An Endless Serenade

Chapter Twenty-Nine

            Back at the house, it was awkward and quiet. Paul was hovering over the stove, cooking up the spaghetti we’d bought, and my parents were seated at the table, watching him like a hawk. I sat at the table too, fiddling with my thumbs.

            “So are we going to talk about this now?” my dad spoke up. My mom hadn’t let him cause in a scene in the grocery store, bless her soul.

            “Not much to talk about—”

            “You can’t lie to me, Allie Cat,” my dad interjected, shaking his head.

            I shrunk in my seat a little. Dang.

            “Are you guys dating?” my mom asked, sounding a little more gentle than my dad.

            As soon as I opened my mouth to deny it, Paul sent my parents a bold look. “Yes, we are.”

            I hoped the betrayal was written across my face when I whipped my head around to Paul. How could he tell my parents! I’d thought we’d talked about this. What if my dad flipped out at him and I had to move home. “Dad, it’s not what you think—” I stopped talking when I saw my dad’s expression. He didn’t seem angry at all.

            “I want to be mad, but I can’t,” he admitted begrudgingly.

            My mom patted his shoulder. “I kind of figured you two had something going on last time at the Winter Wonder.”

            I could’ve hugged her. She must’ve eased my dad into it. I love you mom, I said in my mind, hoping to telepathically convey it to her.

            “Still, it’s a little hard to let you two live together after knowing this,” my dad continued, his eyes on Paul.

            Paul nodded empathetically. “That’s reasonable. I’d understand if you want Allie to move home.”

            My eyes widened. “No—”

            “But understand that although we are dating, we aren’t having any type of physical relationship,” Paul finished. “We didn’t mean to hide this from you either.”

            “Yeah, that was all me,” I added quickly. “I’m the one that was scared to tell you.”

            My mom seemed a little offended. “Did you think we’d be mad?”

            “We’ll he’s kinda sorta my teacher…”

            My dad snorted. “You’re talking to the wrong people.”

            “Wait, what?” I almost gasped. “Wait, was everything you guys been telling me the truth? Dad was really your teacher, Mom?”

            “Yeah, he was a bit of a jerk back then,” my mom said wistfully.

            My dad puffed out his chest. “I was handsome.”

            “Yeah, you were handsome…”

            “Hey!”

            “I thought you were lying about all of that!” I interjected, actually in shock. My dad joked around with me so much it was hard to know whether he was telling the truth or not. “You were just lying about the gang thing then?”

            “That happened!” my dad snapped at me.

            I held my head up a little higher, ignoring him. “So you can’t be mad at me for dating Paul!”