Perfect Summer by Bethany Lopez
Mitch
I’d been waylaid by a few folks on my way inside, but when I’d finally walked in and scanned the room to see where Faith was, I’d been pissed to see her being cornered by my mother, looking nervous and upset.
I’d shot Sam Locke a look of disgust, I mean, what was he doing standing off to the side like he was my mom’s bodyguard or something, before approaching the two most important women in my life.
“Mom, what the hell are you doing?” I asked, stopping next to Faith and facing my mother to show her whose side I was on in whatever this was.
She looked at me and pursed her lips, like she did when she was trying not to cry.
Shit.
“I was simply asking Faith her intentions, that’s all.”
“Mom, I’m thirty. I can make my own decisions, and if I want to be with Faith, that’s what I’m going to do. It has nothing to do with you.”
“It doesn’t matter how old you are, you’ll always be my son and it’s my right as your mother to worry and want what’s best for you,” she argued.
“It’s okay, really,” Faith said, placing a reassuring hand on my arm.
“No, it’s not. This is a barn dance, not a courtroom, and we’re here to have fun. This is not the time or place for you to come in guns blazing.”
“I’m sorry, you’re right about it not being the right time,” my mom said with a sigh. “I just saw Faith over here alone and since I haven’t spoken to her since the two of you started dating, I wanted to say my piece.”
“I understand,” Faith said calmly. “And what I said before stands, I’d be happy to meet up with you and talk about whatever you’d like.”
“Thank you,” my mom said with a nod. “I’ll take you up on that.”
“Okay, now if you don’t mind, I’d like some private time with Faith.”
Because she still looked sad, I grabbed my mom and gave her a hug. “Have fun tonight,” I whispered, then gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“You, too, sweetheart,” she replied. “You know I’m only looking out for you.”
“I know,” I said, pulling away to look down at her. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too,” she said, then looked at Faith and said, “Have a good time. I’ll call you about that wine.”
Faith gave her a small smile. “I look forward to it.”
Once my mom joined Sam and they walked away, I turned to Faith and said, “I’m so sorry about that.”
She put her hands in mine and tilted her beautiful face up to look at me.
“Don’t worry about it, truly. She has a right to her feelings, and I understand them. I’m sure when someone breaks Hope’s heart I’ll react the same way.”
“I’ll kill him,” I only half-joked, but succeeded in making her laugh. “Want to grab a drink?”
“Absolutely.”
I held her hand as we made our way over to the bar in the corner. We stopped to say hello and engage in small talk with a few folks, but eventually made it.
“Wine?” I asked, and when she nodded in affirmation, I poured her a glass before getting some beer for myself. “Shall we find a table?”
Faith agreed and pointed to a table up by the dance floor where a lot of our friends had gathered.
Once we had our seats, we drank and talked with our friends a bit. When the band started warming up, talking became more difficult, so we sat back, hand in hand, and listened to the music.
Before too long my stomach began grumbling, so I dipped my head toward Faith’s ear and asked, “Hungry?”
“Starving actually,” she said, so we told the group we were hitting the potluck table and pushed back our seats.
Moments later we were back, me with a heaping plate of food and Faith with more sensible portions.
The band really kicked it up and the dance floor became more crowded.
When a tiny blonde with lopsided pigtails caught my eye, I pointed my fork at her and told Faith, “Look at your girl.”
Faith followed the direction I was pointing and laughed.
“She’s so happy right now … I’ll be right back.”
Faith got up and joined the crush of bodies on the floor, never stopping until she reached Hope, who threw her hands up at the sight of her mother.
I swear, I could hear her cheer even over the sound of the music.
I watched with a big grin as they danced with each other for the next few songs, then, my food gone and my feet tapping, I followed my heart onto the dance floor and joined them.
We moved around, hips swaying and arms flailing to one of Tucker’s upbeat covers. Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan … he covered them all. And when he slowed things down, I lifted Hope into my arms, placed her on my hip, and wrapped my free arm around Faith.
Hope giggled at our threesome awkwardly dancing amidst all the couples, but Faith simply laid her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes.
We swayed together, and the look of sweet, pure joy on Hope’s face had my heart falling to the floor as I fell head over heels in love with that kid.
That revelation was all it took. I wanted these two in my life permanently. I wanted to spend my days making Hope giggle and Faith sigh with contentment, and I’d do whatever I needed to in order to make sure we were never separated again.