“Good morning, mija. You’re up early for a Saturday. Are you going somewhere?” Natalie’s dad, Richard, leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
Natalie swallowed a mouthful of cereal. “Morning dad. Yes, I’m… ummm… going horseback riding.”
“Oh, you are? Where at?” Her dad walked over and poured himself a cup of coffee.
Using her spoon, she pushed the squares of cereal down to the bottom of the bowl. She had nothing to hide from her dad and she respected their request of honoring the rules while being home. However, she didn’t feel like being asked a thousand questions. It wouldn’t help the apprehensiveness lurking in the back of her mind about her decision.
“She’s going to a boy’s house.” Her sister giggled as milk seeped out the sides of her mouth. “Oops.” She grabbed a napkin and cleaned her mouth.
“Thanks, Laura.” She gave her sister a less than friendly smile. “I’m headed over to Ryan Garrett’s house to go horseback riding.”
Natalie’s mom walked into the kitchen, catching the tail end of the conversation. “Garrett. That’s not the Garrett’s on FM 1886 is it?” She wore a robe and her hair wrapped up in a towel. She had that fresh fruity smell of apples and freesia that told Natalie she had just finished her morning beauty routine.
“Yes, Mom, it is.” She prepared herself for the interrogation.
“So how do you know their son? Isn’t he a few years older than you?” Her mother started the slew of questions.
“Yeah, he graduated two years before me.”
Her mom took a coffee cup out of the cabinet and poured herself a cup of the morning brew. “Doesn’t he go to college here? Oh wait a minute, I think I remember one of the neighbors telling me that he got hurt and lost his scholarship.” Her mom stirred her coffee slowly, squinting her eyes, as though trying to recall the gossip she heard.
Natalie waited for her mom to put the pieces together or continue asking her more questions. She looked over at her dad. His eyes narrowed and he rustled the newspaper in his hands. He had no problem tuning his wife out. She didn’t blame him because she wanted to do the same.
He snapped the newspaper closed. “Aside from school, how do you know Ryan?” He sipped on his coffee, blowing the steam away in between swallows. His blue-green eyes stayed fixed on her, waiting for her answer.
“He transferred this past year to UT. We ran into each other at Kronberg Laboratories, where we will both be interning this summer.” For whatever reason, her dad’s method of questioning didn’t bother her, unlike her mom’s. Probably because she thought and acted much like he did.
“Oh. Well, have a good time and be careful. It’s been a while since you have ridden a horse.”
“I know dad, I’ll be—”
“Oh wow. What a coincidence that he ended up down in Austin with you. Maybe you two can ride home together. That would make me feel so much better knowing that you wouldn’t be driving alone. I know you have a cell phone…” Natalie’s mother continued to ramble.
“That’s what Lise said.” Natalie managed to get a few words in.
“That you could ride home together?” Her mom held the coffee cup with both hands.
“No, Mom,” Natalie shook her head, “that it was a coincidence that we ran into each other in Austin.” She bit her lower lip and held back any disrespectful remarks.
“Oh.” It took a few seconds before her mom’s eyes lit up. “So that’s why you wanted to go shopping yesterday.”
Natalie’s dad smiled at her. She wanted to cover her face. Her mom always knew how to embarrass her. The clock in the living room struck 9:30. She sighed in relief. Saved by the bell, thank God.
“I better go. I don’t want to be late.” She shot up, causing the chair to skid across the tile floor. She fumbled to collect her breakfast dishes along with the milk and box of cereal.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll clean up later.” Her mom motioned for her to set them back down.
“Thanks, Mom.” Regardless of her mom’s constant questioning and nagging, she appreciated how considerate and caring she could be.
She kissed her dad bye and walked over to her mom. “Aside from my date today, I really did need some new clothes that fit.”
“And new makeup and curling iron too? By the way, mija, you look beautiful. He’ll be impressed.” Her mom hugged her and fixed her hair, ensuring the waves fell to the front of her face. Natalie smiled and wondered if she did this for herself or to impress him? Maybe it was a little of both.
“And she’s not wearing her glasses.” Laura chimed in.
Her dad spoke up. “I noticed that.”
“I thought it would be wise to wear my contacts instead.” She tried to justify why she didn’t wear them.
“I also took her picture this morning with her phone. Let me show you.” Laura rushed over to her side and tried to grab Natalie’s phone from her hand.
Natalie raised her hand out of Laura’s reach. She shook her head and motioned for her sister to be quiet. She didn’t like to boast or seek attention by taking pictures of herself. In fact, she only allowed her sister to take the pic so she would stop hounding her.
“I’ll let you show them later. I need to leave.” Natalie winked at her sister.
“Promise?”
“Yes. I promise.” She slid her phone into her back pocket and took her keys from the bar. “I’ll be back later.”
“Be careful.” Her dad reminded her, waving from the table.