I sense the moment Mom walks into the diner. She smells like smoke and flowery perfume. When I arrived early this morning to open, she was still asleep. I’d been hoping against hope she’d just stay upstairs for the day so that we wouldn’t have to talk, but she’s always had impeccable timing. “Darryl!” she says warmly, pulling him into a hug. “I thought I saw your car out front. Bexy hasn’t brought you home in ages.” “That’s because we’re not dating anymore.” She tuts at me. “Don’t be rude to the nice boy. He drove all this way on game day just to see you, isn’t that sweet?” “I have tables.” I
...more
