“No luggage,” her mom said. “The university put us up in a hotel. We’ve already dropped our bags.”
They entered the house and Teddy went straight to the kitchen.
“I’m not going to eat much,” her mom said. “We have plans for dinner. We’re going to Smithville.”
This was the first time Teddy had heard anything about this. Of course, the university could be taking them out to dinner, but Smithville had to be a hundred miles south of the university town.
Over a lunch of cold salads and broiled salmon, Teddy’s dad outlined his lecture. Teddy asked a lot of questions. She could tell her mother was antsy to discuss Adam, and while Teddy’s interest in her father’s program wasn’t that strong, holding her mom’s crusade at bay was both humorous and tiring.
“Teddy, not to change the conversation, but where is the painting you brought for me?” Her mother finally managed to wedge into the discussion.
“It’s in the dining room.” She turned to her dad. “You’ll have to carry it out. It’s a little larger than Mom led me to believe.”
“You had Adam there to help you,” Gemma Granville said. “I didn’t think you’d have a problem.”
There it was, Teddy thought. She’d gotten Adam’s name into the conversation. This was the opportunity she’d been waiting for. And there’d be no stopping her probe for details.
“Thanks to you and his mother.” Teddy glanced at her mom, giving her that stop-interfering look. But Gemma just smiled.
To her husband, she said, “Kevin, would you get it and put it in the car?”
The look her father gave her mother was one Teddy had seen many times. He knew she was on a crusade and whatever his efforts, she wouldn’t be derailed.
“It’s between the columns,” Teddy directed.
Alone with her mom, Teddy took her favorite mug from the cabinet and one for her mom. She filled them with coffee and returned to the table.
“I was surprised Adam wasn’t with you,” her mother said as she sipped the hot liquid.
“It’s his parents’ anniversary and he’s having a dinner for them.”
“Oh, he didn’t invite you?”
“Mom,” she warned. “We’re not joined at the hip.”
“Not yet,” her mother whispered. Teddy didn’t think she was supposed to hear that. At least she gave her mom the benefit of the doubt.
“I do like him,” Teddy said, sipping from the mug and beginning her subterfuge.
Her mom smiled. “Do you think he might be The One?”
The hopeful lift to her voice made Teddy feel guilty. She hated deception, but she’d agreed to this fake proposal so she had to go through with it.
“I’m not sure,” she said. “But we’re going to keep seeing each other. Wherever it goes, it goes.”
“That’s a start.”
She patted her daughter’s hand the same way she had when Teddy was a gawky teenager in need of her motherly advice.
“Mom, don’t get your hopes up. This may not work out. We’ve met a couple of times.”
“But you agreed to another date,” her mother stated.
Teddy nodded. “We liked each other enough to try it.”
“Good.” Her mother clasped her hands together.
“Stop,” Teddy said. “You’ll get excited about this and it could be over in a matter of weeks.” Teddy knew it would be over in a short time period. She and Adam had already set their expiration date.
“Oh, don’t be so negative,” her mother said. “He could be the best thing that happened to you. Give it some time.” After another sip of her coffee, she said, “Speaking of dinner, you’re invited so I hope you have something dressy to wear. I mean, something special.”
They hadn’t been discussing dinner, but it was a safer subject than Adam, so Teddy let the change happen. Of course she had a nice dress. Her mother knew Teddy had a closet full of clothes for every occasion. Yet she felt Teddy needed to make an impression on someone who would be attending the dinner, someone who could probably help her father. She wondered what her mother was wearing. “The university must be going all out for Dad.”