Safeword: Matte - In Training (22 page)

Her mom didn’t answer, just tilted her head
sideways in curiosity.

“Ethan’s grandmother is from Jamaica. She
has the coolest accent, and I adore her from head to toe. I don’t
want you hurting her feelings or treating her different because
she’s black. She’s sharp as a tack and I have the utmost respect
for her.”

Her mom’s brow furrowed. “Was he adopted? He
doesn’t look black.”

“He’s multi-racial, mom.”

Her forehead creased and
her face scrunched in disgust. “He’s
mixed
?”

“We don’t say mixed, only dogs are mixed.
People are bi-racial or multi-racial.” Sam worked hard to stay
patient with her mom, she didn’t want this to escalate.

“Wait, so he’s…” Her mom did the math in her
head, “A quarter black? So my grandkids will be part black?” She
looked horrified.

Sam tried hard not to be pissed, but her
voice was still sharp when she said, “He’s a quarter black, a
quarter Latino, and an eighth Chinese; which makes him about
thirty-five percent European descent, but you know what? He’s the
love of my life and I wouldn’t care if he was one hundred percent
black. I don’t care if our kids come out looking black, Hispanic,
Chinese, Irish, Italian, or Martian. I’ll love them no matter what,
if we ever get around to having them.”

Sam’s dad put his arm around her mom, his
way of trying to quiet her, but it had no effect. “You lied to me!
By omission! How you could let me like that man, when you knew he
wasn’t white?”

“I’m unclear as to why his race makes a
damned difference in whether or not you’d like him.”

Sam’s voice was calm this time, and her
dad’s eyes took in the coolness as he squeezed his wife and said,
“Hun, take a breath before you say anything else. You like Ethan.
Sam didn’t lie to you. If you think about it, you can see the
different ethnicities in him, they just don’t show up unless you
think about it. He’s a wonderful man, and we’ll be lucky to have
him as part of the family.”

Her mother’s eyes flashed
and she opened her mouth again, but Sam said, “Think very carefully
before you say what
ever
is in your head, mother. I’m marrying him with or
without your blessing, and if you ever say a word to him or his
family to hint you think less of them because of their race, you’ll
never see me again, and will never meet any of our
children.”

Her mother’s eyes sparked with temper, she
opened her mouth, closed it, and turned to storm out of the
room.

“Give her a minute,” said her dad. “She’ll
come to her senses, she just needs to calm down and get used to the
idea.”

“If she’d known before she liked him, she’d
have never liked him.”

“Possibly, but she’ll remember how much she
likes him and will come to her senses.” Sam wasn’t sure if he was
trying to convince her, or himself.

“Even though he’s a lowly mover instead of a
doctor or lawyer?”

“Even though.” Her dad chuckled. “You know,
I’m happy you found a manly man, instead of some of the girly boys
your mom used to try to set you up with.”

“Oh god, I didn’t know whether to kill her
or the clothes designer when she invited me to dinner and sprung
him on me as the ‘perfect guy’. What was she thinking?”

“She wanted grandkids, and you didn’t seem
to be dating.”

“I was training for a national martial arts
competition. I had no time to date.” Especially not submissive
clothes designers, she thought, but didn’t say. Her mom hadn’t
known Sam already knew the man, and had seen him dangling from the
ceiling while three woman flogged him a few weekends prior in
Nashville.

“She’s friends with his mom and the two
cooked it up. You know she likes Ethan; she’ll be fine once she
thinks it through.”

“Dad, his grandmother isn’t biracial. She’s
dark, dark, black. I adore her, and I’m not sure I can ever forgive
mom if she hurts her feelings.”

“Your mom’s prejudices are
against the people who…” He shook his head. “I don’t think there’s
a PC way to say it, but she doesn’t like the people who
act
black. If his
grandmother is from Jamaica then her accent might be enough to let
your mom see her different.”

Her dad had a point. Sam’s mom had spent a
great deal of time with the city’s gang task force in an effort to
try to figure out how to put the best media spin on the work they
were doing. Her time in the inner city seemed to have taken her
from slightly prejudiced to extremely prejudiced, as she took in
the stereotype of so many of the people who live in the projects,
don’t have a job, and expect society to support them. Sam had
argued with her mom about it being about socio-economics and not
race, but her mom just couldn’t see it.

