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I looked to the road, which, as we made our way, was being eaten under the van. Sniper looked to me from the corner of his sunglasses before looking back to the road, "You're gonna be the first pal of mine I've ever let meet my parents, so uh, if it don't go too great... don't be surprised."
I leaned back, putting my feet on the dash and crossing my arms comfortably, "I'm the first? What about Spy? You two seem to get along."
He pushed my feet down, dusting off the part of the van they were on, "We do, but... I dunno. You're real different. I can't talk to Spy the same way I talk to you, y'know? And I dont want him seducin' my mum... That's all it is, mate. Nothin' more to it than that, but I oughta warn you, my parents can be... Whats the word?" He paused for a moment before tapping the steering wheel with his pointer finger, "Forward. They can be forward. I can say with full confidence, mate, that they'll make you uncomfortable at least once tonight."
"Do they know I'm coming?"
His eyes darted to the radio, "Probably shoulda told 'em that... They just think it's me, so when they see you, I dunno how they'll act. Just... bear with me. They're nice enough people, you just gotta get to know 'em."
"Could say the same about you."
"Mate, I'm not nice."
We drove on for maybe another hour, stopping somewhere for gas and drinks. We got there around lunchtime, and I smiled at the place. It was a lone house, surrounded with acres of land. There was a tree here and there, and some clouds up above, making the scenery beautiful, he pulled into the long, dirt driveway, and I kept my eyes on my surroundings, "You grew up here?"
He chuckled, looking around also, "Yeah. Jealous?"
"Hell yeah I'm jealous..." I trailed off, looking at a dog that came running behind the van. He eventually put the vehicle in park, and I got out. The dog seemed to ignore me, leaping into the passenger seat and jumping over to greet his old friend. Sniper scrambled out of the van with the brown hunting dog in his arms. He roughly pet the fur of the mangy animal, and he looked so naturally at home. The dog licked at his face, making his sunglasses fall to the ground, and his hat nearly fall off his head. I picked up the sunglasses, chuckling and wiping them off on my shirt.
The dog finally took notice that his owner wasn't alone, and looked to me, hopping from Sniper's arms. He leapt up, putting his paws on my waist and pushing his nose to my hand to try to get to know me better. I tossed Sniper his sunglasses and he put them in his van before closing the door, and telling his dog to hop off of me. The dog scampered behind the back of the house, and I chuckled, looking to my friend, "I think this is heaven."
He opened his mouth to say something coy when the rattling of a screen door turned our eyes to the house. An older woman came out with short, curly hair. Sniper seemed to shrink away at the sight of her. She made her way down the stairs, a little more mobile than someone her age usually is. She held out her arms, wrapping them tightly around her son. Sniper sighed a little, wrapping one arm around her shoulders as his other was stuck by his side. His mother parted from him, grabbing his collar and pulling him down to her eye level. She slapped his hat off his head and squished his face, saying he didn't look a day over twenty.
