Where Azaleas Bloom by Sherryl Woods

laying my problems on you? You seem
to have plenty going on in your life these days.”
    “Which is why listening to you would be a real break,” she
assured him. “Come on in and tell me.”
    “I had a call from my son Nate this morning,” Mitch explained
as he followed her inside. “He announced that he’s engaged and wants to bring
the girl home this weekend. I didn’t even know he was seriously dating
anyone.”
    “Wow! That must have come as a shock.”
    “You have no idea.”
    She gestured toward the sofa. “Why don’t you have a seat in
here for a minute? Can I get you something to drink? I have iced tea and water.
I’m afraid that’s it. There might be a can of frozen lemonade left in the
freezer. I could make that.”
    “Iced tea would be great.”
    “Sweetened or not?”
    “Straight’s good,” he said, following her into the kitchen,
startling her when she turned suddenly and found him right behind her.
    “I thought you were going to wait in the living room.”
    He shrugged. “I like the feel of this kitchen. If it’s all
right, let’s just stay in here.” Besides, he was less likely to act on impulse
and give in to the ridiculous urge he had to kiss her if they were separated by
her kitchen table.
    “Sure, here’s fine,” she said, putting ice into two large
glasses, then adding the tea from an old-fashioned glass pitcher like the ones
his mom used to have with fruit painted on the glass. She’d always served orange
juice in hers.
    “So, you really weren’t expecting Nate’s big news?” she said,
when she’d taken a seat opposite him.
    He shook his head. “I honestly don’t know what he’s thinking.
He’s still a kid.”
    “How old?”
    “Twenty-one.”
    She fought a smile. “And how old were you when you and Amy got
married?”
    Mitch frowned at the question. “Twenty, but that’s not the
point.”
    “Really?”
    “I was old at twenty. I’d already been working construction for
a couple of years. I knew what I wanted out of life. Nate’s changed his major
three times. I’m not even a hundred percent sure what his degree will be in. I’m
not criticizing him for that. He’s hardly the first kid to get out of college
and not be sure he wants to work in the field he majored in, but shouldn’t he
figure that out, maybe even be earning some money before he takes a huge step
and gets married?”
    “Maybe they’re not planning to get married right away,” Lynn
suggested. “Did he mention the timetable?”
    “No,” Mitch confessed, taking hope for the first time since
morning.
    “Or how old his fiancée is? Maybe she’s even younger than he is
and wants to finish college. They could be planning on a long engagement.”
    “Or he could have told me this just so I’d let the girl sleep
in his room,” Mitch added dryly, reaching a conclusion he should have formed
early on. “I’d just blown that idea out of the water right before he made his
big announcement.”
    Lynn looked startled. “You don’t think he’d lie just to get
your approval for sleeping with her, do you?”
    Mitch considered the question, which he thought was fair, but
eventually shook his head. “Nah. Nate’s not like that. He’s always been pretty
open with us, or at least with his mother. He figured out early on that we
appreciated honesty more than evasions.”
    “A lesson more kids should learn,” Lynn said. “I constantly
tell Jeremy and Lexie that the truth will get them in a lot less trouble than a
lie. They’re still working on believing that, since I punish them either
way.”
    Mitch chuckled. “Yeah, that’s a hard one for kids to figure
out. Maybe you need to tell them in advance, here’s what’s going to happen if
you tell me the truth and this is the much harsher punishment if I catch you in
a lie. Sometimes it takes that kind of clarity to get through to them.”
    “Good plan, but they usually don’t think they’re going to get
caught in the lie.”
    “But they always