Kendall looked at his reflection in the living area mirror and adjusted his skinny black tie. He did spend the Thanksgiving weekend at the Taylor house but they were all full of engagement euphoria so he couldn't get an accurate reading of how anyone felt. This dinner with Jo's mom would be the first real time he'd get to spend with her, the first time he'd get to find out what she really thought of him.
"Meeting the mom, huh," James patted him on the shoulder.
"I've already met the mom." Kendall adjusted his collar and turned around.
"Yeah, OK." James fixed a stray strand of hair on his best bud's head. "There."
"Thanks."
"No problem. It's what I'm here for."
"So, you're flying back to Lucy tomorrow?"
"That's the plan, but we're not done recording the song."
"No, we're not."
"And I expect…" before James could finish Gustavo burst in the apartment.
"Change of plans. Dog, I've exchanged your ticket for a flight out next week. We need to finish this song with his fiancée," he jerked his thumb in Kendall's direction, "and then we'll have a few days with Cody Simpson. I couldn't get Ryan Tedder or Dan Reynolds but I got him."
"Hey, he opened for us in concert a few years ago, right?" Kendall asked.
"I don't remember," Gustavo answered. "I want to see you bright and early Monday at the studio."
"Bright and early," Kendall mumbled once Gustavo left. "OK, well, I'm off. Wish me luck."
"Luck." James patted Kendall on the back. "You don't need it."
"Oh here." Kendall handed James a box he found outside the apartment door.
"It's going to be okay," Kendall said to himself as he made his way up the elevator to the third floor. "She's going to like me," He kept talking to himself as he headed to Jo's apartment and knocked on the door.
"Ready?" He put his arm out for Jo to lock elbows when she answered the door.
Mrs. Taylor appeared at that moment. Kendall stuck his other elbow out for her which she gladly accepted.
"What a gentleman," she said.
.O.
"Chez Fancee? Seriously?" Kendall thought to himself. The last time he'd been here was on that weird "double date" with Lucy's parents, but he couldn't very well tell Jo that.
"We saw a bunch of gorgeous dresses," Mrs. Taylor said after the trio had ordered their dinner. "But Jo wanted a specif—"
"Mom!" Jo exclaimed sitting across from her mother. "You can't tell him that! The groom's not supposed to see the dress before the wedding, not even hear about it."
"She's right, I'm not," Kendall said between a mouthful of dinner roll.
"Right, sorry, forgot," Mrs. Taylor replied sheepishly. "It's just such a specific dress."
"Mom!"
"All right, I'll stop." She put her hands up in surrender.
"I'll just say, I saw it in a magazine once and can't get it out of my head," Jo said.
"Hopefully, you'll get it out of your head and on your body." Kendall tapped Jo's nose romantically.
"Since we can't talk about dresses," Mrs. Taylor interrupted with a loud clearing of her throat, "we can discuss flowers. Now, I think…"
"I know what you think, Mom. You want the calla lilies."
"They are beautiful, aren't they?"
"Yes, but they're cliché, Mom. Everyone uses them for weddings."
"And that's why you should have them in yours."
"I bet you had them in yours," Jo muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing, I mean, I don't want to just do it because everyone else does. If everyone else jumped off a bridge, should I do it, too?"
Mrs. Taylor laughed.
"OK, OK, this is your wedding."
"How's Mr. Taylor?" Kendall brought up wanting to change the subject from something that looked like it could cause tension. "How did you get him to let you take a weekend excursion to visit his only daughter without him?"
"My mom doesn't have—" Jo began.
"He's away on business," Mrs. Taylor interrupted. "In Europe."
"Europe?"
"You are on your way to becoming part of the family so I guess it's okay to tell you. Don't tell Joe I told you."
"Mom, I'm right here."
"No, honey, your father."
"Oh, right." Jo looked at Kendall. "I'm named after my father, Joseph Taylor."
"Is that what you wanted to—"
"No," Mrs. Taylor leaned over the table and whispered, "Jo's father is in the CIA and is currently—"
"He's a spy!" Kendall figured out. "Does he work with—"
"We aren't allowed to know," Jo answered.
Kendall knew Mr. Taylor worked with the CIA thanks to the wonderful time he and Jo had at the prom trying not to get caught by them due to his bright idea of sneaking Jo out of her apartment after her dad grounded her for coming home two hours after curfew earlier in the week. He did not know his role in the CIA was as a spy.
"Are you able to contact him when he's away on missions?" He asked.
"No," Mrs. Taylor replied softly.
Kendall nodded. He thought maybe if they could contact Mr. Taylor he could give word on Alexa and put Carlos at ease. He'd been unnaturally tense lately and needed something to unclench him.
After a desert of crème brulee, they took Mrs. Taylor back to Jo's apartment and the engaged couple spent some alone time in their favorite park doing one of their favorite things.
"So, you're the son your father never had," Kendall laughed.
Jo nodded giving off a little giggle.
"Actually, I was supposed to be a boy. That's what my parents were told they were expecting. It's my dad's dream to have a son named Joseph Paul Taylor II. But, then I was born and turned out to be a girl. The only name they had picked out was Joseph they went with it. I'm Jospehine Paula Taylor."
"So, they thought you were a boy…does that mean…?"
"Ew!" Jo gasped. "No! The ultrasound was just wrong. It's that grainy black and white look. Nothing's perfect. Ew, I can't believe you thought that."
Kendall put his arm around his fiancée as she snuggled closer to him. He looked at the stars in the night sky wishing he knew more about constellations so he could pick out one for Jo, but astronomy wasn't his thing so he just watched the lights twinkle above them.
After dropping Jo off at her apartment at a time close to midnight (he would have loved to go inside but her mother was there), Kendall came back to the crib to discover the box he found that evening opened. He pulled out one of the books in the box.
"Figure Skater and the Hockey Head," he read the title, "Paige Godfrey." Opening the book he came upon the inscription. "To Kendall Knight—Thank you for inviting me to play hockey with you guys. It was truly an inspiration. Paige Godfrey."
Rusher Driver: Thanks again!
I hope everyone in the northeastern US is staying warm, dry, and safe!
Is it now weird that Cody Simpson hung out at James's group training session the other day (1-21-15)? I wrote the Gustavo part last week and hesitated about Simpson, but ultimately went with it since his part is practically non-existent in the story anyway (just needed a name). But, I thought it was funny when James retweeted his trainer's tweet with the picture including Cody Simpson. It's not like they hang out all the time or anything.
In Big Time Tests, James shouldn't have been upset at Kendall for not knowing the day of his birthday. In Big Time Gold, he proved he was just as incompetent when it came to his girlfriend's birthday. :p
I suck. I have had two requests asked of me for what feels like a year and I forgot about them. Looking at folders on my computer I saw one labeled requests and that's how I remembered them. I am so so so so sorry. If you are waiting for a request I will get to them. I don't want to let you down!