of the road. You know how much of a sucker he is when it comes to animals. I was fine until she started getting into my devil’s ivy. The fiend is going to have to go if she keeps it up.”
I keep my laugh to myself. There’s not a chance in hell Lucinda Bishop will get rid of the cat. She harps on Dad being a lightweight when it comes to helpless animals, but she’s just as bad. I’m sure the next time we talk she’ll be praising and gushing over their new pet.
“Anywho, I didn’t call to talk about the dad-blasted feline. Your dad and I are taking a trip over that way soon and wanted to make sure you’d be in town.”
Mom and Dad moved to Arizona to be with my grandmother several years ago. Her health was declining fast, and Mom wanted to be with her the last few years of her life. She passed three years ago, but my parents never moved back.
“You know I will. I’m not with Phenix anymore. That means no more touring.”
She snorts. “I know you said you were going to leave the band, but for some reason you never called to tell me you actually did.”
Mom’s always been a huge supporter of Phenix, but she understands my need to back away from them.
I grimace. I’ve been so caught up with getting shit done regarding my departure from Phenix, James and Juliet’s wedding, and now Alaina, that I forgot to call my parents to tell them the good news.
“Sorry,” I mutter. “It’s done. I’m free now.”
“How does it feel?”
“Like a huge weight is lifted off my shoulders. Like I can move forward with my life.”
“And does moving forward include a girl?” she asks, her voice full of curiosity.
“I see you’ve been talking to Allison.” I keep my tone light, despite the irritation I feel toward my sister.
“Well, I’ve got to hear it from somebody, right? Since you don’t seem to want to keep me in the loop anymore.”
“Mom.” I massage my aching head. “I didn’t—”
“Just stop, Enzo. I get it, okay? I know about your… sexual exploits, and the last thing you want to do is talk to your mom about them.”
I choke out a laugh. “Sexual exploits? Jesus, Mom.” Uncomfortable with the subject, I run my hand over the back of my head. “What in the hell do you know about shit like that?”
“Son, I’m not dead. For your information, your dad and I are very active sexual exploitees,” she huffs.
I don’t know if I should be mortified we’re even talking about this or laugh because of her word choice. Sexual exploitee? Is that even a thing?
“Okay, we are not talking about you and Dad having sex. Not now, not ever.” I shudder. “And Alaina is not a sexual exploit.”
“Alaina. That’s her name?”
“Yes.”
“I like it.” She pauses. “I still get it though. Why you didn’t tell us. You know how much your dad and I want you to settle down, get married, and have kids. You want to make sure it works out first before you say anything.”
Leaning my head on the cool glass, I close my eyes. Guilt tightens the muscles in my chest.
Mom’s harped on me for years about finding a good woman to marry and have children with. I haven’t told her yet that there’s a possibility the children part might never happen. The only breaks I got from her incessant badgering was while I was on tour. And that was only because she didn’t want me marrying a groupie. Hot anger builds in my stomach when the image of a blonde-haired bitch with deceiving blue eyes comes to mind. Mom has no idea how close I came to marrying a groupie.
As soon as I touched back into town after a tour, Mom was always back to the pestering. Didn’t matter if I would be leaving my wife and kid behind to go back out on the road. She wanted that connection for me.
God love the woman, and so do I, but her nagging causes my head to pound.
“Just promise, if you two are still together when your dad and I come for a visit, you’ll bring her by so we can meet her.”
“I can’t make that promise. It’s not my decision to make.”
Would Alaina want to meet my parents? She was reluctant to meet my sister at first, but she got over it quickly. Meeting the parents is different than meeting a sibling.
“You could always trick her