We Became Us

by François Houle

  His grandfather put a hand on Mathieu’s knee. He flinched, expecting his grandpa to squeeze his knee like he used to do when Mathieu was younger. He hated that.

  “That’s an easy one,” Grandpa said. “Every woman deserves a man that will love her, respect her, and tell her he’s the luckiest SOB in the world every damn day of his life.”

  Mathieu didn’t hear his grandfather cuss often, and the look on his face made the old man laugh.

  “I was in the army during WW2,” he said. “I’ve heard and said a lot worse. But your grandmother deserves a man with enough common sense to keep his trashy mouth shut when she’s within earshot.”

  “And your grandfather needs to continue to believe that I don’t know about his trashy mouth,” his grandmother called from the kitchen.

  “And that’s why I love her so much, and why I’m the luckiest SOB in the world,” Grandpa said and stood. “You’ll be fine, son. Just enjoy your date and don’t think too far ahead.”

  “Any girl would be lucky to have you,” his grandmother said, now standing in the doorway. “And this girl has always thanked her lucky stars to have you,” she said to her husband while planting a kiss on his cheek.

  Mathieu watched them walked away. They were right. It was just a date. Lori-Anne wouldn’t have said yes unless she’d enjoyed his company earlier.

  So tonight he was going to show her a good time, make her laugh, and make her feel like she’s the most important person in the world to him.

  She deserved that.

  * * *

  Lori-Anne remembered how excited she’d been to go on her very first date when she was fifteen, but what she recalled most was how she’d had no clue at the time how to apply makeup properly. She hadn’t really bothered before that date, only using a little mascara and some lip gloss.

  Her parents had been a bit strict in that regard, her dad more so. He’d been treating her like one of the boys her whole life, but that night Lori-Anne had asked her mother for help so she could look as beautiful as possible.

  “You are beautiful,” her mother had told her, and then had showed Lori-Anne to do her makeup to accentuate her features. “The key is not to overdo it.”

  Lori-Anne knew some girls who always overdid it and never understood why their mothers had never taught them better. Then again, maybe their mothers were the type that overdid it.

  She stepped into a pair of tight blue jeans, and because it was very cold outside, opted for a long-sleeve white shirt underneath a warm cable-knit olive sweater that complemented her green eyes.

  “You look stunning, dear,” her mother said when Lori-Anne came into the kitchen. “Your young man is going to be hard-pressed not to fall in love with you.”

  Lori-Anne tucked her hair behind her left ear, revealing a diamond stud she’d gotten for her high school graduation. “That’s the idea, isn’t it?” She paced, checked her watch, paced some more. “Do I really look all right?”

  “Relax, honey.”

  Lori-Anne gave her mom a smile that was trying too hard and did little to hide her restlessness.

  “You really like this one?”

  She nodded and took a piece of cheese her mother had cut as a snack, but then put it back. “We talked for an hour today and it felt like we’d known each other a long time. We just seemed to connect. But right now I’m a nervous wreck.”

  “Why don’t you sit? Have a glass of wine.”

  She hesitated, then shook her head.

  “You’ll be fine.”

  Lori-Anne fanned herself with her hands. Glanced at the clock on the stove. “I don’t know why I’m so anxious because today I felt like there was something calming about Mathieu that made me feel so comfortable, but right now . . . my heart is just pounding.”

  Her mother poured a small amount of wine into a glass anyway. “Drink it.”

  Lori-Anne did as she was told. Right now, she couldn’t think to save herself. So unlike her. Miles had never made her feel this way. Had anyone? Was this what falling hard and fast was like? Kind of exhilarating and scary.

  Had her mother felt this way about her father, long ago? She liked to think so but what had happened? Their passion had been reduced to pecks on the cheek and a list of things needing to be done.

  She didn’t want that.

  She wanted her love to last a lifetime.

  She wanted the real thing—passion, trust, honesty, true love. Maybe it was the little girl in her that believed that she could find this in a relationship, the dream fed to young hearts by all the happily-ever-after Disney movies she’d seen during her childhood. Maybe there weren’t any Prince Charming in the modern world.

  And maybe she’d found one, as rare as they could be, and she didn’t want to lose him.

  The wine seemed to go to her head and she felt flushed. Or maybe it was her thoughts of Mathieu, of finally kissing those lips. She had no idea how tonight would go, if whatever they seemed to have would grow into anything meaningful and long-lasting, but if there ever was a man she wanted to try with, Mathieu had become the one.

  The doorbell rang. Lori-Anne glanced at her watch.

  “And punctual,” her mother said.

  Lori-Anne took a deep breath. “Do you want to meet him?”

  “Absolutely.”

  * * *

  They were sitting in Mathieu’s grandfather’s Buick in her driveway, looking at each other the way people falling in love looked at one another—like the rest of the word didn’t exist.

  “My mom liked you.”

  “She seemed very nice. I felt welcomed.”

  “Which side of the city do you live in?” Lori-Anne said.

  “Orleans.”

  “Oh, that’s a bit of a drive.”

  “I would have driven to Montreal if that’s where you lived.”

