Chapter 3

"Whatever." James was well-versed with that tone. It was his mother s way of ending anything she refused to agree with. He was proven right when his mother tugged on his arm and dragged him into the building. He chuckled at his father and threw the key at him before pointing at the door. His father grinned and nodded in return. After that, he patted his mother on the arm and inquired how her day had been so far. He was also wondering why they were at his place instead of keeping busy at the restaurant. "Your mother misses you." Lydia scowled. "I can speak for myself. Thank you very much." "Fine. Go ahead." "I will." Lydia then smiled at James. "I miss my son. Can t a mother visit her son whenever she wants to?" "Of course, you can." Lydia shot a triumphant grin at her husband. "Did you hear that, Thomas? My son loves me and welcomes me anytime." "He s my son, too, and he didn t say those words at all." "Not explicitly, but the sentiment was definitely implied." Thomas harrumphed. "In your head maybe." "What? How dare you! Just so you know…" James rolled his eyes and removed his mother s hand from his arm before tuning out both of his parents and heading toward one of the cabinets to grab three glasses. The majority of the first floor of the building had been converted into an enormous kitchen and working space where he could prepare the food for his clients. The remainder of the first floor housed a storage room and a large garage for his two cars, one of which was a van to deliver the food. The other was the one he used on a daily basis. Naturally, the garage and the storage room were separated from the kitchen by a concrete wall. He grabbed the bottle of orange juice, which he had squeezed out himself earlier that morning, from the refrigerator and led his parents toward the island counter. He waited for them to sit before passing one glass each to his parents and sipping on the third one himself. There was a momentary, blissful silence. He beamed at his parents as he tapped his fingers on his glass. His parents might argue often enough, but he was aware how devoted and loving they were toward each other. Their relationship was the kind he yearned for. He might have found some success in his professional endeavor, but his personal life was anything but. It was more of a train wreck. His first serious relationship had fizzled out after less than a year. He was only twenty-four back then. The next one had ended after he caught his ex-boyfriend cheating on him. He had thought they would be together for the rest of their lives. After all, that relationship had lasted for almost four years. His third one wasn t as terrible as the second one, but that ex-boyfriend was too whiny, clingy, and needy. He shuddered as he remembered the final days of it. There had been plenty of tears and snots. That had put him off dating, and he had been single for the last two years. "How s the business going, James?" James smiled at his father. "Great. I m fully booked all the way until August." "That s wonderful. Really glad to hear that. I m sure your father will agree with me." "It s all thanks to you both," James said. "Without that loan from you, I wouldn t have been able to start this catering business at all." Thomas shook his head. "We re your parents. We will always support you." "Thanks, Mom, Dad." "Enough about that!" Lydia exclaimed while waving her hand. "Are you seeing someone new?" "Mom, I—" "You ve been single for way too long," Lydia interrupted. "Your father and I are worried about you." James snorted. "I have Jeremiah and Jonah, and their wives and kids, too. I ll be fine." Thomas sighed. "It s different, James. Your brothers and their families will always be your families, too, but there may come a time in your life when you need to talk to somebody, only to discover you can only confide in a spouse." James nodded. "I guess. It s not as if I m not searching for the right person, but I ve just been unlucky so far." "Is it possible you re being too choosy?" James chuckled. "No, Mom." "Is there anyone you like?" James was rather taken aback to hear his father s question, especially when an image of a blue-eyed redhead immediately popped inside his mind. He sipped on his orange juice before putting the glass back down onto the counter. "Is there?" Lydia prodded. "James?" "Yeah. Kind of." "Kind of?" Thomas repeated. "What does that even mean?" James blushed. "I like this guy. His name is Joshua Wallace. He s a redhead with the most beautiful blue eyes I ve ever seen." "So, what s the problem?" James pondered carefully about how to reply to his mother s question. "He doesn t know how I feel. I m also not sure if he s gay or if he s into me." "Ask him then." James almost laughed out loud. "Dad, it doesn t work like that. I can t go up to Josh and inquire about his sexuality. That will be rude and invasive." Lydia scoffed. "You young people are making everything so complicated. You should come up with a plan." "A plan?" Lydia nodded. "I heard about those gay dating apps on your smartphones. Can t you just download one of them and leave it open on your phone while pretending you re unaware of it? If Josh comments on it, then you ll know. Right?" James stared at his mother in awe. "That s brilliant. You re so smart, Mom." "I know." Thomas huffed. "Please don t praise her again for the rest of this year. Her ego is massive enough as it is." Lydia glared at Thomas. "You re just jealous you can t come up with such a genius plan." "Whatever. Anyway, James, your mother and I are here because we want to bring you out for afternoon tea. We haven t done that in a while." "Sure, Dad. Sounds great to me." "Okay then. Let s go." The three of them finished the orange juice and placed the glasses in the sink before making their way toward the door. Along the way, James was reminded of his father s birthday.