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Amy Cross Hile
a book bubble about
Hopetown Road
Literature & Fiction
Author Insight
Disapproval?
It's never fun introducing your significant other to your parents. The nervousness can be overwhelming. Approval is desperately sought; the possibility of rejection, however, hangs in the air. This is the case for Landon and Lexie in this scene, which was inspired by a memory from my twenties. I was dating a young man named Michael, who came from an uptight Catholic family. He was a true mama's boy. Yep, she was still making his bed. I was neither Catholic nor uptight. On my way to dinner with his family for the first time, I stopped to pick up a stray kitten. It was scared and bit right through my finger. I arrived at Michael’s house bleeding and carrying the frightened kitten, my heart pounding with nerves. Confirming my anxiety, it was clear from his mother’s first glance at me that she greatly disapproved. I felt like turning around and screeching away, but I stood my ground. It was the most uncomfortable evening of my life. Landon and Lexie fair much better with Lexie’s mom. She feels the love between them and instantly connects with the nervous young man standing before her. She has mixed emotions, though, as she knows this relationship may not withstand the imminent move in Lexie's future.
Book Excerpt
Hopetown Road
“Well. Here we are,” I breathe. For some reason, I feel like something is ending. I am a day closer to leaving, and I feel like we are floating in between time. This is all so frustrating, because this is supposed to be a time of new beginnings, a time to start my new life as a successful designer in a very cosmopolitan city. “Damn.”
Landon reaches for my hand and said all he needs to say: “I know.”
Pulling open the screen door and then pushing open the cheerfully painted yellow front door for me, Landon lags behind. He appears as nervous as a cat caught in an alley with a pack of wild dogs.
It has been a day or two since I have seen my mother as she had spent New Year’s Day huddled up in the office at the gallery busily getting necessary paperwork done. It is infinitely easier for her when customers weren’t causing interruption, however welcome.
“Mom? I’m—we’re home,” I trill. I place my handbag on the tiled kitchen countertop and look at Landon. The dishwasher is whirring and splashing and I can hear the small fountain outside that streams into the in-ground pool off the lanai. The source of the small stream of water is the infinitesimal penis of a concrete boy angel statue at the far end of the pool. My mom likes to keep most lights off until it is absolutely necessary to turn them on, so the room is dusky in the absence of light. I flip the wall switch up. Better.
“Sweetie? Where in the world have you been? I hadn’t heard from you, so I just assumed...” Mom stops and sees Landon for the first time. “Oh, hi there. I guess you’re Landon, is that correct?” Mom comes tumbling into the kitchen, her over-sized painting shirt is smeared with dried oil-based paint, all colors of the rainbow. Suddenly, the air changes, crackling with confusion.
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