HER

pt. 37 Mom

I scrambled.

I threw my clothes back on, running my hands through my hair to tame it.

Jin was much more calm, meticulously buttoning his shirt on.

"Um... Let me go down there first." I told him. I rushed to my door.

He reached out, placing his hand on my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks.
He caressed my face. "I love you." He said softly, as if he were relishing those words.

I calmed down, a smile forming on my lips as he spoke them to me.
His expression showed me the weight of his words.

"And I love you, Jin." I replied, reaching up to kiss him.

My nerves steadied, I casually walked downstairs.

"Why do you look so flushed?" My mom stated when I met her at the door.

My stomach dropped.
I felt fifteen years old again.

"Wha-- oh, I do?" I stuttered.

Great job, Josephine.

My mom gave me a suspicious look. She was my mother, after all. She knew when I was bullshitting.

I helped her bring the bags of takeout into the kitchen. I bit my lip, finding the words to say.

Then Jin appeared.

I opened my mouth to tell her, when she spun around, screaming at the sight of him.

She nearly knocked over all the food, falling against me.

"Who-who is that!?" She exclaimed over my attempts to speak. "Please tell me you know this beautiful man, Josephine."

I helped straightened her up. "Yes mom, it's okay." I said soothingly. I went over to Jin, taking his arm."This is my boy--boyfriend, Kim Seokjin."

Well, that feels so surreal to say...

"Boyfriend?" My mom said in wonder. Then her face lit up brighter than a Christmas tree. "Boyfriend?!"

"Ah, hello, Mrs. LeRoux. Nice to meet you." Jin said in English, bowing.

She went up to him and hugged him.
"Here in Alabama, we like to hug." She said, grinning at me.

Jin grinned awkwardly, definitely not used to that, but he didn't seem to mind.

My mom invited him to eat with us, which he politely accepted.
We ate at the kitchen island, my mom telling stories about me and my dad, while I translated for the two of them.

Jin was his standard polite self for a while, but my mom had a way with people that broke down his walls.
By the time we were done eating, he was telling his dad jokes in English, freely unleashing his goofy laugh.

My mom loved it.

She invited him to stay and when Jin offered to sleep on the couch, my mom laughed. "I'm not so old to be clueless of what y'all were doing before I got back. You don't have to pretend you've never shared a bed."

Jin turned a bright red.

After I showed him where the bathroom was for him to wash up, I joined my mom in the living room. She had her late night game shows on, curled up on the couch with her cats.

"So, what do you think?" I said casually, sitting on the other side of the couch, petting one of the calicos.

"He's certainly very good looking. He might be the most good looking fellow I've ever seen even on tv!" She replied.

I grinned blushing.
I definitely agreed.

"He's very polite, and funny. Even though we don't understand what the other is saying, he's very welcoming." She reached over to squeeze my hand. "Your dad would have definitely approved, Josephine."

I quickly wiped a tear, smiling all the while.

"I haven't seen you this happy since he passed." My mom continued. "Even if he wasn't handsome and charming, the fact you are happy is all that matters. You seem like a whole new woman. So confident and comfortable in your own skin. I couldn't ask for more."

I leaned over to hug her fiercely.

The rest of the night was filled with more laughter and love with Jin and my mom.

That day was one of the best days in my life, and the best part about it was that I knew it was only the beginning.