by Joshua Laack
Chapter 16
Andrew paced back and forth in front of the living room window while his parents watched from the kitchen. They glanced at each other and both smiled. When Andrew had been born, they had both been excited and wondered at the things their son might grow up to do. As he had gotten a older, most of their hopes had been dashed. He was antisocial, uncommunicative, and buried in books. All their hope had been pulled from them year by year as their son became worse and worse. Now after meeting this new girl, he seemed to be almost the exact opposite of the dark son they had resigned themselves to.
For that reason, they were as excited and nervous about her as Andrew was. Who was this person who had the power to reach their son in a way that they hadn't been able to in eighteen years? Three pairs of eyes turned and then widened as the car pulled into the driveway.
The car was a late model, burnt orange Aston Martin Vanquish. John and Mary Marks glanced over at their son's shocked face. He hadn't known about the car either. Then they glanced back at the girl climbing out of the car. She was dressed in a modest blue dress, but Andrew's dark jeans, tee shirt and brown sweatshirt that had been nice on first inspection were now just a little too casual.
The falling sun peaked out of the clouds just as she shut the car door and her long auburn hair appeared to burst into bright flames. Andrew stared out the window wondering how such a beautiful girl could want to go out on a date with him. Not to mention she was so much more than he would ever be, darkness or not. She smiled at his wondering stare as she walked, still aflame, to the door.
Andrew was frozen for a moment, and then rushed to the door and opened it before she had a chance to knock.
“Come on in,” he said. He hesitated for a second, “if you don't mind, I think my parents would like to meet you.” She smiled at him and walked past him into the entry way. Her first thought was that the repairs had been well done. Even her sharp eyes had a hard time finding the scars of the battle that had occurred there.
Together they stepped into the kitchen where Andrew's parents were busy pretending they hadn't been watching and listening. They looked up as one. Neither one was sure what they had been expecting, but the beauty in their kitchen was not it.
“Mom and dad, I'd like you to meet Josefina Sanchez. Josefina, my parents, John and Mary.” Johari extended her delicate hand, but shook both of their hands with a strength that defied the delicacy of her frame. The confidence presented in that handshake surprised both of them.
“It's lovely to meet you dear,” said Mary. John added his agreement.
“It's nice to meet both of you as well. I hope you don't mind me stealing your son this evening. I promised him a date a while ago and tonight was a good opportunity to fulfill that promise.”
“Of course not,” replied Mary. “You guys have a great time.” Andrew was waiting for some kind of rules or limitations on his date, but it seemed that they were just so excited to see him happy, that it didn't occur to either of them.
“I won't be out too late,” he offered for their peace of mind once he was gone. With that, they headed for the door and the car waiting in the driveway. Andrew felt a little nervous about climbing into the car. He didn't want to get it dirty or scuff it with his rough tennis shoes. Johari laughed at his tentativeness.
“It's just a car, don't worry about it.”
“It's not just a car. My car is just a car. This thing is the most expensive car I have ever been in. How did you afford this?” After he asked it, Andrew realized that the question was a little personal, but Johari just smiled.
“As you know, I am a little older than you which means I have had a little bit more time to save and invest money. I have done well for myself.” Andrew wasn't sure what to say to that. Money had never been that important to him, so he didn't have nice things or care all that much. He hadn't considered the idea that she might be rich, but upon consideration, he should have. Her house looked expensive, but he had other things on his mind that day so it hadn't registered. Come to think of it, she had been nothing but surprise after surprise since he first met her. This beautiful creature just kept continuing to amaze him.
Johari glanced at the face of the boy next to her. It was not a concerned face which was the thing she was most concerned about. She was breaking all the rules with this one. The people she was assigned to watch were not supposed to be aware that they were being watched, let alone be any significant part of the life of the one watching them. Not only did her charge know who and what she was, she was involving herself with him.
At some point, she knew she was going to get in trouble for this. She also realized that she didn't care. There was something different about this one from any other she had ever been assigned. Every time she turned around, he did something else that no human was supposed to be able to. This young man just kept continuing to amaze her.
“Where are we going to eat,” he asked, breaking out of his thoughts about being with someone so much more than he was. At least that thought, while somewhat of a downer, did not bring on the crashing darkness. He realized that he was enjoying her presence and would continue to do so as long as she allowed it. There was nothing else he could do.
“I thought we could go to the restaurant over by the theater on the north side of town.” Andrew frowned, trying to think of which one she might be referring when his eyes widened. He didn't know much about fancy restaurants except that this particular one caught his attention for a reason.
