“Not happening,” she whispers. She’s been adamant about not spending the night with me while Mama’s in town, but I’m adamant that she is.
“You’re such a traditional woman, do you know that? Next, you’ll want me to put a baby in your belly.” I hold my laugh when she gives me an incredulous look and put my free hand on her belly. She subtly elbows me in the ribs. “Don’t worry. It will be after we get married. Of course, I have to ask your daddy for your hand. I hope our kids inherit my height. And then—” She elbows me in the ribs hard. “Did you fall on your head today at practice? You’re with the wrong woman if you want that.” She looks down at Evan, who’s not paying any attention to us. “And I swear to God, Colton, if you ask my dad for my hand or any other part of my anatomy, you will regret it. Now, shut up before I give you a black eye in front of Mama.”
I run my nose along her cheek. There are a few people at baggage claim watching us, taking pictures and video, but I don’t care. Vickie is still stiff in my arms, but she’s going to have to learn to deal with the scrutiny.
“Mmhmm. You’d never do that in front of Evan but go ahead and threaten me all you want. I’m pretty sure I’ll win if we ever get into a fist fight.” To prove my point, I lift her off her feet using one arm with hardly any effort. “Yes, I will fight a girl.” I kiss her cheek, and say, “There she is, so behave. Mama’s got my back if you start anythang. You’re outnumbered.”
She’s at the top of the escalator wearing my jersey. She’s still beautiful with her dirty blonde hair. She’s a tall woman, at one inch over six feet but she’s plump around the middle. She lets out a shriek when she sees us. Evan lets go of Vickie’s hand and runs right into her arms. She picks him up, and they walk over to us. Vickie stands there with a fake smile plastered on her face. Mama smiles in my direction, but I can see her eyes darting back and forth to Vickie. I hand her the flowers I brought for her and kiss her cheek. When she puts Evan down, I take her in my arms and spin her around. She laughs, and so do I. Her cheeks are pink by the time I put her down.
“Mama, I’d like you to meet my Queen Vee, Victoria Taylor. Queen Vee, this is my mama, Mary Leigh Chastain.”
Vickie offers my mother her hand, but Mama pulls her into a bone crushing hug. “My goodness, aren’t you pretty.” Mama pats both of Vickie’s cheeks, and Vickie lets out a little shriek of surprise before taking a step back.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Chastain,” Vickie says.
“It’s Mary Leigh. Mary Leigh. Never Mary.” She shakes her index finger in disapproval, but she has a smile on her face. “Colton, honey, go get my bags while I get to know Vickie.” Mama wraps an arm through Victoria’s.
Minutes later, we’re in the car, with Mama sitting in the front with Dante. She talks nonstop. “I’m so excited. I can’t wait to cook in that kitchen of yours, Son. Vickie, I hope you’re one of those girls who likes to eat because I like to cook.”
“Vickie made me spaghetti and meatballs last night, Grandma,” Evan says before I can answer. “And not the frozen meatballs. She called the evil one for the recipe. She let me help her, and she didn’t get mad when I dropped an egg. But she got mad when Daddy started juggling the eggs and dropped all three. He had to clean up the mess.”
“He’s the worst juggler,” Mama says.
Dante snorts from the driver’s seat and I clear my throat. “I want you all to listen and listen good. You too, Dante.”
“I’m listening, boss,” Dante says.
“I cleaned up that mess because I wanted to, not because of Vickie. I’m not scared of her. Look at how short she is.”
She looks at me and waves her fist.
“But she yelled at you, and you ran to get the mop,” Evan insists. Vickie giggles and Dante smirks. “You said you were but her lowly servant in that weird voice, and you bowed.”
“That’s not a weird voice, that’s my British accent, and you have a big mouth.” I mess his hair.
“Grandma, me and Vickie are going to learn to knit together. Vickie says we’ll be better than you and Rosalie in no time.”
“You have no idea how competitive the Chastain’s are,” I whisper to Vickie.
“Bring it, Chastain. I’m a Taylor, and we never lose.”
Mama twists around in her seat and looks at Vickie. I hold my breath and wait to hear what she’s going to say. “The evil one? Do you have a direct line to the devil, Vickie? Tell him I rebuke him.” She giggles and turns around. I never know how she’s going to react to perceived jokes about the devil. “And I admire your confidence, but me and Rosalie can be sleep deprived, blindfolded with one hand tied behind our backs, and we’ll still wipe the floor with you when it comes to knitting.”
“The evil one is my stepmom,” Vickie says. “It’s a long running joke.” Vickie absentmindedly runs a hand through Evan’s hair. “And challenge accepted, Mary Leigh. I’m a quick learner, and Evan is too.”
“And the only one who’ll be wiping the floor is the boss,” Dante says, right before he bursts into laughter.
THIRTY-TWO
I don’t leavelike I intended to the night before. His mother makes dinner, a very impressive seafood gumbo, fried chicken, and baked Alaskan sea bass. After dinner, I insist on leaving, especially since Evan was spending so much time with his grandmother. I tell Colt I would go so they can have some alone time together, but he asks me to stay. When Mary Leigh put on Annie for Evan, he pulls me into the bedroom with him and says his sanity can only be saved if I don’t leave.
* * *
I sitin the middle of his bed and work on my novel while he lies next to me and watches his old games. Every few minutes one of his hands rubs my back and my shoulders.
“You have to handle the ball better,” I say, looking up at the TV. “You missed that shot.”
“Handle the ball better? Is that the same as bending my knees or whatever? Do tell.” He pauses the television and waits.
