My Favorite Souvenir

by Ward, Penelope

  “Matteo, at this moment, no, there is no competition. I’m just so happy to be here.”

  His expression softened.

  A knock on the door prevented us from continuing the conversation.

  “Are you expecting someone?” I asked.

  “Not at this hour,” he said as he walked over to answer it.

  When he opened the door, I was surprised to see an attractive girl standing there. She looked to be in her mid-twenties and was holding a large, orange-haired cat.

  Bach.

  He started to meow at the sight of Matteo.

  “Hey!” Matteo said. “I wasn’t expecting you to bring him back tonight.”

  “Yeah. I know we said tomorrow. But I figured you missed him.”

  Matteo rubbed the cat’s ears. “I did.”

  Her eyes met mine, and she seemed surprised to see Matteo had a guest.

  Yeah, sure. You came to his apartment this late at night because of the cat.

  “Hazel, this is Carina,” Matteo said. “Carina, this is Hazel.”

  Carina had dark brown hair, big brown eyes, and full lips. And there was absolutely zero doubt in my mind that she’d slept with Matteo.

  “Nice to meet you,” I said, feeling a bit unbalanced.

  “Same to you.” She tilted her head and asked, “How do you two know each other?”

  Matteo answered before I had a chance to say anything. “Hazel is someone I met while traveling. She’s from Connecticut.”

  “Oh...okay. Interesting.” She looked between him and me. “Well, welcome to Seattle.”

  Surely she really didn’t mean that. “Thank you.”

  Carina finally set the cat down, and it purred, weaving in and out of Matteo’s legs.

  “So, nothing crazy to report as far as Bach goes?” he asked her.

  “Nope. I actually had a tough time getting him into the car. I think he finally got used to being at my place and didn’t want to leave.”

  “Yeah. He’s probably gonna hate me now that he’s seen how the other half lives. You have so much more space.”

  “Well, he’s welcome to come visit whenever he misses it.”

  “Thanks again for taking care of him.”

  “My pleasure. Anytime.” She looked over at me. “Well, I better get going. Hazel, it was nice meeting you.”

  I swallowed. “You, as well.”

  As she turned to go, she asked Matteo, “You’re returning to work after the holidays, right?”

  “Yup. I’ll be there right after Christmas break.”

  “I know everyone’s looking forward to having you back.”

  “I’m sure once I get there, I’ll be happy to be back,” he said. “The idea of returning is a little daunting. But I’ll get into the swing of things fast. I do miss my kids.”

  “They definitely miss you.” She sighed. “Alright. Well, you guys have a good night.”

  “Thank you,” I muttered. The door closed, followed by a few seconds of awkward silence. “She seemed...nice. So, you work with her?”

  “Yeah. She teaches English at the high school.”

  “Ah. I know you said it was a friend watching your cat, but I hadn’t imagined she was so…” I shook my head to stop from making a total fool of myself. I was coming off as really jealous.

  “Alright, Hazel, ask what you really want to ask.”

  “It’s none of my business.”

  “I don’t hide anything. There’s nothing going on with Carina now—although we used to date. But it was a long time ago.”

  That admission stung, though I’d known something had happened between them even before I asked.

  “There’s nothing lingering between you two?”

  “Not on my end.”

  “But she still likes you.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe? It doesn’t matter to me.”

  “Why did you stop dating her?”

  “She wasn’t the one. I told her I didn’t want anything serious. She’s a friend now—one who happens to like cats and is one of the few people Bach seems to tolerate.”

  “Oh, well, I know she still likes much more than your cat. It’s eleven thirty at night, and she came by with Bach when you told her to bring him by tomorrow? There’s only one reason someone goes to a guy’s house at this time of night. And it’s not to deliver an animal. She wasn’t expecting me. And she’s clearly not done with you.”

  Well, if it wasn’t obvious before, my jealousy was definitely out in the open now.

