Free Rise by Stefne Miller

like to make too. He might have one or two. I know Pops did.”
    “What were his?”
    “He just had one. He’d always hated it when he was dating a girl and she would hang all over him in front of his friends. It embarrassed him. So I never did. As a matter of fact, I never even made contact with him if his friends were around. I figured if he wanted to talk to me, he would. And guess what?”
    “He did.”
    “He always did.”
    “I wonder what Bob’s going to say about this.”
    “If he has an issue with it, tell him to take it up with us. That’s what I did. I always said that they were rules that my parents made and I had to follow. So they could either follow or get lost. Bob will follow the rules; you don’t have to worry about that. And just wait, you’ll feel more special than you ever have before.”
    “Why is that?”
    “Because every time that phone rings and you see it’s him, you’ll know he’s calling because he wanted to talk to you. And every time he holds your hand in front of his friends, it’ll be because he’s proud to have you there. You’ll know that you’re important to him—important enough for him to make an effort.”
    “That does sound nice.”
    “There’s nothing wrong with making a boy work for it a little bit.” She peeked over my shoulder at the salad. “Whether Bob and I were related or not or whether you were like family or not, I’d want both of you to be treated well by the people you choose to spend time with. Like Dr. Phil always says, ‘Ya teach people how to treat ya,’ and you’re ensuring that Bob’s gonna treat you the way you deserve—not that he wouldn’t have already, but this ensures it.”
    She grabbed the breadbasket off the counter and made her way toward the table. “Oh, and one more thing.”
    “Yes, ma’am?”
    “Don’t think I didn’t see you drop that cucumber.”
    “You saw that?”
    “I’m a mom. I see everything.”
    Riley burst through the back door. “That’s no lie. She does see everything. You can’t get away with anything around here.”
    He slid past me toward the sink, and as he did, he allowed his hand to slightly graze my back before reaching into the salad bowl for a piece of cucumber. I slapped his hand just before he grabbed one.
    “Wash your hands first. You’re dirty from practice, and I don’t want my salad all gross with germs.”
    Marme looked up at me and smiled but kept my cucumber-dropping incident between the two of us.
    He placed his mouth right next to my ear. “Since when are you concerned about getting my germs?”
    “Step away from the young lady,” Marme announced. “You know the rule; leave enough room between you for Jesus to walk through.”
    “That’s the most ignorant rule I’ve ever heard. Where did you come up with it?”
    “Your grandfather gave the same one to me, so I’m passing it on to you.”
    He flipped on the faucet. “What does it even mean?”
    “It means to stay away from her, that’s what it means.”
    “Gotcha.”
    I picked up the salad bowl and took it to the table. “And speaking of which, Riley, is there anything I do that annoys you?”
    He stopped lathering his hands and looked over at me. “Is this a trick question?”
    “What do you mean? Is there a lot that I do to annoy you?”
    “Uh … ”
    “Would you like me to rephrase the question?”
    “That might be a good idea.”
    “I know I do a lot that drives you crazy, but I mean more like, in front of your friends. Do I do anything in front of them that you wish I wouldn’t? Or is there anything other girls do around guys that you want to make sure I don’t do? You know, stuff that’ll embarrass you.”
    He started lathering again. “I don’t think so. You don’t do most of the annoying stuff other girls do, so I haven’t really thought about it.”
    “Well, what do other girls do that annoys you or your friends?” Marme asked.
    She and I both sat down at the table and made ourselves