Blind Date and Beginnings - 10. Blind Date - Part 10

“You’re taking a long weekend?” Amy asked incredulously as we walked back to my office. “You? I can’t remember the last time you took time off for fun. What gives?”

I couldn’t help grinning at her; and maybe smirking a little too. It seemed like I had been doing a lot of that grinning lately. A fact that I knew had rumors flying around the bank. “I just wanted to spend some extra time with Ryan is all,” I explained in my most reasonable voice. “Who knew my taking a day off was going to be such a source of rumor?”

“So how does it feel to be the talk of the Bank stud boy?” Amy asked, smirking as we entered my office. “You’ve got the gossip mill overheating you know. I’m waiting for smoke to start pouring out of their ears. So what hot and sexy plans do you two boys have? Gimme all the juicy details!”

I couldn’t help laughing at her more than apt description of the office rumor mongers. And blushing at her calling me a stud, even in jest. “No big plans,” I answered her grinning. “Honest!” I continued as she looked at me skeptically. “Ryan’s shift has him off for the next few days and we plan on being very sluggy. Maybe catch a movie, hit a restaurant. Nothing exciting.”

“Well you’re no fun!” Amy protested, teasing me. “How can I live vicariously thru you and get a cheap thrill when you insist on being domestic and boring?” Amy leaned against my door frame eyeing me seriously for a few seconds and I knew I was about to get a dose of mothering. “So everything’s going good between you two?” she probed with her usual lack of tact. “No bumps along the way?”

I smiled at her even as I rolled my eyes. “Yes mom, we’re doing good,” I answered in a resigned voice I knew would irritate her. I knew she meant well which is the only reason I tolerated her mothering mode. “Really it’s still too soon for there to be too many bumps,” I continued. “We’ve only been seeing each other for a couple of weeks.”

“Yes, but you’ve been with each other every single night as far as I can tell,” Amy answered. “Enough time for a few problems to creep up. I mean you two can’t be spending every single moment screwing each other. I’d think you’d have to talk at least a few minutes between romps.”

“Amy!” I shouted, blushing furiously and making her laugh. “Stop that!” I admonished knowing it was probably pointless. “We are not spending every moment scr… uhm, in bed,” I finished lamely, blushing even harder. I took a breath, collecting myself before I continued. “We haven’t done anything like that yet. We are taking it slow. For both of us.”

“So you two haven’t done the nasty yet?” Amy asked curiously, prompting a fresh bout of blushing on my part. “Now I’m really disappointed. Ryan’s gorgeous and I was hoping you’d share all the intimate details about his body with me. After all, I share all the details about John with you don’t I?”

“You are incorrigible, you know that don’t you?” I asked shuddering, making her laugh. “I have no idea how John puts up with you. But for the record, I’ve seen Ryan without his clothes on, and no, I’m not going to share the details with you.” I smirked at her for a second. “The details would just make you start drooling anyway,” I teased making her laugh again.

“All right lover boy,” Amy conceded turning to go. “I’ll let you go so you can finish up and get out of here at a decent hour. But you better have a good story for me when you get back. Or I’ll just make up one of my own!”

I laughed at her, shaking my head as she left. Truthfully I was a little surprised she’d let me off so easily. Not that I had a lot of juicy stories to share with her anyway. Other than some heavy make out sessions, Ryan and I really hadn’t done much since our shower together. And in spite of what Amy thought, we actually hadn’t spent every night together. Ryan had worked several night shifts over the last two weeks which seriously cut in to the time we got to spend together. It was one of the reasons I was taking a long weekend. I really wanted to spend time with Ryan and I wasn’t going to let this chance pass me by.

