Free My Best Friend's Brother by Chrissy Fanslau Page A

eighteen in December.”
    “Are you new here? I haven’t seen you before.”
    “I am.”
    Mom eyed me. “And you two are dating?”
    We nodded. I already told her that, too. She’s treating us like anthropological test subjects.
    “And Dad met him?”
    I nodded again.
    She looked at him. “Do you two use protection?”
    My eyes widened. In horror.
    When I finally got the courage to look at him, I could see Luke was staggered. And speechless.
    “ Mom! We haven’t done that!”
    She took off her high-heel boots. “Well when you do, that’s one thing to keep in mind. Luke, would you like some coffee?”
    Luke’s glance shifted from me to her. “Um, yes Mrs. Morrison.”
    “You can call me Mary.”
    “Yes, Mary.”
    She began brewing.
    “Mom? I’m not supposed to be seeing him,” I disclosed. Just in case Dad got home.
    “Well, your father has to understand that punishing you will not prevent you from seeing Luke. God knows that kind of punishment never worked on me at your age!”
    I wondered what Mom did that was so bad at my age. Did she even know Dad back then? “How will you punish me?”
    “I’m not home enough to punish you. And don’t you worry about your dad, I’ll talk to him.”
    Luke smiled and blew me a kiss when she wasn’t looking. I wondered how much trouble he was in with his mother.
    Wobbly on her feet, Mom nearly dropped the coffee and cookies. We each got our cream and sugar, though Mom always has her coffee black. “So how’s school?” she asked, wiping her forehead with a wet cloth.
    “Good,” we answered.
    “I’ll tell you, I’m beat! The soles of my feet are blistered from scorching hot sand seeping into my shoes.” Mom’s got perfect table manners—it’s rather annoying. “I don’t know how those people survive in that weather, it’s amazing.”
    Then she fell silent.
    “So, I’ve heard a lot of wonderful things about you, Mrs. Morrison…” Luke said after a few minutes.
    I wonder what wonderful things he’s heard.
    “Mary,” my mother insisted.
    “Mary… do you travel the world, or just to certain places?”
    “Mostly interior Australia, Luke. Although I’ve also done research in Africa and Siberia.” She took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes. “Sorry, I arrived home around noon and it was a long flight. I’m going to go get changed, and I’ll be right back.” She got up and limped toward the stairs.
    Once she was out of ears’ range, Luke hissed, “She’s okay with you having sex ?”
    “She doesn’t really believe in punishment, or preventing the inevitable,” I blurted. Then I felt awkward. Is our having sex inevitable?
    I wondered if he wondered, too.
    After a thoughtful moment, he said, “Well, she’s cool.”
    My hand shook as I picked up my mug to sip my overly-sweetened coffee. “She’s a free soul. It’s a work requirement, I guess.” I chuckled when his foot nudged mine. I nudged his back.
    That’s when Dad walked in. Instantly, our feet parted.
    Dad looked at Luke and did a double take. His eyes widened. Immediately, he asked where Mom was, and I pointed up.
    She came down just then, in sweat pants and a large tee shirt. She kissed him on the cheek and asked how the book was going, as if we weren’t there at all. Dad glared at us. “What’s going on here?”
    “Well, I picked Adonia up from school. Told Luke he can join us for dinner, if he wants to. I’m not home very often and I wanted to meet him.” She passed by Dad with a limp and began looking in the cupboards. “How about staying, Luke?”
    Luke cleared his throat. “Sure, if Mr. Morrison’s all right with it.”
    Dad stood in the center of the kitchen, holding groceries in a paper bag. He groaned and shook his head. “Mary, why did you have to pick Adonia up from school? You just got back, you should be resting. She could’ve taken the bus.”
    Mom dug pots and pans out of the cabinets and tiptoed by him to the fridge. “I picked her up because she’s