Chapter 8

Andreas was halfway up a stepladder, reaching for the smoke detector in his mom’s living room when he called out, “Mom, do we have any 9-volts?” His voice echoed faintly through the house as he fiddled with the back panel of the detector. His phone sat untouched on the kitchen table, its screen lighting up with an incoming call, vibrating softly as it slid across the wood.

In the kitchen, his mom was wiping her hands on a dish towel when she noticed the phone buzzing. With a glance at the screen and a smile creeping across her face, she picked it up. "Hello, Sylvia, dear!" she greeted warmly, as if she'd been expecting this call for ages. Andreas was still focused on the smoke detector, unaware of the conversation unfolding just a few steps away.

“Hi, Mrs. de la Vega! I was hoping to catch Andreas. I wanted to see if he could meet me for lunch today at Lalo’s,” Sylvia said, keeping it casual. Andreas’ mom’s eyes sparkled at the mention of lunch, immediately jumping to conclusions. “Lunch? Oh, that sounds wonderful! He’s been so busy lately—it’ll be good for him to get out. I’m sure he’d love to meet you!” she replied with enthusiasm, already making the decision for him.

Sylvia’s voice came through the phone, light and casual. “Great! I’ll see him around noon, then.” With that, the call ended, and Andreas’ mom, still holding the phone, smiled to herself. She placed it back on the kitchen table, already imagining the lunch as something much more than a simple get-together. Andreas, oblivious in the other room, had no idea what was coming.

Andreas stepped down from the ladder, wiping his hands on his jeans as he made his way toward the kitchen. “Did you find those batteries?” he asked, still focused on the task at hand. His mom barely looked up from the counter, too busy with something else. “You’re having lunch with Sylvia at Lalo’s today,” she said, her tone so casual it almost masked the excitement bubbling underneath.

Andreas froze mid-step, blinking in confusion. “Wait, what? Lunch? Why didn’t she just call me?” He glanced toward the kitchen table, noticing his phone had been moved. His mom, still facing away, waved her hand dismissively, as if it was all settled. “Oh, she called. I told her you’d love to go. You need to get out more anyway.”

Andreas scratched the back of his head, still trying to process what had just happened. “Lunch with Sylvia?” he muttered to himself, his mind racing. “This isn’t a date, is it?” His mom turned around, giving him that knowing smile that always meant she had already made up her mind. “You never know,” she teased, “but it wouldn’t hurt to pick up some flowers on your way.”

Andreas opened his mouth to protest, but one look from his mom told him there was no point. “It’s just lunch,” he muttered, more to himself than to her. She gave him a pointed look, the kind that made it clear he had no choice in the matter. “Flowers,” she repeated, turning back to her task as if the conversation was over. Andreas sighed, already resigned to his fate.

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As Andreas grabbed his keys, he hesitated for a moment before turning toward the garage. His mom glanced up, watching him make the decision. “You’re taking the bike?” she asked, her voice filled with the usual mix of concern and disapproval. Andreas shrugged with a grin. “Chicks dig the bike,” he said with a wink, brushing off her complaint as he grabbed his helmet. His mom shook her head, but the look she gave him said it all—there was no arguing with him once he made up his mind.

…

“Great! I’ll see him around noon, then.” Sylvia ended the call with a tap and set the phone down on the desk, her mind already shifting gears. She leaned back in her chair, eyes drifting toward her laptop as an email subject line grabbed her attention: a partial plate number. It wasn’t a huge breakthrough, but it was something. She quickly scribbled the number onto a sticky note and added it to the growing pile of papers she was organizing for Grayson.

As she gathered her notes and sorted through possible evidence for Grayson, Sylvia’s thoughts drifted back to her conversation with Maria. The excitement in Andreas’ mom’s voice had been unmistakable, almost too much for what was supposed to be a simple lunch. Sylvia frowned slightly, wondering if Maria had misunderstood the situation. It was just a meeting, right? Still, the idea lingered as she tucked the sticky note with the partial plate number into her folder.

Just as she was closing her folder, Jason Meowmoa leapt up onto the desk, knocking over a small stack of papers in his quest for attention. Sylvia sighed and gave him a quick scratch behind the ears. “You think she thought it was a date, Meowmoa?” she asked, half-joking. The cat yowled in response, his usual grumpy tone making her laugh. “Great,” she muttered, “Andreas is probably going to show up thinking the same thing.”

Sylvia stood up, shaking her head as she moved across the room to grab her bag. Her eyes caught sight of the familiar sticky note from her dad, pinned to the bulletin board by the door—a reminder about her monthly date. A small grin crept across her face as the realization hit. “Well, I guess this counts,” she muttered to herself, feeling a small victory in avoiding another awkward setup. “Andreas is cute enough,” she mused, grabbing her notes and slinging the bag over her shoulder.

She moved to her closet, debating what to wear. It was just lunch, but with Maria’s enthusiasm fresh in her mind, she didn’t want to send the wrong message. Sylvia held up a few options before settling on something simple—casual but not too casual. She glanced over at Jason Meowmoa, now lounging lazily on her bed. “What do you think? Casual enough?” she asked with a smirk. Jason blinked slowly, clearly uninterested, which only made her chuckle.

With her outfit chosen, Sylvia slipped it on, making sure it struck the right balance between cute and professional. After all, this was still a meeting, even if the lines might be a little blurred. She glanced at herself in the mirror, adjusting her top and smoothing out her skirt. “That’ll do,” she muttered, before grabbing her bag and tucking her notes inside. She looked over at Jason Meowmoa, now curled up and nearly asleep. “If he shows up with flowers, I’m blaming you,” she said with a grin, giving him a quick scratch before heading for the door.

Sylvia grabbed her keys and checked her reflection one last time before stepping out of the apartment. She locked the door behind her, feeling a mix of anticipation and mild amusement. It wasn’t nerves exactly, but there was a part of her that wondered how Andreas would handle the situation. Lunch was supposed to be simple, but with the possibility of a misunderstanding, things could get interesting.