Chapter Twenty-Seven

First-Date Jitters

After some proper begging and promising Mrs. Bryant that Kiera and I will spend the night putting the finishing touches on our end-of-year research projects, Kiera gets to come over for a few hours.

As Mom is walking me over to Dad’s house, Mr. Bryant’s truck pulls up alongside the sidewalk.

As Kiera gets out, her dad calls to Mom, “Hey there, Liz,” he says.

She gives him a short wave but says nothing. It’s pretty obvious where her loyalty lies.

“Tell, uh, Andre I said hi,” he says.

Kiera and I exchange a look.

“You can tell him yourself,” Mom says. Without waiting for Mr. Bryant to respond, Mom turns to me. “Call me if you need anything, baby.” She pushes a wave of hair behind my ear, but it’s quick to disobey. She searches my face for something. “Are you sure this is okay?”

I let out a quiet sigh and nod. I think she’s more nervous about me than she is her date. I gotta be honest: I’m feeling a little queasy myself.

Mom smiles and looks over my shoulder. “Kiera, it’s nice to see you back around.”

Inside, Dad is cooking up a storm, working on a new recipe he found online that he’s been perfecting on his solo nights—ginger-lime chicken with coconut sticky rice.

As the three of us sit around the table, Kiera shovels a spoonful of rice in her mouth and says, “Mr. DiMarco, I never knew rice could be this sweet and salty at the same time.”

Dad’s mouth spreads into a slow satisfied grin. “Well, I’m honored to have shown you the light, Kiera.”

After dinner, Kiera and I sit by the window in my bedroom with the lights off, waiting for Mom’s date to pick her up.

“Do we actually have to sit here in the dark?” Kiera asks. “It doesn’t matter if she sees us.”

“Oh, it totally matters,” I tell her. “She can’t know that I care.”

“That makes absolutely zero sense.”

A red truck pulls up outside of Mom’s house, and a guy with dark hair parted neatly down the side hops out. He wears crisp-looking jeans and a button-down shirt.

“Oh, he’s good,” says Kiera. “He’s got flowers.”

Bunched in his fist is a huge bouquet of bright sunflowers. I gotta admit, they look pretty cheery.

Behind us, my bedroom door swings open and Dad flips the light on. “Dad! Privacy, please!”

“Privacy?” he scoffs. “You’re snooping on your mother and you’re lecturing me on privacy?”

“Aren’t you just a little teensy bit curious?” I ask him.

He steps out of the door frame and motions for Kiera and me to follow him out into the hall. “How ’bout you two work out here in the living room for a while?”

I hold my fingers up in a pinch. “Just a little bit curious?”

Dad rolls his eyes. “Back away from the window.”