“Well, his grandmother’s hair is cut really
short, and she’s completely grey but it looks great on her. She
dresses a lot like mom, actually. I’ve never seen her in jeans, and
you never know if she’ll be in a casual pantsuit or dressed to the
nines. She doesn’t wear much makeup, and she’s beautiful. Her
personality just makes her glow.”

“I can see how fond you are of her. Tell me
about the rest of his family.” His eyes flicked up and back down,
and Sam assumed her mom was nearby and listening.

“His grandfather is this huge bear of a man.
He’s from Ireland, and every once in a while you can hear the
brogue, but mostly he sounds like everyone else in Atlanta. He’s a
mechanical engineer, and though he retired a few years ago he still
works a lot as a consultant.” Her dad smiled in encouragement and
she continued. “His other grandmother is from Puerto Rico, and
Ethan says his grandfather was half German and half Chinese. He
died a few years ago; Ethan still misses him.”

“You’ve been around the whole family; what
are they like? As a group?”

“Crazy.” Sam chuckled. “It’s this huge
loving family, and at first I thought it was mass chaos, but
eventually figured out they’ve merged cultures and traditions, and
everyone loves each other and knows each other’s quirks and
idiosyncrasies. They all accept each other. It’s great.”

“His other grandfather,” her mom said from
behind. “What did he do?”

“He was a fireman. He worked his way up
through the ranks and was Chief of DeKalb County Fire and Rescue
when he retired.”

“What do his parents do?”

Sam knew her mom would always judge people
by society’s standards, so she answered the question instead of
going off on a rant about how it’s who a person is on the inside
that’s important. “His dad is a captain in the Atlanta Fire
Department. He’s a firefighter, but also holds a paramedic license,
and he volunteers with one of their local search and rescue
teams.”

“And his mom?”

“His mom is an RN. They’re perfect for each
other.”

“Do you have pictures of them?”

“Give me a minute and I can get some.”

She grabbed her cellphone and called Ethan.
“Hey, can you email me some of the pictures from your grandparents’
anniversary party a few months ago?”

“Sure, why?”

Shit, how to answer without lying? She
couldn’t. Maybe just omit the truth? “I want to show my mom. You
have a big family, and I don’t know if she’ll adjust to their chaos
as fast as I did. This way she’ll already have faces and names in
her head.”

“Sure thing; give me a few minutes.”

“Thanks. Love you.”

“Love you, too. Don’t forget,” Sam’s insides
heated as his voice shifted into the deeper timbre she’d come to
associate with his Dom side, “you have your second date with the
plug still this evening, and it doesn’t look like you’ve come yet
today. I’d like you to get off at least twice while you have it in
this evening.”

Sam turned from her parents so they wouldn’t
see her blush. “Well, okay. If you insist.”

“I do. Call me later?”

“Yeah.” It was hard not call him Sir, but
he’d never expect her to do so in front of her parents.

When the pictures arrived Sam beamed them
from her phone to her parent’s smart TV. She pointed out who was
who, including cousins, aunts, and uncles. Her mom was silent as
Sam and her dad talked.

Finally, her mom said, “I’m sorry if I
overreacted.” Sam noted her mother didn’t admit to overreacting,
just said if she did, she was sorry. But, it was the best she was
likely to get from her mother, and Sam had long ago learned to take
what she could get.

“I meant what I said about
you not hurting their feelings,” Sam responded, working hard to
keep her voice level and patient. “Don’t mention their race at all.
Don’t try to convince them you aren’t racist; don’t tell them you
like them even though they’re black. Just don’t bring it up. See
them as humans, not as different.
Please
.”

“Won’t it be like the elephant in the living
room?”

“No, mom. They know they
aren’t white; if you bring it up you’re only telling them you have
a problem with it. People who truly see others for the person they
are inside don’t
think
of assuring people they like them even though they aren’t
white.”

