”“It's just, you know, when I can get free, and when my Mom can take the kids. Everything kind of revolves around that.”“Except deciding who k...ows we're together.”“Oh, shit! I'm sorry. I did that, didn't I? I made that decision all on my own.”I nodded. “Of course, the positive side is that I found out I'm your new boyfriend. I didn't know that before today.”“Well, I had to decide if I was going to get into a real relationship with you. That's fair, isn't it? Isn't that what you want?”I laughed.. . I... I...” Her eyes drifted open. She looked at me, and drew in a shuddering breath.Cookie leaned in close to Mom’s ear and said, “He wants this. You want this. Stop fighting it. This isn’t fantasy. It’s reality, and so much better.”The chorus of All I Want For Christmas Is You playing in the background crystalized the moment perfectly.Mom’s gaze darted downward for a moment, and then back up to my eyes. “Oh, honey,” she said in a breathless voice.I have no idea where she was hiding. But I wasn’t given a choice: Maria opened the front door with her key and shepherded me inside.“My mum is always asking when I’m going to bring a boy home,” she explained before calling out, “Mama, I’ve brought a friend home, a boy.”Maria’s mother emerged from the kitchen, grinning like a Cheshire Cat. “Welcome to our home,” she gushed effusively. Then, as she looked me up and down, the naturalness of the smile vanished, leaving her looking as though she was trying not to complain about. Coming on the heels of the decision to close his dining room — and he thought of it as his own — it was too much. "Mr. Fitzpatrick, I cannot honor your request. I am the treasurer! Bank relationships are my responsibility, not yours. I will do no such thing! If you persist in this ... this invasion of my authority, I will be forced to resign!"Cliff looked at him with a steady gaze. "Is that your last word on the subject, Mr. Purcell? You feel I am overstepping my authority to look into treasury.