by J. Bengtsson
“Uh-huh,” I mumbled, then playfully reached down and grabbed his ass. “Too bad you have that 25-mile radius rule, because I think you and I could have lots of fun under my hot pink sheets.”
Jake wrestled free of me and laughed, “You promised me Casey.”
“You’re such a goody-two-shoes. You’re a disgrace to rock stars everywhere.”
“Really? Okay then, how about when you meet my mom I run my hand up your shirt and grope your boob? I’m sure that will make just as good a first impression.”
I laughed out loud. “Oh God. I see your point. I’ll be a good girl.”
“Thank you.”
We walked back to the kitchen. “Where is dad?” I asked.
“He just went to the store for me. Your brothers should be here any minute.”
“Have a seat,” my mom said staring at Jake with a star-struck smile on her face. Jake and I sat on the barstools. My mom was still staring.
“If you take a picture it will last longer,” I teased her.
“Oh sorry,” she said, “it’s just you’re more handsome in person.”
Jake smiled. “Oh…thanks.”
“Mom, lets not be creepy,” I joked. “We are trying to make a good impression, remember?”
Mom laughed. “That’s not creepy, Casey. It’s simply an observation.”
“Yeah, Casey. Let your mom observe,” Jake teased.
My mom laughed out loud. “Ha! You’re funny…and handsome. I can see why Casey likes you.”
“Still creepy, mom,” I said rolling my eyes. Jake laughed.
As mom finished making a salad, we chatted easily. We had been there for only ten minutes and Jake already seemed totally comfortable and relaxed around my mom. But then, we both knew she was not going to be the problem.
My dad walked into the kitchen about five minutes later. He stopped in his tracks when he saw us.
“You’re early,” he said with very little emotion.
“Why does everyone keep saying that? We aren’t that early,” I replied. “Dad this is Jake.” Jake got up out of his chair and went to shake my dad’s hand.
My dad reached out his hand. “How do you do?” He said formally.
“Good. It’s nice to meet you,” Jake responded with the slightest falter in his voice. Jake was always so confident and in control. It was funny to see him nervous.
My dad looked Jake up and down, lingered on a tattoo on Jake’s arm then dropped his hand and gave me a hug. “Look at you,” he said and held me back at arms length. “Since when do you wear dresses? Are you going all Hollywood on me?”
“Dad,” I said smiling. “I’m not twelve anymore.”
“Don’t remind me,” he smiled. “You do look beautiful, honey. I’ve missed you.”
“Ahh…thanks. I missed you too dad.”
My dad looked at Jake again then said, “Well welcome to our home Jake. We have been waiting a long time to meet you.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I would have come sooner but I’ve been out of the country for awhile.”
“Yes, I know. My daughter was with you,” my dad said abruptly.
“And she had a wonderful time. Thank you for taking such good care of her Jake,” my mom jumped in, covertly slapping my dad on the arm.
“Of course. I would not let anything happen to Casey,” Jake said then glanced apprehensively at my dad.
Just then the door opened and my 31-year-old brother, Miles, and his wife, Darcy, walked in with their two kids, Sydney and Riley. The kids ran in to hug my parents and then I got my turn to kiss and hug my little niece and nephew.
Miles walked straight to Jake and said, “Hi, I’m Miles.”
“Jake. Nice to meet you.”
“And I’m Darcy.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
“And these are our kids. This is Sydney and this is Riley.”
“Hi Sydney. Hi Riley. I’m Jake.”
Sydney smiled shyly and tucked her head on her mom’s leg. Riley was busy hitting Miles in the leg with a plastic sword. Neither one of them answered back.
“Sorry, they are a little shy when they first meet someone new,” Darcy explained apologetically.
“No worries.”
We made some small talk in the kitchen as my mom finished up dinner. Sydney was no longer hiding behind Darcy. She’d taken an interest in Jake and was eyeing him when she asked, “Are you Auntie’s boyfriend?”
“I am,” Jake answered.
