“Where on earth is your brother?” mom asked, looking towards the door.

“Maybe his shift ran a bit late?” I wondered out loud.

I had sent Seth a message about half an hour ago but still no news. I decided to give him a call to just check in, but he hadn’t picked up.

“Let’s give him another fifteen minutes and if he’s not here by then, we’ll start eating,” mom said, putting the fried chicken on the table.”

“Alright,” I said distractedly.

“So… how are things going with your new roommate?” mom asked.

“Oh… uh… good,” I nodded.

“You don’t sound too sure,” mom said, wrinkling her brows at me.

“It’s not that,” I said. “We get along great…”

Mom was looking at me carefully. “You don’t really like to talk much about him, do you?”

“Um… that’s not true.”

“Please, I barely know his name.”

“It’s… Dave,” I said, remembering the name I had told Seth.

I was forced to stick with that name now… at least until I was certain where Devlin and I were headed. I felt like I needed a couple more weeks to work things out in my head and when I did, then I could come clean with Seth and mom about who Devlin really was. Not that mom would care as much, but I didn’t want to have to ask her to lie to Seth on my behalf.

“And… what does he do?”

“Uh… he’s a painter,” I said, choosing to tell her the career he wished to pursue.

“Really?” mom said, sounding intrigued.

“Yeah,” I nodded, thinking of the painting he had done of me. “And he’s really good, ma. He’s actually going to be exhibited in one of the local galleries in town soon.”

“Wow… does that kind of thing bring in a lot of money?”

“Mom.”

“What?”

“I can’t ask him that,” I said. It’s not polite.”

“I thought you said the two of you got along well.”

I shook my head at her and mom gave a deep sigh. “Maybe that was my mistake… my first mistake in life,” she said.

“What was?”

“Not marrying a rich man,” mom said. “Let that be a lesson to you, Zo… find a guy with money. It’ll save you a lot of worry in your life, and your children won’t have to scrape and scrounge their entire lives.”

“We work hard, mom,” I said.

“Exactly,” she nodded. “Sometimes I think the both of you work so hard that you don’t have a life because of it.”

“Really?”

“Really,” she nodded.

“Then tell me this… when was the last time you went out with a group of friends?” mom asked. “Or went to a party or went on a date? When was the last time you were anywhere you could meet a nice, eligible young man?”

“I’ll have you know that you don’t have to go out to meet nice eligible men,” I said, without thinking.

“What does that mean?” mom asked.

“Uh, nothing.”

Mom stared at me for a moment and then she narrowed her eyes at me. “Hold on, are you dating your roommate?”

“I… no.”

Mom clapped her hands together and laughed. “Is that why you’ve been so tight-lipped about him?” she asked. “Because you and he are—”

“It’s not a big deal,” I said.

“Of course it’s a big deal. And you know why I think that is?”

“Enlighten me.”

“You’re blushing.”

“I am not,” I said defensively, even though I knew she was right.

Thankfully, I was saved the embarrassment of that particular conversation when we heard the door open. “Seth’s here!” I said, jumping to my feet. “At last.”

“Hi, guys,” he said, coming around the corner into the kitchen. “Sorry I’m late.”

“What happened?” mom asked. “Is everything alright?”

“Uh… long story,” Seth said, and he looked a little deflated.

He sat down, and mom and I exchanged a glance. “Seth,” I said gently. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” he nodded. “It’s just been a long day.” He took a deep breath. “Cory moved out.”

“What?” I asked, in surprise.

“Yeah,” Seth nodded. “She just packed her bags and left… just before I got here.”

“What happened?” mom asked.

Seth sighed. “We just got into a big fight—”

“Oh God,” I jumped in. “Was it about me.”

“No,” Seth replied, but he hesitated long enough that I knew I had been part of the fight in some way.

“Oh, Seth—”

“I finally just snapped,” Seth replied. “And she snapped right back at me, and I guess we both realized how badly suited we were for one another. I think that we just both wanted a partner so much that we overlooked the fact that we were never right for one another.”

“Well, I’m glad,” mom said suddenly. “I never liked her.”

“Mom!” I said.

“What… it’s true.”

“Let’s try and be a little sensitive,” I said.

“I appreciate that,” Seth said, with a small smile playing on his lips. “But it’s not necessary. I would rather you just be honest with me.”