I know I had to have broken a few records with how fast I wound down my day, but even so it was well after five, more like creeping up on six, by the time I felt comfortable with leaving. One of these days I’d like to work those banker’s hours everyone always jabbers about! I have never been able to leave at five and certainly not when I was getting ready for some time off. It wasn’t that I don’t trust my staff to take care of things while I’m gone – I know they are well trained. But I’m a bit of a control freak. Which always amuses me when I think about how bashful and shy I am. So I’m a bit contradictory, it makes me interesting. At least that’s what I tell myself.

Once I was out the door and in my car, I drove straight to Ryan’s. I had planned ahead and packed a bag so I wouldn’t have to waste any time starting my weekend. I knew Ryan would still beat me home, but not by much. But that would actually work to my benefit. I really didn’t want to be hanging out in his driveway like some love sick puppy waiting for him. After all, just because I am a love sick puppy doesn’t mean I wanted him to know it. Yes, I know. I wasn’t fooling anybody but myself on that one.

Ryan had left his door ajar so I could let myself in and I couldn’t help smiling as the first thing I saw upon entering was my guy standing in his living room talking on the phone. Of course part of my smile was due to the fact that his call must have interrupted him changing since he was only wearing a pair of gray boxer briefs that looked really good on him. Of course I think Ryan looks good in anything, but maybe I’m a bit biased.

I walked up behind Ryan and wrapped my arms around him as I rested my chin on his shoulder. I wasn’t deliberately trying to distract him, but the impulse to touch him was overpowering and I let my fingers idly run across his stomach. Ryan flinched as my fingers tickled him and he sucked in his breath. I almost busted out laughing as he silently mouthed ‘stop that’ to me and I gave him my most innocent grin.

“I don’t know Mom,” Ryan said into the phone as he gave me a warning look. I noticed he didn’t try to escape from my embrace though, so I continued lightly running my fingers over his skin making him shiver. He was also displaying a few other interesting reactions in the front of his briefs that caught my attention, not to mention my imagination, and I couldn’t help grinning as I took little nibbles at his ears and neck. “Yes, I’d like to see everyone, but it’s kind of short notice,” Ryan continued, barely stifling a groan. “I already promised to hang out with somebody I just recently met.”

Ryan paused for a few seconds, listening to the conversation on the other end of the line and I felt him sigh. “No, we haven’t made any definite plans yet,” Ryan continued. “I’m not sure he’d really be interested Mom,” Ryan said after another brief pause. “Well, yes he has to eat, but how interesting will it be for him to spend time with a bunch of people he doesn’t even know?”

I could tell Ryan was getting a little frustrated with the conversation as he was being out maneuvered and his excuses were getting shot down. I had to admit I experienced a little amusement watching my normally self-assured guy getting backed into a corner, but I had a sneaking suspicion that our weekend plans were slowly getting blown out of the water. I still hoped that we could salvage something since it sounded like his mom was telling him to bring me along, but I will admit to some disappointed that I wasn’t going to get to keep him all to myself. I was feeling a little selfish and I most definitely did not want to share my new toy with others!

Ryan sighed again after another brief pause. “I don’t know if he’ll want to come or not Mom. Let me check with Zach and I’ll call you back a little later tonight. Ok?” Ryan paused for a second and then grinned fondly. “Love you too,” Ryan finished before hanging up the phone.

Ryan sighed one more time, leaning back into me more fully. After a couple seconds he grinned and gave me a quick kiss. “Are you trying to make me have to get therapy?” Ryan asked teasingly. “How many sessions will I need to recover from getting hard while talking on the phone with my Mom?”

“It’s my fault you are a walking hormone?” I asked innocently and wide eyed making him laugh. “Don’t leave such tempting toys out for me to play with if you want me to behave,” I continued lightly tickling his stomach and making him squirm. “So what do you have to check with me about?” I asked even though I had a pretty good idea what was going on.

Ryan sighed again, leaning back into me once again while I held him. “Mom wants me to come up over the weekend. My brother and sister will be there and she wants to have an impromptu get together. Have a dinner. Mini reunion type thing.”

