Just Like Me

by Dani Hall

  “Gladys,” Taylor said. She looked up from her book. Only the little girl looked up out of the children.

  “Taylor!” The girl exclaimed, dropping her doll and running to give him a hug. Gladys stood; she wore dress pants and a frilly shirt. The shirt reminded me of a pirate.

  “Taylor, so nice of you to come for a visit today. Have you eaten lunch yet?”

  “No, we figured you’d like to show off by having a great feast made in honor of our arrival.”

  “I suppose that would be one way of looking at it.”

  She stretched her arms wide, book still in hand. Taylor walked over, giving her an awkward hug. He stepped back and held a hand out to me. Gladys was very stiff looking. She was a polished button that anyone would be scared to touch.

  “Gladys, this is Kale.”

  Gladys instantly turned a shade colder when Taylor said my name. But, nonetheless, she extended her hand out to me.

  “Kale. So nice to make your acquaintance.”

  “Nice to meet you.” My southern drawl sounded quite out of place in comparison with her dialect. Taylor smiled at me. He turned to the kids.

  “J.J., Nathan, Clara, this is Kale.”

  The boys paid no attention to me, but Clara held out a hand to clasp onto her mother’s pants. She smiled shyly.

  “Hello, Clara.” I smiled at the little girl. She tucked her head against her mother’s pant leg, one eye watched me curiously.

  “Well, shall we sit?” Gladys took her seat again, dropping her book on an end table. Taylor sat as well, so I quickly and clumsily sat beside him. I didn’t mean to sit so close to him, our legs were touched. When I went to scoot over though, Taylor put a hand on my leg and at the same time eased my nerves.

  “Dad in his study?”

  “Yes, a lot of merchandise headed out next week for your zombie films, I believe.”

  “Oh.”

  “He’s been working himself mad over the tiniest details. Whether they should release a doll as your zombie self or your normal self. Whether or not they should go for the idea of a coffee mug or not. It’s all ridiculous, really.”

  “Sorry to hear he’s been working on my account.”

  “He’s always working on your behalf, Taylor.” She took a moment to glance at me, her nose was slightly tilted up. “I’d hate for you to spoil it for him.”

  Taylor licked his lips, annoyed. Clara had come around and sat at her mother’s feet.

  “Clara, do stand up.” It was a fancy way she said her name. Back home it would have been pronounced clair-uh. But here, the name was different. It was an ah in clar, the r was rolled, so it sounded like clah-rrah. Almost like a British sounding name.

  “Jonathan Junior, can you not set the game down for a moment to greet your brother?”

  J.J. continued pressing buttons on his game, making exploding sounds as he did it.

  “Nathaniel?”

  Nathan glanced up and looked at Taylor, then at me. He stuck his tongue out, and then went back to his coloring.

  “Clara, do stand up, you’ll get your pretty dress all dirty sitting on the floor.” Clara stood up and continued looking at me. I noticed a coin jar sitting on the table in front of Taylor and I reached out and took a coin that was on top, holding it out to Clara. Gladys tensed when she saw me take a coin; I guess she was expecting me to put it in my pocket or something. I motioned to Clara.

  “Want to see a magic trick?” I asked her. She slowly nodded her head. “Come here.” I tried to keep my voice light and cheery, Taylor observed me, curious. “See this coin?” She nodded her head up and down. “I can make it disappear.” I took the coin, and pretended like I passed it to my right hand. I kept it in my left and asked Clara which hand it was in. She pointed to my right and I opened my palm up, showing the coin wasn’t there. “But wait, what’s that behind your ear?” I moved my left hand up and beside her ear, flicking it up between my first finger and thumb. “It was behind your ear the whole time!” I exclaimed, she giggled. “Did you do that?” She shook her head and she began grinning from ear to ear.

  “Can you show me how to do that?” She asked, putting both her hands on my knees anxiously.

  “Of course, I think you’d be a really good magician.”

