “You went down to that awful place, and now you’re going to be stuck down there. When will I see the grandkids?”
“I know.” I chew on my lip, debating telling her why I’ve kept my heart protected for so long, but I can’t. I never told her about Trevor because I knew my brothers would likely kill him, and I only broached the topic of Pop’s cheating once when I was seventeen. It killed me to hear her angry words, telling me to mind my own business, saying I didn’t get what real love is.
She clears her throat. “You just come home and we’ll see if it lasts. No one gets you like people up here.”
Blaze does get me. He looks at me as if he never wants to take his eyes off me. I move and he moves in turn, making me the center of his world.
He hasn’t told you how he feels, a small voice reminds me.
“Are you having sex? Please, Charm, just use protection. Don’t get the VD that goes around those colleges. Is he going to Nashville with you this summer?”
OMG.
I called her last week and told her they offered me an entry-level paid position with the option to hire me full-time in a year. It’s not Boston, but I can get behind a city like Nashville.
I clench the phone. “I’m not talking to you about sex, and I don’t know where he’ll be this summer. Depends on the draft. How’s Pop and the boys?” I ask, changing the topic.
She fills me in on the usual, and there’s more rustling and then whispering as she talks to Mattie. He must not have left yet for his law school classes at NYU.
I hear him ask for the phone.
“Hey, sis! Joey P is the man!”
“Mattie. She told you,” I murmur.
He chuckles. “Oh, yeah, she did. She’s fuming about some guy you’re seeing. What’s wrong with Joey? He got his teeth fixed and everything.”
FML. I roll my eyes. My family is insane.
“I mean, one tooth is still jacked, but he’s cool,” he adds. I hear the creak of the back door, and I imagine he’s going out to the screened-in porch to get some space from Ma.
“This has nothing to do with Joey P or his teeth. She’s freaked out because I said boyfriend and she hasn’t met him.”