“From school?” She cast a strange look Mama’s way. “Why, no, Ms. Wilkins. Trey and I met here. At the restaurant. My grandfather owns this place.”
“I think I’ll have the spaghetti and meatball special and a Coke,” Mama said.
Caught off guard, I reached for the menu, but with Anna waiting with notepad and pen in hand, I felt rushed. I ordered the first item my eyes landed on, manicotti with a tomato basil sauce.
“I would have liked more time to look over the menu,” I said as soon as Anna retreated to the kitchen with our orders.
“Don’t worry. Everything here is delicious. They only hire the best cooks.”
I raised a brow, first wondering how she knew this, then remembering Belmonte’s comment yesterday about knowing Mama. “I must be the last person to try this place. You’ve obviously been here a few times.” Trey, too, guessing from the waitress’s comment. I felt a pang of jealousy. Mama and Trey must have come here together before he left to go back to school. Wonder why they didn’t ask me to go with them? “Speaking of Trey. Have you talked to him lately? I’ve called his dorm several times but haven’t been able to reach him.”
Mama nodded and took a quick gulp of water, some splashing over the edge as she placed the glass back on the table. She quickly unrolled her silverware and used the red cloth napkin to dab up the spill. “No need to worry. He’s doin’ just fine.”
Aw, so she’d been able to reach him. Figured. Mama and Trey were like two peas in a pod. Truthfully, their tight relationship cut a little close to my heart sometimes. As a single mom, I’d been busy being trying to fulfill both parental roles all these years, which meant while I was busy making sure homework was done, enforcing curfews, and doling out consequences, Mama had stepped in to become the “fun parent.” Not that I begrudged her the role, and heaven knows I could never have raised Trey without her, but still there were times I envied the easy way she had with Trey. “Did you ask him how his classes were going? He was worried about his math class this semester. Calculus, I think. I’ll probably call and tell him to get a tutor. I’d hate to see his grade point average suffer.” As I spoke, I kept a lookout for Oscar. I was hoping to get a better sense of what type of person he really was. Ultimately, I needed to figure out if there was a connection between him and Chuck Richards.
“You miss him, don’t ya, sugar?”
Mama’s question brought my focus back to the table. “Of course I do. We had such a nice Christmas, don’t you think?” My mind floated back to Christmas Day. It was the first time Sean had spent an entire holiday with us and it was wonderful, almost magical actually. I remember feeling blessed that he and Trey got along so well. Sean was going to be an excellent stepdad. “It was sure hard seeing him go back to school, though. Hasn’t he grown up this past year? Do you remember some of those stunts he pulled in high school?” I placed my hand on my cheek and shook my head. “I’ll never forget the time he and those other boys got busted for tearing up the football field with the car. Then there was that time he—”
“Honey, I gotta tell ya something. It’s important.”
I reached for my glass of water. “Sure. What is it, Mama?”
She drew in her breath. “It’s about Trey. He wasn’t happy at school.”
“Not happy at school? He’s doing so well.” What was she saying? And why did she say it in the past tense?
The kitchen door swung open and Anna emerged carrying a tray with our drinks and what I hoped was a bread basket. I was starved. But suddenly her foot caught on something and she pitched forward, the tray flying from her hands.
“Lawdy!” Mama cried as we both sprang from the booth and scurried to help her.
“Anna! Are you okay?” I sidestepped shards of broken glass and squatted next to her on the floor. “Are you cut?”
Behind me, the kitchen door swung open. Then, to my utter astonishment, I heard a familiar voice. Trey’s voice. “Anna!”
He joined me in helping her to her feet, his hands resting on her arms as he checked her over. “Are you hurt?” he asked, turning her hands over and looking for glass cuts.
She shook her head. “No. I’m fine. Really. I’ll go get a broom and get this cleaned up before the lunch crowd starts arriving.”
“Trey?” My voice came out as barely a whisper.
Slowly he turned to face me, his dark brown eyes anxious. “Hi, Mom.”
“‘Hi, Mom’? Is that all you have to say for yourself? ‘Hi, Mom’?” I looked over the stained apron he was wearing. “You’re working here? Why aren’t you at school?” My voice turned shrill. Over Trey’s shoulder, I could see Anna hovering about, broom in hand, afraid to approach us.
“Take it easy, Mom.” He glanced around the room and sent a pleading look toward my mother.