by Sky Corgan
“Take a night to think about this, okay? I know it sounds like a good idea now, but he's not the same person he was before.”
“Sure he is. Dom would never change.” I frowned at how little she seemed to think of him. He had always been the same steady stable caring Dominick. She was the one who had changed. She had become selfish, casting him aside for Marcus after everything he had done for her. The resentment bit into me, but I tried to hold it back.
“Just think about it, alright? You don't have to decide tonight.”
“I know.”
“Take the week, and if you still want to move in with him, I'll call him back, and we'll set everything up.”
“Alright.”
I didn't change my mind. The rest of the week, my thoughts were consumed with seeing Dominick again. Was he still as handsome as I remembered? I tried to think about how Tammy and Marcus had changed over the last five years and use it as a comparison. They were both a lot more mature looking. Tammy had gained a small bit of weight. Marcus's shoulders had gotten broader. They were both just older versions of themselves. Then again, so was I. Would Dominick even recognize me anymore?
The weekend came around, and I had my answer. I wanted to live with Dominick, wanted to return some of his kindness by caring for him as he had cared for us. There was no way I could ever repay him, but I would try.
When I told Tammy my decision, she sighed and reluctantly agreed. I listened as she called Dominick and talked to him about the arrangement. Everything seemed to go smoothly, though Tammy sounded apprehensive throughout the entire conversation. It didn't matter to me though. This was my life, not hers. He had made the offer, and I was going to take it.
In the weeks that followed, I brushed up on my domestic skills, offering to take over all the cooking and cleaning until it was time for me to leave for Mesa. By the time I got there, I wanted to be perfect—perfect for him. I even tried to remember what his favorite dishes were and practiced cooking them. As they say, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
The reality of the situation didn't really sink in until the day we left for the airport. Even as we loaded up our bags in the car that morning, my stomach twisted like a nest of angry snakes, striking out at my insides with what ifs. What if this was a mistake? What if I was a burden to Dominick? What if I annoyed him? What if I just got in the way?
It was too late to turn back though. I had made my decision, and I would have to see it through for better or worse. Of course, if things got too bad, I was sure I could call Tammy, and she would find some way to make things alright. There was no point in worrying about it now. I knew that, but my brain was on overdrive.
Tammy flew with me to help soothe my nerves. It was the first time I had been in a plane since before our parents had died, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. There was a little turbulence, but for the most part, it was a pleasant flight. I remember looking out the window and thinking about how I was leaving my old life behind. I was leaving Virginia as a little girl. I would be arriving in Arizona as a woman.
Tammy told me that Dominick wouldn't be waiting for us at the terminal. He had turned into somewhat of a hermit and didn't like being in public. Instead, we would meet him at the passenger pickup area outside of the airport.
Once we got off the plane, the snakes in my stomach really became active, twisting themselves to the point of nauseous pain. I couldn't believe that it would only be minutes before Dominick and I were reunited. Five years was such a long time. I was both happy and scared, excited and dreading it. Part of me wondered if I'd still have feeling for him at all. What if I saw him and there was nothing there? Did it even matter? College, Kim. You're here for college. Remember that. Seeing Dominick is just a bonus.
We collected my suitcases from baggage and then headed toward the passenger pickup area. Tammy seemed equally nervous as we approached the large automatic sliding doors that led outside. She was biting her bottom lip, scanning ahead to see if she could locate Dominick.
A sign with my name on it caught our attention first. Kim Naramore, it said. The man holding it was far too old and short to be Dominick. He had white hair and weathered skin, looking to be somewhere in his mid to late sixties. Tammy pointed to him as if I couldn't see the sign, and we approached with smiles on our faces.
“Are you Kim?” the man asked with genuine kindness in his voice.
“Yes, sir. We're the Naramores,” Tammy replied.
“This way, please.” He turned and led us toward the line of cars and limousines that were waiting for other passengers.
I felt embarrassed when Tammy spotted Dominick first. “Oh my God,” she said, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree. Then she jogged ahead of me, setting down one of my suitcases and practically leaping into the arms of a man I never would have recognized from afar.
It took a few more steps before I began to believe what I was seeing. This was not the man I remembered. Where were the jeans and T-shirts he always wore? The unkempt hair? The five o'clock shadow? It had been replaced by a business suit, perfectly styled hair, and sunglasses so dark that you wouldn't be able to see his eyes unless you were right up on him. The man whom Tammy was hugging was a complete stranger to me, I realized with despair.
“You look so different,” she was telling him when I finally approached.
“I try to be better kept these days.” Even his voice sounded different, harder, less friendly. Perhaps that was because he was nervous. I couldn't really tell. “And is this your sister?” He turned to me.
“Hi Dom,” I greeted him nervously.
“It is. Kimlet. How you've grown.” He smiled, but it didn't feel genuine.
Kimlet. When I was little, I had a Piglet doll from the show Winnie the Pooh that I carried around everywhere. Dominick used to tease me about it, and eventually started calling me Kimlet. At the time, the pet name delighted me, but as I grew older, I began to hate it. It was a cruel remember that he still thought of me as a little girl. I wasn't little anymore though. Surely, he could see that now.
