“Can I help?” Eric grabbed Rebekah’s hand as she collected his empty wineglass. He ran his finger over the butterfly bracelet he’d given her.
She smiled. “Isaac and I have a routine. We’ll be done in no time.” She leaned close to his ear. “Then we can go home. You look like you’re ready to climb out of your skin.”
How very observant of her.
“Where’s the bathroom?” he asked her.
“There’s a powder room off the kitchen.”
“I don’t need powder,” he said.
She laughed and poked him in the ribs. “Joker.” She kissed his lips eagerly. The metallic clang of silverware interrupted their exchange. Isaac crouched to retrieve all the silverware he’d just spilled across the floor.
Eric climbed to his feet to find the powder room, whatever the f**k that was. It turned out to be a half-bathroom, though there was a wooden placard on the door denoting it as a powder room.
He took his time using the facilities, needing to collect himself. He was a jumble of conflicting emotions, his stomach tied in knots. His hands were shaking, for f**k’s sake. He took several deep breaths to try to calm his nerves. This was all too much, too soon. Sometimes he was glad he didn’t have a family to call his own. His interactions with families always left him bewildered. Even Sed’s family, pretty much the most awesome people Eric had ever met, became too much to handle after a few hours. It was all so… busy. And close. When he finally came out of the bathroom, Mrs. B accosted him immediately.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing?” she hissed.
“Uh, taking a piss.” He bit his lip. “I mean, going pee.”
The woman made a sound of exasperation. “That’s not what I mean, You’re bound and determined to corrupt my daughter, aren’t you?”
“Huh?” He honestly had no idea what she was talking about.
“I mean look at her. Her hair is blue, for crying out loud.”
He smiled. “Her hair was blue before I met her.”
“You have nothing to offer her. Traveling all over God’s creation with a bunch of no-good musicians. What kind of life is that for a young woman?”
“She seems to enjoy it.”
“She needs a stable home. With strong support. Did she even tell you that she has cancer?” Mrs. B said, as if it were scandalous.
“She told me. I can support her just fine.”
Mrs. B released another exasperated sigh. “She does these things to get back at me, you know,” Mrs. B said. “She broke up with poor Isaac just because I like him.”
“Uh…” He decided it wasn’t his place to set her straight on that issue.
“Will you look at them?” she said, waving a hand toward Rebekah and Isaac, who were side by side at the sink washing dishes and sharing the tender camaraderie that flowed between them so easily. “Have you ever seen a more perfect couple?”
No, actually, he hadn’t, but Eric and Rebekah were great together. Her mother just didn’t get it.
“I know you don’t like me,” Eric said, “but I love your daughter. I’m not stepping aside for Isaac. Forget it.”
“You love her?” The skepticism in her question frayed Eric’s already raw nerves.
“Yeah, I love her. What? You think because I’m not like Dr. Perfect over there, I’m not capable of loving her?”
“If you really loved her, you’d let her go. She can’t possibly be happy with you. I mean, look at you!”
Eric’s brow crinkled. He was well aware of what he looked like. He knew he didn’t fit the image of a mother’s dream man for her daughter, but he wasn’t so hideous that he scared babies or anything. “What does the way I look have to do with anything?”
The woman apparently thought it best to change tactics. “Isaac stood beside her while she was sick. What have you ever done for her?”
“Maybe you should ask her that.” He stepped around her and headed into the kitchen. Eric had to admit the woman was right. Isaac had done a lot more for Rebekah than Eric had. Was it Eric’s fault he hadn’t met her sooner? He could have been there—would have been there—had he known her when she’d been sick.
Isaac dabbed suds on Rebekah’s nose, a loving smile on his lips. She laughed and squirted him with water, wetting his crisp, white dress shirt. They really did make a cute couple. Nauseatingly cute.
Eric stopped behind Rebekah and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You ready to go?” he murmured into her ear. “I need a blow job.”
The look on Isaac’s face was priceless.
“She sucks good dick, doesn’t she?” Eric said to egg Isaac on. He really wanted the guy to take a swing at him, so he had a legitimate reason to punch him in his perfect nose.
“I don’t think that’s an appropriate thing to say in front of a lady,” Isaac said, lowering his gaze to the dish he was scrubbing.
“I’m not in front of a lady. I’m behind her. She likes it from behind. Did you know that, Isaac? Or is that too kinky for you? I take you for a missionary position only kind of guy, limp dick.”
Eric was too busy trying to piss off Isaac to notice he’d missed his target and pissed off Rebekah instead.
She jerked the long yellow latex gloves from her hands and tossed them on the back of the sink. “It was great to see you, Isaac,” she said and kissed his cheek. “I’ll call you. Let’s go,” she bellowed at Eric.
She jerked from his grasp and stomped out of the kitchen.
“If you hurt her, I will make you regret it,” Isaac said calmly and placed a sparkling clean dish in the drain board.
That sounded like a threat. Eric was half-tempted to provoke him, but Rebekah was already heading for the front door. “Thanks for dinner, Mom,” she said and gave her mom a peck on the cheek. “Bye, Dad. Dave,” she called into the dining room and opened the front door. “I’ll see you all Thursday, if not before.”
“Nice to meet you all,” Eric said and dashed after her.
***
Rebekah didn’t know it was possible to be this pissed off at someone you loved. She could not believe Eric would say those things in front of Isaac. She headed for the car, not much caring if Eric had followed her or not.
He caught up with her halfway down the walk and tried to take her hand. She jerked away. “Don’t touch me.”