Chapter 25
Tate
The meeting with the detective went well and it seemed like things might finally get on the right track. My mother was in a great mood as she fixed us a quick grilled cheese before getting ready to go to Val's game with me. Sam was headed our way to be our driver for the night, and I was looking forward to seeing him. My bike would be just fine for me, but my mother wasn't getting on the back of it, and I hated the idea of her driving late at night in the stor
m.
Besides, we hadn't spent time together, the three of us, in a while.
I was sitting at the kitchen table when the front door opened and Sam's voice sounded out.
"Do I smell Ms. Phillips’ famous grilled cheese and tomato soup?" He walked into the kitchen and gave me a high-five before hugging my mother.
"You do. I got the good stuff this time, too." My mother beamed, and I couldn't help but chuckle. She was so easy to please. It would seem Valentine was, too. The fact that the girl ate leftover meatloaf and chicken with us a few days back meant more than it should have. I'd never met anyone in my life that was like her. She had all the money in the world, yet you couldn't tell it by talking with her. She was like Sam.
Good. Wholesome. Humble.
"Oh, yeah?" Sam moved up to the stove to stand by my mother. "Cheddar or Muenster, hm? Man, I love that old processed stuff you used to use."
"Sam Billmore, you cannot be serious." She laughed and turned to walk to the fridge. "Do you really prefer it?"
"Yep, I love it. It's part of my childhood." He moved to sit across from me with a big smile on his face. "Guess what?"
"What's up?" I lifted an eyebrow at him and tried to imagine why he was in such a good mood.
"Val is going to set me up with Lucinda." He tapped the table and pressed his teeth into his bottom lip. "I've been on a high all day thinking about it."
"Your dad is going to flip his shit, Sam." I rolled my eyes. He might like the pretty dark-skinned girl, but his dad was racist.
"Why is Sam's dad going to be upset, and who is Lucinda? I like that name, by the way. It's sexy." My mom went back to the stove to work on dinner.
I shook my head and laughed. "She's this beautiful black girl that Val is good friends with. Sam's dad doesn't believe in mixing races."
"What? Why?" She turned around and gave us an incredulous look. "Your mother is Asian right, Sam?"
"Yeah. I don't what his deal is." Sam let out a long sigh, and his smile faded.
I felt like a dick for taking away the happiness he'd been sporting moments before. "Hey, if you like her, then do it. Your dad's going to be upset for a few minutes, and then he'll get over it. Right?"
"I guess. I don't know." Sam got up and moved to the fridge. "You guys have anything to drink?"
"There's soda in the pantry and ice in the freezer," my mom spoke with her back to us. "I think you have to follow your heart, Sam. Tate is going through something similar with Val's parents, but he's going to keep at it. They both are. Right, son?"
"Right, Mom." I pulled out my phone and smiled as a text popped up from her. "It's not about race, but about us being poor and them having more money than God."
"Money isn't everything." Sam dropped back down in his seat. "I'm going to take Lucinda on a date, and if things work out, then we'll see what happens. My dad's a good guy, just misguided for some reason. It's weird."
"You never know what makes other people tick." I reached for his drink and took the first sip, which meant it was mine to keep. Sam and I had been friends forever, and if I knew one thing, it was that he would never drink after someone else. Never.
*
"Are you not a little concerned about Val's parents being so influential?" Sam glanced over at me as we walked into the gym. "You know the business building is named after her dad, right? They only have two daughters to focus on. It's going to be a long life of having to deal with them if you fall in love with this girl."
I chuckled and pointed to some open seats near Martin and Katelyn. "I don't really have a choice, Sam. If I fall in love with Val, then I fall in love. I'll deal with her parents just like everyone else deals with them. Nod and smile and try hard not to be around them too often."
"Yeah, but the old man threatened you, Tate. It's not the same." He moved to sit on my left as my mother sat on my right.
"No, it's not, but I'll set all that straight." I turned as Martin called out my name.