Chapter Eleven

Nate

This had to be one of the stupidest things I’d ever agreed to, I thought as I tucked in my shirt. Dinner with Elle’s family was not a smart move. I mean, I’d only known her a few weeks.

Grabbing my keys off the dresser, I headed out. As I passed through the living room, Uncle Jake looked up from his RING magazine and shook his head.

“Family dinner? You must really like this girl.”

I laughed, “Either that, or I’m tired of hot pockets eaten over the sink.”

He laughed back, “Yeah, well, you be careful. She’s not like most girls. A broken heart lasts a long time.”

“I’m not going to break her heart, I promise.”

Jake cocked an eyebrow. “Who said I was talking about hers?”

I faltered for just a moment and looked back at him. He was being serious, I realized, and my guts tightened up just a little. There was a lot of hidden meaning in that statement from a man who had lost the only woman he had ever loved. The sadness behind his eyes pulled at me.

“I won’t be late,” I said as I left. No way was I delving into the deep waters of the pain we both felt over the loss of my Aunt Mary.

Driving to Elle’s house I had the strong urge to turn around, this was just so not smart. But, I reminded myself. It was an opportunity to hang with Elle, always a good thing. Before I got there though, I made a quick stop and picked up some flowers. I was too young to bring wine, and it probably would have sent the wrong message if I had. So flowers it would be.

I know, flowers sounded sort of lame. But all I had to think of was what would my mom want me to do and it usually turned out to be the right answer. So flowers it was.

When I got to her front door I hesitated a moment. Shirt tucked in, boots clean, hair combed. Jesus, it was like I was going for a job interview or something. Taking a deep breath I rang the bell.

Elle answered the door. She was as adorable as ever in a breezy yellow dress. She smiled, but I could tell she was nervous. Her eyes seemed to dance and she kept looking over her shoulder as if she was afraid someone was behind her.

“You came?” she said with a hint of surprise.

“I couldn’t come up with a good reason to back out,” I said, surprised that the truth came out before I could stop it.

She laughed though. That was one of the things I liked about her. She knew when I was sort of kidding, even when it was true. It was like we were on the same level. Saw the world the same way.

“Those are beautiful,” she said, indicating the flowers while stepping aside and motioning me in.

I tried not to blush. It seemed so silly. Making a big deal about a bunch of cut flowers.

“They’re not for you,” I said and then mentally kicked myself for sounding so stupid.

She gave me a fake pout then smiled. “Come on,” she said. “You can give them to Nana. She loves flowers. My mom will be down in a minute.”

Swallowing hard, I followed her into the house. The smell of freshly made bread greeted me like a long-lost friend. Everything was immaculate but lived in. Pictures of Elle and Jimmy on the wall. A beautiful watercolor of a koi pond hung in the dining room. A long oak table, already set, waiting for dinner.

“Nana,” Elle called out as she pulled me into the kitchen. “This is Nate Clark.”

I could feel my palms begin to sweat. This was ridiculous, I told myself. I was just meeting Elle’s family, not going into the boxing ring against Mohamad Ali.

A slim, petite woman in a long, flowing dress turned around from stirring a pot. She had crazy salt and pepper hair that definitely was heavy on the salt. A brown sparrow feather hung from one earlobe and a huge white pearl was in the other. A dozen golden bracelets jangled on her wrist as she moved.

She looked at me, her eyes twinkling with joy as she slowly examined me. I swear, I’ve had doctors in my corner that didn’t pay this much attention.

She nodded once and cocked an eyebrow at Elle, sending her a secret message. Elle, blushed for a moment as she turned to look away.

“Um, I couldn’t bring wine, So I hope …”

“They are lovely,” she said as she relieved me of the flowers, never taking her eyes off of mine. “You must call me Nana,” she said. She continued to look at me then turned to Elle. “It is remarkable,” she said to her granddaughter. “So blue.”

Elle turned about three shades redder.

“Your aura, my dear,” the woman said to me. “So blue. Pure and strong, like Elle’s forest green, but a unique blue.”

Elle made a small sound in the back of her throat that told me how much she didn’t want to be there right then. I looked over at her, she was shooting me looks of apology.

I smiled at her, then said to her Nana, “My aunt Mary always called it cobalt blue.”

Elle’s jaw dropped, Nana smiled, “Yes, that is the color, cobalt blue.”

Reaching out, Nana took me by the arm and pulled me to the stove. “I am told that you eat chicken.”

“I eat just about anything ma’am,”

She laughed, “Well, we’re having my special chicken cacciatore,”

“It smells wonderful,” I said as I drank in the rich aromas. There was something about the way a home cooked meal smelled. Different, unique, caring smells. My stomach rumbled and Nana laughed.