  I started walking her through the steps and within a few minutes she was performing the trick, giggling all the while. She practiced on me for a little bit, then moved over to Taylor. She did the trick for him at least a dozen times before trying to move to her mother.

  “Mommy, want to see a magic trick?”

  “Magic tricks are not appropriate for sweet little girls. Please put the coin back where it belongs.”

  Clara’s face crumbled in disappointment and I looked up, annoyed at Gladys. Taylor shifted in his seat and draped his arm around my shoulders.

  We all looked up as footsteps clamored into one of the many doorways. A broad man stood there. He had a familiar angle to his face along with tan skin and dark hair. The only difference was that his eyes were a steel grey instead of brown. I could tell without a doubt that Taylor was his son.

  “Hello, Dad.” Taylor stood up as the big man made his way into the room. They shook hands and Jonathan senior took a place by his wife. Taylor remained standing, reaching out for my hand. “Dad, this is Kale.” His dad did not look at me, but only at Taylor.

  “Very nice, have a seat, son.”

  “You’re not going to stand to greet a guest in your home?”

  “She is familiar with you, so she is familiar with me. She is no guest in this house.” There was a bitter tone to his father’s voice. Taylor’s face gave way to a hint of anger, but he sat down.

  “Taylor, I do believe your premier is coming out fairly soon. Are you prepared with the proper dress attire?” He dad asked, avoiding my gaze at all costs.

  “Not exactly.”

  “It’s coming up, how can you not have a suit picked out by now?”

  “Well, you see, I’m taking Kale with me to the premier. We have not yet picked a dress out for her to wear, so I have not picked out a matching tie. A suit has been chosen, I just need a proper tie.” His tone was now all business, it seemed more like he was dealing with a business partner instead of a parent.

  “You’re taking her to the premier?” His dad sneered. Taylor nodded.

  “I have asked her and she has kindly agreed. I was hoping to take her sometime this week to pick out a dress. I’ll fly her back to California when the premier happens.”

  “You believe it’s a good idea to go flashing her around public like she means a great deal to you?”

  “I believe it’s a brilliant idea, mainly obliging to the fact that she does mean a great deal to me.”

  A servant came back into the room, announcing dinner. Taylor let out an annoyed breath and stood. I followed suit and we all tramped down the hall into a vast dining area. The dining room table could probably fit twenty people. Plates were set up at the very end. Taylor pulled a chair out for me and I sat down. He quickly took a seat beside me as the children all took their places. J.J. was sitting next to Taylor, Jonathan senior sat at the head. Gladys sat at Jonathan senior’s other side while Nathan and Clara sat in a row beside her.

  Tremendous plates full of food were brought out, more food I’m sure than any of us would eat. A blessing was said at the table and when Jonathan senior finished blessing the food, Taylor rolled his eyes.

  “He only prays when someone he doesn’t know or he’s trying to impress is at the table.” He hissed in my ear. “He isn’t a religious man.”

  “Something that you’d like to say to the table, Taylor?” His father interjected.

  “I was just mentioning how lovely Kale looks today, not that any of you had noticed.” There was a weird air to the conversation in this house, almost an angry politeness.

  “Perhaps you hadn’t given me the chance to compliment her properly.”

  “I think that’s bullshit because you haven’t even bothered t
o look at her.”

  “Oh! Taylor said a bad word!” Nathan popped up, bouncing in his chair.

  “Taylor, language?” Gladys snapped. Taylor turned back to his father.

  “It wouldn’t kill you to be the least bit polite to her.”

  “Why should I be polite to her? She’ll be gone in a month. I have no reason to be polite to this month’s bed buddy.”

  My face turned red as I reached for my glass of water. Oh dear, God.

  “I don’t appreciate that. You have no idea how our living arrangements work or what our future plans consist of, you have no right to criticize when you haven’t the faintest idea of what you’re talking about.”

  “I do know what I’m talking about.”