“You have long hair,” Sydney said, wrinkling her nose to show her distaste.
“Sydney!” Darcy gasped, looking horrified.
Jake grinned as he reached for his hair. “Do I?”
Sydney laughed. Her facial expression changed from judgmental to delight.
“I’m so sorry, Jake. She just says things sometimes without thinking,” Darcy said, flustered.
“Trust me…it takes a lot more than that to offend me,” Jake smiled.
“Well, that’s good then because this family doesn’t hold back,” Darcy replied.
“I’m getting that vibe,” Jake grinned.
Riley now wandered over.
“Do you like thords?” Riley said with his signature lisp.
“Yep. They are my favorite plastic weapons,” Jake responded casually. I loved how natural Jake was with kids. He never talked down to them.
“Mine too,” Riley said as he swung his through the air and pretended to stab Jake.
“Riley, no stabbing the guests,” Miles said and pointed the sword the other direction.
“Oh my God, we really aren’t that bad of parents…I promise,” Darcy said shaking her head and looking embarrassed.
“I’m actually around kids pretty often so I know how they operate,” Jake replied.
“The guitarist in his band has three kids who were on tour with them,” I added. “Jake has been known to babysit on occasion.”
“Really? You babysit?” Miles asked then joked. “Darcy, did you hear that? He babysits.”
“I don’t babysit.” Jake laughed. “My friend brings his older two over for piano lessons and then he conveniently disappears. There is a big difference.”
Everyone laughed.
“How old are your friend’s kids?” Darcy asked, looking less stressed.
“Nine, six and two.”
“I’m seven,” Sydney replied.
“No way?” Jake joked. “Me too!”
Both kids burst out laughing.
“No you’re not,” they screamed in unison.
“Okay, you got me. I’m 23.”
“You’re old!” Riley bellowed.
Jake made a face.
“He’s not old,” Sydney giggled. “Papa’s old.”
“Hey, you leave me out of this!” My dad bellowed from across the room but there was a smile on his face.
“I’m five,” Riley interrupted.
“Five? Are you in kindergarten?” Jake asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m in second grade,” Sydney said proudly. Sydney was now just inches from Jake looking up at him in awe.
“Wow, so you can read now.”
“Yes. I can read since kindergarten,” Sydney said importantly.
“I can read too,” Riley interrupted again.
“No you can’t,” Sydney said.
“Yes, I can,” Riley whined.
“Sydney, Riley knows how to read kindergarten words,” Darcy said coming to his rescue.
“Yes, but I can read whole sentences.” Sydney insisted, importantly.
“Big deal, so can I,” Jake joked.
Sydney thought that was hysterical. She laughed and laughed.
“What’s your favorite subject in school?” Jake asked her.
“My favorite subject is math,” Sydney proclaimed,
“My favorite subject is math too,” Riley repeated.
“No it’s not,” Sydney said in an irritated voice. “You’re just copying me.”
&nbs
p; “You know what my favorite subject in school was?” Jake asked in an attempt to distract them from their argument.
“No!” Riley said with excitement.
“What?” Sydney asked with interest, momentarily forgetting about her dispute with Riley.
“Recess.”
Both Sydney and Riley laughed. So did their parents.
“That’s not a subject,” Sydney said grabbing onto Jake’s arm.
“Yes it is and I was good at it,” Jake replied.
“I’m good at recess too,” Riley said jumping up and down.
“Me too,” Sydney agreed.
And that was all it took for Jake to win over my niece and nephew. From that moment on they followed him around everywhere chattering endlessly. Miles and Darcy kept apologizing but Jake just shrugged it off like it was no big deal.
My twenty-six-year-old brother, Luke, arrived in his typically loud manner. “I’m here!” he sang out. He was always fashionably late. Luke pulled me up into a big bear hug then eyed Jake and said jokingly, “You look just like Jake McKallister, has anyone ever told you that?”
“Yeah, a few people actually,” Jake smiled.
Luke let me go and shook Jake’s hand. “Nice to meet ya man. I’m Luke.”