“That will give you a chance to see everybody again,” I replied, trying to keep my voice cheerful. I wanted to hide my disappointment so it wouldn’t make things more difficult for him, but I really felt like gnashing my teeth in frustration. Apparently the universe had decided to take away my chance to spend some quality alone time with my new guy.

“Yeah, I do want to see them but I was really looking forward to a weekend with you,” Ryan answered, almost whining. “It’s not fair!” he continued, practically pouting. I tried to suppress my grin but Ryan must have caught me. He narrowed his eyes at me for a second and then started laughing at himself. “Well it’s not,” Ryan laughed.

“You’re adorable when you pout,” I told him as I tickled his stomach again. “Your parents must have had a hell of a time telling you no,” I teased.

“I really should go,” Ryan sighed. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to see everybody. I just hate that it screws up our plans. Mom was sorry about giving such a short notice, but she only found out my brother was coming down today,” Ryan explained absently, pressing himself even further into my chest. “You are really comfortable, you know that?” he murmured contentedly, closing his eyes lazily. “She didn’t mean to screw up our plans,” Ryan continued. “She even told me to bring you along.”

“Your mom invited me up?” I asked as I nuzzled at his cheek. Immediately I felt Ryan stiffen and pull ever so fractionally away from me. Glancing at his face I noticed his eyes were wide open and slightly wild and he almost looked like a frightened, cornered animal.

“Uh, well, yeah,” Ryan stammered and I swear he looked like he wanted nothing more than to bolt. “She was concerned that she was interrupting our plans, but you don’t have to go.” Sweat was starting to break out on Ryan’s forehead and he was speaking very fast and in at least an octave higher than normal. “I mean, I’ll really hate not getting to spend time with you, but you don’t have to go spend time with a bunch of people you don’t even know. No reason for you to be bored out of you mind.”

It was fairly obvious to me that Ryan had a problem with me meeting his family, and to say that hurt is a little like saying Niagara is a bit wet. I took a couple seconds before I answered to make sure I could keep the hurt out of my voice “We don’t have any major plans,” I finally answered in a fairly level tone. “I don’t mind changing them to go meet your family.” I paused for a few seconds to let Ryan speak but he didn’t say a word. Instead I could see he was actually biting his lower lip.

I let go of him and stepped back, putting a couple feet between us. I took a deep breath and sighed. “Unless you don’t want me to meet your family,” I said quietly. I tried to keep it from sounding like an accusation, but it still seemed to slap Ryan pretty hard.

“It’s complicated,” Ryan protested spinning to face me, but I noticed that he wouldn’t look me in the eye. “Zachie, I do want you to meet them. I swear I do,” Ryan pleaded. “It’s just….I….Zach….Oh Fuck!” Ryan ended shouting in frustration and with tears in his eyes.

Ryan finally glanced up at me, but quickly lowered his eyes once again, his shoulder slumping in despair. “Zach,” Ryan sighed quietly. “I do want you to meet them. It’s just, well, I’ve never….”Ryan trailed off again, pausing for a few seconds. “They don’t know I’m gay,” Ryan finally said in a despair filled whisper. “You must think I’m the biggest coward in the universe,” Ryan finished so quietly I could barely hear him.

Ryan’s admission truly shocked me. It never would have dawned on me that Ryan hadn’t come out to his family. His self-assured and confident manner made it seem impossible to me that he had kept this from them. Ryan didn’t run around waiving a gay pride banner or anything, but he had never been shy about being out with me or being affectionate with me in public.

“Ryan, I would never think you are a coward,” I answered him after taking a second to process what he had just told me. “I’ll admit I’m surprised your family doesn’t know. It never even occurred to me that you hadn’t told them. But you are not a coward.”

Ryan still wouldn’t look up at me; instead he simply stared at his feet. “Yes I am,” he protested quietly. “I’m a grown man and I still haven’t admitted to the ones I love the most who I really am.”