“Well, as much as I'd love to stick around, my flight back will be leaving soon,” Tammy said. “I just wanted to come and see Kim off, make sure that she got to you safely.”
Dominick nodded respectfully. “I understand. Shall we?” He looked down at me.
The man who had been holding up the sign went to take my bags and throw them in the back of the limo. Tammy hugged Dominick a final time, telling him how much she appreciated this and that if I was any bother to him that he should call her, then she hugged me, telling me pretty much the same thing about him.
“I'll be fine,” I growled in annoyance, embarrassed by how motherly she was acting. “You don't need to treat me like a baby. I have my cell phone. If anything goes wrong I'll call you.”
“Alright. No need to get so defensive.” She gave me a serious look, and I instantly felt guilty for acting like such a bitch.
“I love you, and I'll miss you.” I hugged her tightly, trying my best to make up for it. “I promise I'll call you every night.”
“You better, little sis. I'll miss you too. Remember that if you need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to call.”
“I won't.”
She released me from the embrace, and as I watched her walk away I had never felt more alone. It was like I had been delivered to a stranger, and I would have to make the best of it.
Dominick placed a hand on my back, startling me. “Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“Mhm.” I nodded, glancing at Tammy's back for a final time as she walked through the double doors, leaving me behind.
We climbed into the limousine, and I looked around in wonder. Dominick grinned when he crawled in behind me, sitting on the opposite side. The thing was spacious enough that we could put a good amount of distance between us, and he did, perhaps feeling as nervous and awkward as I was.
“You've never been in one of these before, have you?”
“N
o.”
“I don't usually take limousines, but it's easier to get in and out of the airport with one.”
“Oh.”
The limo pulled away from the airport, driving us toward Dominick's home.
“How was your flight?”
“It was alright.”
“I'm not a fan of flying, though I do it more than I like these days.”
“I liked watching the buildings and people get smaller when we took off for the airport. I don't remember ever seeing anything like it.”
He smirked. “You've grown.”
“I have.” I tried not to blush, wondering what he thought of me.
Dominick was still handsome, though he was a different kind of handsome than he had been before. Like Marcus, his shoulders had gotten broader. He had lost most of his boyish looks and was now all man. Instead of being a bit messy, as I remembered him, he seemed refined. An upgrade of the Dominick Parker I used to know.
“You look so much like your mother,” he said
“I don't remember much about my mother.”
“I didn't think you would. You were very young when she passed away. But she had the same hair as yours, brown and curly.”
“I wish I would have gotten Tammy's hair. I hate how unmanageable my hair is.” I tugged at a strand. Somehow, my mother had learned how to control her hair. In all the pictures that I'd seen of her, it looked nice and soft. Mine was a frizzy mess most days.
“I think it looks nice.” He smiled, but I couldn't tell if it was genuine or not.
“Thanks. I hear you're a big time author now.”
“I am. If you asked me ten years ago if I saw my life going this way, I would have definitely told you no.”
“How did you think your life was going to turn out?”
“Different.” The word sounded short, and I knew he didn't want to talk about it. I had a pretty good idea of how he wished it would have turned out, with him marrying my sister. The thought made me sad.
The rest of our journey was fraught with silence. Thankfully, the drive was short.
Since Dominick was rich now, I expected us to pull up in front of a mansion. Instead, we drove into what appeared to be a luxury apartment complex. The car lurched to a stop in front of a building at the back of the complex, and Dominick and I waited for the driver to open the door before we climbed out of the limo.
“Home sweet home,” Dominick said as the driver went to retrieve my bags.
“You live in an apartment complex?” I asked.
“No. It's a condo.”
I felt underwhelmed but tried not to show it. Why it bothered me that he didn't live in a house, I don't know. If he hadn't offered to take me in, I would have ended up in an apartment anyway.
Dominick picked up my suitcases and carried them to the door of his condo. He pulled out a key and opened it up before going inside. I followed him through the living room into one of the bedrooms.
To my surprise, the condo was spacious and incredibly well decorated. It almost didn't look lived in, like a show unit. The color scheme was all beige and mahogany and black and silver. Everything matched and flowed together perfectly. I was almost scared to touch anything.
“This will be your home for the next few years. I want you to make yourself comfortable,” Dominick told me as he placed my suitcases on the bed.
“Wow, Dom, this is really nice,” I commented, looking around.
The room was small, but it would do. There was a full-size bed with a bedside table, chest of drawers, and desk with a laptop. I had brought my own computer, so I wasn't really sure what to do with the one that was already there.
“It should be sufficient,” he replied. Even his mannerisms had changed from what I remembered. The Dominick I knew would never say something so stuffy. I felt like I would be on pins and needles around him for a while.
“Um, Dom?”
“Hm?” He straightened himself and looked at me, pulling his sunglasses off and folding them before hanging them from the front of his shirt.