  He headed off and they made small talk, and ten minutes later he pulled into the bowling alley parking lot. Mathieu helped Lori-Anne out and didn’t let go of her hand as they walked toward the entrance, hurrying to get out of the cold. He paid for a couple of games and for shoes, and they made their way to lane 15. It being Tuesday night, there were a lot of league teams playing so the place was hopping and loud with good-natured heckling and plenty of crude laughter.

  “Ladies first,” he said.

  “So you can have a good laugh,” she said and grabbed a ball. “Or you just want to check me out.”

  “Yes,” he said.

  Game on.

  * * *

  Lori-Anne felt Mathieu’s eyes on her as she got ready to throw her first ball. She knew it was just a game, but she didn’t want to suck completely. As good as she was at sports—better than most other girls, in fact—bowling had never been her thing. In all honesty, she’d only played it a couple of times when she was much younger and hadn’t been very good.

  So why had she suggested it?

  It had been the first thing to pop into her head when he’d said he didn’t want to go to a movie because he’d wanted to do something where they could interact, talk, get to know one another.

  And hopefully have fun.

  She took a deep breath, then a couple of quick steps forward, and let the ball go.

  Maybe she was going to surprise herself.

  The ball headed straight down, and maybe she wasn’t going to suck after all, but about halfway down the lane it started to hook to the left and fell in the gutter just before it hit any pins. Lori-Anne hung her head low as she turned around to face Mathieu, who was trying his best not to laugh.

  “I might not do any better,” he said. “I haven’t played in a long time either. We’re just here to have fun.”

  She took another ball and knocked over two pins in the left corner. “If you take it easy on me,” she said in a teasing tone, “I won’t be happy. You don’t want me to be unhappy, now do you?”

  He threw a strike. “Nope, don’t want my girl to be unhappy.”


  And just as unexpected as his words had been, Lori-Anne made a beeline for Mathieu and planted a kiss on those lips that she’d been dying to feel against hers for a while. She didn’t care if it sent the wrong impression, and doubted that it did. The vibes between them had been electric since their morning coffee break, and when it felt right, she told herself, there was no point walking in circles around the inevitable.

  His lips were soft and minty and hers to enjoy.

  After they parted, Lori-Anne threw her next ball and knocked down the three pins on the left and with her second ball managed a spare.

  Mathieu’s next round left the middle right pin standing.

  Lori-Anne followed her spare with another spare.

  They played on, teasing one another between rounds; they laughed, they high-fived, and they kissed. By the time they finished their second game, which Lori-Anne won by three points, two people were definitely falling for each other.

  And there was still dinner and who knew what afterward.

  * * *

  After bowling they headed downtown to The Steakhouse. It was almost nine o’clock and not too busy for a Tuesday night. They ordered two steak dinners and shared a half litre of red wine. For desert, they split a slice of triple chocolate decadent cheesecake, which left them feeling stuffed.

  “I don’t think I can move,” Mathieu said.

  “That cheesecake was so good, though.”

  “It was.” Mathieu glanced at his watch. “It’s getting late for a school night.”

  “We can play hooky tomorrow.”

  He wasn’t ready to call it a night either. “Want to get out of here and go to Lulu’s?”

  “You read my mind.”

  Minutes later they were at the popular bar, and it being ladies’ night, drinks were half price so there was a good crowd for a Tuesday. They snaked their way to the bar. Mathieu ordered a Corona and Lori-Anne opted for a slightly more girly and refreshing drink called Sex on the Beach.

  “Should I read anything in your choice of drink?” he said.

  “You can read whatever you like,” she said and grabbed his hand to lead him to the dance floor. “I hope you’re not one of those guys who doesn’t like dancing?”

  He placed his mouth beside her ear. “I doubt there’s anything I’d hate to do with you.”

  They kissed. Then they danced nonstop for an hour before they took a break to get new drinks. Lori-Anne ordered the same, but Mathieu just got a Coke.

  “Responsible,” she said.

  “Last thing I need is to be pulled over by the cops. My grandparents would be disappointed.”

  “Your grandparents?”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m driving a Buick. It’s my grandfather’s.”

  “I guess I hadn’t noticed.”

  Mathieu led her back to the dance floor, and before long it was two in the morning and the place was closing down.

  “I had a great time,” she said.

  Mathieu started the car. “I’m glad. I did too.”

  It took about thirty minutes to get her home. They sat in the car, holding hands, not wanting to end the night yet.

  “I’d love to invite you in,” she said, “but I still live at home.”

  “We have time,” he said. “This is just beginning.”

  Lori-Anne bit her lower lip. “Is that your way of asking me out again?”

  “If you’ll do me the honours.”

  “With manners like that, how can I possibly say no?”

  “So it’s a date.”

  “Can’t wait.” She paused. “You okay to drive home?”

  He nodded. “I’m sure I have enough adrenaline pumping to keep me awake until I’m home.”

  “Will I see you tomorrow?”

  “Can’t afford to miss classes, so as tired as I’ll be, I’ll be there.”

  Lori-Anne kissed him. “Goodnight.”

  Mathieu waited until she was in the house before driving away. By the time he got home, he was dead tired but lay in bed for a while thinking about Lori-Anne, about their date, and about the next one.