“That doesn’t make you a coward,” I argued with him. “Family dynamics are frigging complicated and the ones you love the most are usually the hardest to tell.” I could tell he still wasn’t buying what I told him and I wanted to shake him and hug him at the same time. “I honestly can’t say I would have ever come out to my family if my brother hadn’t outed me,” I confided trying to get him to come out of his funk.

Ryan glanced up at me and I saw a quick flash of heat in his eyes. “I’d really like to pound on him some day,” he muttered. I noticed he balled his hands into fists and his muscles were tensing as if he were getting ready to do battle. I had shared some of the details about my past with Ryan over the last couple of weeks and Ryan had developed an intense dislike of my brother. It didn’t seem to matter to him that what happened was years ago or that my brother and I had finally made peace.

“Calm down caveman,” I told him fondly. I admit that it brought a little glow to my heart that he wanted to protect and defend me. But it’s kind of hard having a discussion with somebody who seems inclined to attack unoffending furniture. “That was a long time ago and my brother and I both finally admitted the other has a right to exist. You know I wasn’t totally blameless in all of our confrontations.”

Ryan flashed me a sheepish grin, more from my use of the caveman pet name than any real feelings of contrition on his part. But at least he grinned. “Well, ‘k, maybe I won’t pound him. Maybe just thump him a little.”

I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t help laughing at him too. “My hero,” I muttered sarcastically making him laugh. “Now, do you think we can get back to the real topic?” I said after a few seconds. “Do you not want me to go Ryan?” I asked him quietly. “It’s ok if you’re not ready to let your family know. I know it will complicate things if I go with you and I don’t want to make it harder for you. But you have to tell me what you want. I’m fine…WE are fine no matter what you decide.”

Ryan leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms in a classic defensive posture. He didn’t speak for a few seconds, staring intently at his feet. “I do want you to come Zach,” he finally whispered. “But I just don’t think I’m ready for my family to know yet. And I can’t ask you to lie for me either. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

“Well that’s good that you don’t want me to lie for you since I’m a lousy liar,” I joked, trying to get him to smile with only limited success. “But I really don’t think you have to worry. Since they don’t know I seriously doubt your family is going to ask me if we are having sex or anything. Besides, since we haven’t actually had sex I wouldn’t have anything to lie about it even if they did.”

Ryan glanced up with a little grin. “What if they ask if you have showered with me?” he teased with just a hint of impishness creeping into his voice. I could tell he was starting to feel more like himself and that definitely made me feel better.

“Well, I suppose I could just tell them I was helping you study anatomy,” I answered him grinning. “God knows there wasn’t an inch of my anatomy you didn’t study that night. Good thing for me you like being a hands on learner.”

Ryan busted out laughing and walked over to me so I could wrap my arms back around him. “Are you sure you don’t mind,” he asked a little shyly.

“Positive,” I answered him, squeezing him tight. “Besides,” I continued after a few seconds. “This could work out to my benefit too. You know I have a problem being around and meeting lots of new people at once. And that would only be compounded if I was getting the boyfriend third degree. This gives me a chance to meet your family in a much more relaxed atmosphere.”

“You don’t have to worry,” Ryan assured me. “They will love you. You’ll be adopted within five minutes which only means they’ll feel free to drive you crazy.” Ryan gave me a quick kiss. “You really are the best boyfriend ever,” he said smiling at me. “But will you do me a favor?” he asked as he laid his head against my chest.

I hugged him tighter in my arms, loving the way he felt there. “Of course,” I answered without hesitation. Experiencing my guy being all vulnerable had me feeling very protective of him.

Ryan pulled his head back to look me in the eye and I braced myself seeing the twinkle there and the mischievous grin he wore. “I want you to wear just your Scooby boxers for the rest of the night,” he said, his grin getting even bigger as he saw me starting to blush. “Actually I want you to be naked but I know that would probably be pushing it a bit.”