“I just wanted you to know that I didn't come with plans to be a burden on you. I want to carry my own weight. I plan to cook and clean. I don't know if you had someone else do it for you before, but I'll take over from now on.”
He smiled warmly at me, and it was the first glimpse of the old Dominick that I had seen since arriving. “That would be great. I typically do the cleaning around here myself, though cooking isn't really my forte. I go out to eat for most of my meals.”
“That's not very healthy.” I frowned at him.
“I know.”
“Well, you won't have to worry about that anymore. I'll cook for us, and it will help save you some money too.”
“Much appreciated.” He paused for a moment before speaking again, “I'm going to give you some time to settle in, and then I'd like to discuss some things with you.”
“I don't really need to settle in. We can discuss them now, if you want.”
“It's whatever is easier on you. I'm not the one who just got off a plane.”
“It's fine. I'd like to visit with you for a while. I have all the time in the world to get unpacked.”
“Well, I wouldn't say that you have all the time in the world, but if you're up for a quick chat, then I suppose we can get it over with.”
His words stung. Already, I was feeling like a burden. Maybe this had been a bad idea after all.
Dominick retreated to the living room, and I followed behind, trying to keep a positive attitude. He sat on one of the two loveseats, lounging back, a habit that he still retained from the days before my sister betrayed him. The small familiarities helped to comfort me somewhat, though they were few and far between. I sat across from him on the other loveseat, feeling like I was about to get a lecture.
“I figured that since I work from home and don't really have a set schedule that I could drive you to and from school every day,” he said.
“Is there not a bus route around here?”
“There is, but the college is only nine miles down the road. It's a straight shot, and it would be good for me to get out more.”
“That's not really necessary. I don't mind taking the bus.”
“I insist,” his words were polite yet strict at the same time.
“Alright,” I replied hesitantly.
“I spend most of my days in my office. If I'm in there, it means I'm working.”
I waited for him to say something else, like that I wasn't to bother him when he was working. Apparently, he thought it went without saying.
“Anything else?” I asked.
“No. That's all I can think of.”
“Am I allowed to have friends over?”
“I'd rather you not. I don't mean to be rude, but I live a very private life.”
“It's fine. I kind of expected it, to be honest. Well, Tammy told me to expect it.”
We sat in awkward silence for a moment. This wasn't the chitchat I had imagined at all. It felt like we were complete strangers, but like he had no interest in finding out about me. After a few more minutes, Dominick stood and went to his bedroom. I sat there for a while longer before doing the same. It didn't appear that he would be coming back out anytime soon. Our discussion was over.
That night I was restless, wondering if I had made a mistake by agreeing to move in with him. He was not the Dominick I remembered. Sure, he still looked like the same guy, for the most part, but emotionally, he was so different. There was no warmth or love emanating from him. He seemed to be just a shell of the man I had known before. That made me sad, but I supposed that time changed all people, and not always for the better.
The next morning when I emerged from my bedroom, I found Dominick already in his office. To my surprise, the door wasn't closed. Then again, I suppose since he had lived alone for so long, there was no reason to close it. He didn't even acknowledge me as I walked past his office to go to the restroom.
Once I finished getting dressed, I w
ent into the kitchen to check out the refrigerator. It was bachelor central in there. I had never seen a more empty refrigerator in all my life. The only thing occupying the shelves were a few bottles of water and a six-pack of beer. He hadn't been joking about not eating at home.
My stomach growled as I looked at all the empty space. With a frown, I closed the refrigerator and opened freezer. An ice cube tray. Are you serious? That's all that's in here.
Grumbling, I closed the freezer and started checking out the cabinets. By some miracle, I found a box of cereal and some ramen noodles. Without milk though, there was absolutely nothing I could eat for breakfast. Had he even thought about the fact that I was going to need to eat?
I didn't want to bother him while he was working, but I was too hungry not to. Trying my best not to seem annoying, I knocked on his office door, waiting until he looked up at me before entering.
“Good morning,” he said politely.
“Good morning,” I replied, showing the same courtesy.
“What's up?”
“You don't have any milk.”
“I don't usually eat breakfast.”
“Ugh. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”
He smirked. “Thank you for that lesson, teacher.”
For some reason, his words made me blush. Maybe it was the way he was looking at me. Some warmth had returned to his features, some resemblance of the man he once was.
“Well, I eat breakfast every morning,” I told him. “And there's nothing for me to eat here.”
“Then I suppose we'll have to remedy that, now won't we?” He stood and walked past me, disappearing into his bedroom.
In truth, it was nice to see him out of the business suit. He looked a lot more natural in the plaid pajama pants and gray T-shirt he was wearing now—and a lot more sexy. Not that he didn't look sexy in the suit. On the contrary, he had been quite handsome, but I was craving the Dominick that I used to know, not the stranger who had shown up at the airport to retrieve me.
At first, I thought he was going to get dressed to take me out to eat. I waited patiently in the living room until he returned with his wallet. He opened it up and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, handing it to me.