“Mrs. McCoy, thank you so much for the delicious dinner. Would you like some help with the dishes?” Seth said.
“You boys are so sweet, but I can handle it,” his mother said. Four men stood up from their chairs when she got to her feet.
“No, Mom,” Drew said. “You go relax. We’ll handle the dishes, and then we can have some dessert.”
The guys stacked the dirty dishes, cleared off leftovers, and loaded the dishwasher while Drew’s mom perched on a bar stool at the kitchen island and directed traffic. Even Drew’s dad got in on the action, which he was pleased to see. A few minutes after the last leftovers went into the refrigerator and the dishwasher came on, Bonnie started a pot of coffee, brought out the cake, and sliced large portions for her husband, her son, and his friends.
“Does anyone want some ice cream?” she asked, wielding a big spoon.
“Yes, please.”
“Yes, babe.”
“Yes, Mom.”
Derrick grinned at her. “Will you adopt me?”
“You have a mama and a grandma. I know they spoil you.”
“I can always use more spoiling,” Derrick said.
She handed the cake and ice cream around, cut a much smaller piece of cake for herself, and sat down on the big sectional couch in Drew’s family room.
Seth put his plate down on the coffee table in front of him and pulled the chirping phone out of his pocket. He handed the phone to Derrick.
“They’re all at Element Lounge,” Seth said.
“There’s a gigantic piece of home-baked chocolate cake with my name on it,” Derrick told him. “They can wait.”
Drew knew Derrick and Seth weren’t going to want to hang out with his parents all night no matter how much food his mom made for them. Sure enough, half an hour later, Derrick carried his plate and coffee cup to the kitchen sink.
“We hate to eat and run, but we’re going to eat and run,” he told Drew’s mom. “Thank you so much for a wonderful dinner.”
Seth wrapped his arms around Bonnie. “It’s the best dinner I’ve had since my mom made me dinner last week,” he assured her. She laughed out loud.
“That’s a pretty big compliment, Seth,” she said.
“You’ll take me in when my mom gets sick of me, right?” Seth said.
“Of course. You’re both welcome.”
“D. Want to go with us tonight?”
Typically, he would. He’d have a drink or two, dance with some beautiful women, and goof around with his teammates, but tonight, he needed to find out if his mom and dad had officially made up before they went back to Wisconsin in the morning.
“Sorry, guys. I think I’ll hang out here.”
“Honey, you can go. We’re going to pack and get some sleep. Really.”
His mom made the “shoo” hand motions, but he wasn’t caving.
“I don’t get to spend that much time with you in the first place. I can spend some time with these guys next week on that flight to Dallas,” Drew said.
“Oh, that’ll be a fun time, won’t it?” Derrick said.
“Hell, yeah. The flight attendants make sure there are freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on the way home,” Seth said. He got up from the couch, hugged Drew’s mom, and shook Drew’s dad’s hand. “I’ll look forward to hopefully seeing you soon.”
“He just wants more of that cake,” Derrick said. “So do I.”
A few minutes later, Seth and Derrick were on their way to the nightclub, and his mom was puttering around in the kitchen again.
“Mom, Dad,” he said. “Would you like another cup of coffee?”
“No, honey. I won’t sleep as it is,” his mother said.
“Thanks, Son, but no thank you.”
“Why don’t we sit down again for a little while?” He gestured to the kitchen table. “We can chat a bit more before you need to get some shut-eye.”
“That’s really not necessary—” his mom said. She was interrupted by his dad.
“We’re fine, Son. Don’t worry about us.”
“Mom. Dad. C’mon.” He sat down at the table. His parents slid into chairs across from him. “What can I do to help?”
His dad let out a sigh. “We don’t need help. This is a disagreement. When your mom quits that job of hers, it’ll be over.”
“I’m not quitting my job, Neil. I’m enjoying it. It doesn’t affect your life at all, so I can’t figure out why you are reacting this way to it,” his mom said.
“You’re not home when I want you to be there—”
“Dad, maybe Mom doesn’t like it when you work overtime or weekends, either. Did you ever ask her?”