  “You don’t know everything, Dad. You never did. Like how to communicate, for example. Instead of expressing to Mom that you weren’t happy with the way she was raising me, you divorced her.”

  “We both tried to raise you.”

  “No, you stayed at work and managed my acting jobs and she raised me single handedly. And you got mad when I didn’t turn out just like you.”

  “Instead you grew into a pompous, arrogant son of a bitch who can’t keep it in his pants to save his life.”

  “You see, I find irony in that son of a bitch statement. Because I know you’re not referring to Mom.”

  “Jonathan, please, language.” Gladys looked at her children.

  “Oh bite your tongue, woman. Taylor you have no idea the sacrifices I’ve made for you in this lifetime. Forgive me if I don’t want you tramping off with some education major whore who is only using you to pay off college debt!”

  “I have a full ride scholarship.” I bellowed. Both Taylor and Jonathan looked at me, surprised. “I don’t need his money to pay for college. And as far as your son’s sex life goes? I don’t see you selling a life-sized blow-up doll with his face on it, so I’d say who he’s sleeping with is none of your business.”

  Jonathan looked at Taylor, appalled.

  “You see how she treats your family?”

  “It was in response to how you talked about her. She was defending herself, she has every right to. I’m proud of her.” He gave me an approving glance.

  “You’re wasting your life on a nobody is what you’re doing!”

  “I love her.”

  There was a clank as Jonathan’s fork dropped from his hand and hit his plate. His face turned a bright color and he squinted at Taylor. I recognized a similar face, back when I lived in a trailer park, that was the type of face my dad would make when he was about to hit my Mom.

  “Daddy, want to see a magic trick?” Clara’s voice squeaked, holding up a pea. Taylor abruptly pushed away from the table; he helped me out of my chair and onto my feet. He placed a hand on my back and led me to the dining room hall entrance. He turned briefly back to his father.

  “My whole life you’ve complained that I’ve never been close to you. That I always chose Mom’s side in a fight. And if this is your idea of becoming closer?” I felt his hand tense against my back as he started moving me out into the hallway. “This was me trying to reach out to you and show you the best thing that’s ever happened to me. If you can’t appreciate that, then don’t bother trying to come around anymore. I’m gone.” He yelled over his shoulder. He took the lead and I tried to keep up with him as he sped through a spider web of hallways. Jonathan never made a move to come after us, the Jetts I assumed simply resumed their dinner. Soon we reached the front door; and Taylor wrenched it open and led me out first. He made sure to slam it behind him as he reached for the keys at his belt loop. His hands shook as he stomped down the steps and before I knew it, we were speeding back down the highway back to Taylor’s house.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  “You know,” Taylor was saying as he threw his keys onto the counter of his kitchen. “If you’re going to be walking the red carpet with me, you might want to have a clue about the zombie series.”

  “Taylor…do you want to talk about-”

  “They might ask you questions at the premier. You may want to know what’s going on.”

  “Yea, it’d be quite awkward if someone started asking me about the first two and I’d have no idea. But Taylor-”

  “Yea. I’ve got a theater upstairs; I can put them on if you want. Movie night!” The fake enthusiasm in his voice stung.

  “Alright, let me get out of these tight pants and put on some sweats or something.” I finally agreed. He obviously was not up to talking about it.

  “Ok, I’ll go start the previews.”

  I skipped down the hallway, smiling when I saw my room. It was still as beautiful as yesterday. I pulled open a drawer, taking out some sweats and a t-shirt. I quickly slipped them on and started to head up the stairs. Thoughts about Taylor whirled around in my mind, he was acting off. Way off.

  I met Taylor when I was halfway up the stairs.

  “Where you going?”

  “Just gonna grab some snacks and stuff. Go ahead and start watching, I’ve seen it before. Go ahead.”

  He winked and ran down the rest of the stairs. I shrugged and heaved up the rest of the steps. I stopped in the movie room, sitting down in the front row. I ignored the popcorn machine and settled in to watch the movie.