“Ryan!” I protested, my voice getting fairly squeaky. I probably should have expected something along those lines, but playing shining knight had lulled me into a false sense of security. “I can’t just wear my boxers for the rest of the night,” I finally managed to sputter.

Ryan laughed as he kissed me again. “Why not?” he asked in a reasonable voice. “That’s all I’m planning on wearing. We were just planning on spending the night watching movies so we might as well be comfortable.”

I spluttered for a few more minutes, blushing furiously, but I really didn’t have a reasonable argument to counter with. And I had agreed to do him a favor, although I personally didn’t see how having me half naked was much of a favor. And I did have a pair of my Scooby boxers packed since I knew how much he liked Scooby too. Of course at the time I packed them I had just been planning on sleeping in them. How Ryan knew I had them with me mystified me though.

“All right,” I finally spluttered, knowing I had to be bright red. One of these days I really wish someone would come up with a cure for this shy thing I have. “I guess it could be worse,” I muttered as I started digging thru my bag to find my boxers. “I suppose you could have asked me to just wear a jock all night or something.”

“That sounds good too,” Ryan laughed overhearing me. “Did you bring one? I might want to change my favor.”

I glared at him for a few seconds, and then started laughing. “You’re bad!” I growled at him in mock fierceness. “You’ll just have to settle for the boxers though,” I told him as I started taking off my shirt. “I hope you weren’t planning on ordering take out tonight,” I continued griping at him.

Ryan gave me a quick peck on the cheek as a means of mollifying the growly bear I had become. “No, I picked up a pizza on the way home,” he answered walking towards his kitchen. “I’ve got it warming in the oven. I figured we could be gluttons and feast on some junk food tonight. Do you want a beer with your pizza?” he asked getting our food ready.

“Beer and pizza?” I asked incredulously. “You are being naughty aren’t you?” I teased him as I pulled on my boxers and joined him in the kitchen. “Just a soda for me is good,” I answered as I took a seat. I’m not much of a drinker, and truthfully neither was Ryan, although we both do take the occasional social drink. I was glad he was having a beer though. Even though he was joking around I knew he still felt a little tense about our upcoming trip. I figured a little alcohol might help him relax a bit.

We chomped on our feast for a few minutes in silence and I noticed Ryan drank his beer a little faster than he normally would. I debated with myself for a few seconds, wanting to probe the situation with his family a bit, but reluctant to make my guy even more tense. Finally I decided I needed to know the situation if I was going to be of any help at all. Besides, I was curious as hell.

“Ryan,” I asked quietly. “You can tell me you don’t want to talk about if you want, but can you tell me why you have never told your family? We’ve never talked much about them. Would they not accept that you’re gay?”

Ryan sighed and gave me a sad little smile. “Don’t get mad,” he said seriously, “but it really was cowardice. Well mostly.” Ryan sighed again and took a long drink of his beer, finishing it off before looking back to me. “I just couldn’t tell them. Not because they wouldn’t accept me. Knowing them, they would have started up gay pride marches or something.” Ryan grinned fondly thinking about his family.

“It’s stupid,” Ryan continued after a few moments. “They would have been supportive, but I didn’t want to let them down. Of course as a teenager I wouldn’t even admit to myself that I liked guys. Then when I was in college and started tentatively dating a few guys I told myself it was just a phase. That I was just getting it out of my system, but no way could I be gay.” Ryan grinned sheepishly at me. “But considering I never got turned on by a girl it was kind of stupid of me.”

Ryan got up and grabbed another beer out of his fridge. Taking a quick drink, he continued explaining. “By the time I finished college and started med school I had finally faced the fact that I was gay and always had been. I still kept a fairly low profile though. I needed to be acceptable to the hospitals I’d be training at. Most of my friends knew though, and it didn’t faze any of them. But I still couldn’t get myself to tell my family. Part of it was not wanting to disappoint them. But the biggest part was I didn’t want to tell them I had been lying to them all this time.”