“Nice to meet you too. I’m Jake.”
“Damn, it’s weird to see you here. I still haven’t been able to wrap my head around the fact that my baby sister is dating a rockstar!” Luke rumpled my hair. I slapped his hand away. “Of course, it will seem more real when I’m standing backstage at one of your concerts picking up on your groupies,” Luke laughed.
“Luke!” my mom admonished.
“I was just kidding, mom, geez,” Luke said.
“Could you please just let Jake get acquainted with us first before you go scaring him off.”
Jake laughed. “That’s impossible. I have four brothers.”
“Oh well in that case,” Luke smiled mischievously, “I wasn’t kidding.”
“I’ll try to make that dream come true for you,” Jake grinned.
“Yah!” Luke exclaimed, pumping his arm in the air.
“Yeah alright, Luke. Good luck with that,” mom shot back.
“What you don’t think I got game, mom?”
“No, of course I do, honey. Mommy thinks you have lots of game.”
We all laughed at that. Luke huffed like he was mad but he wasn’t. Jake looked on with amusement.
We stood around chatting with my brothers for a few minutes until mom called out, “Dinner is served!”
We walked over to the table and Jake was about to sit when mom said, “Oh, not that one, Jake. It’s wobbly. Luke you sit there instead.”
“Oh of course,” Luke said rolling his eyes and making a scene about having to sit in the broken chair.
“Well I don’t want our guest falling to the floor…you I don’t care,” Mom said laughing.
“Yeah, I mean Jake is used to luxury…but me? I wouldn’t know what I’m missing anyway. Right?”
“Right,” mom said. “Exactly.” Everyone laughed.
I turned to Luke and said, “Jake’s got an 1100 square foot townhouse from the 70’s. It’s definitely not luxurious.”
“What the…? Why in the hell do you not live in a mansion?” Luke asked incredulously.
“Luke, language,” Miles admonished, as he glanced at his two kids.
“Sorry. Why the heck do you not live in a mansion?”
Jake shrugged. “I don’t need one. I’m on tour most of the time.”
“Well, that just sucks,” Luke whined jokingly. “You’ve totally ruined my impression of rock stars. Thanks Jake!” For effect, Luke threw his arms up in the air dramatically.
Jake laughed and shrugged. “Sorry to disappoint you. If it makes you feel any better I have a sick tour bus.”
“Yeah, it makes me feel a little better,” Luke sighed.
Jake laughed out loud. I could tell he was really starting to hit it off with Luke.
We all found our seats and started eating. My brothers started teasing me about living in California so I teased them about being idiots. Jake just listened with an amused look on his face.
“Where are you originally from, Jake?” My mom asked, conversationally.
“California.”
Everyone looked around at each other then burst out laughing.
“Dude, you could have said something while we were ripping your state to shreds,” Luke said.
“I thought it was funny,” Jake laughed.
“Are you from the LA area?”
“I grew up about 50 miles north of LA.”
“By the ocean?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay so this is going to be one of those stereotypical Southern California questions. Are you a surfer?” Miles asked.
“I was. I haven’t surfed in a long time. When I was a kid, my dad and brother and I surfed every morning before school. I had the bleach blond surfer hair and everything.”
“Ahhh…cute,” I said, absently stroking his hair. “I can’t picture you blond.”
“How come you don’t surf anymore?” My dad asked.
“Um…I have a bad knee.”
My dad nodded.
“Well here is another stereotypical Southern California question. Have you ever been attacked by a shark?” Luke asked.
Everyone laughed.
Jake got a strange look on his face and said, “Well…actually…”
“You didn’t,” I countered. I couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not.
Still Jake had a weird look.
“Okay but not like a great white or anything?” I asked uncertainly.
Jake shrugged.
“Seriously?” Miles asked in shock.
“No,” Jake laughed. “I was just kidding. But if I’d been attacked by a shark…of any kind…I feel like it should have counted, geez Casey.”
Everyone bust up laughing.
