Twenty-One
We managed to completely lose track of time despite having somewhere else to be. Well, maybe I didn’t lose track of time. The vibe from his parents’ house was too odd for me and I didn’t want to go back. We couldn’t eat dinner with them if we didn’t drop the keys back off until ten o’clock at night. So when I became aware of how late it was, I decided to distract Brooks with one of his favorite X-rated activities.
It worked. For a while anyway.
“Oh man, we have to go,” Brooks said after fishing his cell out of his pants. They’d been removed and forgotten hours ago. I had thrown them over Ariel’s face to cover her eyes. Even though she was older than me, she didn’t need to see what we were doing. “We’ll miss dinner.”
“Really?” I asked as I got up, doing my best slow motion pace.
“Yeah. So let’s move it.”
Before I could pull any more stalling tricks, we were back in the car speeding away from magic and toward an evening that was the social equivalent of a dentist appointment.
The only positive was that Brooks called Gwenny to let her know we were on our way rather than just showing up again. It was already after eight and we probably wouldn’t get back to their house until after nine, but no one seemed fazed by eating dinner at that hour.
I did happen to find another positive once we arrived at the palatial estate. Marta was already off for the night. It wasn’t clear to me if she was home or just in her room, but either way I didn’t have to see her, so I was happy.
Brooks held my hand as Gwendolyn led us to the sunroom at the back of the house. Alan was already sitting at the table when we got there, and seeing him made my stomach clench. If Mrs. Brooks had been Sadie, I would swear she set the table purely for the photo op. There were white roses in a tall crystal vase in the center of the table with tiny baby’s-breath-filled vases all around it.
The food itself was picture perfect too. She, or Marta, or both, had cooked up steak medallions, Swiss chard, and roasted red potatoes, all served in shiny white china, of course. It made me feel like I was at prom—red potatoes always made me think of catering—but I found where Brooks got his cooking skills from.
“Hi, kids,” Alan said as Brooks pulled out the Chiavari chair for me. “So, how’s the lot?”
I paused a beat, not sure if he was talking to me or Brooks. “It was incredible. Really amazing.” I stopped at that. So many things about our time at the lot contributed to the amazingness, but I wasn’t going to think about any of those while sitting across from his parents.
“Great.” He clasped his hands, then smacked them on the table, getting a reaction from Gwenny.
“Let’s eat. The food is getting cold.” Her tone sure was chilly.
Brooks made a move to pull out his mother’s chair but she beat him to the seat.
The food was absolutely outstanding. It took every single ounce of self-control in my body not to devour my plate in mere seconds. If it weren’t for my getting used to Brooks’s almost equally tasty dishes, I don’t think I would’ve been able to hold back. Before we met I rarely ate anything home cooked, unless nuking frozen burritos counted.
The conversation flowed somewhat easily, yet left me feeling uneasy at the same time. I dug my fingers into my chair, fearing I was leaving nail marks, any time the conversation turned to my personal life. I’d rehearsed saying phrases like, “Unfortunately my dad is no longer with us,” and, “He recently passed away,” in the mirror at least two hundred times, but I never said them out loud to anyone. I’d probably fall to a thousand pieces if I had to explain.
The chatter was mostly carried by Alan. He was kind enough to bring up things I could talk about like art, local colleges, and movies, until he unexpectedly left, with his plate only half eaten, to make a phone call. Neither Gwendolyn nor Brooks questioned it, so I assumed it was a common occurrence.
“More water, Ollie?” Gwendolyn asked with pitcher in hand.
“Yes, please,” I answered, trying to hide my surprise at her kind tone.
“Tell me how you two met,” she requested. Her tenor was soft and interested, like she was suddenly a different person.
Brooks and I both laughed, then Brooks went on to tell the story.
“Ollie is…friends with my neighbor across the street. I saw her leaving the house late one night while I was walking Boden and her beauty struck me, hard, in that moment. She looked so cold and contemplative, and I swore to myself that that was the night I’d finally talk to her.”
He took my hand in his, and until he did I hadn’t even realized that I turned completely in my chair to face him. I’d never heard him tell the story; I’d never even thought about what his side of the story would sound like.
“You’d seen me before?” I asked, forgetting his mom was right there.
“Of course I have.” He laughed. “You were always over there. I just never got up the nerve to talk to you until that night.”
There was no way that was possible. I would’ve noticed a man like Brooks, especially if he was noticing me.