Ryan sighed again and slumped his shoulders. “They aren’t going to be disappointed that I’m gay though. They are going to be hurt that I kept it a secret from them for so long. That’s what I can’t face.”

The situation made so much more sense now that Ryan had explained. Unfortunately I didn’t really see an easy answer, which frustrated me to no end. How could I play knight in shining armor if I couldn’t figure out how to defeat the dragon? I didn’t really have a lot of experience to draw from on this topic. My own family life had been so dysfunctional that it didn’t provide me with a lot of tools or advice to help with someone else’s life.

I got up and walked over to Ryan and took him into my arms and held him tightly. Not exactly a profound solution, but I felt very protective and that was about the best I could come up with. Ryan hugged me back and we just stood there for a few minutes.

After a few minutes Ryan pulled his head back, looking me in the eye with a gentle smile on his lips. “Thanks Zachie,” he murmured as he kissed me. “Really, I’m ok,” he assured me. “But it’s really nice being in your arms.” I squeezed him even tighter wondering if I could figure out a way to never let him go.

“I know I need to tell them,” Ryan continued, resting his head back against my chest. “And I will. I’ve put it off too long and it’s not going to get any easier. But I don’t want to do it this weekend. I want to tell them one on one. Not as a big group thing.” Ryan paused for a second and then started chuckling. “The big group revelation drama would be just too…… GAY!”

I groaned in mock pain as we both started laughing, lightening the mood considerably. I still felt overly protective, but I was enough of a realist to know I couldn’t fix everything. Damn it all anyway! I did, however, spend the evening with my arms wrapped around him, spooning him as we sprawled on his couch watching old movies. I did let him out of my grasp long enough to call his mom, but even then I hovered over him. It surprised me a little that Ryan let me get away with it truthfully. Either he was still feeling vulnerable, or more probably, knew that I needed to feel like I was taking care of him and protecting him.

We deliberately slept in the next morning, luxuriating in a lazy, half dozing, comfortable cuddling embrace. Besides, we knew we had plenty of time to imitate the finer points of being a sloth. Even with a four hour drive, as long as we left by noon we’d arrive in plenty of time to socialize before dinner. With that bit of knowledge tucked away in my brain I felt absolutely no guilt snuggling with my guy. Besides, it gave me another excuse to hold him and enjoy the feeling of running my fingers over his skin. What? I’m uptight, but I’m not stupid enough to pass up a chance like that!

Eventually we did drag ourselves out of bed and started preparations for our trip. My feelings of protectiveness were still in full force and I found myself following Ryan around like a puppy. Thankfully Ryan merely rolled his eyes at me fondly since I wasn’t exactly subtle about it. I firmly told myself to stop hovering before Ryan lost all patience with me. It didn’t stop me from following him to the bathroom when he went to take a shower. But there are other, more interesting explanations for that.

We actually had a lot of fun on the drive up. We had great weather, cooperative traffic, and excellent conversation. Ryan spent most of the trip telling me about some of the adventures he and his siblings had had growing up. Or more properly I should say misadventures. Listening to him talk, I had no idea how his parents had remained sane. Apparently that mischievous quality the adult Ryan displayed that I loved so much had been well cultivated in his younger years.

I enjoyed Ryan’s stories so much it almost disappointed me when we arrived, pulling up in front of a nice, two-story house that had been well maintained. I had to fight down a few flutters of butterflies in my stomach as I got out of the car. Now that we were there I started feeling a few twinges of nervousness as my customary shyness began to assert itself. Ryan apparently noticed my hesitation and he walked over to my side of the car and gave me a quick hug.

“Relax,” Ryan told me as we started walking toward the porch. “Just be yourself, they will like you just fine.” Ryan chuckled for a few seconds and flashed me a quick grin. “Where’s that overprotective bear that hovered over me this morning?”

