As Bailey parallel-parked her truck a few houses down from her childhood home, Patsy went on high alert, looking out the window as though, if she let her guard down for a moment, someone might try to carjack them. “Settle down, Patsy girl. No bad guys are out there. I promise. We’re just at Grandma’s house.”
Patsy was an odd dog. She was fine while they drove forward, but the second Bailey put her truck into reverse, Patsy became certain that death was imminent. Unfortunately, her crazy barking and jumping around like a lunatic made it much harder to see where Bailey was aiming the back end of her truck. She managed it without hitting anything. It just took longer than necessary.
When Bailey walked in the front door, she yelled, “Hey, Mom, hey, Dad. Watch out, the little tank is on the loose.” She released Patsy from the leash. As always, Patsy darted straight toward the kitchen. It was amazing she could run in anything resembling a straight line with how wildly her butt was wiggling in excitement.
Bailey had barely slipped her shoes off when her mom moved into the doorway to the kitchen and squatted to receive Patsy’s excited kisses. “Patsy Cline, Grandma’s best girl,” her mom said as she pulled Patsy into her arms. “There’s my baby.”
“Don’t worry about me, Mother, it’s only your actual baby at the door,” Bailey muttered under her breath.
But Bailey’s mom still had bionic hearing. “You have given me the perfect grand-puppy. You should take that as a compliment. I love you just as much as I love your baby, sweetheart.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Bailey said, walking into the small kitchen of her youth. Granted, it had seen a few updates since then. The old plywood cabinets had been upgraded to oak, the old laminate countertops exchanged for granite. The ancient appliances had been swapped out for stainless steel. The sole exception was the gorgeous, copper-plated Chambers stove that was still in as perfect condition as it was back in the 50s when Bailey’s grandparents had bought it. It shined like a harvest moon in a country night sky. Although Bailey had a gorgeous, modern, professional stove and range in her own home, she still had a little stove envy because her mother’s was so beautiful, even though it had half the features of her own.
“It smells amazing in here, Mom. What are you making?” When her mom finally stopped kissing Patsy and stood, Bailey pulled her into a hug, leaning back a little to avoid the remnants of wet dog kisses on her face. “I don’t really understand why you let her kiss you that much, Mom.”
“Pfft,” her mom said and playfully slapped her shoulder. “She’s your dog. Maybe you should teach her not to lick like it’s going out of style.”
“Mother,” Bailey said, exasperated. “I do, but when you lean down and let her have her way with you, you tell her that it’s okay to do that.”
“Pfft,” she said again and went back over to the stove. “I know that’s not true. And we’re having golumpki.” Cabbage rolls. One of Bailey’s favorites. Uh-oh, that probably meant eligible bachelorette number thirty-seven would be coming by this evening, so her mom had made her favorite to get her in a good mood.
“Yummy,” Bailey said despite her mild irritation. “Who else is coming to dinner?”
“Oh, the usual. Your siblings, Gammy…” She trailed off suspiciously and busied herself with the pan on the stovetop.
“Who else, Mother?” Bailey pushed.
“Well, I was at the hairdresser with Gammy this week.” Oh boy, exactly as Bailey had suspected. “And they have a new shampoo girl.”
Great, a shampoo girl from the salon who happened to be gay. Shit. Bailey realized her inner monologue was starting to sound a lot like the snobby Skye Kohl. She redoubled her efforts to not be judgmental.
“Shampoo girl is a misnomer, as she wasn’t exactly a young girl, and apparently, used to drive trucks. She took the shampoo job as an intermediate step to retirement. Anyway, she also goes to our church, and her youngest is thirty-one or something and also happens to be gay, so I invited them over for dinner. They’re nice women.”
And there it was. “Mother.” Bailey huffed. “Didn’t I ask you to please stop setting me up with strangers? I don’t have time to date. And I don’t have the inclination. Things didn’t work out with Mary. Uncle Chester was divorced too many times to keep track of. This job doesn’t lend itself to a relationship, and I’m completely okay with that. Please believe me and stop trying so hard.”
Her mother simply said, “Hmm,” and kept bustling around the kitchen.
Before she could press the point, Gammy came downstairs. “Bailey,” she exclaimed. “I’m so happy to see you.”
Bailey walked over to the stairs to scoop her petite grandmother into a hug, mindful not to squeeze her too hard. “Gammy, it’s so good to see you.”
“Why the surprise? I live here.” Gammy’s brows furrowed. “Are you drunk?”
Bailey barked a laugh. Gammy had moved in with her parents about a year after her grandfather, Pop KZ, had passed away while Bailey was at college. “Not surprise, Gammy. Just excitement. I’ve missed your face.” She was probably Bailey’s favorite person on the planet. When Bailey was a kid and her siblings had been off doing fun, older-kid things, Bailey had stayed at Gammy and Pop KZ’s house, and they’d always made the sleepovers seem more fun than whatever her older siblings had been up to. They’d been like a second set of parents.
