Ari’s mother was standing in the doorway. She folded her arms and behind her glasses, her brows crinkled in an expression that was something between amusement and annoyance. Her short, cropped hair was a coppery red, which seemed to match her tartan print wrap. I felt like a horny teenager caught sneaking out of his girlfriend’s bedroom.
Her mom cleared her throat. “Ari, I’m sure whatever you’re looking for isn’t under the bed.” Then she looked over at me. “Or in the bed it seems.”
Startled, Ari bumped her head on the metal frame as she slid from underneath the bed.
Ari looked like she wanted to pee herself. I walked up to her mother, wiping my hands on my pants, and extending it toward her for a shake.
“Hi, I’m…”
“Porter,” she said, finishing my introduction, smiling as she shook my hand. “I’m Doris, sweetie. Call me Doris. Or Miss Doris. Hell, call me Ma. Especially now that I’ve seen you half-naked.” She pointed toward Ari. “And I gave birth to this one, so her sitting here in her superhero drawers ain’t nothing. I thought you grew out of wearing Underoos, girl!”
“Ma! Seriously, what are you doing here? And why are you using your spare key! It’s for emergencies!” squealed Ari, still rubbing her head. I tried to suppress my laughter. Ari was acting like Doris caught her red-handed for skipping school to fuck.
“Well, I called your job, and they said you were working remote. So, I figured you were at home. I didn’t know that you weren’t home…alone,” Doris said, with all the innuendo her voice could muster.
Ari finally scrambled to find a Guns N’ Roses T-shirt and some sweatpants. “Ma, this is Porter.”
“Honey, we’ve already made introductions. Now, y’all come to the kitchen. I’ll put on some coffee to go with these cronuts. Or do you two need something stronger? Sex makes me thirsty for a gin and tonic.” Doris trotted down the hallway, her mules clicking along the hardwood.
I began laughing. “Well, that was a hell of a way to meet your mom. I was hoping I’d meet her for brunch. Not shirtless in my drawers. Well, you were in drawers.”
Ari rolled her eyes and punched me in the arm. “I can’t stand you. Listen, let’s just get this over with.”
I put my hand on the small of Ari’s back. She relaxed against the palm of my hand. I kissed her forehead. “Come on, it’s going to be fine. Besides, like she said, she’s already seen me half-naked. What’s the worst that could happen at this point?”
Doris looked at us over her coffee cup as Ari and I ate our cronuts in relative silence. Ari tapped her fingers nervously against the kitchen island and her mother shook her head with a slight smirk.
“So…what was so important that the two of you skipped work?” asked Doris as she put a cronut on her saucer. “You know what? Don’t answer that.”
I cleared my throat. “The truth of the matter is, Miss Doris, is that, well, Ari and I… Well, I had a rough weekend. My brother was in an accident. And Ari was keeping me company. Being a friend.”
Doris’s eyes enlarged. “Oh my. I’m so sorry, honey. Is he okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I think so. I’m glad Ari was there for me. She was my rock.”
Ari blushed. “We just needed some time away from work. Away from the project.”
Doris smiled. “Seems like you two needed a break. And needed each other.” Doris grabbed our empty coffee cups and refilled them both with ease and grace, carrying them like a professional waitress. She placed them in front of us, without a drop spilled. Impressive.
Doris folded her arms and leaned back, looking at us. “And by the way, Ari. I know you said your co-worker was good-looking, but honey, you grossly downplayed this boy’s looks. The boy looks like a young Smokey Robinson! And you know I loved me some Smokey! Come to think of it, we conceived you to some Smokey, Ari. Maybe.”
Ari coughed, nearly choking on her cronut. “Jesus, Ma!”
I rested my fist on my chin to keep myself from laughing. “Well, I appreciate it, Miss Doris. I like Smokey, too.” I liked Doris. She was hilariously raunchy. I instantly realized that Ari inherited her sense of humor.
Doris asked about the project, and we filled her in on the progress. I bragged about Ari’s design capabilities. Ari kept talking about how I was about to make partner after this stadium project. I rested my hand on her knee, drawing circles with my index finger. Ari looked over at me and winked.