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“I love you too, honey.” Mom says with the fondest smile. Patting my shoulders, she adds, “Now, go set that table. We are starving.”
Forty minutes later, we all settle on the table and begin digging into the pasta. It tastes amazing. I can’t tell if it's because I watched them make it while having so much fun. And, despite the news of her possible arthritis, mom looks really happy. I think it's what being with the right person does.
“So, how is work?” Mom asks conversationally.
“Work has been great,” I tell her as I twist the pasta around my fork and bring it to my lips.
“So,” she continues as she looks up at me teasingly. “Is there anyone on the horizon?”
I roll my eyes playfully.
“Didn't I tell you as a little kid that I wanted to be a nun?”
“We both know you changed your mind the moment you met Benjamin in first grade.”
Dad lets out a ruckus of laughter. I try not to turn redder than the sauce on my plate.
“Well,” I grin. “It's true.”
“So, tell us,” Mom says with a cheeky grin. “Is there someone?”
I turn red from her question and lower my head on my plate to hide my blush.
“Oh my God,” Mom says. “You've met someone.”
There's excitement in her eyes and voice as she looks over at my father with joy.
“Tell us about him,” Dad says with a smile.
I look down at my plate, wondering how they'll take it when I tell them that it's indeed a student's parent. I feel a little ashamed. Even though I hesitate, I don't lie to them.
“It's a man I met at school,” I say quietly as I fork pasta into my mouth in hopes that I can chew it forever and not have to answer the rest of their questions.
“A teacher?” Dad asks as he bites into his pasta.
I squirm a little in my seat.
“No. It's, uh, it's a parent.”
A spoon clatters, and I look up. Mom's face is etched in shock.
“A parent?” She asks in disbelief.
I nod, unable to do anything else. I watch their faces and their struggle to digest the news.
“I thought you were dating that guy; the one from the bookstore.”
“I broke up with Pete over a year ago,” I tell my mother darkly.
“And you haven't met anyone else since then except this—man?”
I shrug carelessly.
“I wasn't looking.”
“Paislee,” Mom says in that strict tone she used on me as a little kid. “It's very unethical to date a student's parent.”
I don't know if telling them about my arrangement will only make it worse. Even though my parents have never been very conservative, I don't think it'll go down well.
