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thought of how impressed he’s about to be.
    Xander stands, as does Mom, and he stretches, patting his stomach.
    “Ma’am, that was probably the best meal I’ve had in my entire life. And I’m not even kidding. I feel like I should be paying you for letting me eat here.”
    Mom laughs and opens her arms wide. “As long as you’re living here, you’re a Watson. Now bring it in. I’m a hugger, and with that ‘best meal’ line, you’ve now become my favorite person in the house.”
    She hugs Xander, disappearing into his arms. When she releases him, she makes her way to me, grabbing me and pulling me in.
    Her lips meet my forehead. “You be safe. Call me if you need anything, okay? Love you, baby.”
    “Okay, we will. I promise. Love you too, Mama.”

 

     
    I pull my ‘69 Chevelle SS from the garage and the growl of the 454 big block catches his immediate attention as he exits the guesthouse. His eyes are wide and fixated on my powder blue beauty. He climbs in the passenger side with the same expression on his face as I pull down the gravel drive.
    “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
    “What?” I ask, acting clueless.
    “Uh, this car. It’s amazing. How long have you had it?”
    “You’re totally going to judge me.”
    “I won’t judge.”
    “Well, it was kind of a sixteenth birthday present from my dad.” Immediately, he huffs and rolls his eyes, and I give him a stern look in response. “Hey jerk, you said you wouldn’t judge.”
    “I’m not!”
    “Oh yeah? What’s this, then?” I do my best impression of the attitude he just gave me, but he just cracks up.
    “Okay, okay… so, sixteenth birthday. But why a Chevelle?”
    “I’ve always wanted one. I begged and begged, and Dad always said if I kept a 3.5 or above my first two years of high school, then he’d get it for me.”
    “And I take it you did?”
    “4.0, thank you very much.” I wink and instantly feel as if I’ve been too cocky. He doesn’t seem to mind though.
    “Well shit, I’d buy you a Chevelle, too. I squeaked by with a 1.5 at best. School was about the last thing on my mind. I always assumed I’d play guitar for some famous band or something. Who needs school if you’re a rock star, right?” He chuckles to himself before looking back over at me. “So after you got the car, did your grades go to shit?”
    “No sir. I kept them up, for the most part. I don’t want to talk about my grades though. Let’s go back to this music thing. Why aren’t you fronting a famous rock band? You’re amazing. Honestly!”
    “I’ve got a pretty gnarly case of stage fright. It’s about the only thing that does really get to me. Singing, sharing a part of yourself with others… that’s never been my life. Never what it’s been about.”
    “So what has it been about then?”
    “That’s a whole other story for a whole other time.”
    “Well, we’ve got all summer.” I pull into Whittaker’s lot and park. Scanning the lot for my ex’s truck, I’m relieved to see it’s not here.
    We head inside the half-empty bar and Brandi squeals when she sees us. Making her way around the counter, she gives me a huge hug, nearly knocking me over in the process.
    “Thank you! I’m sooooo fucking bored!” She lets go and eyes Xander from head to toe. “Well, hello again, stranger. Long time, no see. You get a hug, too.”
    She stands on her tiptoes and wraps her arms around him with a squeeze before letting him go.
    “Good to see you too, Brandi,” he says.
    “How was your first day with the old man? He’s a fuckin riot, right?” She makes her way back around the bar and sets two cocktail napkins down. We each take a seat and she starts making my usual vodka, water and lime. “Xander, what are you drinking by the tonight?”
    “Grab me a pale ale, please. One of the Schlafly. And yeah, it wasn’t bad at all. He’s a real good dude.”
    She sets my drink down, pops the top off the beer and places it in front of