The car drove up the tiny driveway and Colby looked around at the trees that lined the small path, he saw the small house sitting at the end of the drive and he looked over at Rebecca as she took a deep breath.
She was nervous about bringing him home to meet her mother, but she was more nervous about telling her mother she's pregnant. He had been told by her that Annette as she was called was a very traditional mother, she was very much a traditional Irish woman.. she followed every rule there was and she wanted nothing more than her daughter to have the best life possible.
As the couple got out of the car, Colby began to get their bags out of the back as Rebecca greeted her mother who stood on the small concrete porch. He watched the two embrace with one another for the first time in a long time.
"Colby," Rebecca said as she let go of her mother "This is my mum, Annette," she said "Mum.. this is Colby," she said
Annette looked Colby up and down as she stuck her hand out to shake his hand.
"It is a pleasure to meet you M'am" he nodded with a smile and Annette looked over at her daughter
"M'am?" Annette questioned "He has manners," she said to her daughter
"Colby's parents raised him right mum, he's not some animal" she shook her head
"After the last boy you brought home to meet me, you can see why I'm a little skeptical," she said, completely avoiding the fact that Colby was standing next to her daughter
"I was seventeen" Rebecca shook her head "it was a bad decision"
"A bad decision that lasted three years," she said with a nod and Rebecca rolled her eyes
"Anyway.. moving on!" Rebecca clapped her hands together "Are we staying in my old room?" She asked
"Of course, you are to stay in your room. Colby can stay on the sofa" Annette said
"Mum, WE can sleep in the same room" Rebecca shook her head
"You're not even married my dear, so in my home, you are not staying together" Annette laughed as she walked in the house and Rebecca looked back at Colby as she followed her mother through the door
"Yeah my dear.. we're not even married" Colby mocked and Rebecca elbowed him in the ribs as he laughed
"So this is the house you grew up in," Colby said as he walked up the small staircase and looked at the pictures that hung on the walls
"I know its nothing like the one you grew up in" she shook her head with a roll of her eyes "but some of us actually had to work for a living"
"Hey.. you don't think I worked for a living? My dad made me work" he nodded and she looked back at him "he did! He made me clean my room when the cleaning lady was on vacation"
"Wow! You had it so hard!" She held her hands in the air
"Who is this?" He asked as he pointed to the photo beside her of a young man with who could only assume was a teenage Rebecca
"That's Richie," she said with a nod "My older brother"
"Your older brother? You never mentioned you have an older brother"
"Had" Rebecca nodded "He died when I was 15.. that was the last photo ever taken of him"
"I'm sorry" he apologized, now he felt horrible for bringing it up
"He was 17.. drunk driver hit him head-on coming out of a pub downtown.. he died instantly" she explained "Just don't mention it to mum okay?" She asked and he nodded "She doesn't like talking about it, she just shoves it down and pretends not to think about it.. in her mind he's just off at some job far away and he's doing well for himself"