  “I honestly couldn’t tell you what her intentions were. But she saw that I’m with you.”

  I had to know one more thing. It was eating away at me. “When you came back for that brief stay here between our trip and New York, you said you wanted to check on Bach. Nothing happened with her?”

  His tone grew insistent. “No. Nothing happened, Hazel. It’s been over between Carina and me for a while. And I was way too hung up on you to even think about someone else. If you think I could’ve switched gears that easily, you don’t know me.” His eyes looked pained. “Although, you seemed to switch gears pretty fast when you got home.”

  Those words hurt, but I knew they were true. Or at least they’d seemed to be on the surface.

  He backtracked. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”

  “I never forgot you for a second, Matteo. I was just confused when I got back.”

  His eyes seared into mine. “And you still are…right?”

  I couldn’t blame him for questioning my intentions. Here I was telling him I needed to test the waters. I’d given him no guarantees. And quite frankly, he deserved better.

  “I see things much more clearly now,” I said. “And my reasons for being here are pure and show where my heart is. My intentions are in the right place, Matteo. I’m not out to hurt you.”

  He closed his eyes and shook his head, seeming to come out of his momentary funk. “Come here. I’m sorry.”

  As he pulled me into a hug, I spoke against his chest. “No, I’m the sorry one.”

  “These have just been some of the toughest weeks of my life,” he admitted.

  Something he’d said earlier was still weighing on my mind.

  I moved back, out of his arms. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You said you told Carina you didn’t want anything serious with anyone. But that’s not truly how you feel?”

  “I didn’t want anything serious with her. But I’m not wasting your time, Hazel. I wouldn’t do that.”

  “I’m sorry for all the questions. I’m trying to be mature about this. I was caught off guard by her showing up within the first minutes of my being here.”

  His mouth curved into a smile. “You were jealous.”

  “Yeah. And it’s not pretty.”

  “Do you have any idea how happy that makes me—not to be the only one jealous as fuck lately?”

  “You’re seeing a very tired, vulnerable, jetlagged side of me right now.”

  “Well, how about we rest?”

  Matteo walked over to the couch and fluffed the pillows. “Come lie down. I’ll make you some tea. It’s about all I have in the house until we shop tomorrow. We’ll just chill before bed.”

  Noticing the very obvious fact that there was no bed in sight, I asked, “Where exactly is the bed?”

  “This couch folds out into a very comfy one. And it’s gonna be all yours tonight.”

  I sat down on the sofa. “Where are you gonna sleep?”

  “We always work it out, don’t we?” He walked over to the closet. “Anyway, check this out.” He took out an air mattress. “This thing blows up in seconds. It’s where I crash whenever I have a visitor—although my parents swore they’d never spend the night here again after the last time. They prefer a little more space. So they’re staying at a hotel when they come in a couple of days. They’re coming for Christmas, but they fly in early to avoid the busy times at the airports.”

  That took a f
ew seconds to register. “Wait, your parents are coming…to Seattle in a couple of days?”

  “Yeah, I was going to mention that.”

  I’m going to meet his parents? “How come you didn’t tell me?”

  “Well, I’m telling you now. When you said you wanted to come home with me, I didn’t want that to be a downer or deter you. I’d hoped you wouldn’t mind meeting them.”

  “It’s not that I mind. I just wasn’t expecting it, although I should’ve figured you’d be spending the holidays with your family. Not sure why that hadn’t occurred to me. Probably because my family dynamic is so different than most people’s.”

  “Most of the time I go to Vail, but they decided to come here this year since I was just there. They spend some holidays with me, some with my brother and his family up in Boston, and other times everyone goes to Vail. Every year is different. Do you ever see your parents over the holidays?”

  “My parents are always traveling. Occasionally, I meet up with them wherever they happen to be. But I’d already told them I wanted to do my own thing this year. I’m actually going to Felicity’s. I figured she could use help cooking with her injuries. Of course I never imagined I’d end up in Seattle about to meet your parents right before that. Oh my gosh.”

