The Only One He Wants

They got out of the car. Simultaneously, the front door opened and Alesha and Francis stepped onto the porch. Alesha ran to her mother and ended up in her arms.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Gabrielle noticed Michael standing a bit awkwardly to the side. He was looking at his feet, then at the house, and finally at the sky before repeating the process.

“Dear, I want you to meet Michael,” she said and gestured to where her lover was standing.

“Nice to meet you, Alesha. Your mother has talked so much about you. I feel like I know you thanks to that,” he nervously chuckled.

Alesha accepted the joke and giggled as well. “Pleased to meet you, Michael. You can call me Al, by the way.” When she said that, Gabrielle saw that he felt so relieved.

Then Alesha embraced him while staring at her mother’s eyes. “He is hot,” she mouthed and Gabrielle had to stifle the laugh coming up. Instead, she gave her a thumbs up. In the background, she could see Francis laughing good-naturedly at them.

Eventually, Michael and Gabrielle climbed up the short steps and greeted Alesha’s husband with a hug.

“Yankees or Red Sox?” Francis asked, winking at Alesha and Gabrielle as he hugged Michael.

“Umm…Well…Err…” Michael began, small droplets of sweat nestling on his forehead. Gabrielle and Alesha were fighting so hard not to burst out laughing.

“Doesn’t matter, bro. We’re family,” Francis said and they all laughed.

The four of them stepped into the house and by Michael’s happy eyes, Gabrielle understood that he liked it. And who wouldn’t? She had fallen in love with it the first time she had laid her eyes on it. The walls were brightly colored; everything was wood and rustic. The living room, however, was the perfect blend of that rustic style mixed with a contemporary one. She remembered when she had gone with Alesha to shop for the curvy vases, the minimalistic clock on the wall and the flat-screen TV.

“Do you like it?” she found herself whispering to Michael.

“Are you serious? I love it, it’s so cute and warm. Compared to this, my house is a great, ugly monster,” he whispered back and got a smile from Gabrielle.

“It’s not much, but it’s home,” Alesha said, showing the house to Michael. “Upstairs, we’ve got two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a storage room. On this floor is the living room, further down there is the dining room and the kitchen. And finally the garage down the corridor.”

“It’s great,” Michael said, still looking amazed at every detail and every corner as if he were Alice in Wonderland.

After they took off their coats and relaxed, Francis appeared from a the door that led to the kitchen. They hadn’t even noticed he’d been gone in the first place. “Something to drink?” He was a man with kind features and one of those people you want to be close friends with. He was chocolate-skinned, had white even teeth and a small goatee.

“Coffee?” Gabrielle said and looked questioningly at Michael and Alesha.

“Something alcoholic, Michael?” Francis asked him.

“No, no. Coffee, it is. Thanks,” Michael replied and turned to Francis. “Do you want me to help you in the kitchen?”

“Thanks, buddy. I can manage on my own. If I need anything, I’ll tell you. Let’s spare the girls from the kitchen work at least during the weekend.” Francis patted him on the upper arm and winked at the mother and daughter.

“I like this feminine side of you, hubby,” Alesha said and blew her husband a kiss.

“I know, honey. You tell me that every weekend.”

The four of them laughed as Gabrielle, Michael and Alesha headed for the dining room.

Gabrielle came closer to her daughter and said in a low tone, “New bromance alert! I sense good male friendship is on the rise in the family.”

“I noticed that as well. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier. And by the way, mom, how do you know this stuff? Bromance? Even I don’t use that word,” Alesha said in an equally low tone as if she was telling her mother a top secret kept from Michael and laughed.

“I know everything, hon-hon. It’s just that you youngsters think we don’t.” She laughed as well. Gabrielle was really a woman whose age was just an insignificant number to her.

Gabrielle could see Michael from the corner of her eye. And he was smiling from ear to ear.

By the time the three of them had seated themselves at the table, Francis had brought a tray of coffee. Gabrielle took the time to scrutinize everyone and was pleased with what she had come up with. It had become sort of a habit of hers. Whenever she sat down with someone, she took notice of every detail she could manage to pick up about that person.

Her daughter was very much like her. And it wasn’t just the looks. Despite her long, brown, curly hair and round face, she was always chic and dressed by the latest fashion trends even at home. Francis seemed to take notes from her fashion notebook, because he too looked gorgeous in the blue shirt and cream pants he wore. Her Michael was, well, her Michael—always positive and looking for a way to start a conversation with the hosts.

Michael was seriously beginning to enjoy the atmosphere, Gabrielle observed. He was becoming more relaxed by the minute, making jokes and telling hilarious anecdotes. And she was so, so, so glad about that. The destroyed breakfast had been a great opportunity for him to meet the two most important people in her life. They could have ordered something or could have made something new, but she knew that the only thing Michael missed in his successful life was family. And she was bound to give him one.

The breakfast consisted of pancakes with jam and it seemed to Gabrielle that they were the best ones she had ever tasted. Perhaps it was the atmosphere, the people, the setting or they were truly delicious.

They talked about anything and everything. Alesha was particularly interested in his job and Michael provided answers to every single one of her questions. Gabrielle noticed that Alesha constantly tracked his every movement, word, and gesture, which was somehow funny to her. Her own daughter was acting like her mother only because she wanted the best for her and Gabrielle was pleased because of that.

“And there was this one guy who was with his wife, I suppose, honeymooning at one of our estates. They rented the whole thing for two or three months, I forget now, in Bora Bora,” Michael said, fighting the urge to laugh, “He was Italian by the accent and spoke English really funny. I was dying each time I encountered him.” He put a small slice of the pancake in his mouth. “The first night, the guy who guards the estate in a way, hears some high-pitched noises. Screams, yells, bangs. At first he thinks they’re doing you know what and then he’s unsure and decides to check, because something might be broken, right?”

“And?” Alesha was closely listening with her hand under her chin.

“And he comes to the house and knocks once. Nothing.” He was badly trying to hide the surge of laughter coming up his throat. “He knocks for a second time and nothing again.