by Lily Foster
“I snuck upstairs as soon as you two left. The house looks…destroyed.”
He caught my anxious expression in the rearview mirror. “Don’t worry, he’s got an entire crew that will be showing up here by noon. He pays them an insane amount of money to work on the holiday. It won’t look like there’s been a party here by five o’clock tonight. Not that the Coles would mind, they condone the nonsense, but like I said, the house will look pristine.”
“So, Kasia, what have your brothers been up to?”
“Really, Darcy?” Tom teased as he looked back to me. “Darcy was just telling me about your family. I think she used the word ‘strapping’ to describe your three brothers.”
Darcy giggled. “I was telling him about the first time I walked into your house and they were all there. I almost fainted they were all so good looking.”
“It’s ok, Tom, I feel the same way about her brothers.” We both burst out laughing then.
He was a good sport, driving me into Brooklyn. I felt uneasy as we approached my house. I felt downright queasy as we pulled up and my dad, Michal, and Tomasz were standing outside, about to unload folding chairs off my dad’s flatbed. I cringed knowing that they would already be judging Dylan harshly when they saw that Darcy’s boyfriend, not mine, had taken the care to personally make sure she got home safely. Darcy and Tom jumped out with me and as Tomasz and Darcy exchanged surprised hellos, Tom shook my dad’s and Michal’s hands and automatically set about helping them unload the truck.
I wasn’t surprised there were a few comments dropped that morning. Darcy’s boyfriend seemed like a “solid, good man,” according to my dad. Michal not-so-discreetly inquired about where Tom lived. When told he was from Connecticut also, the ensuing silence spoke volumes; he lived in Connecticut but managed to take his girlfriend home, whereas I was left on my own. Was I reading too far into everything? Maybe, but I knew my family’s view on the world, on what was right and what was wrong; there was no in-between. Maybe I was feeling the sting because deep-down there was a part of me that felt Dylan’s attitude towards this entire weekend was slightly less than honorable and respectful. I’d dropped several hints about what my family was like. If he was really serious about impressing my parents, which he should have been, he could have made an effort to get here sometime this weekend, as Tom was doing for Darcy. Stop over-thinking this, Kasia, I told myself. Alex spied me scowling as I set the table. “Are you ok, Sloneczko?” His pet name for me, that meant Sunshine, always made me smile but right now I wasn’t feeling it.
“I don’t think any of you are going to like my boyfriend. Unless I’m with Patryk, no one will be satisfied,” I snapped.
He put his hands up defensively. “Whoa, Kasia. Where is this coming from?”
I shook my head. “I just feel like…sometimes I feel like if I don’t bring home a nice Polish boy, Tata—all of you for that matter—won’t be happy.”
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “That’s bullshit, Kasia. I’ve never brought home a Polish girl. Michal’s girlfriend is Italian. As long as the guy treats you like gold, which he better,” his eyes turned from a warning to a reassurance, “then that’s all that matters to any of us. Where do you get your crazy ideas?”
“I’m sorry, Alex.”
He rubbed my head, mussing my hair affectionately. “I’m sure I’ll like him, Kasia.”
My mother joined us then and crowed over the beautiful new linens I’d set out; that finally lightened my mood.
Thanksgiving was one of my favorite holidays, second only to Christmas. My mother’s two younger sisters, Agata and Natalina, came with their families, packing the house to capacity. Since there were several years between my mom and my aunts, they always seemed more like cool older sisters to me. Now they were in their early thirties, with young children that I absolutely loved doting on.
My seven year old niece, Veronica, was braiding—really knotting—my hair as she stood behind me on a chair while her five year old sister, Olivia, was painting my nails a nice shade of army green. If her hands were steadier I would have thought it looked kind of cool. I made a mental note to try that color out at my next mani-pedi. The door opened then and my oldest brother, Michal, came in holding a strikingly beautiful woman’s hand. The expression on his face was something entirely new. He was in love. This was the real deal. I tried to get up but was being held hostage in my chair. Sophia laughed sympathetically at my plight. “Stay! You must be Kasia. I’m Sophia. I’m so happy to finally meet you.”
