Sweeney & Bowen

Chapter Twenty-One: Spring Break

"Claudette," I correct. "You're thinking of the Prima Donna in Phantom, and I'm honestly surprised you are."

After taking a sip of soda from a can, Ricky scoffs a laugh, "Never seen it."

His confession causes his mom and I to share a look of shock.

"You've never seen The Phantom of the Opera?!" I exclaim.

Lynne chuckles, holding her hands up in disbelief, "What?!"

Ricky shrugs, "I'm surprised you've seen it, Mom."

She waves it off, "Where do you think you got the musical gene?"

"We all got it from somewhere." I point out.

Lynne smiles, "Laura tells me you got yours from your acting coach of a dad."

I nod proudly, "I did."

"She also showed me that song.." She trails off in admiration, causing me to smile. "It was incredible. You're so talented. My son is very lucky."

Ricky and I share a look of fake admiration. "Yeah." He blurts, intertwining our hands to look natural, while on display on the table.

"I'm just gonna say," Lynne starts, throwing her hands up in defense, "When I saw you guys on stage together, I felt the connection! I remember thinking, "They're young, but...that's it." I could see it." She winks.

Her words make Ricky and me share an awkward laugh, as he gently squeezes my hand.

"So, I don't mean to pry, but.." She pauses for the dramatic, with her chin in her hand curiously, sighing in admiration, "How did you know?"

Ricky uncomfortably glances over, "Know what?"

"How did you know you were in love! What did you first notice about each other?" She grins.

We waited for the other person to speak first, for a brief period of time, while simply staring at one other.

When Ricky stayed silent, I blurted out, "His eyes."

He became confused, even taken aback, as my gaze never left his. But his eyes softened, the corners of his mouth quirked up. It was almost like Ricky was admiring the way I picked the most basic thing to say when people ask couples what they like most about each other. Or, in other words, what I'd choose if I had to pick one thing I liked about him.

I huff a laugh, "Yeah." tearing my gaze away to meet his mother's soft smile.

******************
"So," Lynne starts, taking our plates to the kitchen, "When is Laura gonna get here-"

She paused upon taking notice of my bags by the door, "Bianca, make yourself at home! Your room is upstairs."

I wave it off, "No, it's okay. I'm staying with my aunt."

Confusion crosses her face, "In her studio apartment? Honey, you can't stay there. There's plenty of room here."

"Oh." I blurt, sharing an awkward glance with Ricky, "Thank you!"