“Missed me? It’s been three days, kid. But it’s flattering. It’s good to see you too, my dear.” Gammy pulled her into a hug again, and Bailey let out a contented sigh. It had been a long week, and the disastrous drinks with Skye the night before had been the icing on the cake. Wrapped in her grandmother’s arms, Bailey could feel the stress of the week slide from her shoulders into a benign pool at her feet.
Bailey whispered so her mom hopefully couldn’t hear. “Also, I’m hopeful that you can protect me from Mom’s matchmaking. Don’t you ever want to have a family dinner where you don’t have to worry about some interloper that Mom’s trying to set me up with hanging about?”
“She only does it because she loves you, my dear.” Gammy patted her on the back. “But I’ll do what I can.” Gammy gave her a discreet thumbs-up and wrapped an arm around her hips as they headed back toward the kitchen.
Pandemonium broke out as her brother, Brian, his wife, Melissa, and their toddler twins, Jacob and Jeremy, burst through the front door. Jacob and Jeremy were both crying and trying to punch each other. “Please, someone, save us from these terrorists,” Brian shouted as he closed the door.
Melissa laughed. “Brian, stop. Though if anyone wants to distract these two, we would happily entertain offers.”
Bailey chuckled in relief that she didn’t have kids of her own but had nephews she could play with at any time. She called for Patsy, knowing that she was sitting dutifully next to her mother while waiting for “accidental treats,” as her mom liked to call them. And she would be elated once she realized that little people were here to love on her.
“Jeremy, Jacob, who wants to see their favorite cousin, Patsy?” They immediately stopped trying to hit each other and looked at Bailey. “But you have to stop crying and be gentle. Your yelling and swinging arms will scare her.” That would be true for most dogs, though not Patsy. However, Bailey needed the lower decibel level for her own sanity and was pretty sure the rest of the family would thank her for the tiny white lie.
They ran to the dining room where Patsy sat vibrating with excitement at seeing the boys. “Okay, give them a little love,” Bailey said. Patsy jumped from the sit she was barely holding and ran over, her little body wiggling like crazy. Within thirty seconds and after bathing both boys’ faces in wet kisses, she lay on her back, in heaven as the twins rubbed her belly and nuzzled her face.
“Thank you,” Brian and Melissa whispered, pulling Bailey into a hug.
Brian continued, “I have no idea what actually started their little tiff, but they’ve been going at it off and on since Melissa picked them up at daycare.”
“Happy Patsy can be of assistance. Really, she’s in her element, and they’ll tire her out so much that she probably won’t even need an evening walk tonight.” Bailey trusted Patsy with the boys but still kept an eye on them, just to make sure they all played safely, and the boys didn’t do anything to scare Patsy.
Shortly after Brian and company took over the house, Bailey’s sisters, Roxanne and Jessica, arrived with their husbands, Dave and Ed. All her siblings lived within a few minutes of their childhood home, so they’d walked over together. About five minutes before dinner was ready, Bailey was unsurprised to see “the setup” arrive.
Elena was attractive, with long wavy brown hair and a beautiful complexion. Bailey liked her well enough, but there wasn’t a spark, despite her mom’s efforts to push them together. During one of the more obvious attempts to get them to spend time alone, her mom asked Bailey and Elena to get the cake out of the refrigerator and serve it.
They never served dessert—normally, everyone lined up and grabbed dessert like they did dinner—and asking Bailey and Elena to serve dessert to thirteen people, plus the twins, seemed ridiculous, but Bailey wasn’t in the mood to fight. It would give her a few minutes to make sure Elena didn’t have unrealistic expectations.
As soon as they were in the kitchen alone, Bailey faced Elena and said, “You seem really great, and I could totally see being friends with you. I don’t want this to be awkward, but my meddlesome mother refuses to take no for an answer when I ask her to stop doing this. I’m not on the market right now.” She squeezed Elena’s arm to soften the blow.
“Oh, thank God. That’s so much less awkward.” Elena laughed. “I’m not on the market, either.”
“And yet you came here on a blind date to meet a woman and her entire family?” Bailey laughed at the ridiculousness. “Could you please grab the dessert plates?” She pointed to a cabinet as she reached into the refrigerator to pull out the two cake containers. Her mother had been on a baking kick and was trying out new recipes every few days for family dinners. They were all delicious, but Bailey had had to increase her running mileage to offset it.
Elena shook her head. “It’s only to get my mother off my back. This will buy me a few weeks before she tries to hook me up with someone else.”
Bailey chuckled. “Glad to hear I’m not the only one with a mother intent on marrying me off. Although…” She took the lid off the first cake container, the delicious smell giving her a sugar high before she even took a bite. “Some aggravation is acceptable to be able to eat this cake. It looks like pistachio today and smells amazing.”