  The movie started off following a teenage girl who was an outcast at her school. No one liked her. A guy moved to their school (Taylor, of course) and they hit it off immediately. At the end of one of their dates he was transformed back into a zombie. Even though he was a zombie and tried to convince the girl they weren’t meant to be together, the girl didn’t listen.

  I kept watching as they spent the majority of the movie making their way to a zombie cult to convince them that they were meant to be together. It wasn’t until the movie reached it’s halfway point that I glanced around, wondering where Taylor was. I spent a few more minutes debating on whether or not to go find him, and finally got up from my seat and made my way out of the theatre room.

  I found Taylor in the living room, sunk down into the couch. Several beer cans were empty and scattered across the coffee table. He was tipping a beer back, finishing it off when I walked in.

  “So…you don’t drink after you meet my family. I met yours today…and you’re the one drinking.”

  “Yeapp.” He tried to pop his p, but it slurred. Was he drunk? He grabbed for another beer out of his pack, I heard it hiss with relief as he opened it, tipping it back into his mouth.

  “How many have you had?” I asked, cautiously entering the room.

  “Not that much.” He slurred and had a hard time trying to find where my voice was coming from. Yea, he was drunk.

  “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

  “I’m good. Here.” He slammed his empty hand down onto the couch. He then burst out laughing. “You’re watching me as a zombie.”

  “Yea?” I asked, walking over and tugging at his arm. He fumbled, but was finally able to stand, using me as support.

  “Yea. I play a zombie.”

  “That’s nice.”

  I started dragging him down the hallway, he stumbled every few steps, having to really use me as support.

  “I wanna tell you something.” He said, pausing to point a finger in my face. “You can’t tell.”

  “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea,” I said, shifting him slightly so I could open his bedroom door. I pushed it open and half dragged him to his bed.

  “I think it’s a greaaaat idea.”

  “I’m not good at keeping secrets.”

  He flopped down on the bed and couldn’t stay still on top of the covers. He clumsily sat up and put a finger up. He tried to hit my lips with his finger but ended up hitting the side of my face.

  “Ssssh!” He muttered. “Can’t tell.”

  “Taylor…” I slipped his shoes off and wondered if I should just let him sleep with his clothes on. “I knew!” He exclaimed, trying to focus on my face. “I knew you didn’t like me when y
ou won.” I could barely make out the words as they passed through his lips. “I was feeling bad. If you didn’t like me, I mean, who the hell were you?”

  “Well, I like you now.” I said, heading into the bathroom and glancing around for some aspirin.

  “I showed you.” I heard him yell from the bedroom. I fumbled around in a cabinet, finally finding some medicine. Should I wait until he wakes up to give it to him? What exactly did you do with someone who was drunk? “I wanted to make sure people still wanted me.”

  “I’m sure.” I answered, coming back into the room with a glass of water and an aspirin. I decided not to take a chance mixing the aspirin with the alcohol in his system. “Drink some water, Taylor.”

  He waved me off. To him, water was unimportant. Bread, wasn’t bread what you gave people who were drinking?

  “I fucked Kara.” He said. His eyes widening then squinting up, he stumbled off the bed into the bathroom. I heard revolting sounds as he retched into the toilet. I went in, and got down on my knees behind him, rubbing his back. I focused on the ceiling and tried not to breathe through my nose.

  “I screwed her.” He choked. “Before I had to go out with you, I screwed her.” He laughed, and then shook his head, wiping the back of his hand over his mouth. I wanted to cry. Was he just delusional? “I wish I didn’t. I didn’t want to now. I was just feeling bad that you didn’t like me.”

  “So…you screwed her before we went on our date?”

  “Yea. I did.”

  “Oh.” I wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t know how to respond to that. Taylor started throwing up again and I kept rubbing his back, trying to hold back all the anger that was boiling inside. All that hurt that threatened to spill out into tears. It didn’t make me feel comfortable knowing he had screwed his ex-girlfriend before we’d gone out for the first time.