Andrew's had been open for about three years. It was hard to ignore a news broadcast or article that had his name in it, so Andrew knew a little bit about the place. It had received countless awards and was often visited by famous people. The place had a dinner theater section with a band, a comedian or some other type of entertainment combined with dinner. There was a normal restaurant area and also a private dining area for high profile people.
Andrew glanced down at his clothes. They were not appropriate for a place like Andrew's.
“I hope you don't mind, but I picked up a set of dinner clothes for you since Andrew's isn't a jeans and tee shirt sort of place.” Andrew shook his head.
“No, that's fine.” By this time, they pulled into the driveway at Johari's house. Andrew spent a little more time observing the house since he wasn't as distracted as last time. It was one of the most interesting houses he had ever seen.
The design was imaginative and now that he looked at it a second time, it looked a lot less precarious and much more intentional than before. From what he remembered, Johari had designed it herself which was an impressive feat and Andrew said so.
“This is pretty amazing.” Johari grinned at his comment.
“Do you really think so,” she asked? Andrew nodded and her smile widened as she lead him to the door and inside once again.
The inside was just as modern as the outside, but Andrew noticed something strange. Despite the stuff, it felt empty. There were paintings on the walls in different spots and random bits of furniture spread all around the main area, but it just didn't feel lived in. It was too perfect, too arranged, too clean to be normal.
The main area contained a kitchen on the back wall and an eating area next to it, also on the back wall. The front part of the area was a large living room. One side of the front had a fireplace and a few recliners set around it. The other side had a large flat screen TV on the wall and two long sofas angled away from the wall so that people on either sofa could see the TV. In between the kitchen and the dining area, there was a patio door that went out onto a large deck on the back of the house. In the center of the giant room was a large spiral staircase that led to a loft that overlooked the living room on the second floor.
Johari took Andrew up the spiral stairs to the loft. At the far end of the loft was a large, two paneled maple door. Beyond that was the largest master bedroom that Andrew had ever seen.
The flooring was a patterned brown carpet with flecks of blue and different shades of the brown. The carpet was
so plush that Andrew's feet felt like he was walking on cotton balls strewn across the floor. The walls were painted with a decorative finish to look like some kind of marble. On top of the marble, there were vines done in a plaster stencil that protruded from the wall and had then been hand painted to look as real as possible.
A giant four poster bed sat in the middle of the far wall. The posts were large, but simple. Just square blocks with the corners sanded smooth. Like the main floor, the bedroom and the things in it felt unused.
In a little square niche on the far left was a little library of shelves and an overstuffed chair. Some of the books were newer, but most appeared to be old. Several volumes sat out on the small table by the chair. It was the first place in the house that had a lived in feel to it.
The right side of the room had two doors. Johari directed him to the closest one.
“The clothes are on the dresser in there.” Andrew opened up the door and stepped into the closet that was as big as his room back at home. The walls were lined with as many different kinds of clothes as he could imagine. In the center was the dresser that she had mentioned and on top was a zippered clothing bag. Inside of that were the clothes she had picked for him. They were nicer than any Andrew had ever worn.
He didn't put much thought into the clothes he wore most days. He did try not to clash too much and was cleaner about his clothes than most guys that he knew, but both style and quality had been low in importance for him. His mom had tried to get him to care, but it hadn't stuck.
The shirt Johari chose was a light blue that felt like the softest material he ever touched. Andrew glanced at the tag. The shirt was one hundred percent silk which explained why it felt that way. He slipped on the white undershirt from the bag and then the silk. He wasn't used to so many buttons, so it took him a moment to get it closed up. He wasn't sure what to do with the top button, but it was uncomfortable on his neck, so he opened it back up and left it. Johari would let him know if it was wrong.
The pants looked like a khaki material. They were also much smoother than any pant material he was used to. He tucked in the shirt and then threaded in the brown belt with its silver buckle. The last article of clothing over the top was a black dinner jacket. It was beginning to get cooler at night as the season was changing so the warm jacket would be nice. The last thing on the dresser was a box which contained brown socks and shoes.
It all fit him as if he had been at the store and had it all tailored for his body. The shirt and pants hugged his form without being tight anywhere and the shoes fit onto his feet better than any pair he had ever owned. Andrew stepped out of the closet and gasped.
Johari grinned girlishly at the look on Andrew's face and at his exclamation. She had changed as well. She was always beautiful, but the outfit that she was wearing was a stunning compliment to her natural beauty.
