Shit.
I pulled in beside them in the drive, feeling their eyes on me the entire time I parked, switched off my new baby, pulled out the keys and folded out of the car.
“Hey,” I greeted as I rounded the trunk, seeing they were still where they were when I drove up, woman against the SUV, man at the end. Firm distance between them.
He was still handsome, very. She was not. The skin on her face was hanging down in a weird way, lots of wrinkles and they looked like ripples of sags. The bottom lids of her eyes drooped a bit, exposing some pink. She needed an emergency visit to Dominic’s spa and not just for a facial. Her hair had a bad dye job and she’d chosen a weird shade of light brown that wasn’t all that attractive.
As I came to a stop on their side of my car, they were still staring at me but neither of them spoke.
I broke the silence. “Um, I’m guessing you’re Ty’s parents?”
The woman didn’t take her eyes off me when she sneered, “She’s guessin’ we’re Tyrell’s parents.”
Hmm. Seemed Ty’s Mom hadn’t softened with age.
She went on, “Two white girls hitched to black men in this county. Me with him,” she jerked her head to the man who was still hanging out at the end of the SUV, “and you and the black half of my son.”
The black half of my son.
I wasn’t really sure I liked how she put that.
“Well, um… I’m glad to meet you,” I said quietly.
“Well, um…” she parroted sarcastically then she leaned in, “you were glad to meet me, you wouldn’t a’ been in town with my boy for months without meetin’ me.”
I didn’t know what to do with this. Ty talked about them but all in the past. I let him talk and my questions were few as they always were, allowing him to share at his pace and not pushing. I didn’t actually know they still lived close.
Of course I couldn’t tell her that.
“We’ve been kinda busy.” And that wasn’t a lie.
Her eyebrows shot up. “Too busy to meet your man’s parents?”
“Well –” I started but she cut me off.
Looking me up and down, she said, “’Spect he hasn’t met your parents either and ‘spect it’s not for the same reason we haven’t met you.”
I read her inference and this was because it was hard to miss.
“Actually, my parents are both deceased so it would be difficult for Ty to meet them but if they weren’t and I’d actually met them before they died, which I didn’t, then he would have.”
Okay, so I was getting mad. I could feel the sass rising in me and I was trying hard not to throw it but unfortunately not succeeding.
At this point, Ty’s father moved forward.
“I’m Irving Walker. Irv,” he told me as he got close then his hand extended.
I tipped my head back to look at him and saw he wore an expression that held some curiosity, some uncertainty and not a small amount of cautious warmth.
Therefore I took his hand, squeezed it and introduced myself, “Alexa. Alexa Walker. Everyone calls me Lexie.”
He smiled and his smile was near as beautiful as his son’s.
Then he released my hand and jerked his head down and to the side to indicate the woman.
“This is Ty’s Ma, Reece.”
I looked to her, decided to make an attempt at civility and extended my hand. “Hello, Reece.”