I bit my lip and thought about all the things I was not being honest with him about. “I’m sorry, Seth,” I said.

He smiled at me. “I knew you never really liked Cory much either… did you, Zo?” he asked.

“Um… is this a trick question?”

“I’m just curious,” Seth said. “Now that I’ve broken up with her you guys are free to say exactly what you think and feel.”

I smiled. “Well in that case… you’re right. She was completely wrong for you.”

“Why didn’t either of you ever say that to me before?” Seth asked.

“Because you wouldn’t have listened then,” mom said. “Until you realized it yourself. All that would have done was get you pissed at both of us. We just had to wait until you figured things out for yourself.”

Seth sat back and sighed. “I’d like to argue, but there’s probably some truth in that.”

We all chuckled together, and everybody relaxed. I certainly did, until mom turned to me with eyes bright with mischief. “So I think we need to get back to discussing the new man in Zo’s life.”

“Um, no,” I said immediately.

“New man?” Seth asked, with interest. “What’s this?”

“Nothing, nothing,” I said quickly. “Can we please not?”

“When did you even meet this new guy with your work… wait a second,” Seth said, as realization dawned. “You haven’t gotten involved with your roommate, have you?”

I gave him a guilty smile, and Seth shook his head at you. “Zo!”

“I’ve got it under control, ok?” I said. “We’re taking things slow.”

“You already live with the man.”

“We have separate rooms,” I said. “It’s not like we’ve taken this major step or anything.”

“Come on, Zo… now I have to meet this guy,” Seth insisted.

“And you will,” I nodded nervously. “Just not just yet.”

“Why not?” mom asked teasingly. “Is he funny looking?”

“He’s very handsome,” I said. “In fact, I’m pretty sure you will both like him.”

“You’re sure I will like him?” Seth asked incredulously.

“Yes I am,” I said. “I just want to make sure I know how I feel about him first… before I introduce him to the family.”

“I need to check this guy out.”

“You need to process your own breakup,” I said. “Instead of fixating on my relationship.”

“I’ve processed it just fine,” Seth said defensively.

“Please… you and Cory just broke up.”

“It’s been a long time coming,” Seth admitted.

“Really?” I asked. “She moved in only a couple of months ago. Why ask her to move in with you if you thought it wouldn’t last?”

“It was her idea to move in,” Seth admitted. “And I just sort of went along with it. In any case, it wasn’t like I knew it for sure. It was just one of those things that you know deep down, but you don’t really let yourself admit it until it’s staring you in the face.”

“Did she tell you what happened between us?” I asked, figuring there was no reason to avoid that topic anymore.

“Not much,” Seth admitted. “But I got the gist. She didn’t like you staying over. I knew she had made that plain to you. Otherwise you never would have left the way you did.”

“Well… yeah.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Seth asked.

“Because I didn’t want to cause problems between you and Cory,” I said. “I didn’t want it to become a choice between her and me.”

“Please… that would have been an easy choice,” Seth said.

“Sure, but at the time I didn’t know that,” I said. “And I wasn’t willing to risk it.”

Seth gave me a wink and patted the top of my head as though I were a child. “I’m sorry she was mean to you.”

I smiled. “It’s ok; I’m a tough chick.”

Seth and mom exchanged a glance and then they both burst out laughing. “Excuse me,” I said, with irritation. “Why is that so damn funny?”

Their response was just to laugh louder, and so I rolled my eyes and dug into the delicious meal on the table in front of us. About a half an hour later, dinner was just winding down when I heard my phone beep, and I glanced down to see who had texted me. It turned out to be none other than Devlin, and I tried not to let my expression change as I read his message.

“Guess what?” Devlin had written. “There’s going to be a meteor shower tonight around midnight. I thought we could watch it in the park down the street from our apartment. What do you say?”

I made sure not to smile because I was aware that both Seth and mom were watching me closely. “I’d love to,” I replied. “Sounds like fun.”

I sent the text and put my phone away. Then mom brought out dessert, and we spent another hour talking and eating and enjoying one another’s company. It was nice when there was no drama, and it was just the three of us. I thought of Devlin immediately and realized that he would never have this with his parents.

I was glad that he had me now, at the very least. I was looking forward to the meteor shower with Devlin in the park. It sounded magical, and I needed a little magic in my life.