Her mom bit her lip, still obviously
conflicted. “They all work for a living, and most of them dress
normal in the pictures?”

“His parents and grandparents, yes. But you
need to be prepared for some of his cousins to…” There was no way
to say it nice, and Sam resented her mom for making her explain.
She threw her hands up and said, “Crap, mom, they aren’t going to
fit into your version of acceptable. They aren’t bad, they don’t do
drugs, and they don’t expect society to support them, but they go
to school in Atlanta and they don’t necessarily use proper English.
Okay?”

“Don’t you curse at me, young lady.”

“I said crap, not shit. Get a grip.”

Her dad stepped forward
and spoke in his
that’s enough
voice. “Both of you take a breath. Sam’s
frustrated, Martha. And you’ve said some things she has every right
to be upset over.” He looked at Sam. “Give your mom a little time
to get used to the idea. When are we going to meet his
family?”

“His grandmother will be here in two days.
The five of us are supposed to have dinner, and then she and mom
were going to spend the next day working on wedding stuff
together.”

“Okay. We’ll talk tomorrow, and will see you
the next day for dinner.” He looked to his wife. “Right,
Martha?”

“Yes. Sure.”

Sam left their house without slamming the
door behind her, but closed her car door harder than necessary, and
backed up faster than she should. When she reached the end of her
parents’ road she called Ethan.

“I know we hadn’t planned on it, but is it
okay if I spend the night tonight?”

“Of course. Everything all right?”

“I…no. Yes. I mean, we’re okay, but my mom
and I had words.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“Yes, but not until I get there.”

“Okay. Have you eaten?”

“No, have you?”

“Yeah, but I have leftovers, your choice of
pizza or Chinese.”

“Spicy eggplant, by chance?”

“Yep.”

* * * *

When Sam arrived, Ethan had a rope tossed
over the rafter in the main room, with his gymnastics rings on the
ends. His body was horizontal as he did pushups in mid-air, and Sam
watched through the screen door for several long moments, admiring
his physique and brute strength. He made the first couple of dozen
seem easy, but once he began straining, his muscles were truly a
thing of beauty.

When he finally let himself down Sam came
in. “You could charge for people to watch, if you ever need extra
income.”

He grinned, “What, video it and put it on
online?”

“I kind of like having you all to myself.
But, yeah. I’m sure you’d get tons of hits.”

She walked to him for a hug and he stepped
back. “I’m sweaty.”

“I don’t care. I need a hug.”

He wrapped his arms around her and she
wrapped hers around his neck before looping her legs around his
waist and lifting her body until they were eye level. She put her
head on his shoulder and relaxed her hold, knowing he wouldn’t let
her fall.

“Something’s really bothering you.”

“You know how much I love you.”

“Yeah, and you’re worrying me. What’s
up?”

“I didn’t lie to you when you asked why I
wanted the pictures, but I didn’t tell you the whole truth,
either.”

His body tensed slightly. “You told your
parents my family isn’t all cookie-cutter white?”

“Yeah. My dad took it in stride, but my mom
kind of freaked. It isn’t even about you and your family as much as
it’s about her future grandkids, I think.”

“If you and I ever get around to having
kids, I won’t let anyone come near who’ll treat them as less than
perfect. Once they’re grown they can fight their own battles, but
while they’re forming their own self-image and sense of worth, I
won’t let anyone make them feel inferior.” He didn’t sound pissed,
just matter-of-fact, but Sam had no doubt he meant every word.

“I’m right there with you. I told her if she
didn’t get her act together she’d never see her grandkids.”

He let his breath out and relaxed. “Well, if
we’re both in agreement on that, we can work through anything else
that comes up.”

“What if she says something she shouldn’t to
your family? I don’t think she’ll be intentionally rude, but I can
easily see her trying to explain to them how she isn’t racist, and
pretty much telling them she is by her denials.”

Ethan leaned back. “Look at me, Sam.”

When their gazes met he said, “My family has
dealt with racism before — both overt and passive. They aren’t
going to think less of you for it, and they’ll have no problems
handling your mom. None of them will be belligerent, but most are
pretty good at responding with very polite statements carrying a
ton of impact.”