you.”
Noah took a sideways glance toward Alex’s direction. “Couldn’t it have waited for a bit until I got home?”
“Oh, so you still consider it your home? Because I haven’t seen you in days. I was beginning to think you’d moved out without telling me.”
“It’s busy at the center,” Noah said defensively.
Helen rolled her eyes. “It’s always busy at the center. Until recently that didn’t stop you from coming home by dinnertime at the latest.”
“I’ve missed dinner like five times tops.”
“That’s five times too many. I was counting on your presence when I did the cooking.”
Noah gritted his teeth. “Well, thank you for the reminder. In the future I’ll be more considerate and let you know in advance that I will not be present during dinner.”
Judging by the sour look on Helen’s face, that hadn’t been the outcome she’d been banking on. And judging by the glare she aimed Alex’s way, she’d already made up her mind about who the culprit was for the change in her son’s behavior.
Alex lifted his chin a bit and met Helen’s gaze head-on. He refused to cower in front of Noah’s mom. By the looks of it, she was used to people behaving like she demanded, but she was in for a surprise if she thought Alex was easily cowed by an icy stare and a ramrod posture.
Yeah, lady, your son has been spending his evenings with me, and it looks like he has no plans to change that recent habit.
Helen turned back to Noah. “Fine. Before I go, there’s one more thing we need to discuss.” She glanced at Alex again, lips pursed in disapproval. “In private.”
“It’s going to have to wait until I’m home. I’m having dinner with a friend.” Alex was impressed at how steady Noah sounded.
“It’s important.”
“So is this,” Noah said.
“This matter is a bit more urgent than stuffing unhealthy amounts of grease into your mouth, which, may I remind you, you should not be doing at all. Now, will you please step out with me for five minutes?” The last sentence was spoken through teeth gritted together with such strength that Alex was surprised anybody understood what the woman was saying.
Noah looked like he was about to break, but just then, he glanced at Alex again. Alex nodded once, hoping Noah understood the gesture for what it was. An encouragement to stick to his guns because, with an eighteen-year-old son, Helen desperately needed somebody to teach her the importance of boundaries. Alex would have volunteered, but he doubted anything he did would have had the same effect as what Noah’s reaction would end up having.
Alex was damn proud of Noah when the guy stared straight at his mother and said just one word. “No.”
A vein in Helen’s forehead pulsed like crazy as she measured her son with a look, presumably waiting for him to crack, but Noah stood his ground.
“I guess you leave me no choice,” Helen said. “Fine, we’ll discuss it here and now. I was in Portland yesterday, and I ran into Dr. Moore by accident. It seems that you missed your appointment for some reason. Care to explain?”
Noah had suddenly gone at least three shades paler as his eyes kept flicking between his mom and Alex. “I don’t think it’s the right time to talk about that,” he finally said.
“Too bad. Why did you cancel the appointment? You know how important it is.”
“Not now, Mom!” Noah snapped and stared his mom down. She turned away first.
“This discussion is not over. I’ll see you at home in an hour.”
With those words, she left. The bell above the door jangled way too cheerfully as she stormed out of there, the clickety-clack of her heels a soundtrack to her exit.
Noah stared after her, hands in fists, fingernails digging into his palms. He was almost vibrating, frustration rolling off him in waves like something palpable.
He gathered himself quickly, though, took his seat again and leaned back in the booth. “I’m sorry about Mom,” he said tightly. “She has issues with boundaries.”
Alex couldn’t care less about Noah’s mom. The only person he was worried about was sitting right there in front of him, looking defeated and lost and tired. As surreptitiously as he could, he reached out his hand and quickly slid his palm over the back of Noah’s hand before pulling away again.
“Are you all right?” The diner was noisy. People were chatting loudly, so their conversation couldn’t really be heard, but Alex kept his voice down anyway. Just in case