When we get to the door, she says goodbye to me and waves Dylan over. I step away to give them some privacy. He was sitting on a bench next to a kiosk in the center of the mall. He walks over to her. Amber’s cheeks get a slight pink tint to them as she talks to Dylan. I smile and look away. A minute later, Dylan is standing next to me and he’s grinning from ear to ear.
“I’m guessing she called you over for a good reason.”
“She asked me to her house for dinner tomorrow night.” I had to laugh at the grin on his face. “Her brother and sister will be there too but we are making some headway.”
“I’m happy for you.” I take a deep breath. “You need to always be honest with her and don’t lead her on. She’s taking a huge risk.”
He looks at me with a puzzled expression. “I promise to do right by her.”
“Great. Now, I need to finish my shopping.” He grunts and I laugh.
Chapter 6
Dinner
Amber
Dylan will be here in an hour and I’m so nervous. I have never cooked for a guy before. My brother and sister came in from New Orleans late last night and I had to open the store this morning. I haven’t mentioned anything to them yet about Dylan. I’ll be honest…I’m a chicken shit. I’m scared that they won’t approve but I have to tell them before he gets here. I’m not going to blindside them either. They are on school break for a few more days and stay home while I work. My brother turns eighteen in a few months and my sister will be fourteen in the summer. He graduates high school in May and she’ll be starting high school in the fall. It has been a very long six years. Teenagers are tough but I love them so much. We have gotten through all obstacles and will continue to do so. My biggest worry these days is what college my brother has chosen to attend. I will help in any way I can but I’m pretty sure my help will be very minuscule since every penny I make goes to bills and making sure there is always food on the table. I will make sure that it works and they get the education needed to succeed. Right now, I have to put my big girl panties on and tell them about our dinner guest.
“Evan! Mia!” I call out for them. I hear a door open and Evan appears with Mia right behind him.
“What’s up?” Evan asks as he walks up to me in the kitchen. Mia goes to the china cabinet and pulls out the usual three plates.
“Can you both have a seat at the table for a minute? I want to talk to you about something.” They both sit at the table and I join them.
“Is everything okay?” Mia asks with worry in her eyes.
“Yes, everything is fine.” I take a deep breath and continue. “We are having a dinner guest tonight.”
“Cool.” Evan says and shrugs his shoulders.
“It’s a guy.” I say and watch their reactions. Nothing. They are both staring at me like they are waiting for the punch line. “Are you okay with that?”
“Is this a casual thing or do you like him?” Evan asks.
“I like him.”
“I think it’s great and I can’t wait to meet him.” Mia says as she stands and adds another plate to her pile.
“Thank you Mia.” Evan is just sitting there staring at me.
“Can I ask you something?” He asks.
“Of course.”
“Why didn’t you go out on a real date with him?”
“I don’t want to leave you guys out of this. You and Mia come with me. He either loves us all or none of us.” Evan sits up and puts his hand on mine.
“You should be going out on a real date with him. I realize what you’re doing and I appreciate it but you have put your life on hold long enough. You are an exceptional big sister and I have no idea what would have happened to Mia and I if you didn’t step up like you did. We are so lucky to have you but we also understand everything you have sacrificed to make sure we never wanted for anything.” He looks at Mia and she nods in agreement. “Please don’t hold yourself back because of us. We want to see you happy for once.”
“I am happy. You both are my world. Seeing you happy makes me happy.”
“We know that but we want you to do for yourself too.” He stands and embraces me. I feel Mia come behind me and I’m sandwiched between them. I love these two so much. My heart swells at what Evan just told me and I am so proud of them.
“I need to finish dinner. Dylan will be here soon.” They let me go and I go check on the chicken and place a pot of water on the stove.
“Can you tell us a little about him?” Mia asks as she and Evan set the table.
“As you know, I spent Christmas Eve with Miranda and her family. Well, Dylan is her brother. We hit it off. He has asked me out a few times since and it hasn’t worked out. I decided that I would ask him over for dinner and the three of us could get to know him.”
Evan sniffs the air. “Are you making Chicken Parmesan?”
“I am.”
“My fave! I’m starving.” Evan says as the doorbell rings.
I wipe my hands on my apron and give them a nervous smile. They both give me thumbs up as I walk to the door. I feel like my heart is going to beat right out of my chest. I check my face in the hall mirror. As good as it’s going to get. I open the door and the most magnificent sight stands before me.
****
Dinner went off without a hitch. Evan, Mia and I asked questions and Dylan asked us questions. We got to know a lot about each other and now I really like him. He’s smart, funny and has his life in order. I learned that he isn’t trying to have a good time but he’s trying to establish a future. He’s a financial analyst for a pretty big corporation who honors family values. He just bought a house and wants to get married. He loves sports and hates the gym. He works out but outside of the gym. He loves to spend time with family and loves movies. There hasn’t been anything that I don’t like so far.