  “Well, you said you wanted a feel for what my life was like, right? So might as well meet my folks. I know it’s not ideal timing, but it’s not like I thought in a million years that you’d be here with me right now.”

  “I really am happy to be here, Matteo. Let’s start over, okay? I feel my insecurity tonight got us off to a bad start.”

  “You shouldn’t have to apologize for jealousy. I certainly haven’t apologized for mine.”

  He took me into his arms, but then the whistling of the tea kettle interrupted our moment. He stood up and walked over to the counter to pour me a cup.

  As he ripped open the teabag, he said, “I could technically afford a slightly bigger place than this. But after Zoe died, I became sort of a minimalist. I never felt like I needed much more than a small space. It’s less to clean. Obviously, if I lived with someone, I’d have to move.”

  “I’m sure the location more than makes up for the size.”

  “Yeah, well, I had to get rid of fifty percent of the stuff I owned to live here. And if I buy something, I have to throw something out. But on the upside, I can clean my entire place in fifteen minutes.”

  The cat had been following Matteo around the entire time he was talking to me. After he handed me my tea, Matteo picked him up.

  “Bach had to adjust to the space. He was kind of depressed when we first moved here. The only reason it works is because of the windows. Looking outside gives him plenty to do all day.”

  He carried the cat over to the couch and sat next to me.

  When I reached over to pet Bach, he hissed at me.

  I quickly retreated. “Does he always do that to strangers?”

  “Well, I could lie and say yes, but…”

  “Ouch.”

  “Maybe he senses how much I like you and considers you a threat.”

  “Well, that was a good save on your part, I suppose.”

  Bach eventually took off to a cat bed in the corner of the room.

  Matteo and I stayed up talking for a little while before he opened up the couch bed for me. I fell asleep very quickly once my head hit the pillow.

  The next thing I knew, we were awoken by a knock at the door. Light filled the apartment. I reached for my phone and saw it was nearly 11 AM.

  Matteo scratched his head as he dragged himself up from the air mattress.

  He looked through the peephole. “Okay, don’t freak out.”

  I straightened on the bed, running my hands through my matted hair. “What?”

  He cringed. “I don’t know why they’re three days early, but it’s my parents.”

  Chapter 25

  * * *

  Matteo

  I opened the door to the sight of my parents’ smiling faces. They were holding grocery bags.

  “Surprise!”

  “Mom, Dad…what are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be here yet.”

  “Well, you told us you were arriving last night, so we figured we’d surprise you a few days early. We were bored back in Vail, quite frankly.”

  Poor Hazel looked like she’d seen a ghost. I would never have chosen to put her through this ambush. She’d fallen asleep last night in her clothes, which were now all rumpled. This was a rude awakening, to say the least.

  My mother’s eyes widened when she saw Hazel. “Oh…you must be Carina?”

  Fuck.

  Shit.

  You could’ve heard a record scratch. I knew my mother’s assumption must have pissed Hazel off. But the only female I’d mentioned to Mom since Zoe was Carina. And that was mainly so they knew who was watching Bach in case something happened to me.

  “No, Mom. This is Hazel. Obviously I didn’t know you guys were coming. I’d planned to give you a heads up that I wasn’t alone. Hazel is a very dear friend I met during my travels. She decided to come to Seattle for a visit before Christmas.”

  Groggy-eyed, Hazel walked over to greet them.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Duncan.”

  “As it is you.” My father smiled.

  Dad was a much easier sell than my mother. In Mom’s eyes, no one was good enough for her son. It had taken her a long time to warm up to Zoe. Other than that relationship, I’d rarely brought women to meet my parents.

  “Well, we certainly didn’t expect to be interrupting your time with your guest. I’d planned to cook you a nice brunch. But I suppose this might be an unwelcome surprise. Should we go?”

