Some Things Never Change [SHAWN MENDES]

February 28, 2016

It was a typical Sunday dinner at home with the Burroughs as our guests. My parents had prepared a roast, and we were sitting at the table discussing the fact that I was leaving in two days.

"I can't believe you're headed back on the road so soon," Lisa said as she passed me the bowl of mashed potatoes. "It feels like you just finished your tour."

"This one is exclusively to promote Handwritten, although towards the end I'll include some songs off the new album," I told her.

"You've been working on it a lot, eh?" Eric said.

"The writing process started awhile ago, but now we're recording. When I'm home between legs of the tour, I'll be at the studio in Toronto a lot of the time."

"You'll be missed at school," Ceci said.

I was pretty sure she meant she'd miss me in particular, though it was hard to say. We kept things between us as unsentimental as possible to prevent any confusion. That didn't mean that things didn't occasionally cross into that territory. Often, after having sex, there'd be this intense moment of tenderness between us. More than once I'd abruptly hopped out of bed (or off the couch) to dispose of the condom because I was flustered by my feelings.

"At least I'll be there at graduation," I said.

"What about prom?" my mum asked, though she knew the answer to that.

"Not really my thing," I said as I reached for the rolls.

"After walking red carpets, it's probably like going from a regular bike to a tricycle," Eric theorized.

"It's more that I feel strange being a part of that when I've been gone so much. Graduation is one thing because I did the work with my tutor. Prom is different."

"I'm skipping prom, too," Ceci announced. "For different reasons, of course."

"You should reconsider that," her mom said sternly. "Just because you don't like any of the high school boys doesn't mean you can't go with some girls and have fun. You'll regret missing it when you're older."

"In thirty years, if I feel a huge hole in my life because I didn't go to prom, I'll call you up and let you say 'I told you so,' if that'll make you happy," Ceci said sassily.

"I'll hold you to that," Lisa replied.

"Why don't you two just go together?" Aaliyah suggested. "If you don't like it, you can just leave."

"Brilliant idea!" Lisa gushed before exchanging a smile with my mum.

"Brian would kill me," I said.

"He's still got that crush?" my dad asked incredulously.

"Yes. He has a very hard time taking a hint," I stated.

"Do I need to look into a restraining order?" Eric joked. Or at least I thought he was joking.

Ceci let out an exasperated sigh. "Can we please stop talking about this?"

The subject changed to the bathroom remodeling project the Burroughs had recently started. I could tell that Ceci was still uncomfortable, so I reached under the table and gave her thigh a quick squeeze.

"As a realtor, I can say with confidence that the work you're doing is a great investment. You'll get every penny back should you sell the house," my mom said after Lisa had described what was being done.

"We've actually talked about downsizing after we retire. We bought our four bedroom house thinking we needed the room, but then we didn't. It's kind of crazy for the two of us to live there alone after our baby goes off on her own," Eric said.