I immediately knew that this girl was going to be my sister…is that crazy? I smiled back at her and then admonished the girls. “Up, girls, now. Come on, let’s go meet Sophia.” I hugged Sophia when I got close and then the girls introduced themselves as she crouched down to their level.
“Olivia and Veronica? I’ve heard all about you two!” She was good. She reached into her bag and pulled out two little beautifully wrapped boxes, one for each of them. They squealed with delight as they each unwrapped a set of sparkly hair clips.
“You’ve made some friends for life,” I told her as we made our way into the kitchen with Michal leading the way. He laid the boxes of dessert on the counter and then said, with pride in his voice, “Mama, this is Sophia.”
My mother wiped her hands on her apron and then took Sophia into a warm hug. “It’s so nice to meet you, Sophia. Michal speaks so highly of you.”
Sophia blushed and looked back at Michal, happy and relieved. After she met all the aunts, Michal took her into meet Tata, the uncles and the rest of the cousins. After she was out of earshot I said to my mother, “They’re getting married, Mama, I can feel it.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You think so?”
“He’s really into her. She seems really sweet too.”
“Yes, she’s lovely.”
The verdict was that everyone loved Sophia. Michal looked like the happiest man on earth and that’s all any of us really cared about. Maybe when my family saw how much I loved Dylan, they would feel the same way about him…or maybe not.
Dylan
I was in dire need of some aspirins and a Bloody Mary. My mouth felt like it was coated in cotton and my head was killing me. It took me a minute to focus on the clock and when I saw that it was already noon, I forced myself out of bed. My dad had arranged a private plane for me at the executive airport but I still had to get moving; I didn’t want to get there too late.
Someone was banging on the door. The cleaning crew, right, I’d forgotten. As I stumbled downstairs I thought to myself that they had their work cut out for them; it was a mess.
Once I was sitting on the plane, my thoughts drifted to Kasia, specifically back to our X-rated shower. Mmm. I loved that girl. I hoped she’d gotten off alright this morning. I texted:
Happy Thanksgiving. Was ride down ok?
Miss u already.
Kasia wasn’t the kind of girl who was glued to her phone so I wasn’t surprised by the lack of response.
I was glad she met up with Darcy last night. What a perfect coincidence that one of my good friends was dating a friend of Kasia’s. Darcy seemed like a great girl too; I was happy for Tom.
I replayed the party in my head last night. I always had fun reconnecting with my friends from home. A lot of liquor was consumed last night and we had a lot of laughs. My mood darkened, though, as I replayed the conversation I’d had with Melanie late-night.
“Where’s Miss Prim and Proper?”
“Stop being a bitch, Melanie, it doesn’t suit you.”
“You really think it’s going to last, Dylan? She’s not like us and, last I checked, vanilla is not your favorite flavor.”
“Being with her is anything but vanilla.”
“Sure, Dylan. That’s because right now you’re pushing her to go farther, slowly.” She teased, sarcasm dripping from her words. “You’re being gentle and sweet. She’s probably doing more than she’s ever done. It’s exciting for Kasia now but I guarantee that her hard line
is nowhere near where ours is. She’s never going to be able to give you everything you need.”
That last line played over and over in my head. I didn’t know whether or not it was true. I didn’t want it to be. I loved her so much that I wanted to be a better man.
Thanksgiving was a formal affair at the Cole residence. All of the men wore jackets and ties, the women were dressed exquisitely—they weren’t getting messy in the kitchen after all—and the children were expected to remain exceptionally groomed in their formal wear. My cousin, Anna, stood out like a sore thumb for that reason.
I smiled and lifted her off her feet when I saw her. She was a tiny thing dressed in very tight fatigue printed cargo pants, a tight, long-sleeved black t-shirt and black lace-up combat boots. I happily thought to myself that Kasia would probably like her style. Anna’s newest additions were the five piercings snaking up one earlobe and the change in hair color to black.