The evening gown was a shimmer material in a midnight blue color that seemed to cling to her form like gossamer threads draped across it. The makeup from before, designed to make her look younger had been wiped away and replaced by simple blush and light blue eyeshadow. The true beauty of her face shone without the makeup covering it up. Her blue eyes stood out with the blue of the dress, making the outfit complete.
“Wow!”
“You look quite nice yourself, Mr. Marks.” He nodded thanks, but didn't believe her. What could look good standing next to her? She grinned and did a twirl.
“Do you really like it?” She asked in an innocent tone.
“You are beautiful,” Andrew blurted out, and then turned bright red at his forwardness, but he meant it and didn't try to take it back despite his embarrassment. Johari looked pleased, though she must be used to such compliments.
“You are sweet to say so.” There was a moment of awkward silence and then they walked together down the stairs and out to the Aston Martin still parked on the circular drive in front of the house. “Want to drive,” Johari offered? Andrew shook his head. He wasn't about to be responsible for crashing something that expensive, no matter how fun it might be. She shrugged and they climbed in.
He thought she had driven fast before. She drove her car much faster than she had driven his and unlike his, her motor purred as the car sped along. For a moment, Andrew regretted declining to drive. It would be fun to be in control of something so powerful, but he doubted he would be able to control it half as well as she did.
Sirens blared, interrupting his joy in the car. Andrew looked behind and sure enough, the red and blue lights were flashing. Johari pulled off to the side of the road. The officer approached the car with excessive caution. He had his gun out and was standing back from the car. They didn't mess around with people who went more than double the speed limit.
“Step out of the car, hands where I can see them,” he shouted. Johari rolled down her window instead of climbing out, she looked into his eyes.
“Go back to your car, erase any video or notes you may have on me and forget you saw me.” The officer's eyes went blank and he turned and walked back to his car, gun hanging at his side. Johari slipped the car into gear and pulled away at a normal speed until she was beyond the range of radar. Andrew shook his head. No wonder she wasn't afraid of speeding. If it had been him driving that speed, he would have been arrested.
“Does that happen often,” he asked Johari? She shook her head.
“No, I usually spot them long before they see me. I was a little distracted today and he was well hidden.” Andrew supposed that somewhere in there he should be more concerned about the speeding and getting pulled over, but he felt comfortable that Johari had it under control. They were silent as the car picked up speed again and before Andrew knew it, they were pulling up in front of the restaurant.
He wondered, as they drove up to the front drive under the canopy by the entrance, what a middle class, high school senior was doing in a place like this. They would recognize what he was at the door and send him on his way. Andrew was certain that Johari could get in anywhere, but then again, she didn't look like a poor student, she looked as though she belonged here.
As they climbed out, a valet stepped up and handed Johari a ticket. The man was either a professional or else he saw a lot of cars like hers, because he didn't seem excited about the car. As he pulled away to park the car in the lot, Andrew leaned over and asked Johari which one she thought it was. She grinned.
“He's a professional. His heart started to beat faster as soon as he saw the car pulling up. Andrew shook his head.
“Maybe it wasn't the car. He might have just seen you.” He grinned at her. “That is enough to make my heart beat faster.” Johari smiled at Andrew as he offered her his arm. She took the arm and walked with him through the front door.
Inside, there was a young man standing behind a hosting booth just beyond the coat room. Andrew was just wearing the dinner jacket which he didn't feel belonged in the coat room. Johari wasn't affected much by the temperature and hadn't even worn a jacket, so they both walked to the booth and the young man with a polite smile on his face. The smile was directed more at Johari than at Andrew, but Andrew couldn't blame him? He preferred to look at her too.
“Good evening, sir, madam. Could I please have the name on your reservation?” Johari smiled at him.
“We don't have a reservation. My name is Joan Endress, I would like one of your private rooms please.” The host looked surprised.
“I apologize madam. We are quite busy this evening and I'm afraid we don't even have room to seat you in our main dining area without a reservation, let alone in one of our private rooms. I don't think anyone but the owner could get what you are asking for tonight, and even for them, we would be hard pressed. I am most sorry, but you will need to make a reservation and come another night.” Johari sighed.
“I am the owner.” The man smiled and shook his head.
“I'm sorry, but...” Johari held up her hand to stop him.
