The Dragon’s E-Mail Order Menage

But on the other hand, his parents were not the type of people who could just be put off and delayed until they finally just gave up and went away. No, his parents were the type of people who would beat his door down to get his attention if he wasn’t giving it willingly. Try as he might, he couldn’t see a way out of this scenario that didn’t involve his parents meeting Maggie. He just hoped that they wouldn’t drive her away for good.

“Levi? Are you there? Sweet Christ, please tell me you didn’t just make this woman up. That’s got to be a new low, even for you.”

“No, Dad, she’s not made up! I just forgot, okay? I forgot that we were supposed to have lunch. I forgot that you wanted to meet her.”

“Of course we want to meet her. Why would we not want to meet the future mother of our child?”

“Right. Just please, don’t talk to her like that, okay?”

“Like what, may I ask?”

“Come on, you know what I mean. All of that mother of my grandchild crap. I don’t want to introduce this girl to you just so that you can let her know in no uncertain terms that you value her for her womb and that’s about it. Just treat her like a real, actual being who matters for more than her organs.”

“Please, Levi. The last thing I need from you is a lesson on decorum. And I can assure you that I speak for your mother in this matter as well. What is the girl’s name?”

“Maggie. Her name is Maggie Wallace.”

“Ah, a Scottish girl, is she?”

“Scotch Irish, actually. Is that going to be a problem?”

“Don’t be foolish, of course it’s not. Now, how about tomorrow?”

“What about tomorrow?”

“For lunch,” he said in that “you’re such an idiot I can’t believe you’re my son” voice that always made Levi want to put his fit through a wall. “The whole point of this conversation. Will tomorrow work?”

“Sh*t, I don’t know! I didn’t even remember this lunch was going to happen until about five seconds ago. I would need to talk to Maggie, see if that’s okay with her.”

“I’m sure she’ll make time. What else could she be doing that would be more important than this?”

The arrogance his father spouted was spewing was truly astonishing and so extreme that it was all Levi could do not to laugh. He was sure that, in his father’s world, what he was saying made complete sense. He wouldn’t think there could be anything more important than dining with the Phipps. Hell, he probably thought than Maggie should be honored just by the invitation. He wanted to say something, to tell his dad what an asshole he was being, but what would be the point? There was no changing him, only appeasing him, and in order to do that he needed to make this meal happen. The sooner he agreed, the sooner he could get the hell off the phone.

“You’re right.”

“I’m sorry? What did you say?”

“I said you’re right. I know it’s important. I’ll talk to her. I’ll work something out and we’ll be there. Time and place?”

“Let’s say four o’clock, shall we? That should give us a nice long lazy amount of time to get to know each other better. I’ll discuss the place with your mother and let you know. Sound like a plan?”

“Sure, why not?”

“Good. See you tomorrow.”

And that was it. He hung up without another word. Of course he did. He had gotten what he wanted, which meant he had no further reason to speak to his son. Finally able to express just how unhappy talking to his father made him, Levi let out a snarl of frustration and hurled the phone across the room from the couch where he lay with a pillow slung over his face. It  e shattered into tiny pieces (he couldn’t see it with the pillow on his face but he knew it had happened by the sound alone; this would not be his first phone to destroy) and Maggie, having heard the racket, came into the room softly and sat gently beside him.

“Hey there, buddy.”

“Hey.”

“Something got you down?”

“No,” he said in a voice so morose it should have been reserved for those emo teenagers you always saw hanging around the mall with nowhere else to go and nothing else to do but look grumpy. “I’m fantastic.”

“I see. So you throw your phone when you’re happy now. I’ve gotta say, Levi, that’s a habit that’s going to get pretty expensive. And loud. Also loud.”

“All right, you’ve got me. I was talking to my dad. You can see the results over there on the floor.”

“Oh man, conversation with the folks. Those are the best.”

Given the fact that Hudson didn’t even know who his parents were, Levi always felt like a complete di*k for complaining about his own parents. But the tone of Maggie’s voice told her that she was well aware of how difficult things could be with parents (whether they were around or absent) and he sat up, rubbing his temples with the tips of his fingers and looking at her to make sure he hadn’t misread her.

But she was smiling at him and then her hand moved to massage the back of his neck and he knew that she wasn’t judging him. She really did understand how difficult it could be, which made the situation easier. It would definitely make it easier to ask her to do something he would rather not have subjected her to. He had a feeling that even if she didn’t want to, she would go.

“So what did he want?”

“Who?”

“Your dad,” she laughed, shoving him playfully and actually managing to get a smile out of him. “That’s who we’re talking about, right? Please don’t tell me you’re going senile.”

“Right, my dad. What did he want? Well, to be perfectly honest, he wants to meet you.”

“Me?”