for, liar

Chapter 81

My dad keeps me in a bear hug for as long as he can while Miles gets the car heat started to defrost the windows.

"Thank you both for making this holiday so special. I'm sorry you missed out on Black Friday shopping but I'm really glad you stayed."

I pat his back, flashing him a big smile. I still haven't talked to him about Ben. It might be better if I just keep it to myself for now and not ruin the great mood he's in. I see him two or three times  a year so it's the least I can do.

"I love you. Tell Lily I said bye."

He nods and waves us off. I call mom when we start getting closer to her house to let her know we're almost there. She had just recently woken up and hadn't noticed the snow had subsided enough from the roads for us.

Miles pulls into the driveway and gets out. Hopefully all the nervousness from meeting my parents diminished by now since things with my dad went well to some extent.

My mom meets us at the door and moves so Miles can carry our bags in. He sets them on the floor by the door and shivers.

She pulls me into a comforting embrace as soon as we get inside. "I'm so glad y'all could end up making it even if it's not as long as it would've been."

I hug her tightly, remembering every hello and goodbye we've had from wherever I was coming or going at the time. I always get hit with how much I actually missed her when I see her again. It still isn't the same not waking up to the sound of her singing in the morning as she fixes us both a cup of coffee. Hers would always consist of two packets of sugar and almond milk. Then on the weekends she'd add vanilla syrup and sit back with whatever romance novel she was currently reading to start her day.

The smell of her hair remained the same. She's used the same coconut scented shampoo ever since I was a kid when she accidentally bought the wrong bottle from the grocery store and fell in love with the scent. All of these memories flood back at once and I'm almost overwhelmed by how happy I am to see her. I'm tempted to call out of work just to stay another day here if I can. Jeff and the crew should be fine.

"I swear you grow more and more beautiful each time you're away. How in the world did I create you?"

I chuckle and hope to myself I'm not blushing too bad. Miles' lips pursed together and curled up into a small smile.

She faces him and puts her hand out. "Miles! Aren't you a handsome thing, my goodness."

He shakes her hand gently. "It's nice to meet you Miss..."

Obviously he knows my parents are divorced but I forgot to mention her maiden name. He's frozen, not knowing what to call her.

"Melinda. You can call me Melinda." She says to ease the awkwardness.

He nods and lets go of her hand. "That's a beautiful name. My great grandmother's name was Melinda." He says.

"Really? That's ironic. I rarely see anyone around here with that name."

"Yeah but there sure are a lot of Linda's." I snicker and laugh into my hand.

She whacks my arm and I can't help but laugh harder. Miles doesn't understand what's going on so he just steadily observes us.

"What did I tell you about calling me that?"

I shrug and hug her neck. "You know I love you."

"Yeah, okay. How was the drive? Were the roads okay?" She asks.

"The traffic was all over the place but it wasn't as icy as I had expected." Miles speaks up.

"That's good to hear! Maybe we can go down to the mall to take advantage of whatever is left with the sales?"

I look at Miles to make sure he's onboard with shopping today. He didn't seem to have a problem with it when we were going over what we'd be doing this weekend before our plans got shot to hell.

"Sounds good to me." He says, not seeming too thrilled with the idea.

I nod in agreement and pick my bag up off the floor. "Let's put our stuff upstairs first."

He picks up his from the floor and follows me up to my other old bedroom. My mom had redone the entire room. The bed had a brand new comforter and she even painted the walls to make it fit more with the theme of the house. I told her when I moved out that she could do whatever she wanted with it. She swore to me that it would still be my room whenever I came to visit but she still wanted to redecorate accordingly. I was fine with that since I brought most of my belongings with me to the apartment anyway.

I set my bag at the foot of the bed and take a look around. "Damn, she really changed it up here."

"It's cute." Miles plops down on the bed and stares up at the ceiling. He looks tired.

"Hey, if you're too exhausted to shop I could always just go with my mom to a few stores and come back. You don't have to join us unless you want to. I know shopping can be kind of boring."

He had mentioned on a few different occasions that he's not a big fan of shopping. He only said he'd go because that's what I wanted to do but I would hate for him to be miserable for the next few hours.

"I don't know. I want to spend time with you and your mom might think I'm a wuss if I don't go."

I chuckle and sit next to him on the mattress. I drag my hand down his chest and find myself staring at the fabric clinging to his body.

"She won't think you're a wuss. My dad used to refuse to go shopping with her so she's completely used to that."

"Well then I definitely don't want to be compared to her ex husband."

"Miles, I promise it's okay if you don't want to go. We've got some catching up to do anyway. It'll only be a few hours."

He bites down on his lip, contemplating what he should do. "Fine but if she really wants me to go I will be down there lickety-split."

I burst into laughter. What did he just say?

"Lickety...what?"

"Lickety-split. Without delay. As soon as possible. You've never heard of that expression?"

"Not in this century, no."

He smiles, leaning his head back on one of the pillows. "My grandpa used to say it. I thought it was funny." He laughs.

"Alright old man, well I'm going to head out now. Make yourself at home."

I peck his cheek and push myself to my feet. He's smiling at me still. I really don't want to leave him, I would just feel awful if I force him into something he's expressed he isn't a fan of.

"Thanks. I love you." He whispers and closes his eyes.

He's going to be asleep within a few minutes. At least this will give me a chance to find him something good for Christmas.

"I love you." I assure him and walk out, closing the door quietly behind me.

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