  My stomach growled at the mere mention of food. “Pretty sure the brunch plans can stand. I’m starving.”

  My father laughed. “If Hazel doesn’t mind two old geezers joining you, then?”

  “Not at all. I would love that.” She smiled.

  I had to give her credit for even smiling. This couldn’t have been easy to wake up to.

  My parents started taking out the groceries they’d bought. Within minutes, the smell of coffee filled the air. Shortly thereafter, the sound of bacon sizzling was music to my ears. Things were getting better by the minute.

  Hazel had wanted real. You couldn’t get more real than my parents showing up at the door on day one.

  Once brunch was served, the four of us crammed around my tiny kitchen table, although I did at least have four seats.

  “So, Hazel, what do you do?” my mother asked.

  “I’m a photographer back in Connecticut.”

  “You have an established business there?”

  “Yes.”

  “So, you likely wouldn’t be moving out this direction?”

  “I haven’t really thought too deeply about that.”

  “I could never see Matteo settling in Connecticut. He’s always needed to be where the action is—if he’s even in one place for long at all.”

  “Stop scaring her, Mom,” I said, shoveling bacon into my mouth.

  “I didn’t mean to. It’s just rare that I get to meet anyone you’re spending time with.” She took a sip of her coffee. “I noticed the two separate beds, though.”

  “Marianne…” my father scolded.

  “It’s okay,” Hazel said.

  It is? Because it doesn’t seem fucking okay to me.

  Mom’s brow lifted. “I’m now wondering if you really are a dear friend—as he said—and nothing more? I’m sorry to pry, I’m just genuinely curious, and my son tells me nothing.”

  “We’re taking things slowly,” she said.

  “Well, I find that very impressive in this day and age.”

  “Mom, Hazel’s being a good sport and answering shit because she’s polite, but I’m about to not be if you don’t stop. My sex life is none of your business.”

  Everyone went quiet for a moment. It was Hazel who finally broke the ice
.

  “Or lack thereof,” she mumbled.

  My brows pulled together. At first I had no idea what the heck she was talking about. Then I started to laugh, and Hazel did, too. Maybe we’d needed the levity, or maybe we’d both just finally lost it, but once we started, we couldn’t stop. We fell into a fit of laughter.

  At one point, when we were finally starting to slow down, Hazel snorted, and that just cracked us up all over again. Tears streamed down our faces. My father seemed amused, but my mom definitely didn’t look too pleased.

  When I was finally able to speak, I reached over and patted my mother’s hand. “Hazel makes me happy, Mom. That’s all you need to know.”

  A little while later, we agreed to meet my parents for dinner at a restaurant they loved nearby, and they left to see if they could check into their hotel early. Hazel and I were finally alone. I washed the dishes while she dried, and after, she said she needed to check her work email, so I took a quick shower before turning the bathroom over to her.

  When she emerged wearing the T-shirt I’d left on the hook on the door with her hair wrapped in a towel, I couldn’t stop staring at her. She looked gorgeous.

  “What?” She rubbed her cheek. “Did I miss some moisturizer on my face or something?

  I shook my head. “I just like to look at you.”

  Her face softened, and she walked over and took a seat on my lap. Wrapping both arms around my neck, she rubbed her nose to mine.

  “I’m so glad I’m here with you, Matteo.”

  “Even with my meddling mom asking you if we’re sleeping together?”

  She smiled. “Especially with her here. I get to know even more about you than I expected.”

  I cupped her cheeks in my hands. “Thank you for handling the surprise drop-in so well. And for the record, what I said to my mom was the absolute truth. You make me happy. And right now, I think that’s all any of us needs to know. We have a lot of background noise, but let’s try to focus on us while you’re here.”

  She smiled and nodded. “I like the sound of that.”

  I knew it was a slippery slope being with her in my little apartment. But when her eyes dropped to my lips, I couldn’t help myself. “Come closer,” I said.