“Why don't you just call Paul, tell him my nam
e and let him deal with it.” The host looked a little confused as if there might be something going on here that he didn't understand. Then he shrugged as though he knew that there was no other way in which he could get rid of us. He picked up a phone from the booth and keyed in a three digit number. A moment later, a voice picked up on the other end.
“Hey, Paul? Yeah, I have two guests here who are asking for a private room without a reservation. They insisted that I call you.” He listened for a moment, then nodded and hung up the phone. Johari didn't look pleased. “Paul asked me to again pass on how sorry we are, but also asks that you make a reservation for another night.” Johari shook her head.
“You didn't listen.” She said, now a little frustrated. “You were supposed to give him my name.” Andrew was beginning to feel a uncomfortable.
“It's okay, we can go somewhere else tonight,” he murmured to her. Johari shook her head.
“No, it's quite alright. If junior here had just done as he was told, we would already be sitting down.” Junior, of course, could hear every word, and he looked a little upset at the nickname.
“Miss Endress, is it?” He didn't wait for a reply. “It really doesn't matter who you think you are, there is no room tonight.” He took his time enunciating the last part as if he thought that maybe she didn't get it because she were a little slow. She just rolled her eyes at me.
“Good help is so hard to find these days.” She stepped closer to the booth and looked right up into the man's eyes. She spoke softly, but Andrew felt the force of her words from behind her. “Call Paul back, now, and tell him my name or you will be finding yourself new employment, I can promise you that.” Andrew felt the force, but for some reason, she didn't seem to be compelling him. The man raised his hands in a placating gesture.
“Okay, okay. What if I just call Paul down here and let him talk to you directly.” Johari nodded.
“Yes, that is fine.” The host picked the phone back up and redialed the three digit number.
“Hi Paul. Sorry to bug you again, but the two guests I called about a moment ago are still here.” He paused. “Yes I know, I told them, but they insist upon seeing you in person.” Another pause. “Okay, thank you Paul.” He set the phone back down. “Paul will be right down to see you.” He smiled as he said this as if he knew something that they didn't.
A moment later, Andrew saw what it was that he had been smiling about. A tall lanky man that must have been Paul came out of the kitchen, followed by two massive gentlemen in matching black suits. It looked like he was going to get thrown out after all. Paul's eyes fell upon Johari and even from where we were standing, Andrew saw them widen. He whirled on the two men following him and ushered them back the way they had come with his hands. They turned and disappeared back into the kitchen while Paul hurried over to the booth.
“Mike, why don't you go help Michele to clear out the blue room and reset it for two.” Poor Mike, the friendly host, looked confused.
“But Paul, I thought...”
“Mike. Michele. Blue room. Now!” The last word cracked off of Paul's tongue like a whip and Mike's eyes widened, but he nodded and hurried off to find Michele, whoever that might be. His eyes stared back one more time as he left. “I am so sincerely sorry about that Miss Endress.” Johari smiled.
“No real problem, it's not that big of a deal. It would have been nice, however, if young Mike had just mentioned my name right away like I asked.”
“You are most correct. I shall speak to him and of course to all our hosts about it. This will not happen again.” Paul eyed Andrew with more than idle curiosity a few different times while they stood there and finally he asked. “Who is your friend, if it is not too presumptuous of me to ask?” Johari smiled.
“Paul, I would like you to meet my partner, Andrew Marks.” Paul's eyes widened yet again. Andrew wanted to laugh at the ridiculous expression, but contained himself.
“Mr. Marks, my humblest apologies for the wait sir.” Andrew wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond to that, but Paul recognized his name and so Andrew thought that he was should try to play along.
“It's not a problem Paul. Mike didn't understand. I appreciate you acting so swiftly to remedy the misunderstanding.” Andrew glanced at Johari after a moment to see if he did alright. She was smiling, so it must have been close enough. Not even two minutes later, Mike returned. He nodded politely this time. Somewhere, he must have picked up the idea that these two guests were important people. Andrew was getting the same impression himself. He knew why Johari was important, but why was he? Paul pulled two menus from behind the booth.
“If you would please follow me this way.” He led Andrew and Johari across the main dining area in the direction that Mike had just returned from. On the far side of the dining area was a hallway with several different doorways in it. The doorways were covered by thick curtains. Paul led them to one labeled The Blue Room. Paul pulled the curtain aside and ushered his two guests into the room.