I stand up to clear the plates. “Oh no you don’t.” Dylan stands. “You cooked, I’ll clean up. Please sit and relax.” Evan and Mia stand quickly.
“We’ll help.” Mia says and the three of them proceed to clean up. Dylan is washing, Evan is drying and Mia is putting away. The banter between the three of them has me laughing so hard. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much. He fits in with us.
When all is clean, Mia suggests a game of Monopoly. “That would have to be Dylan’s decision. He might have to work tomorrow.” I say.
“I am actually off until after the New Year. Our boss closed the company for two weeks.” Dylan says and smiles. “I would love to play.”
“Generous boss.” I say and smile.
“He is and believes that no one should have to ask for the holidays off. It has been an amazing company to work for. Do you work tomorrow?”
“I do. I start at ten and finish at six.”
Mia sets up the game and it was the best Monopoly game ever played.
Chapter 7
Her story
Dylan
Earlier this evening, as I drove into Amber’s neighborhood, my heart lurched again for this girl. She lives in a terrible part of town. The schools aren’t great and the crime rate is really high. I know that Amber doesn’t come from money but I didn’t realize how bad it might actually be. My heart goes out to her and I honestly don’t know how to help her. My parents were always there and we always lived in great neighborhoods and went to the best schools. I am lucky to have the family I have. I’ve taken it for granted and I’m ashamed of myself.
I find Amber’s house. It is the cleanest on the block. It’s already dark out but the street lights illuminate it pretty well. All the other houses have junk cars sitting in the driveways and front lawns filled with garbage. Not Amber’s. Clean yard and the only car sitting in the driveway must be hers. It’s a very old car that’s in need of repairs but still clean. I park my car behind hers, grab the flowers and head to the front door.
When she opens the door, my throat goes dry. She’s so beautiful. Her dark hair is back in a ponytail and she doesn’t have a speck of makeup on. I have
never seen anything so magnificent. This girl is pure perfection. She’s wearing black pants and a black shirt covered by a blue apron. So sexy. She invites me in and I enjoy an amazing meal in great company. Evan and Mia are great kids but I didn’t meet anyone else. It’s just the four of us and we have a wonderful time.
At ten, the kids excuse themselves and head off to bed. Amber and I clean up the board game and go to the couch to talk some. I ask a question that has been searing my brain for most of the night.
“I have a question but you don’t have to answer if you’re not comfortable.”
“Sure. Ask me anything.”
“Is it just you three? I know you told my dad, when he was grilling you, that you take care of your siblings. Is there anyone else who helps you?” She brings her cup of tea to her mouth, sips and then looks at me. We are sitting at opposite ends of the couch but facing each other.
“Yes it is.” I nod my understanding and she continues. “Are you sure you want to hear the whole story?”
“I would like to hear it.”
“It was my last day of high school and a week shy of my eighteenth birthday. I came home to find an empty house. I found it strange because mom was always home since she didn’t have a car. So I started searching the house. I came up empty. I walked back into the kitchen and found it disorderly. There were dishes in the sink and ingredients for cookies all over the counter. This was very unlike my mom. As I turned around, I noticed the door to the garage was opened a crack. I walked into the garage and found it orderly but my dad’s car is there. Something pushes me to keep walking to the other side of the car. I find my mom and dad both lying on the floor in a pool of blood. I called the police. After hours of interrogation, the police concluded that my dad murdered my mom and then committed suicide. My dad left a suicide note for me on his desk. The police gave it to me. I can recite it to you word for word. It said, ‘Amber, if you are reading this letter then your mother and I are dead. Yes, I killed her and turned the gun on myself. My reason-I couldn’t handle the debt anymore and your mother was no help. Good luck. Dad’ Since I was almost eighteen, the state awarded me custody of Evan and Mia. I’ve been the one to take care of them since.” She shakes her head and looks down at her tea cup. I unscrew the cap off my water bottle and take a drink. My throat is dry from the horrible story and I have no idea what to say so I asked a question.
“How do you do it? Was there life insurance to help you?”
“No life insurance and a very negative bank account. It was two hundred dollars in the hole to be exact. I tried to work when I turned sixteen to help with bills but mom insisted I concentrate on my studies. It was the source of many arguments between my parents. I had to find a decent job and quickly in order to keep the electric and water on and to put food on the table. Every single penny I earned went to pay the mortgage, buy food and keep utilities on. Once I was able to get that straightened out, I started making deals with the credit card companies. They refused to forgive the debt and I ended up paying back sixty thousand dollars. I just finished paying the last of those bills two weeks ago.”