“You should’ve just talked to me,” I said while squeezing his hand. I couldn’t believe I had been missing out on him.
“Well, when that piece of paper fell from your jeans, I finally had a valid reason to approach you.”
The mention of the paper made my breath catch. A quick glance in Gwendolyn’s direction revealed a real smile. It wasn’t megawatt, but it was authentic and that meant a lot.
“Go on,” she encouraged.
“So, I talked to her. We didn’t introduce ourselves, I came across as a stalker, and I thought I blew it. But next thing I knew, she showed up in my front yard and that was that. We’ve been together ever since.”
Not being able to help it, I took his face in my hands and kissed him square on the lips. I never thought I’d be the kind of girl who had an adorable “how we met” story, but there it was. It sounded so sweet and awkward from his perspective and it was one hundred percent perfect.
“That’s so lovely,” Gwenny said in earnest. “You two just seem made for each other.”
“We are, Mom,” Brooks told her while I wondered if she was trashed and had no idea what she was saying. How could she be so hot and cold?
“Not like some of the other girls I’ve seen come through this house.”
“Mom,” Brooks barked. “No need to bring it up.”
He flashed me a panicky glance. It was obvious she was making him uncomfortable, but admittedly I relished the tables being turned. For once I wasn’t the one with the embarrassing mother.
“All I’m saying is, you don’t always choose the best dates. Present company excluded, Ollie.”
“Thank you,” I told her, then chugged my water in triumph.
“Yeah, okay,” Brooks said, fidgeting in his seat.
Man, I loved seeing this side of him, but I had a more pressing issue to attend to.
“I’m going to have to excuse myself,” I said, trying to sound as distinguished as possible while having to pee. “Where’s the restroom?”
“The closest one is probably through there.” Brooks pointed down a hallway I hadn’t even noticed. “Third door on your right,” he called after I already started down the hall.
I was feeling a bit drunk. How was it possible for me to still be Ollie Oxmend and have this kind of day?
The journey to the bathroom was longer than I expected, with the three doors being spaced far apart. I couldn’t even imagine what was behind all those doors. Who needed that much room? There were only five members of the Brooks family, why did they need all the space?
When I reached the third door, I paused just outside, not sure Brooks had given me correct instructions. The room was larger than my living room, which admittedly wasn’t very big, and about seventy times nicer.
Just as I was about to shut myself in the grand room, I felt a hand on my hip and fingers brushing against my stomach. The feeling made me jump, because not only was it unexpected but I hated being touched on my non-flat, not-even-concave middle region.
“I didn’t mean to startle you.” Alan’s smooth voice snaked into my ear.
“It’s all right.” I sounded jumpy even to myself.
I turned to maneuver away from him since he was still touching my hip. Alan took the odd movement as an invitation to join me in the bathroom. Next thing I knew we were both standing too close for comfort in a room that was meant to be used alone.
“It was lucky that you broke away from the group,” he told me as if I was in on something with him.
I laughed a bit. “Well, just for a minute. You know…” I gestured to the toilet, not sure why he wasn’t leaving.
“Well, lucky for me that I could catch you. Alone.”
He elbowed the door completely closed, then came to stand closer to me than ever.
“Did you want to talk to me about something?” I knew he didn’t. He was making it very clear that he didn’t corner me in the bathroom to talk, but I had to keep up that pretense because I needed it to be the truth.
“There are some things we could talk about. Like, when you want the tour of my bedroom?”
Dr. Alan Brooks ran his hand from my shoulder to my elbow and back up again as he leaned into me. I stood there completely frozen, trying to think of something to say that would make his words have a different, more innocent, meaning behind them.
“Oh. I don’t know,” I replied, not sure what else to do.
Maybe he was just trying to be friendly.
“If the house makes you uneasy, we could look at some art elsewhere. You know, I’d love to take you to a museum and just…pick your brain for a night.”
“Yeah, sure. Brooks and I were just saying we should get to a museum.” I was clinging to innocence so tightly my fingertips were starting to hurt.
I took a step away from him but it didn’t help. I’d backed myself against the sink, leaving Alan to close the gap again. He pressed into me then with his legs against mine, making me feel his excitement for the situation on my stomach.
“Brooks? I’m the original Brooks, darlin’.”
He gave me a crooked grin and heavy lidded stare that I knew he intended to be sexy, but it only creeped me out entirely. Not to mention the fact that no, he was not the original Brooks.
“You’re not my Brooks,” I told him with more confidence in my voice.
