“What does Dad have to do with that?”
“She wants to spend some time with a great guy, and Dad is basically Superman in her eyes,” Kim said, helping herself to a small bite of her dinner.
“You ain’t lying,” he remarked under his breath.
She sent a wink his way. It was nice to know that she wasn’t crazy. Apparently, Nick saw things the same as her. “Those two have always been that way. Stacy thinks that Dad is perfect, while Dad swears that Stacy has never done anything wrong. Believe me, it’s been that way for the past twenty years.”
“It’s not like that’s a problem or anything.”
“It can be a little annoying,” she divulged candidly. “There have been plenty of times where I know that Stacy did something wrong, but your father refuses to acknowledge it. He just can’t grasp the concept of her being anything other than perfect. Not to mention that it drives me nuts how hard he is on you.”
His eyes peered sharply. “You think that Dad’s hard on me?”
Her jaw dropped. He couldn’t possibly be serious in her mind. “Sweetheart, are you kidding me?”
“It’s never really felt that way to me,” he said casually before chomping away on the rest of his tortilla stack.
Maybe she was just as bad as Peter? Perhaps she played favorites even more than she believed? Because at this very moment, she seriously considered the likelihood that she stared at the single most perfect guy on the planet.
Somehow, her son didn’t hold any resentment for the vastly superior way that Peter treated Stacy, but that really described Nick perfectly, didn’t it? He was always happy to just go with the flow. Was that why she naturally gravitated to him? Were their similar personalities the reason for their strong bond? Here she was, concerned that he would one day experience a meltdown over how hard his father was on him, all the while he’d never even noticed.
“I feel the same as Stacy, by the way.”
She watched him grab another tortilla stack with a twinkle in her eye. “You feel the same way as your sister? About what?”
“Dating sucks,” he confessed.
Her children didn’t share much in common, but frustration with romance seemed to be their one area of agreement. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told Stacy. It gets better.”
“I don’t know, Mom. I mean, it’s pretty crappy.”
She gazed into his brown eyes, unable to comprehend how a handsome eighteen-year-old hunk could have any problems dating. If the girls didn’t love his lean, muscular body; then they were sure to fall for his charming personality, uncanny wit, or especially his easygoing attitude. A guy like him should have a line of cuties following him everywhere!
“What’s so crappy about it?” she questioned.
“Do you want me to be honest?”
She nodded, genuinely interested in every aspect of his life. If she could help him even slightly, then she would do exactly that.
“First off, girls my age are obsessed with their phones,” he started. “They’re completely obsessed with social media too. All they care about is posting to Instagram and making TikTok videos.”
“Lots of girls–”
“Plus, most girls at my school don’t have a problem dating around,” he plowed over her attempt to relax his aggressive mannerisms. His waving hands appeared particularly passionate. “Lots of the popular girls date a different guy every month. There’s something extremely distasteful about that to me.”
She definitely couldn’t fault him for his latest opinion.
“I don’t know,” he groaned, rather disgusted with his dating options. “Maybe it’s actually me? What if I’m the problem and I just can’t see it?”
“You aren’t the problem.”
“You don’t know that, though,” he voiced between bites of his dinner.
“Um…yeah, I do know,” she corrected him. “Every girl would be lucky to date a guy like you. You’re a total catch.”
He cracked a smile.
“I’m honestly not just saying that because I’m your mother either,” she promised. Indulging in her tortilla no longer mattered when her baby’s self-esteem demanded a much-needed boost. “I really do mean it. You’re handsome, funny, and my favorite person in the world.”
“You’re my favorite person in the world too, Mom.”
Could she capture this moment in a bottle and save it forever? Why did he have to grow up so fast? Someday, he wouldn’t be around the house anymore, and she would experience what Peter had felt during the past few years with Stacy off at college. It was a guaranteed misery that she didn’t look forward to.
But she couldn’t allow her selfishness to stifle her son’s happiness. It was her job to support him. “You’ll find a great girl. Trust me, they’re out there.”
“I’m not holding my breath,” he muttered, pointing at the plate in the center of the table. “Mind if I have another one?”
Few things made her happier than how much he loved her cooking. “You can have ’em all if you want, sweetheart.”
He plopped another tortilla stack on his greasy plate.
Why couldn’t she think? There had to be something that she could do to free him from his stress. Heck, she would absorb his worry into her own body if she could! Peter had removed the burden from their daughter’s shoulders by taking her out on a date, so she needed to do something equally as special.
But nothing came to her as she watched him enjoy his dinner. What more could a mother do than simply try her best to provide her child with an ideal climate to prosper? It may not have been fair, but there wasn’t anything more she could do.
“So, how was your day?” he asked.
She could always be there for him. She could shower him with attention and praise. Her baby would never doubt himself again as long as she was around, and she promised herself that she wouldn’t take his company for granted ever again. The love of her life sat across the table, and she would enjoy every minute in his presence until he one day flew away and built his own nest.
Chapter 3 — Stacy’s Dream Dinner
Thirteen Miles Away.
“Can we have a weekly date night, Dad?”
Peter didn’t hate the sound of that as they pulled out of Russell’s to start their journey back home. “I would love that, pumpkin.”
Stacy never wanted tonight to end. Not only did she finally have an excuse to wear her amazing pink spaghetti strap mini dress and stylish white high heels, but Dad further cemented her idea of how a dream guy should carry himself. Their dinner date didn’t even remotely resemble how the guys at school behaved. It was all so amazing!
First, Dad told her to order anything she wanted, so she treated herself to a ten-ounce filet mignon while he opted for a huge New York strip steak. Second, the glass of Pinot Noir that he allowed her to indulge in reminded her that he wasn’t her mother. Mom would freak out if she even mentioned drinking alcohol! Meanwhile, Dad encouraged her to treat herself–under his strict supervision, of course. Finally, their unexpected dinner date set the bar extremely high for any of her potential suitors. She refused to waste her time with duds. No, she needed a man like Dad in her life, and she wouldn’t settle for anything less.
“Are you sure that Mom will be okay with you taking me out instead of her?” she asked, teasing her father from the passenger seat of his car.