“Next time purple, ok?”
“Purple what, you freak?” she laughed as I set her back down.
“Hair. Next experiment should be purple hair.”
“Don’t tease me ‘cause I’ll do it.”
“You think you’re scaring me, Anna?”
She smiled at me. “I’m glad you’re finally here, Dylan. Some of your parents’ snooty pals are looking at me like they’re afraid I’m plotting a terrorist attack.”
“I’m surprised Margot didn’t convince you to change into a nice Burberry ensemble.”
She waved me off. “Your mom is so cool, Dylan. She never gets on my case.”
It was true. Margot Cole could present herself as an uppity bitch to a lot of people—I’d seen her reduce people to specks with no more than a condescending glance on occasion—but Anna was the daughter she’d never had and my mother loved her as much as she loved me. My Uncle Todd was an ass, as was his ex-wife, and they’d screwed up pretty much everything when it came to Anna. My mother’s mission was to make it up to her in any way she could. I liked watching my mom with Anna; she accepted Anna’s deviation from the perfectly cultivated façade that just about everyone in our social circle strove to maintain.
“So, have you given any thought to next year?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m going to college, Dylan. I’m not a total anarchist.”
“Mom wants you at an all-girls school.”
She knew I was screwing with her. “Not happening. If she mentions it I’ll act like the idea of a lesbian affair is appealing.”
“Anna, you’re going to give her a heart attack eventually.”
“No I won’t. Seriously, she’s pleased. She knows I’m set on Boston.”
“Good. You know, I wish you were a year older. It would have been nice if Tom and Ben were still on campus to look out for you as a freshman.”
“God, Dylan, you’re such a douche. Why do you think I need someone looking out for me?”
“Every girl does.”
“I have a boyfriend.”
“Yeah? You’re still with Jonathan? He’s ok with all that?” I gestured to the piercings and hair. “He just seems like a little…normal, you know?”
“He’s ok with it but honestly, between you and me, I’m going back to blond next week. I’m not feeling this anymore.”
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder as I led her into the kitchen. “You’re the same old Anna to me, no matter what.”
“I love you, Dylan, you know that?”
“Love you too.”
The dinner was no different than any other year—family and, as usual, two or three couples that came because they were business associates and maybe had no family nearby. I had to do the rounds. Lots of hand shaking, back-slapping, bullshitting about lacrosse, my classes, my impending graduation and starting up at the firm come summer. Then onto my mother and the ladies, politely answering inane questions about school and whatever other nonsense they wanted to know. My Aunt Colette, Dad’s younger sister, was my favorite. I actually talked to her. When she asked me what was new, I treated it as if it was a legitimate question.
“Well, I have a new girlfriend.”
“Spill!”
“Her name is Kasia Mazur. She’s a senior as well. She’s from New York.”
“Kasia, that’s a different name. I like it, sounds exotic.”
“Her parents are Polish.”
“Oh.” She didn’t say anything negative, she never would, but it was there—that barely perceptible nuance of judgment.
“What, you think Vince and Margot won’t think that’s up to standards?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Dylan, we’re not bigots.”
I smirked. They were snobs, one and all. I was too, I guess, but I knew better now. “If anything, she’s too good for me, Colette.”
Her eyes widened and she smiled. “Sounds like you’re in love, nephew.”
“Yep.”
Crap, my mother heard the last two lines of that conversation and was on me like a vulture. Worse, she looked hurt. “In love, Dylan?”
“Mom, I’ve only been dating her for a month but it is kind of serious. Her name is Kasia. You’re going to like her, she’s great.”
