“Now Terrance, you treat her nice and with respect. Don’t you be in here ignoring her.”

I had been forced to tune out some of my mother’s overzealous company before, but I was a little too old for that now.

I told her, “I’ll be on my best behavior, Mom.” Then I planned to get back to my regular life.

My mother walked to the front door to let Geneva in while I waited in the kitchen area.

“Oh, I like the dress. That’s very nice,” I heard her compliment Geneva as they made their way through the house and toward the kitchen.

“Thank you. You know, a girl’s gotta do what she can to try and stay on top of the fashion world.”

I grinned. They were forcing me to think about the dress before I even saw it. So as soon as Geneva walked into the kitchen behind my mother, I checked her out from head to toe.

Her hair was still light brown, curly, and at shoulder length. The dress she wore was off-white and knitted, hugging every curve on her fit body, and stopping at mid-thigh. And her boots were brown suede. She also wore a pearl necklace with matching earrings. My mother hadn’t said anything about that. I guess she left that out to surprise me with. I’m sure she realized I was listening to her every word. My mother spoke too loudly for you not to listen.

Geneva stuck out her hand to me and said, “Hi, Terrance.”

I extended my hand to receive hers.

“I see you’re all grown up now,” I told her.

“It was going to happen eventually, right?”

The dinner meeting was awkward for both of us. The sooner we got it over with, the better. So I pulled a chair from the kitchen table and offered her a seat.

“You wanna sit down?”

“Sure.”

My mother stood behind the stove and watched for chemistry between us, but I was just being a gentleman.

Geneva took a seat and looked around.

“Cozy kitchen,” she commented. My mother had decorations and oxygen plants hanging from everywhere. It made her feel like she was never alone.

I sat to the right of Geneva and asked her, “So, you’re going into law school now.”

She perked up and said, “Yes, I am. It’s a big step for me.”

“What kind of law?”

“Business law. I wanna go where the money is.”

I nodded. I said, “Is that your reason for wanting to be a lawyer?”

“Oh, no, of course not. But if I’m gonna be in law school, then I want to be able to help small business owners to protect themselves, and get them a much bigger share of the deals that are being made out here.”

I nodded. I could see my mother smiling in my periphery. I guess she figured it was a good answer.

Geneva asked me, “What about you? What do you have up your sleeve for when you’re no longer modeling?”