“Seriously, man, I couldn’t surf just for fear of getting attacked by a shark.” Luke commented.
“No, Luke, you couldn’t surf because you wouldn’t be able to get your fat ass up on the board,” Miles joked.
Luke reached over and punched him.
“How old were you when you first started surfing?” My mom asked.
“Like 5 or 6 so I didn’t really know sharks were something to fear until I was a little older. One time two dolphins swam up and started circling me. My dad told me to put my feet up on the board and sit still. It wasn’t until we were back on shore that he told me that dolphins will sometimes protect humans when sharks are near. I was a little freaked out by that.”
“I can imagine,” my mom commented.
“Did you stop surfing after that?” Darcy asked.
“No. But whenever I saw dolphins I pulled my feet up onto the board. My dad used to say that there’s no reason to invite a shark to have a snack.”
“Dude, if you were surfing at five years old, there would be no reason to put your feet on the board. The shark could just come out of the water and swallow you hole.”
“No doubt,” Jake laughed. “And I was small for my age too. I always was.”
“Really? You’re so tall now,” my mom commented.
“Yeah, but I didn’t start growing until I was fifteen years old. I grew 7 inches in six months.”
“Huh. Wow,” my mom nodded, impressed.
“Your mom was fine with you surfing at five years old?” Darcy asked, looking over at Riley.
“No. But Kyle and I were such brats back then that I think she was just happy to have us out of the house.”
My family laughed.
“What do your parents do for a living?” My dad asked.
“My dad is a postman and my mom is a music teacher.”
“Really?” My mom questioned in surprise. “I didn’t realize you came from a middle class background.”
“Yeah…what type of family did you think I came from?” Jake asked
curiously.
“I don’t know…like an entertainment family,” mom said looking a little embarrassed.
“What mom, like the Partridge family?” Luke teased.
Everyone laughed.
“No. I don’t know. Maybe,” my mom replied, flustered.
“No. I’m the only professional musician in my family.”
“What do your siblings do for a living?” My dad questioned. He seemed interested in Jake and that was a good thing. If my dad didn’t like someone, he usually got quiet and detached from the conversation.
“The two youngest, Gracie and Quinn, are in middle and high school. Then I have another younger brother, Kyle, and he works for me. My older sister, Emma, is a nurse. Then Keith owns a surf and skate shop in my hometown. My oldest brother, Mitch, he’s actually my half-brother, my dad’s son, and he lives here in Arizona and is a appraisal officer, or something like that.”
“And you’re the only singer? How did that happen?” Miles asked.
“I’m the only professional one, but most of my siblings can carry a tune.”
“Well that is more than you’re going to get in this family,” Miles joked. “Have you heard my little sister sing?”
“I have actually,” Jake said cringing. “I wasn’t impressed.”
“Hey!” I pretended to be offended.
“Wait, hold on a minute,” Luke interrupted. “If my calculations are correct, you’re a middle child too.”
“Yep smack dab in the middle,” he said. “Three older, three younger.”
“Oh that’s sucks. I’m sorry, man,” Luke joked then looked at my mom accusingly, “I bet they make you sit in the wobbly chair when important company comes over too.”
Jake nodded with a frown.
“Oh boo-hoo,” I said.
“Hey MCS is a real thing,” Luke said seriously.
“MCS?” Darcy asked.
“Middle Child Syndrome,” Luke finished.
Jake laughed.
“Sorry to break up your little pity party but there is no such thing as MCS,” I shot back.
Luke gasped as if he were offended. “Back me up here, Jake.”
“Sorry you’re on your own. There is no winning an argument with Casey.”
Everyone laughed.
“I hear ya, brother,” Luke said still laughing.
The conversation drifted off Jake for a while. We chatted about the kids and about Dad going back to work. Jake seemed to visibly relax with my family as if he no longer found the prospect of interacting with them intimidating. But, of course, it didn’t take long for the discussion to center around Jake again. He was, after all, way more interesting than anything else my family had to talk about.