The name didn't fit the room at all. As far as Andrew could see, there wasn't a speck of anything blue anywhere in the room. The base color theme seemed to be gold and red. It was like an old Victorian dining room. The ceiling was lined with thick crown molding. A similar, wide chair rail ran around the middle of the walls. The area below the chair rail was burnished gold and the area on the top was maroon. The far wall was a large maroon curtain, behind which would be all of the different things used to set up the room. It was a beautiful room, Andrew just would have called it The Maroon and Gold Room.
The room was big enough to seat a party of thirty, but there was just one table set up. The table had two place settings on it with a small candle in the middle. Johari and Andrew each took a seat.
“Michele will be right in to serve you. Please enjoy the meal.” With that, Paul set the menus on the table and left the room. Andrew was struggling to contain his curiosity by this point. As soon as Paul left, he burst out.
“Okay, you have to explain. What is going on?”
“I thought you would have figured it out by now.” She laughed. “I am the main owner of the restaurant.”
“Whoa, that's awesome! This place is amazing!” Johari shook her head at him.
“You missed something fairly major. I said main owner. The name is Andrew's....” She left it hanging as Andrew stared at her.
“Are you saying what I think you are?” Johari smiled at me.
“I believe I am. You are listed as my partner and a private investing owner for the restaurant.” Andrew didn't know what to say to that. This restaurant had been around for several years, which meant that she had started it not long after she appeared in his yard. Had she known then that things would go this way? Did these immortals have knowledge of the future?
“Why did you do it,” was all he asked, even though the rest of his mind buzzed with other bigger questions?
“I like to stay busy. When you have been around for as long as I have, you need to find things to make life more interesting. Watching over you was my main objective here, but I couldn't just watch you all the time, so I decided to start a restaurant. This was my first restaurant and as I was doing research for it, I discovered that people in the restaurant business respect partnerships more than single owners, because they feel like there is more than just one person interested in keeping the business alive. So, I made you a silent partner. I did tell them you were young, but I didn't say how young.” She grinned. “Paul was a little surprised.”
“Why me?” Johari's eyes narrowed in thought and she shrugged.
“I'm not sure. I never involved myself with someone that I am charged with watching before. This is new territory for me as well.” Her eyes looked troubled about it and Andrew decided to drop the topic for the moment. He picked up a menu.
“So what's good at our place?”
At that moment, the server stepped into the room and walked over to the table. The conversation ended for the moment, and both Johari and A
ndrew ordered glasses of water. Michele left to grab waters while Andrew looked over the menu. He had been sort of joking with the food question since he had surmised from what he had seen so far that immortals didn't eat. Johari surprised him with several suggestions.
“I did plenty of research on chefs and on the foods they produce while I was getting ready to hire people. Paul handles most of the day to day things here now, but I was much more involved at first. I had a chance to read different reviews on some of the dishes that we have here.” Andrew took her word for it and decided on the Fillet Mignon. Michele came back and took the order. Johari declined which was an obvious surprise to Michelle, but she left with just the one order. Andrew decided it was time to ask some more questions.
“You tried the food at school, but nothing here. Do you not eat at all?” Johari shuddered, and her mouth twisted.
“I did try the food at school, much to my chagrin. My body is no longer capable of digesting food and it is no longer necessary. I can eat the food just fine. It just tastes horrible and provides no nutrition for me. Later, I end up throwing whatever I eat back up. It tastes even worse the second time. The cafeteria food was so bad that even that little bit of it made me ill almost right away.” She shrugged. “I just try to avoid food at all costs when I can.”
“Why did you try the school food then?” She shrugged again.
“I was trying to fit in a little bit better, trying to make you feel comfortable with me at the food table, but it was a bad idea. I should stick to what I know.”
The server returned with food and while Andrew ate, Johari asked him random questions about things that he didn't understand why she would want to know. She asked about vacations he had gone on, music and TV he liked and just about any other mundane details of life that she could think of. She seemed to enjoy learning about all the little things and so he kept answering questions long after the food was gone.
When the server came again, both turned down desert. It had been the best meal that Andrew had ever eaten in his entire life. Part of that was because of the quality of the meal. Another part was because of his new brighter outlook on life. However, the biggest reason he had enjoyed the meal so much was the company.
Andrew had experienced an initial attraction to Johari both in his room when he was younger and again at school. However, with all the demons and the fact that she was what she was, he had pushed the feelings to the side. Now they were coming back unbidden. He wondered what he should do as he took a sip of his water, watching her over the rim of the glass. Would she even be interested in someone like him as more than someone she had to watch out for?
