Bay City Runaway

Chapter 20

(1995)

"Are you drunk?" said Laura back at my apartment.

"I just had a few drinks with your parents," I said, speech slurred.

"My parents? As in my dad and my mom?" she said.

"It's no big deal, babe. I told your parents, and it went ok—for the most part."

"What do you mean for the most part?" she asked, pacing my living room.

"Well, you were right about your dad. Calling him Frank changed everything. He was cool about it all, and it was his idea to drink, not mine," I said.

"And my mom? She actually had a drink?"

"Yes, but lemme finish. She was upset at first, ya know? 'What do you know about being a husband and all,' she said. But I stood up to her. I told her how I really feel about you and that I will support you and that I'll get a good job and that we'll wait until we graduate."

"Wait, what? You said, we would wait until we graduate?" she said, still agitated.

"Yeah, you know, until I can get a job and make some money."

"We never discussed that. You can't go making decisions for us like that!"

"Babe, you weren't there!" I said. "That was the condition your father made with me for his blessing, and I felt like I needed to say that to your mother to get her to calm down."

"Still, that's like, our lives, you know?" she said, stopping in the middle of the room.

"I know, I know, but don't you think it's a good idea? I mean, is there really a rush?"

"No. We probably would have waited anyway. I just need us to be a team. Promise me, James, that from this day on, we are a team. We make decisions together."

I met her in the middle of the room and took both of her hands and said, "Yes. I promise. Look, I'm just glad it's over and that everybody is ok with this."

"Um, well not everybody. What about your parents? We haven't told them."

"Yeah, I guess I hadn't thought about that, yet—I was so focused on your dad. Look, I really don't think it's going to be all that big of a deal," I said. " Come here." I pull her into my arms. "My parents adore you. They will be very happy. I promise—once they get over the initial shock."

She took a deep breath, let it out, and nuzzled me a little on the neck.

"You don't think your mom is going to give us a sex talk, do you?"

"I'm quite certain she will," I said, but then I was reminded of the fact that my mom was dying. It hit me like that, a few times a day, crushing me a little more every time.

She laughed and pulled away, but I wasn't laughing.

"What is it?"

"My mom. I mean, do you even think she'll live to see us get married?"

"Honey, I don't know."

"What are we going to do? Maybe we shouldn't wait after all," I said, sifting through the possibilities in my mind. "Don't you think your parents will understand?"

"Hey, you got my mom to drink. You can do anything."

We decided that was enough excitement for the day, so we went to The Mont, a popular hangout for students wanting chips and queso and their signature drink: the Swirl, which was a swirl of margarita and sangria; deceptively potent. The restaurant had a large patio, where I spent a good deal of time during my college career, but the weather was turning colder, so we sat inside, which was all dark wood and dim light. We sat at a booth.