I tried scowling at him but couldn’t help grinning at him. “He’s hiding behind that towering monster that is my insecurities,” I told him laughing weakly as we reached the front door. “I’ll be ok,” I told him, hoping I meant it. “Just, uh, try and steer the conversation around me for a few minutes till I get used to them.”

Ryan reached over and squeezed my hand in support for a second. He gave me a second to take a deep breath and then knocked and simultaneously opened the door. “Mom!” Ryan shouted as he entered the house and I followed a little bewildered. “We’re here! When’s dinner?”

“Hey kiddo, just in time,” a man a year or so older than Ryan said as we entered the house and into a comfortable looking living room. With the obvious resemblance I knew this had to be Ryan’s brother Adam. “You can help me take that couch in the garage over to Deb’s. You must be Zach,” Adam said to me sticking out his hand to shake. “Everything Ry has told you about me is a big fat lie,” Adam laughed lightly punching Ryan in the arm. “I’m his bigger and better brother Adam.”

“Prick,” Ryan muttered as he playfully pushed at his brother. “The only thing you are better at is being an ass,” Ryan laughed. “Do you think I can at least say hello to Mom before you draft us into slave labor?” he asked grinning.

“Big whiner!” Adam growled, smiling. “And I’m only drafting you. Unless you ain’t man enough to lift your end by yourself.”

“Boys,” a woman’s voice cut into their playful bickering. I turned to see an attractive, older woman who could only be Ryan’s mother, Mary. She had the same twinkling eyes as her son, although that hint of impishness that Ryan displayed was replaced with sparkles of gentle laughter instead. “Kindly keep the displays of testosterone down,” she admonished them. “I just had the carpets cleaned.”

Both Ryan and Adam laughed at their mother’s joking reprimand and Ryan stepped over to give his mother a quick hug and kiss. “You must be Zach,” Mary said to me smiling. “I’m so glad you came. And I do apologize for making you change your plans last minute.”

“Thank you Mrs. Moore,” I answered, proud of myself that I managed without squeaking, at least not enough to be noticeable. “And we didn’t really have any earth shattering plans so you didn’t interrupt much,” I confessed making her smile. “It was very nice of you to invite me though ma’am.”

“Please, just call me Mary,” she insisted, smiling and taking my hand in her own for a moment. “I hope you don’t mind if send Ryan off on errand,” she continued taking a seat and motioning for me to take one too. “I need them to take a couch to their sister’s house for me while they are here.”

“Ahh, mom!” Ryan complained, looking at me a little nervously, obviously concerned about leaving me alone. “We just got here. Can’t this wait till later?”

“C’mon kiddo,” Adam interjected. “Sooner we get this done, the sooner mom will feed us!”

“Zach can keep me company while you are gone,” Mary interrupted before Ryan could get another word in. “It will only take you twenty minutes or so. And you can bring Debbie back with you.”

Ryan continued to grumble, but he really didn’t have a good excuse to avoid the errand. I smiled at him, laughing at his irritable mumblings, and letting him know with a quick shake of my head that I would be ok. Mary’s easy, folksy manner had me feeling fairly comfortable and I felt positive I could survive a short visit alone with his mom. Ryan gave a few more token protests, but in the end allowed himself to be propelled out to his brother’s truck.

“Would you like some iced tea,” Mary asked me when Ryan and Adam had finally left. I smiled and nodded as I followed her towards her kitchen, admiring her household and all of the cozy furnishing she had decorated it with. The woman definitely had taste, but she displayed it in a subtle manner.

Mary motioned me to take a seat at the table as she poured us both a glass of tea. Placing one of the inviting glasses in front of me, she took a seat across from me and looked directly in my eyes for several seconds. I started feeling a little uneasy under her intense scrutiny, and picked up the glass to take a sip to hide my nervousness.

“So how long have you been dating my son?” Mary suddenly asked and I almost spewed the quick gulp of tea I had taken across the table at her.