“It will be ready soon,” Nana said as she patted my shoulder. “Now out of here. Let an old woman finish her job. You two go.”

Elle took my hand to pull me away from her Nana. She shot me a look that begged me to come with her.

I gave Nana a quick smile and let Elle lead me out of the kitchen.

She was taking me back through the dining room and then into the living room. Her hand resting in mine like it belonged there.

“She’s different,” Elle said.

“Yes, but …”

“Elle,” a voice said as her mother came around the corner. Ms. Watson froze for a second, her look instantly going to our clasped hands.

I’ve got to give Elle credit, she didn’t immediately drop my hand. She continued to hold it for a second, just to make sure her mother realized that she couldn’t intimidate her. Then she dropped it and waved it towards her mother.

“Nate, you’ve already met my mom.”

“Yes,” I said, “It is nice to see you again Ms. Watson. Thank you for inviting me to dinner.”

She studied me for a long moment. My gut tightened up like it was going to get punched. I stood there while she continued to give me the once-over.

“Yes,” she said. “Well, I’ve heard so much about you, from both Jimmy and Elle. I thought it was time we got to know each other.”

Wow, I thought. So much for small talk. I swallowed hard and tried to think of something to say. But every statement I could come up with could be a possible landmine. So I kept my mouth shut and gave her a weak smile.

Elle couldn’t take the rising tension. I could see her bouncing on her feet like she wanted to bolt at the slightest hint of danger.

“What’s Jimmy up to?” I asked. That seemed like it might be safe.

“My son is …”

“I’ll take you up to his room,” Elle interrupted as she pulled me out of the room and away from her mother. It was like the girl was on a mission. Anything to avoid drama.

“Um … Nice to see you again, Ms. Watson,” I sputtered out as Elle pulled towards the stairs.

Elle’s mother didn’t smile back at me. Man, the woman was pure lioness. I could see it in her eyes. Someone might be threatening her young. And therefore that someone deserved to die.

As I followed Elle up the stairs I made a point of not staring at her butt. A hard task, I will admit, but her mother was watching me and I am not a complete idiot.

When we got out of earshot I hissed at Elle, “You know, we’re going to have to be in the same room together eventually. Unless you guys eat in separate rooms or something.”

Elle shot me a dagger stare. “Nana will be there,” she said as if that was all she needed to say.

I laughed. It was cute that Elle was nervous. But it wasn’t like this was real. But then, if it wasn’t real? Why was I so worried about what her mother thought?

My mind was juggling that thought when Elle barged into her brother’s room without even knocking.

Jimmy was bent over a computer, writing on a notepad then returning to furiously type on the computer.

His room reminded me of a typical boy’s room. Star Wars posters on the wall. A hamper in the corner overflowing with dirty clothes. Some strangely shaped sculptures on a shelf. All curved and twisted in on themselves.

It was also different. No trophies, not comics. Instead, he had math textbooks the size of cinder blocks.

Jimmy waved a hand over his shoulder as he continued to type.

Elle looked at me and rolled her eyes. “Give him a second. It goes faster if I don’t interrupt his chain of thought.”

“It goes faster if you don’t come in here at all,” Jimmy said as he continued to type.

“What are you working on?” she asked, “some work-around cheat for World of Warcraft?” she said dismissively.

Jimmy shook his head as he finished typing, then pushed back from the computer. “No, actually, I was discussing Superfluid Helium-4 with a guy at MIT. He thinks he can get it to a solid state and I was showing him why he couldn’t. He doesn’t believe me, but he will when he fails. What are you guys up to?”

I laughed at the look on Elle’s face.

“We were avoiding your mother,” I said.

Jimmy chuckled and gave a fake shudder. “You win.”

I smiled, “Cool room,” I said as I looked around, “What are those?” I asked as I pointed at the weird sculptures on the shelf.

Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. “My attempts to create Nth dimensional figures of non-conforming shapes. But I failed. I couldn’t make them, but then I was eight, maybe in a few years.”

I had to stop myself from scratching my head. The guy was about twenty levels above me and climbing fast. “Yeah, well, they’re pretty cool looking.”

Jimmy smiled. “That’s why I kept them. They’re useless, but I like them.”

Elle shook her head. “You are just so weird,” she said to her brother with a smile. I saw it then, the love she had for him. I had always known it was there. But when she looked at him like that. A mixture of awe, respect, and bewilderment. I saw how much she cared for him.

Suddenly, I had an almost overwhelming desire to have her look at me that same way.

“Dinner’s ready,” Elle’s mom yelled from downstairs.

“Our torture awaits,” Elle said to me with a sadness and fear to her eyes that surprised me.

“Hey, don’t worry. You’re tough, you can take it.”

She smiled. “It’s not me I’m worried about.”