My heart was pounding so hard I was sure everyone could hear it.
Why did I think this would be easy?
I never lied to my family.
Sure, Dillon’s appearance had been unexpected, but really, with or without him there, it was painfully obvious that Shane and I were woefully unprepared to answer the questions my family had.
We’d need to do a lot of talking tonight, if we had any hope of convincing everyone at camp over the next week.
But first, we had to get through this impromptu dinner with my parents.
“This is delicious, Michelle,” Shane was saying as he heaped his third helping of potatoes onto his plate.
I guess he was hoping to win his way into my mother’s good graces by eating and loving on her food.
My mother beamed at him and asked, “Would you like more roast?”
I stopped myself from rolling my eyes.
Looks like it’s working.
My dad, on the other hand, was unconvinced.
“So, Shane, tell me about your parents. Are they okay with the fact that you’re planning to stay in America indefinitely?” he asked, then his head swung to me. “You are planning to stay here, right?”
“Yes, of course, right, Shane?”
Shane put down his fork and wiped his mouth with his napkin before giving my father his full attention.
“Actually, sir, my mum passed when I was eleven. My father,” he said father derisively, “who was never around much to begin with, went off the rails after she died and I never saw him again. So, yeah, we’re planning to stay here. There’s nothing left for me in Australia.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry for your loss,” my mother said, her eyes welling.
My mom was a total empath. If someone was upset or crying in her presence, she took on that emotion.
“It’s okay, it’s been a long time,” Shane replied, but I noticed he placed his napkin on the table and didn’t pick his fork back up.
He looked upset, but like he was trying his best to mask it.
“Sorry, son,” my dad said softly, and I could tell by his expression that he felt guilty.
Whether it was for bringing up Shane’s parents, or his reaction to our announcement, I wasn’t sure. Probably a bit a both.
Guilt slammed into me.
What are we doing?
Shane’s hand found mine underneath the table and squeezed it gently.
I looked up to see him watching me, his eyes conveying his understanding, while he showed me that he was right there with me.
“Well, we’d better get going. We still have a lot of packing to do for camp.”
“Oh, you two are going?”
I nodded in response at my mom.
“Good,” she replied. “It’ll be good to get away with everyone, give them time to adjust and give you all a chance to see how this new dynamic works.”
“I’ll help you clean up,” I said, rising from my seat.
She waved me off.
“There’s no need, your father and I have it, you two go do what you need to do.”
We all got up from the table, and I moved to give my parents hugs.
My dad held on a little longer than usual and said, “You know I love you, pumpkin, I just want you to be happy.”
“I am, Daddy,” I assured him.
“It was good to meet you, sir,” Shane said, holding out his hand.
“Call me Jake,” my father said, accepting it with a firm shake.
“Good night, Jake.”
“Night, Shane. You be good to my girl. She deserves the best.”
Shane nodded, then turned to my mother who pulled him in for a hug.
“Welcome to the family, Shane.”
“Thank you,” he said, his voice gruff with emotion.
We didn’t say anything until we were halfway to his apartment.
“I know we need to pack, but I think we need to spend some time tonight talking … making notes.”
“Notes?” Shane said with a grin, the first one I’d seen since before dinner. I realized how unusual that was, that Shane seemed to always have a smile on his face. “You mean, like a list.”
“Laugh it up,” I replied, biting back my own smile. “You’ll be happy you have them when you need to remember how I like my eggs.”
“Over easy,” he said, and I looked at him with surprise. “See, I know more about you than you think.”
“Hmmm,” I muttered. “Still, we’re talking about a week with the people who know me, and you, best. They aren’t going to be so easy to fool. We need to be on the same page when it comes to our decision to see each other, then, boom, get married. Let’s grab your stuff then go to my place. You can stay there so we can get our stories straight, then we’ll head out together tomorrow. Sound good?”
“Yeah, I think it’s a good idea to get our stories straight. We were kind of a mess back there,” he agreed.
I parked on Main Street and we were headed toward Shane’s apartment, when a shadow fell over us.
I spun around, not really worried, since we were in Cherry Springs, not New York, but curious to see who was approaching.
“Reardon,” I called, happy to see my cousin.
“Hey, mate,” Shane said in greeting.
Reardon stopped in front of us, his normally happy face marred with a frown.
“Everything okay?” I asked, taking a step toward him.
He looked between us and said, “You two need to explain what the fuck is going on.”