  Eventually he was too tired to stay awake.

  * * *

  Lori-Anne was so keyed up after Mathieu dropped her off that she couldn’t fall asleep. She replayed the entire date in her mind and found nothing that hadn’t gone just right, no words she wanted to take back, no gesture she had done that she shouldn’t have.

  So why was she so scared?

  Because attaining perfection in anything meant there was only one way to go, and that was down. It would have been better if there’d been a flaw in their evening, something that could be worked on in future dates. But as far as she could tell, there had been no flaw, no awkward moment, no warning signs of any sort.

  The damn date had been too damned perfect.

  So the anxiety sat in her gut like a stone. Prevented her from falling asleep.

  And she was exhausted.

  It was after four in the morning and at best she might get three hours if she fell asleep right now. But instead she lay in bed, thinking of how his lips had felt against hers the first time, how they’d danced, getting carried away and maybe looking a bit indecent, but she hadn’t cared.

  Could Mathieu be the one?

  He seemed like the right guy for her. And all because of a fight she’d had with Miles. Well, really, he’d told her he couldn’t see her for a while, and when she’d asked what that meant, he’d been just as elusive. “A while,” he’d kept saying.

  She had felt so hurt, lost, and angry.

  “You’re dumping me?”

  “No,” he’d said. “We just need a break. For a while.”

  It had crushed her. How could he? She didn’t sleep for days, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. She felt so embarrassed and hadn’t wanted to go back to his class—how could she be in the same room as him?—but she’d had no choice, and then she’d been trying to melt herself into her desk so no one could see her humiliation, her pain. But then she’d seen this boy smile and everything had changed.

  Ironic how what had seemed like a catastrophe had led to something even better. Went to show that out of the rubble of one’s life, it was possible to crawl back out and find beauty waiting.

  And that’s when her alarm went off. She wanted to throw her pillow at it, but then remembered that Mathieu was going to be at school, so she trudged along the dark hallway to the shower, her feet feeling like they were stuck in ankle-deep mud, the high of her evening the only thing that prevented her from heading back to bed.

  As she let the hot water cascade over her head, she became sure of one thing.

  She was in love.

  * * *

  More coffee breaks followed, as did more dates, every minute spent together exploding their feelings for each other. This was the honeymoon of their relationship, the blissful beginning when two people’s lives started to intertwine as they became a true couple.

  Each time Mathieu picked Lori-Anne up, her mother greeted him with open arms and made him feel welcomed, putting him at ease. He still wondered about her father, and how that might go once the man realized that he and Lori-Anne were not just dating but in love. It concerned him, and he hoped the man would accept him, but if he didn’t there wasn’t much Mathieu could do about that. He’d waited a long time for someone like Lori-Anne and nothing would make him give her up.

  A month into their relationship, his grandparents insisted that it was time to bring Lori-Anne home for dinner, and although Mathieu was a bit nervous, he knew that they would love her as much as he loved her.

  Mathieu pulled the Buick into the driveway and killed the engine.

  “Do I look all right?” she said and bit her lower lip. She pulled the passenger visor down and looked herself over in the tiny mirror. “I hope they like me.”

  He squeezed her hand. “They’re going to be crazy about you.”

 
; * * *

  Lori-Anne stood in the small vestibule while Mathieu hung their winter jackets in the closet. They took their winter boots off while his parents watched them.

  Léon and Flore.

  They were much older then she’d expected but they had welcomed her as if she’d been part of the family for years instead of meeting for the first time.

  “Come on in, you two,” Flore said. “I made lasagna for dinner. Hope you like Italian?”

  “Love it,” Lori-Anne said.

  “Let’s sit in the living room,” Léon said.

  Mathieu laced his fingers with Lori-Anne’s and led the way. The small living room was to the left of the front door. It was decorated with furniture that would have been fashionable in the late 1940s. Quaint, warm, homey.

  There was a picture on a side table. It looked like Mathieu, maybe five years old, with a young couple that didn’t look like Léon and Flore.

  “Is that cute little boy you?” she said.

  “Yeah.”

  Lori-Anne noticed regret in the way he said it.

  “Who are they?”

  She felt his grip tighten. He looked like it was too painful to answer and she worried she’d said something wrong.

  “Those are Mathieu’s parents,” Flore said. “Our son Denis and his lovely wife Bridgette.”

  “Oh,” she said. “You’re his grandparents. The ones he keeps talking about.”

  Léon and Flore looked at each other.

  “I guess he didn’t tell you,” Flore said. “It’s still difficult for him. For all of us. His parents were killed in a car accident when Mathieu was six. He’s been with us ever since.”

  Lori-Anne’s chest felt like it was closing on itself. So many things seemed to make sense now—how he had never really mentioned his parents, his need for a big family. She turned his face to hers with her free hand, and noticed that his eyes were moist.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  He shrugged. “We were having such a good time. I didn’t want to ruin it.”

  “You silly, silly boy,” she said. “It wouldn’t have ruined anything. I’ve never fallen so fast and so hard for anyone. You can tell me anything. Now and always.”

  And then she laughed softly and gave her head a little shake.