“Oh, but I could be.” He pressed completely against me, making sure to give me the full effect. “If you think you can handle it.”
I could feel the red on my face at his forwardness, but I wasn’t going to let him do this to me. I couldn’t believe I found myself in that position. I couldn’t believe Brooks’s own father would do that to him. I couldn’t believe he’d do that to his wife. But most of all, I couldn’t believe he was ruining the first perfect day I had in my twenty years of life.
I leaned in toward Alan as if I was going to tell him a sexy secret. “If you don’t get that thing away from me, no one will be able to ‘handle it’ ever again. Including you.”
He leaned back and stopped touching me, so I knew he knew I was serious, but his expression remained infuriatingly impassive. Just like I was trying to diffuse the satiation, so was he.
“Darlin’, I appreciate the coyness, but all that bedroom talk in my office wasn’t without reason. Gwendolyn and William will never find out about this.”
“You’re right. They won’t. Now you have three seconds to get out of here.” I was absolutely done with his shit.
“Or what?” He raised his eyebrows in a heartbreakingly Brooks-like gesture. Without my fully understanding why, tears began to pool in my eyes, but because of my lashes they wouldn’t fall. I was feeling so sad for Mrs. Brooks having a louse of a husband, although people cheated all the time. I was hurting for Brooks. No matter how awful I thought my mom was, she’d never, ever, never hit on one of my boyfriends.
“Or they will find out.”
Alan smiled at me, all feline, but he raised his hands and backed out of the room. The second he was gone I had an emotional burst. My hands clamped down on the rim of the sink and no matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. My chest was heaving as silent sobs escaped from it.
I was all hunched over when I felt hands on me again. I shot up, this time prepared to kick some balls.
“Ollie, I’m sorry.” It was Gwendolyn, and she looked like a scared puppy.
“Gwenny, you scared me,” I said, accidently calling her my secret nickname out loud.
“Please, don’t tell William.” Her eyes pleaded with me.
“Tell him what?” I said while wiping my loose hairs from my eyes. I had almost recovered, although I still desperately needed to pee.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry he made such vulgar passes at you.” How much had she heard, or was she just guessing? “But please, don’t tell William. He doesn’t need to know this side of his father. In fact, I’ve tried very hard to keep it from him. I know I’m asking a lot and you don’t owe me anything, but as the mother of the man you love, I’m asking you to do this for me. Please.”
I nodded, completely baffled by what the hell was happening. “You have my word. I would never want to hurt Brooks.” I wanted to add, “But you still have to know this side of Alan exists and that must hurt you and it’s not okay,” but I kept it to myself.
She sighed, then gave me a smile. It was tight, but her eyes completely relaxed. “You’re not the first girlfriend of William’s he’s done this too, but with the way you handled yourself you might be the last—oh, no. That came out wrong. Not that I think there will be anyone after you.”
I patted her hand in a gesture I never imagined I’d make. “It’s okay. I know what you mean.” Maybe I did handle myself pretty well.
“Really, Ollie. I’ve never seen William so smitten in his life. I need you to know that.”
“Thank you,” I told her, hoping those two words conveyed how much I meant it.
“I’ll just give you a minute.” She turned for the exit.
“Mrs. Brooks,” I called after her and she turned. “Why do put up with it?” I immediately regretted asking. It wasn’t my business and I almost didn’t want to hear her answer.
“Love.” She laughed one humorless hiccup. “I could tell you it’s because we’ve been together since high school or because he’s the father of my children, but the real answer is because I love him.”
She left the room before I could say anything. My first thought was how stupid, and I planned on telling her at my earliest convenience. But after I had used the facilities and my nerves calmed considerably, I understood where she was coming from. I’d done much stupider things because of love. Maybe not romantic love, but love all the same.
After I finally left the bathroom, I rejoined Gwendolyn and Brooks. Luckily for everyone, Alan was MIA. The rest of the evening wasn’t entirely unbearable. The three of us shared pleasant conversation and Brooks never once asked where his dad was.
In fact, Alan stayed out of sight and mind until it was time for Brooks and I to make the drive back home. He just materialized at the small side entrance when we were saying our goodbyes. I hugged Gwenny in a sign of solidarity, but I paid no attention whatsoever to Alan.
Brooks shook his dad’s hand and clasped him on the back in a move all men seemed to know. I slinked toward the door. If Brooks noticed my sudden coldness to his dad, he didn’t say anything about it.