Chapter 21At around six o’clock, Nick made them coffee. They had finished packing up their stuff fifteen minutes earlier and the house was cleaned to the best of their ability. Felix had already been walked and fed. When a thin silence spread between them, Nick figured coffee would be an optimal distraction. Just as Nick set down mugs for them, Felix started to bark. He rushed towards the porch. Nick knew his parents were home.
“What should I say?” Katie asked. “When I meet them? Am I your friend, like with Beverly?”
“You’re my girlfriend,” Nick said, his voice calm and even. “And that’s what I’ll tell them.”
Katie nodded, but her face was still strained. Her apprehension was not about him. Nick knew this, but he still repeated it to himself as he met his parents on the porch.
“Nick!”