“That does smell delicious,” Elena said, grabbing a knife out of the block and handing it over. “The really stupid thing is, I have a girlfriend.”
“You what?” Bailey stopped slicing and glanced at Elena. She couldn’t understand why Elena’s girlfriend would let her go on random blind dates.
“Yeah.” Elena sighed sadly. “But I’m afraid to tell my parents about her.”
“I don’t mean to pry, but you’re obviously out, or your parents wouldn’t be trying to set you up with me, so what are you afraid of?” She went back to slicing and plating.
“I’m afraid they won’t accept her because she’s not white, and she’s not Catholic. So I’m afraid to tell them.”
It saddened Bailey that this was still a worry. “I’m sorry, that sucks. How long have you been together?”
“Five months,” Elena answered after a moment.
Bailey gasped. Had she heard her right? “Five months?” At Elena’s nod, she said, “Five months is a long time to hide something like this, especially if your mom keeps setting you up every few weeks.”
“I know. I’m a coward.” Elena dropped her forehead onto the counter.
“I don’t know your parents, but if, as staunch Catholics, they were able to get comfortable with you being gay, I’m betting they’ll be able to get past the other issues. I know it’s scary, but you can’t keep this a secret forever.”
“Ugh, I know.” She groaned. “But I don’t know if I’m ready.”
“You’re probably never going to be. But you should do it before it’s too late.” Bailey smiled, feeling sorry for Elena and also thankful her family had never made her fear bringing someone home—after the initial coming-out panic, anyway. “Not that I’m an expert, but if you want, we can exchange numbers, and you can text me anytime you need cheerleading or encouragement or someone to vent to.”
“Cool. That’d be great. Thank you.”
After dessert, Brian and Melissa packed up their sleeping boys and headed out, followed by Elena. It seemed she didn’t want to be rude but was ready to get home to her girlfriend. Not that Bailey could blame her.
However, her mom must have seen Bailey give Elena her phone number. As soon as Elena drove off, her mom said, “See? I knew if I introduced you to enough women, you’d find one that you like.”
Roxanne and Jessica said, “Ooh, Bailey’s got a girlfriend,” and giggled. Sometimes, they were so creepy.
“Sorry to disappoint you, Mom, but it wasn’t like that at all. She’s going through something, and I told her I’d be her cheerleader. That’s it.” Bailey wouldn’t break Elena’s confidence, but she also didn’t want her mother to have any false illusions. “And you two.” She pointed at her sisters. “What are you, twelve?”
Roxanne and Jessica made faces, but Bailey watched her mom’s face fall before she said, “Well, hell. Back to the drawing board, I guess.”
Why was she always subjected to a guilt trip because she wasn’t interested in another random setup? “No, Mom. Not back to the drawing board. Please, I implore you, stop. I’m thirty-three years old—an adult by all standards—and I do not need my mother to find me a mate. You have three other married children and two grandchildren, plus a grand-puppy, so you aren’t missing out on anything by me not being married.”
“It’s not me who’s missing out, sweetheart, it’s you.” Her mom patted her cheek lovingly. “And anyway, how am I going to get you to move back home unless you get married?”
Bailey tipped her head back against the couch. “Mother, it’s not like I moved to the other side of the country. I live, like, seven miles from here. In the same city. It takes me twenty minutes to get here.”
“Yeah, but you can’t walk.”
“Leave the poor girl alone, Loll.” Gammy thankfully came to Bailey’s rescue. “She can live wherever she wants, and she’s still here for dinner several nights a week.”
Her mom good-naturedly scoffed. “You can say that. All your kids live within a mile of here.”
“That’s true, but seven miles is still very close. I bet I could still walk it,” Gammy the spitfire said.
“You got it, Gammy,” Bailey said and gave her a high five. “And on that happy note, I’ve got to head home and get that one”—she pointed at a snoring Patsy—“and this one”—she pointed at herself—“into bed. We’re beat.” Of all the setups her mother had sprung on her, Elena was the most normal, but Bailey truly had no use for any of it. She and Patsy were very content and had no intention of changing that. She didn’t need a relationship to be happy.
On the ride home, however, with vehement denials of wanting a relationship still at the top of her mind, Bailey flashed back to drinks with Skye the other evening. It wasn’t a date, but it had almost felt like one. Bailey had been completely surprised at how much she’d been enjoying herself until the end. When Skye dislodged the stick up her ass, she was funny. It had been fun to flirt with her. Just a little. Until Skye’s snobbery had made an appearance again. Had she overreacted? Maybe.
Knowing Skye was completely self-made altered Bailey’s view of her a little, yet she’d still reacted in anger without giving Skye a chance to explain herself. Shit. Why did the picturesque woman rub her the wrong way so often? And why did she continuously force her way into Bailey’s thoughts? It was probably best to just let frustration and irritation sit between them; it was easier than fighting the pull between them when they were both relaxed and enjoying themselves.