“I'm glad! I'll bring him over for dinner tonight. I was thinking Italian? Maybe some pasta, bread, and a nice pesto sauce.”
Those words made my stomach grumble. I didn't even realize how hungry I was until then. I wished she had already made the food so I could eat it right away. “That sounds really good to me,” I said, drooling on my t-shirt.
My mom kissed me on the forehead. “Thank you for being so understanding, hun.”
Later that night, I met Kevin for the first time. He was different from what I expected. He was handsome in a black suit with the dark hair combed perfectly. It looked like he came directly from his job. He was more muscular than I imagined. He was a lot younger than my mom too. His hazel eyes stared directly at me with all the confidence in the world. No wonder my mom jumped on this guy as fast as she could.
“You must be Amanda, you're mom has told me everything about you.” Kevin reached out his hand
I grabbed his firm hand. “That's funny because she hasn't told me anything about you.”
Kevin laughed loudly. “Yeah well we did move pretty quickly. It's nice to finally meet you Amanda.” His eyes looked directly into mine. I was so shy that I quickly looked at the floor. “So what's for dinner!?” I heard my mom and Kevin talk as they both walked away and into the kitchen. I knew that things were about to get very different.
Only one month later, my mom was married to Kevin. They went straight to city hall and I was the only witness. Most of my extended family didn't even find out for six months. Things got weirder when Kevin moved in. For some reason, I never even gave it a second thought to what was going to happen once they were married. My mom and I had gotten used to just us in the house since my stepdad left. Now with Kevin, the house felt very packed. His moving boxes took up every available space in the house.
Once Kevin was fully moved in, my mom came to me in my room. “Hey Amanda, I have a proposition for you. Now hear me out before you say no.”
“Okay...,” I said hesitantly. If she already knew I was going to say no then I probably wasn't going to like what she had to say.
“Okay so the firm is sending me to a trial in Oregon and I'll be gone for at least a week. So what I was thinking was that you and Kevin come along with me!” She was trying to act like it was tropical paradise or something like that.
“Really Mom, that sounds like the most boring trip ever. Sitting in a hotel room all day isn't my idea of fun.”
“No c'mon! I think it's the perfect way for you and Kevin to spend some quality time together.” There it was. Ever since she met him, it's been all about Kevin. For a second, I thought she wanted me to come along so we could spend time alone together.
I shook my head, “Yeah I don't think so. I'll pass.”
“What if I make it worth your while?” she said. My interest was piqued.
“Go on...”
“What if I take you shopping and buy you a whole new wardrobe?” Her face was really animated.
I was desperate for new clothes. My whole closet was full of things I bought years ago. “Really!?”
“Yeah whatever you want. I'll even get you a few pairs of shoes,” she winked.
Maybe a one week vacation would be good for me. “Well I've never been to Oregon before.” My mom knew she had convinced me. All of the sudden, she wrapped her arms around me and hugged harder than ever before. She obviously wanted Kevin and I to get along really badly. “When do we leave?”
“Pack your bags because we leave tomorrow for Portland!”
I always hated flying. All these people packed into a sardine can soaring high in the sky. Going from the east coast to the west takes a long time. I've only been airsick once though. I was a just a kid and I was flying with my parents. The plane was maxed out and I had to sit apart from my parents. I felt abandoned even though they were only a few rows behind me. I was stuck in the middle between two fat guys who could barely fit in their seats. The flight was only an hour and a half but the whole time I felt like I could barely breathe. Halfway through, I got incredibly nauseous. I'd never touched those airsickness bags before because I thought they were disgusting. That time though, I grabbed it right away and threw up all the peanuts I had eaten earlier. Ever since then, I've never liked airplanes.
This flight, I got to sit in the window seat. It was really neat to see all of America as we flew over it. Kevin sat next to me and my mom got the aisle seat because she had a big fear of heights. Kevin leaned in close to me as he looked out the window. “Great view, huh?” I breathed in his manly scent which sent a jolt of electricity through my veins. He smelled so nice.