Now You See Me

Five: I Remember You

"I don't think I'm ready, D."

 I look back as Chris's fingers slip from mine; he takes a step back from the door to the apartment building. I let it swing shut again, and join him at the bottom of the steps.

"Mum already knows," I say, trying to stay patient through my excitement. I really want her to meet him, and I know she's eager, too. "And she's really excited to meet you."

"I know, but..." Chris sighs, looking down at his feet and running a hand through his hair. "It just... It feels odd, y'know?" He laughs a little. "The number of times I've met my girlfriends' parents, it sort of felt...normal after a while. And now I'm getting out of the closet."

"Eh, it's alright out here," I say, taking his hand again and holding it up between us. "I never liked that closet. Too stuffy."

Chris laughs again, and this time he sounds more relaxed. I feel relieved, and an easy grin stretches across my face, too. When I start to pull him back up the steps to the door, he lets me.

The apartment I live in with my mum is on the bottom floor, next to the staircase. It isn't the greatest apartment block we've lived in, and I find myself getting anxious and watching Chris's reactions closely as he looks around him. I know he sees the mould growing around our doorframe, and there's no way he misses the smell of stale urine hanging around in the foyer; even though he's assured me many times he doesn't care where I live, I still find myself terrified of his judgement.

"Like I told you, it's, um, not great," I say, just to fill the silence. He looks surprised when he turns to face me, scrutinising my expression and raising an eyebrow.

"And like I told you, I don't care what it's like," he replies, and smiles a little. "I'm dating you, not your apartment."

"I bet there's a word for that," I say, trying not to let my relief show too much.

"For what?"

"For being in love with an apartment."

Chris snorts, and joins me at the apartment door as I fiddle in my pocket for my keys. I could have been sure I'd put them in the left one... "I can't say that would be a very rewarding relationship." Chris says, and he pats my jeans pocket. It clinks.

"How'd you know they were in there?"

I pull them out and unlock the door, and as we step inside, he takes my hand.

"I saw you put them there after you got them out at lunch," he says. His eyes dart all around the apartment, and he goes pale when my mum drops something in her bedroom and swears. Moments later she comes bustling out with a lamp in one hand and its shade in the other. She stops, surprise flitting over her expression, before she spots Chris and grins.

"I am so sorry, Chris," she says. "I'm not normally so potty-mouthed."

"Yes you are," I mutter as she takes the lamp into our tiny kitchen, and Chris laughs. I can see him relaxing, so I gage it as safe to go in for a kiss; he stiffens at first, eyes darting towards the kitchen doorway, but I persist and he soon complies. We break apart when something flashes, and look round just as Mum lowers her camera, looking smug.

"Aw, no, Mum, please," I whine, and she dances out of my reach when I lunge for it.

"It's for the family album, Damien," she says, tucking it back into the case when I've given up on trying to grab it. "You should make one for you and your friends at uni. It'll be nice to look back on, and this one can be your first. See?" She turns and picks up a shopping bag that I hadn't noticed, and then thrusts it at me. "I've already got you one."