I was nervous. Too nervous to go home early and introduce Kelsey to my mom sooner.
It was almost laughable how strange it was. I wasn’t the kind of guy who got nervous, but here, with Kelsey, I did. Getting so nervous only meant that I cared, didn’t it?
Oh, well. When my bag was packed, I slung it over my shoulders and left the house, making sure the front door was locked behind me. One foot in front of the other, I headed to the car lot, finding my vehicle amongst the mostly-empty space. Funny how different this parking lot looked when it was devoid of most of its cars; it looked bigger.
I got in and drove to her dorm building, pulling in the turnaround and waiting for her. Just to make sure she knew I was there, I texted her. The radio was turned down, and I waited a few minutes for her, all the while glancing around, making sure none of my fraternity brothers popped up. You never knew when you’d come across one of those asshats.
Kelsey appeared soon enough, a backpack slung over her shoulders, a hat on her head, stopping her wild hair from whipping around too much in the wind. She still wore her usual ensemble: sneakers, jeans, and a hoodie. The weather now was about twenty degrees too cold for a hoodie to be comfortable, but that didn’t seem to stop her.
After throwing her bag in the back, she got in the front seat beside me, tossing me a look. She didn’t lean over the center console and kiss me—that would’ve been too normal. Instead she just grinned and said, “Let’s get this show on the road, amigo.”
I rolled my eyes, grinning only slightly, and did as she said.
During the drive, we didn’t talk much. We weren’t one of those couples that constantly needed to fill the silence of the area in order to feel close. It took a special kind of person to be comfortable with the silence.
It wasn’t like we needed to talk about our parents. We’d already gone over the rules and how to act in front of them. Basically, both Kelsey and I had to be on our best behavior. Was going to be a little difficult, but I was willing to try, just as she was. Whether or not our parents believed the act was up for debate. I guessed we’d see.
I didn’t live too far from campus; about forty minutes. It was in the opposite direction of Kelsey’s house though, so we’d have a bit of a drive once it was time to trade off and head to her folks’ place.
I personally didn’t think it was anything special, just a house with a yard, but the moment I pulled us into the driveway, Kelsey’s mouth fell open a bit, and she held in a gasp as she looked around.
“This is your house?” she asked as I put the car into park, glancing at the recently-built two-story house.
It was a nice enough home, I supposed. Clean grey siding with some stone accents, white trim with black shutters to play off the colors. A two-car garage, although we had another one around back for the lawnmower and all the other yard-care tools. A neatly manicured lawn even though it was cold outside, not a single leaf or blade of grass out of place. My mom used to take care of it, never trusting me to get it done correctly, but I was pretty sure she paid a company now to come and take care of it while she was at work.
“Yeah,” I said, slowly getting out of the car.
Kelsey did the same, though she could not get her eyes off the house. “It’s nice.”
I grabbed both our bags from the back, noting the impressed tone she wore. Personally, I didn’t think it was that nice, but I guessed depending on what she was used to, this might be the Taj Mahal. It wasn’t a mansion or anything, just one of those newer houses in a development that was also pretty new. We’d moved here about ten years ago.
“I mean, it’s a lot nicer than my house,” Kelsey said as she followed me to the front door.
After letting us in, I gave her a quick tour. My mom wasn’t home yet, but she’d be in an hour or so. She worked crazy hours, always having clients want to meet her at all hours of the day. She was a therapist, so she made pretty decent money. It’s why she insisted my schooling was so important.
Our house was spick and span, and it was exactly how I remembered it being a few months ago. It was almost as if Mom herself hardly lived here, never touching anything or making any messes. She wasn’t that type of person. Anytime she made a mess, she had to clean it up almost immediately. Thanksgiving, for that reason alone, was her least favorite holiday.
All of the food. All of the dishes. It drove her mad.
We ended up in my room, where I set down the bags. Kelsey, of course, would be staying in the guest bedroom down the hall. My mom would have an aneurysm if Kelsey stayed in my room.
I didn’t think my room was anything special. Most of it was plain. I never really had many hobbies, didn’t collect anything. No books or movies or anything else people our age collected. I had my bed, a tall dresser, a short dresser, a nightstand, and a TV hanging on the wall opposite my bed. The walls were bare, nothing hanging on them save for that TV.
Kelsey made her way to my bed, practically throwing herself on it. She rolled