“How were you able to do it all and raise two little kids?”
“Along with the mortgage, utilities, groceries and the credit card debt, I had to pay for after school care and find some way of getting a car. For a long while, I took the bus everywhere with two kids in tow. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, this isn’t the greatest neighborhood so that in itself was a challenge. I would eat as minimal as possible or, sometimes not at all, to make sure Evan and Mia always had enough. I always made sure that they had everything they needed. I picked up all the overtime I could.” She took a sip of her tea. “One day, I came home from work and a guy down the street was selling the Toyota. He was kind enough to take weekly payments and allowed me to drive it while I was paying for it. He was a good man.”
“Wow. I don’t know what to say.”
“Not much to say. I was put in an impossible situation but Evan and Mia came first.”
“You didn’t have any family that could help?”
“My aunt and uncle, my mom’s sister and her husband, live in New Orleans. They knew of the situation but never offered to help and I didn’t ask. I assumed that they couldn’t help and left it at that. This Christmas was the first time they reached out and paid for Evan and Mia to go spend the holiday with them. They asked me to go to but I had to work and it was too much time to ask off.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Please don’t feel sorry for me. I didn’t tell you for sympathy. I told you so that you can understand the dynamic. I didn’t say no to your date invitations because I didn’t want to go out with you. I said no because I have obligations.”
“I get it now. I really do and I appreciate that you told me.” I take another drink of my water and she looks at me. “How long has it been since it all happened?”
“Six years.”
I ran a hand through my hair and try to wrap my head around all that she has revealed to me. “No support system whatsoever? No boyfriend?”
“I was dating someone when everything happened with my family. A week later, he dumped me saying that it was too much for him to handle. I haven’t been with anyone since. I just didn’t have the time or the energy. Plus, there aren’t many guys who would put up with what I was dealing with so I just shut myself from it all.”
“Stupid bastard.” I murmur and shake my head. She laughs.
“He was a kid and couldn’t deal. There were many times I wanted to run away too.”
“I can’t even imagine.”
“Enough about my shitty life. Tell me about how you grew up.”
“I have been blessed. My dad is a corporate lawyer and my mom was a stay at home mom. She has a degree in social work. She stopped working when we were young but now volunteers her services. I had an easy childhood. My parents didn’t spoil us but we always had everything we needed. When we were old enough to get jobs, we did and we paid our own bills. They helped with the big stuff but never allowed us to mooch or expect it.”
“Sounds nice. I really like your family. I enjoyed spending Christmas with them.”
“They enjoyed having you. Mom mentioned you a few times on Christmas day. She was hoping that you were okay.”
She smiles slightly. “She’s sweet.”
“Can I ask you another question?” I ask warily.
“Of course.”
“When all of that happened with your parents, were you planning on college?”
“Yes. You know my family’s financial situation so I planned on going to community college and paying for it myself. It would have taken me longer but I didn’t care as long as I got a degree.”
“I’m sorry that all of your dreams went up in smoke. It’s not fair.” I really hate that her father did this to her. I’m angry for her.
“Such is life. There is nothing that can be done about it now.” She shrugs and takes another sip of her tea.
“What would you have studied?”
“Architecture.”
“That’s awesome. I just worked with my architect friend to design my home. It’s a very interesting field.”
“I love it. I would design homes in my spare time for fun.” Her eyes lock with mine and I swear I see embarrassment. Why would she be embarrassed? It’s impressive that she has that natural gift.
“Impressive.” I smile at her and she smiles back. “If you want to work in the field, let me know. I will contact my friend. It would be an assistant position but you’ll be in the field. My friend is looking for someone.”
“Why would you do that for me?”
“Why wouldn’t I? I like you and I think you deserve it. I also think that it’s about time that you get something that you want.”
“Thank you.” She whispers and looks into her tea cup.
“My pleasure. Let me know if you’re interested and I will set up an interview.” I watch her but she’s yet to look back up at me.
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“I’ll think about it and get back to you.”
“Great. Now, it’s time for me to get going. You have to work tomorrow.” I stand and she follows me. I walk to the front door and open it. I turn to her. “Thank you so much for dinner. It was fantastic. I had a great time tonight and I would like to do it again soon.”
She gives me a small smile. “Dinner is at the same time tomorrow.” I laugh. “I’m serious. I had a great time too. I’m sorry that my life is so hectic and that we can’t really go out on a normal date. This is the best I can offer right now.”
“I’ll be here.” I pick up her hand and kiss her knuckles. She blushes and I nearly lose my mind. That is probably the sexiest thing I have ever seen.
Believe In Love Page 3