Agent of Love

Chapter 11

"Mom, I thought we agreed that you should move in with me. Even Jimin agreed it was for the best."

Tabitha paced Jimin's kitchen floor as she talked to Ben on her phone. She had waited for Jimin to fall asleep to make the call.

"Yes, but I didn't agree to your banning Jimin."

"It's my house. I have every right to deny him access."

"Yes, you do, but he was perfectly welcome a week ago. What's changed?" Tabitha already knew the answer to her question. She was setting him up for another one.

"He started dating you."

"Would you be denying him access if he was my age?"

"Yes."

"Stop lying to yourself. You would not."

"It-it's just wrong, Mom."

"Jimin has a car, a home, and a job. He's an adult, just like me."

"Mom, how would you feel if I started dating your friend, Shannon Connor?"

"Honestly, I would think you could do better."

"See what I mean?"

"No. Shannon can't cook. Plus, she can be a bit overly critical. She's too hard to please. If anything, you should ask my friend Maureen Hill out. She's a fabulous cook and appreciates the simple things in life. Unfortunately, she is also still married to Garth, so I don't see her saying yes anytime in the foreseeable future."

"Very funny, Mom."

"I'm serious."

"I don't feel comfortable with you dating him."

"Okay, what if our roles were reversed? What if Jimin was 74 and I met him at your party, and we clicked and decided to date?"

"Honestly, I would think he's a bit old for you."

"But would you ban him from your house?"

There was a long pause, and she could hear Ben sighing.

"Probably not. But only because at 74, he wouldn't be into sex."

"Ben, what rock have you been living under? People in their seventies have sex. Hell, if you heard some of the stories I've been told while volunteering at the nursing home, you would blush, and most of the residents are in their eighties and nineties."

"Eww!"

"Stop being such a child. Look, how about a compromise? Jimin is welcome as long as he stays on the first floor. Is that reasonable?"

"If that's what it will take to convince you to stay with me, then yes."

"Good. I need to go get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I love you."

"I love you, too."

Tabitha hung up and turned the corner to head up the stairs. She found Jimin sitting at the foot of the stairs with a contemplative look on his face.

"I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

"More like your absence did," he smiled.

"I called Ben. He has agreed to let you inside his house as long as you stay on the first floor."

"I heard."

"I'm sorry he's being this way."

"It's okay. Ben liked me once. He'll like me again. You're his mom. It's only natural that he wants to protect you."

"Thank you for being so understanding."

Jimin smiled, stood up, and held his hand out for Tabitha to take it. "Come on. Let's go violate the sanctity of the upstairs of my house."