Paul slipped into the room, interrupting Andrew's thoughts.
“I hope that you enjoyed your meal. Of course, for the owners, it's on the house. Please feel free to return at any time.” He smiled blandly. “Of course, if you would call ahead, we would be able to provide you with much better accommodations.” Andrew wasn't sure how it was possible to have better accommodations than what they just had, but Johari and he nodded.
The valet, a different man than before took the car ticket and disappeared back into the lot. He returned in a few minutes with Johari's car. His eyes were shining as he climbed out of the car but all that he said was,
“Have a good evening sir, miss.” Johari slipped him a tip and Andrew nodded to him as they climbed into the car.
At the terrifying speeds that Johari drove, they were back at her house almost before Andrew could form a coherent question from the thoughts running through his head.
“Do you want to come in for a bit,” asked Johari? Andrew nodded and followed her into the house. They sat down on the couch in the living room and Johari stared at him as he tried to gather his thoughts. She broke the silence.
“I'm sure this evening was a bit much to take in. A place like that is probably not something you are used to. Plus the whole ownership thing had to be a shock.” Andrew turned to stare at her for a long moment and then burst into laughter. She smiled, but the joke seemed lost on her. When his laughter subsided, he attempted to explain.
“You think that I am deep in thought about a restaurant. Over the past little while, I learned that demons exist, that one had been possessing me for most of my life and that immortal creatures fight them for the side of good. I just went on a date with one who happens to not only be attractive and quite nice, but who has been watching me for years without me knowing about it. Oh and who happens to be about eight hundred years old.” His left eyebrow stretched upward as he stared at her. “And you believe I am thinking about a restaurant?” Johari started to chuckle.
“I didn't think of it quite like that.” She stopped and her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean watching for several years?”
“None of your little mind tricks stuck with me.” Her eyes narrowed.
“How so?” Andrew shrugged at Johari's question.
“At first I thought it was just a dream that I had a lot, but it has become clear to me that we first met almost five years ago during the summer. You showed up in my yard and then in my house.” He paused as a revelation struck him, “Come to think of it, that was the year I decided to fight the darkness and make something of myself despite its influence on me. That was the summer that started the process that led me here to the freedom that I have today.” Johari slowly shook her head.
“I hoped that you could continue to surprise me, but I didn't expect it. Are you saying you have had dreams of me all these years?” Andrew nodded.
“They weren't as clear as last night, but yes. It wasn't even so clear that I knew you when you showed up the first day at school, but even then, I felt a strange connection like I knew you somehow. I just thought it was my mind playing tricks on me at the time. Now I realize that my subconscious was trying to let me know who you were.” There was just silence for a bit and then Johari started to laugh.
“And here I assumed you were just a normal teenager thinking about dating, money, fast cars and owning restaurants. In the years I have been watching you, I thought I had you figured out. It turns out I still have a lot to learn.”
“I feel the same. Now that I have freedom to explore and share in the world without that demon on my shoulder, there is so much that I want to learn and do. I hope you will be there with me.” Johari smiled.
“I will be here as long as I can. I was tasked with watching you and that is usually a long commitment so I think there will be time.” Andrew smiled at her and received that half smile in return. Life never looked so bright as it did that moment.
They talked for a while longer and then, since it was almost eleven, Andrew decided to call it a night.
“I should be getting home soon,” he said, though he wanted to stay longer. “If I stay out much later, my parents will worry, no matter how happy they are for me.” Johari nodded. After he changed back into his normal clothes, they climbed into the Aston Martin and headed back to his house.
There was an awkward moment in the car when they stopped in front of the house where Andrew wasn't sure if he should try to give Johari a hug or if he should just get out. She solved his problem for him. Johari slipped her arms around him in a quick hug.
“Good night Andrew. I had fun tonight.”
“Me too.” He smiled. “See you tomorrow.” He stepped from the car and she was gone.
Inside was dark and Andrew was as quiet as he could be as he shut the door and took off his shoes. He didn't bother to turn on the entry light. He no longer seemed to need it to see in the dark. The blackest part of the night was just a dark blue to his eyes now.
The light coming on took him by surprise as did the fact that his parents were still awake and rushing down the stairs. Before he knew it, Andrew was sitting at a bar stool at the kitchen island trying to respond to excited questions that he couldn't answer.
He tried the best that he could, but had to claim exhaustion long before their curiosity was satisfied. They were disappointed by the lack
of information, but still thrilled at the hope that they found in seeing their son opening up to life.