“Hey, sweetie, how are you?”

  Mom’s face was sthered in an avocado-green mask, and one of her eyes was covered with a slice of cucumber.

  “Oops, are you lying down?” I said. “Why didn’t you tell me to call you ter?”

  “It’s fine!” she said, removing the cucumber slice. “I can still see you.”

  I withheld a chuckle as I grinned. “Okay, sure. Hi, Mom. It’s been uneventful for me, so I guess that’s a good thing. How about you?”

  “Other than missing you, it’s been great for me,” she said. “Your dad’s busy with work as usual. How are you doing in your csses?”

  “Pretty well,” I said. “Some of the material is a little difficult, but there hasn’t been anything too overwhelming so far.”

  “I’m gd to hear that. And how’s Non? Is he having dinner with us this weekend?”

  I hesitated.

  My parents came to visit me about once a month since college started, and Non had been invited every time to join us for a meal. However, most of the time I declined on Non’s behalf because I didn’t want him to get sick by forcing himself to eat. On the other hand, if he went and didn’t eat a thing, I knew that it would’ve roused my parents’ suspicions or concerns.

  If the roles had been switched, he would never have let me do it.

  Over the st few weeks, though, he had been suggesting that I bring him with me, especially after finding out my mother had been asking after him. The st time he had joined us was after the graduation ceremony, when we all went out for food.

  He didn’t want it to seem as if he was constantly making excuses not to meet my parents at all. Although I appreciated and understood where he was coming from, I still hadn’t wanted to put him in a situation like that. Practically all of my outings with my parents involved food, one way or another.

  “Honey? Are you there?”

  Mom had put the cucumber slices back onto her eyes, but now she lifted one to look at me.

  “Yeah,” I said. “He is.”

  I knew Non wouldn’t be happy if I turned down their invitation again on his behalf, no matter how good I felt the reason was.

  “That’s wonderful! It’s been so long since I st saw him in person,” she said, beaming. “I can’t wait to see you two.”

  I managed a smile. “Me too, Mom.”

  Deep down, I wished we didn’t have this problem to consider.

  “Is the food not to your liking, Non?” Mom asked. “Why don’t you order something else?”

  “I’ll ask the server to bring us the menu,” Dad said.

  “No, it’s okay,” both Non and I said simultaneously.

  Oops. I probably should have left it to Non to respond, but my nervousness had gotten to me once they started commenting on his poor appetite.

  My parents gave me a strange look.

  “Chelsea, if he doesn’t like the food,” Mom said in a patient tone, “shouldn’t he get to try something else?”

  Inwardly, I groaned.

  “No, that’s not what I meant,” I began, but I quickly stopped when I realized I didn’t know how to continue the sentence.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Arnold, but there’s no need,” Non said, saving me from my parents’ attention. “This is great, really.”

  “Are you sure?” Dad said. “You haven’t eaten much at all.”

  Non cut out another piece of steak. “Yes, it’s delicious. I’m not very hungry, so I’m eating a little slowly.”

  Mom’s skeptical expression kicked up another storm of panic in my chest.

  “Yeah, anyway,” I said brightly, leaning towards Dad, “what were you saying about Uncle Tom just now?”

  “Oh, yes,” he said, turning back to me. “As I was saying, his wedding is set for April next year.”

  Under the table, Non’s leg bumped into mine. I nudged him back with my knee.

  “Very subtle,” he whispered in my ear.

  For the sake of keeping Dad distracted by my question, I acted like I couldn’t hear him.

  “Good for him!” I excimed more enthusiastically than I actually felt. “Wow, he’s finally getting married!”

  As far as I knew, Uncle Tom had been single for his entire life right up until he met his current girlfriend a year ago.

  “Uncle Tom is my dad’s fifty-year-old brother,” I whispered to Non.

  “Cool,” he said.

  Mom looked confused. “Didn’t you already know he was getting married? You were there at Christmas st year when they announced their engagement.”

  I cleared my throat as noisily as I could. “I mean, yes, but it’s just so official now, you know!”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Non struggling to keep a smile off his face. I gred at him. Here I was, trying to cover for him, and he had the audacity to ugh at me!

  We continued chatting and catching up with each other for the rest of the meal. My parents extended an invitation to Non to come visit us during summer break this year. My excitement about that was tempered by the realization that ahead of us y more issues to resolve.

  What were we going to do about the fact that he wouldn’t be able to eat full meals in front of my family members? Eventually they would realize that Non was only present in the evenings, and it would be hard to expin his absence during the day.

  As I absently listened to my parents talk, the silent apprehension that had been gnawing at me expanded.

  In a few more years, these problems would only become more pronounced once they noticed that nothing had changed.

  I pictured myself bringing Non home for Christmas and introducing him to the rest of my extended family.

  How many years into our retionship would it take for them to start questioning the gap in our appearances when Non was supposed to be one year older than me? How long could we keep this up before they started being suspicious?

  My heart sank as I considered the most important question.

  How much longer did we have before it began to look strange—or creepy—for me to stand beside Non as his significant other?