“No, I’ve been up for a bit. What’s going on?”
“Just checking in to see how you’re holding up,” she says.
“I’m doing fine. Things have been crazy with the investigation and all, but I’m doing okay.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m making a roast tomorrow night if you’re able to come. Levi will be there, so I wanted to make sure you were invited.”
“Thanks, Mom. Yeah, I actually think I can be there. We’re still waiting on a few things from the lab, so there’s not much we can do until then.”
“Perfect, and you know, you can bring Quinn. It’d be nice to have more than a quick conversation in a grocery store,” she says, laying on the guilt.
A couple of weeks after Quinn and I started dating, we ran into my mom at the store, and I moved everyone along very quickly. Quinn made fun of me for getting us out of there so fast, and my mom is still mad that I didn’t let her talk to Quinn for longer than a couple of minutes.
I was so thrown off, I did not react well at all. Luckily for me, Quinn just laughed at my stress instead of taking it the wrong way. It wasn’t that I didn’t want them to meet, I just wasn’t prepared for them to meet right then. She laughed even harder as I tried to explain it to her and kept talking in circles instead.
“Actually, that’s a good idea. Let me double-check with Quinn first to make sure she isn’t busy, and if not, we’ll be there.”
“Oh great. Just text me and let me know then,” Mom says with an enthusiasm I haven’t heard in a long time which makes me laugh out loud.
“I don’t know why you’re laughing at me, but I don’t care. I’m so happy about this, Cooper. Please don’t do something stupid and ruin this for me.”
“Oh my god! Of all the people to say that to it should be Levi, not me,” I say, rolling my eyes while laughing at my ridiculous mother.
“And don’t think I won’t tell him to be on his best behavior, but you’re the one in the relationship, Cooper Daniel.”
Doing my best to hold in my laughter, I respond, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good, now I’ve got to get to the flower shop and find some fresh flowers for the house.”
“I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye, son.”
Still laughing at my mom, I call Piper to come inside with me and take my coffee cup into the kitchen for a refill. While I’m taking a sip, I hear Quinn coming down the stairs. I turn to watch her walk into the kitchen and have to bite my lip so I don’t laugh at her.
Her dark hair is an absolute mess around her head, her shoulders are stooped, and her arms are crossed over her chest. Her face is all scrunched up like she can’t stand to have her eyes all the way open but needs them to walk.
“Good morning,” I say.
“Shhhhh,” she responds, blindly grabbing my coffee out of my hands. Keeping her eyes closed, she takes a long drink. “Ack! Why doesn’t this have any creamer in it?”
“Because it’s mine,” I say, laughing at her as she pouts down into the cup. I turn to the fridge, grab the creamer, and splash a little into my cup. “There, try that,” I say as I grab another mug from the cabinet and fill it with coffee for myself.
“Mmm. Much better,” she says, taking a bigger sip. Shaking my head at her, I pull down the cereal boxes and pour some into two bowls. There are times I wish I could do more for her, like cooking a massive breakfast, but even when I do small things like this, she still looks at me with so much love and gratitude that it stops my heart sometimes.
Putting a bowl of fruity cereal in front of her on the breakfast bar, she finally opens her eyes, and the impact of those blues hit me like a brick wall. “There she is,” I say quietly, making her smile. I bring my bowl of shredded wheat around the counter and sit next to her while we quietly eat together. I love these moments, when we’re both content in the silence, and there’s no pressure to be people we aren’t.
“Why did I drink that much?” Quinn asks as we finish up our breakfasts.
“Because you were having fun, and despite how awful you feel, it was worth it,” I say, kissing the side of her head and grabbing our bowls, taking them to the sink.
“Yeah, it was,” Quinn says, smiling.
“Hey, are you functioning enough for me to ask you something?”
“Um, I think so. I guess it depends on how serious it is.”
Laughing, I tell her about my mom’s offer for dinner tomorrow night. “She told me I wasn’t allowed to mess it up or she’d wallop me. I told her she should say that to Levi and not me.”