Chapter Twenty
Dinner was a somewhat tense event. Neither Porter nor his dad could mention their meeting as they were both under the impression that Natalie had no idea the Clairborne was in trouble. But it was discussed all right, only through gestures and their body language. They refused to make eye contact and said very little to each other. The strain in Mr. Clairborne’s voice was apparent when he asked Porter to pass the ice water.
Poor Natalie was doing her best to smooth it all over. Like when Mr. Clairborne mentioned he had some meetings that didn’t go as he had hoped, Natalie replied, without trying to give anything away, “In my experience sometimes opposing views give me the opportunity to look at a situation with new eyes, leading me to solve my problem in a better way.”
Mr. Clairborne and Porter gave Natalie a look that said she couldn’t possibly know, could she? It was almost scary that they both tilted their head the exact same way and their narrowed blue eyes mirrored each other right down to the same number of creases it produced on their foreheads.
Meanwhile, all I could think about was the conversation Natalie and I had in the kitchen. Was I really the reason Porter came home? Was Porter worth risking my heart and daring to hope that I could love and be loved? The way he held my hand under the table and caressed it with his thumb, or the gentle way he’d kissed my cheek when he returned from the store made me think that it was possible. But when I looked between father and son, there was no denying the rift that existed and at this point seemed impossible to bridge. What effect would that have on Porter’s future plans? What were his plans? And why was I even thinking like this?
Porter squeezed my hand tight under the table. There was a bond there that ran even deeper than I realized. It was exactly why I was having these thoughts. And maybe that kiss earlier.
I was thankful when the conversation began to center around Charlotte. I got the feeling she was used to being the center of attention, here and at school. Charlotte stood up with dramatic flair and placed her hands on the table.
“I have an announcement to make.” She flipped her gorgeous tresses. “Guess who was nominated for prom queen?” She gave us all a dazzling beauty queen smile. “That’s right! Mua!”
I could tell she had been waiting to share the news to get maximum effect.
Natalie immediately jumped up and pulled Charlotte to her for a celebratory hug that included some jumping up and down. It was almost as if Natalie herself had been nominated. My focus turned toward Mr. Clairborne. His reaction seemed to say, How much is this going to cost me? Porter, I’m sure in his attempt to make amends with his sister, was nothing but sweet about it. Not one hint of sarcasm or teasing could be heard in his congratulations.
Natalie was all a blather. “Oh we have so much to do. Of course we’ll have to think of a good campaign and slogan.” She turned toward Porter. “You can help us right, mijo?” Her eyes filled with such tenderness referring to Porter as son.
Porter locked eyes with Natalie. He had to have felt the love conveyed in her beautiful brown eyes. He didn’t hesitate to answer. “I would love to.”
I wasn’t sure when he would find time to, besides helping the Clairborne and keeping up with his online classes, his break from work wasn’t truly a vacation. He had a slew of conference calls with the Bristol set up for tomorrow morning. He’d been answering phone calls and responding to several emails throughout yesterday and today. Not to mention helping me and Charlotte.
Mr. Clairborne wasn’t as excited as the rest of his family. “There will be no talk of being prom queen until your science project is completed.”
“Daddy,” Charlotte whined, but with a smile to warm her dad’s heart, “this is important too.”
Mr. Clairborne smiled back, but he wasn’t falling for the charm that oozed off her. “I’m proud of you, baby girl, but passing biology and raising your GPA is our top priority.” His eyes and demeanor said that there would be no argument.
Natalie sat back down and reached for her husband’s hand. “You’re absolutely right, but. . .” Her eyes lit up like Q-carbon, which is even brighter than a diamond—it’s made with sapphire and a high-powered laser beam. “You have to tell us who else was nominated.”
From the look on Mr. Clairborne’s face, he knew it was a lost cause. He figuratively threw his hands up in the air and listened to his daughter and wife prattle on and on about all the ins and outs of prom and the royal court.
It all sounded foreign to me. I never went to prom or had friends that were nominated for prom queen. Unless you counted Jaycee, though we didn’t go to the same school. And I believe she was runner-up. But I enjoyed listening to how excited Charlotte was and the attention paid to her by her parents. It gave me hope that happy families really existed. Even this not-so-perfect family.
Porter caught me staring at him giving his rapt attention to his mom and sister. His eyes said that he too had hope. I think his hopes had more to do with the two of us. But I knew making things right with his family would have to be part of making things right between us.
~*~
The house rule was if Natalie cooked, Mr. Clairborne cleaned; I liked it. Once Mr. Clairborne cleared dinner and did the dishes, Porter, Charlotte, and I took over the kitchen and turned it into a science lab. Words cannot express how excited I was. I’m not sure what that said about me, other than I was boring, but there was something about the thrill of the unknown. Even if it had to do with lipstick. There was great satisfaction in knowing that you didn’t have to believe everything you were told or sold. You could find out for yourself if what was said was true. There was great power in that, though very few seemed to care.
Porter continued to be at Charlotte’s disposal. He volunteered to be the test dummy for our experiment, though I wasn’t quite sure he knew exactly what that involved when he agreed to it.
When we set out all the supplies for the experiment, I noticed that Charlotte got her money’s worth out of her brother. Instead of the five brands of varying prices I suggested, there was double that, and I couldn’t help but be suspicious that each shade would look fabulous on Charlotte. Not to mention the ruby heels she was walking around in. When she told her mom the brand name of the shoe, Natalie shook her head, not pleased. I was guessing that meant they were quite expensive. Charlotte was apparently wearing them to break them in. And it was the key to Porter winning her over. Her off with his head attitude seemed to have dissipated. I had heard a good pair of shoes could work wonders. I never believed it before now.
We lined up each lipstick, and with each tube went a glass of water, an apple, and a white napkin. Porter eyed each item warily now, getting the picture of what he had signed up to do. I for one couldn’t wait to see how he looked in each shade.
“Wait now, I thought I was helping you smear lipstick on sheets of paper and heating them up.” Porter held up his hand to protest.
“Oh, you are,” I couldn’t keep the smile out of my voice. “But first we need to test how long the coverage lasts.”
We were both sitting at the island, and he leaned in to whisper in my ear, “Why don’t you wear the lipstick and I’ll kiss you until it wears off?”
I didn’t get a chance to answer. Charlotte was contorting her face from across the kitchen. “Ooo, gross, I didn’t pick this experiment so I could watch you make out with your girlfriend.”
I wouldn’t necessarily say I was his girlfriend, but I didn’t address it. “Kissing wouldn’t allow us to control the variables.”
Porter wagged his eyebrows. “I like uncontrolled variables.”
Charlotte acted as if she were gagging herself. “Is that some kind of code word for s—”
“Variables,” I interrupted her before she or her brother could embarrass me more, “are factors or conditions that can change during the course of an experiment. The glasses of water, napkins, and apples are our controlled variables.” I decided to also use this as a teaching moment even though it was a tad uncomfortable. “Kissing isn’t a viable option because we can’t account for changes in body temperature, saliva production, intensity, and technique.”
“Are you trying to turn me on?” Porter groaned in my ear. “I thought you always enjoyed my technique.”
Charlotte gave him the biggest eye roll of all time.
I nudged him away but had to admit I didn’t mind him whispering in my ear, or the thought of kissing him, though I thought we really needed to talk some more. First science, and then life. That was pretty much the story of my life.