My mother composed herself quickly as the wives of my dad’s two associates closed in. Thankfully, the conversation shifted back to the same monotonous crap as before—best island getaways, where everyone was summering, college admission crap, blah, blah, blah. I laughed to myself as Dina, one of the wives, lingered by me long after the others had moved into the main room. She acted as if she was very interested in my views on the benefits of majoring in finance over economics. Her kid was in kindergarten so I knew the real reason she was asking me stupid questions and hanging on my every word. I was well acquainted with her type. Poor Dina—boo-hoo—had married a filthy rich dude twenty years older than her so that she could live on Park Avenue but now—horrors!—he couldn’t get it up and she wanted a young stud to scratch that itch. Two months ago, yes, I would have fixed her another martini, snuck her out to the boathouse, and fucked her senseless—but not today.
As I politely ended our conversation, though, I can’t say I wasn’t just slightly tempted, that I didn’t envision screwing this random woman.
There were things about myself that I just knew to be true…and the thought scared me.
Kasia
I flew back to school and Dylan was there waiting for me at the terminal. Being with my family over Thanksgiving had messed with my head a little. My thoughts were all over the place. I loved Dylan and didn’t care what anyone thought of him…I was mad at Dylan for not coming to see me over break…in love with Dylan and unable to stop thinking about the sweet things he’d said to me the night we spent alone before the party—basically I was a wishy-washy mess. It all fell away when he grabbed me into a tight hug.
Yeah, I loved him.
It seemed like finals were upon us as soon as we were back on campus. I was working non-stop on my website, as I had to have a thorough business plan with venture capital acquisition strategies, cost projections, manufacturing specifics, and marketing strategies completed. It was so much work but it never felt like a drag; it energized me. Dylan was great for bouncing ideas off of and I loved that about our relationship. Although there was a constant underlying physical attraction, we had so much more between us than that.
Dylan was busy too with classes and conditioning workouts. We might not see each other all day but he stayed with me or I stayed with him just about every night. We were as close to one another as two people could be.
As the end of the semester drew closer, we hammered out our plans. Dylan was coming to my house Christmas Eve and leaving Christmas morning to spend the day with his family. My parents were excited about meeting him. Dylan asked me to come to Palm Beach with his family for the New Year but I declined. I had to consider my parents’ feelings on the matter and I know that would have been a bit much for them to accept. Instead I was going to meet his parents for dinner one night in the cit
y before they all left for Florida.
Dylan’s finals were over earlier than mine but he waited around so that we could drive up together. We stayed one last night together on campus after I was done and then drove home early on Christmas Eve. We stopped so that Dylan could load up on desserts and get my mother some flowers. I appreciated his thoughtfulness and squeezed his hand as we pulled up outside my home. “Ready, Dylan?”
“I’m actually a little nervous, Kasia. I used to be an arrogant asshole—you’ve ruined me.”
“I love you and they’ll love you.”
My mother opened the door and hugged me tight before hugging Dylan. “It’s so good to finally meet you, Dylan.”
I think my mother knew I was a little nervous so she fussed over Dylan, thanking him for the flowers and making him feel at home. I looked around, loving how my home looked at Christmas. I’m sure it was nothing like the grand, formal display at Dylan’s, but this was home and I loved it here.
Tomasz and my father came in next, carrying wood for the fireplace. The awkwardness I feared wasn’t there. My dad hugged Dylan straight away, which probably freaked him out, and Tomasz and Dylan fell into conversation right away about sports. By dinnertime my house was crammed with family. Sophia was there again and she fit in so nicely with all of the women in the family; she was definitely someone I felt like I could hang out with. Dylan was effortlessly polite and well-mannered—that was in his blood—and my mother nodded approvingly when she saw him hold out a chair and help my elderly uncle into it.
“I think you’ve passed with flying colors. I saw my father give my mother ‘the look’ behind your back.”
“The look? They’re going to ‘hit the sheets’ look?”
I slapped his back. “You jerk! The ‘we approve’ look.”
He pulled me into a nook under the stairs and held me with his hands resting on my lower back. “I like them too, Kasia,” his cheeks were reddening, “I like the wodka also.”
“I figured you would.”
“Can I push my luck and see if your parents will let me abduct you tomorrow?”