At 7 pm, I left my room. I was staying here all this time after I left the kitchen to run away from Matt. I regretted my words almost immediately. I was an adult, but from my behavior, it would be easy to say that I was acting like a child. Well done, Lea!

I did a one-sided braid, put my boho-style summer dress on, and added a little mascara to my eyelashes. I didn’t want to overdo it. It would be my first meeting with my mother’s boyfriend, and I wanted to make a good first impression. He was important to my mom, and since I wanted our relationship to be back to normal, it was the first step to do so.

When I entered the living room, the first who I saw was Matt. He was no longer in the suit. He was wearing a black t-shirt and dark blue sweatpants. I stopped in the doorframe, observing him. He was sitting on the couch and concentrating on the TV-screen, so he didn’t notice me. His dark aura was still here. I could say even looking at him, that he often was moody. I saw a deep wrinkle between his eyebrows. I didn’t like that I still was founding him attractive. I shouldn’t care about him at all. But my heart had some other thoughts. Even looking at him, I felt my heartbeat fastening.

“Are you planning to stand there the whole time?” Matt’s voice brought me back to reality. He didn’t look at the screen; he was staring at me. I sighed and walked to him. I plopped myself on the couch near him, but not too close. It was hard to do since he was sitting right in the middle. At least our knees and shoulders weren’t touching.

“Listen, Matt... It’s not easy for me, okay? To come back after all these years of absence and to find out that I can’t live in my family house anymore. And I would be damned if I would say that I wasn’t shocked to know that my mother is dating your dad. Add to this information that I will be living in his house and that you’re here too.”

“Are you not talking to Olivia at all? I knew that you weren’t close but damn, Lea... It’s the whole new level...”

“Of course, I had been talking with her. I had known the name, but I never thought to ask details... Until now.”

“Can I ask you something?” He half-turned to me, resting his hand on the back of the couch.

“Go ahead.” I shrugged my shoulders and half-turned to him as well. We were facing each other. To think about it, it was the first time since that party. After that night, I didn’t allow myself to be in one room with him, not to say about sitting near him and talking.

“What’s bothering you? Your return? Your mother’s relationship with my dad? Your living situation? Or me living here?”

“Wow... Are you working as an Interrogator, or what? It’s a hell of a lot of questions!”

“I am a homicide detective, Lea. It’s my job to be able to formulate the right questions if I want to know the whole truth.” Matt smiled at me while I was sitting with my mouth open wide.

“You did not.” That’s all that I managed to say. He was kidding. It can’t be the truth. Just no.

“You saw the badge. That’s what I do for a living.” The smile disappeared; he was uncomfortable because of my reaction. But what can I say? I was shocked.

“Oh. I just... I don’t... Fuck!” I closed my eyes. I needed time to process all that. Yeah, I thought that he would be the perfect fit for the job of Detective. But he was so reluctant, so oppressed to this idea. I couldn’t imagine him, choosing the path of his dad. He didn’t want to have anything in common with him. And now this? “But what about the bar?” Great, Lea... I blurted the first thing, which came to my mind.

“What about it? Ethan and I are owners of the bar on the central street of our town. It’s a pretty popular place, you know.”

“Shit, Matt... You’re full of surprises.” I smiled at him, and he smiled back at me. It was so easy. We didn’t talk with each other for 12 years, and I parted ways with him, not in a good way. And I was talking to him as if he was my old friend. There wasn’t any awkwardness anymore. I had a feeling that he enjoyed our conversation just as much as I did.

“There you are. I thought that I heard your voices, but I didn’t want to interrupt. It seems that you can act like adults. Am I right?” My mom walked out of the kitchen and was standing near the big table. She started to bring dishes. I flashed her a smile, got up, and strode to her. I wanted to help.

“What can I do?” I asked, my mom’s eyes were studying me. I was sure that she wouldn’t let go of the situation in the kitchen. I would be interrogated about my story with Matt. But I was glad that it wouldn’t be tonight.

“You may sit and enjoy this evening. It’s for you.” Mom leaned to me and kissed my cheek. I tensed and immediately regretted it because she saw it. A sad smile appeared on her lips. “Lea, please, sit. George is helping me already. Matt, you too, come and sit.”

Ten minutes after, we were all sitting at the table. The lasagna was perfect, and so was wine. George Harris was tall and well-built even in his age. He was three years older than mom, and now he was 58. He had gray hair and very nice features. Matt was a lot like him. All in this man was radiating power and confidence. He was a smooth-talker. I was surprised. Back in my high school days, I saw him as a strict and boring adult, but now, I started to change my mind about him.

George was interested in me, just like my mother said. He wanted to know more about me. What was I up to after college, what was I doing for a living, how was my life in Chicago? After some time I tried to redirect the conversation, because the more he drunk, the more personal his questions sounded. Matt recognized this attempt and helped me. I smiled at him because I was grateful for that. I didn’t like talking only about myself.

“You have a pretty car, Lea. I was surprised to hear from Olivia that it was yours.” We were having dinner for almost an hour when George commented on my car. I tensed because it inevitably will lead to the talk about Sean.

“Why?” I gulped down my wine and placed the empty glass on the table.

“You know, I didn’t think that working as a freelance photographer, you could make this amount of money.” Ouch! It was rude. He not only belittled what I was doing, but he also hinted that I wasn’t earning much.

“Dad, you know, I don’t think that Lea’s salary has got something to do with you,” Matt said before I could even open my mouth. I glanced at him. He was standing up for me, and I felt grateful to him. Matt was only polite, but it made me very happy.

“Yeah, you’re right, son. Since I know now that this car was a present from her fiancé, it made me relax. I was right, thinking that Lea couldn’t buy it by herself.” George Harris took his glass of whiskey and stared at me. I was starting to doubt my instincts. Did I think that he was a good and kind man? He was creeping me out. He was showing that he had no respect for me. But worst of all was mom’s silence.

“My ex-fiancé.” I corrected him through the clenched teeth.

“He must be a very generous guy if he let you leave it to yourself.”

“Dad, that’s enough!” Matt’s voice sounded angry. He was annoyed with his father. But I was only interested in my mom. She wasn’t looking at me. She was staring at the table with a glass of wine in her hand. Why? Why did I think that we could rebuild our relationship? The way her boyfriend was talking to me was horrible. He didn’t know me, didn’t know Sean and knew nothing about our relationship, or about the reasons for our breakup. Her silence was the most offending thing for the night. “Lea doesn’t need to listen to your bullshit! You were saying that you want to know the daughter of your beloved woman, but right now? You’re only insulting her! Stop drinking and start using your head!”

The living room fell silent. I stared at Matt. It was as if I saw him for the first time since the night at Ethan’s party. It was the guy I admired so much in high school. It was the guy who showed his interest in me, who was saying all these sweet things to me that night and who was kissing me the way, which I wasn’t kissed before or after. Except for the fact that it was already an adult man with his secrets and with his pain, but still, he defended me.

“George, I think Matt’s right. Come with me. I will help you to our bed.” My mother stood up and walked to him. He got up without any resistance and followed her silently to the second floor. I was sitting there, dumbfounded. What just happened was surreal!