by Rena Olsen
“Not in the picture,” he said, his tone final. I would probably ask again another time, but a brooding look crossed his face, wrinkling his forehead and bringing the corners of his mouth down in a frown.
That look needed to go. “Guess what,” I said, and his eyes met mine again. “I tried praying yesterday and you won’t believe what happened.”
Immediately his entire body shifted, became energized. His eyes lit up and his reaction was enough for me to gush about my day yesterday and the crazy morning I’d had. I wanted to do everything in my power to keep him just like he was in that moment. Like a live wire, a coil of energy, full of life and excitement.
“That’s amazing, Julia,” Bryce said when I’d finished filling him in. He raised my hands to his lips, kissing the fingers. “You are so talented, I never doubted your boss would see your genius.”
I laughed. “You’ve only known me a few weeks.”
“Yes, but I knew right away you were special. I’m shocked it took her this long to realize.”
I flushed, and was glad for the chatter in the rest of the room that kept our conversation private. “I don’t know how much responsibility she’s giving me for the actual presentation, but just being there is a huge deal. This could be the start of my career. The real start of my career.”
Bryce’s eyes twinkled, and I was struck by how important this man was to me already. He was the first one I wanted to tell about all the good things happening. He hadn’t been around long, but I already knew that I didn’t want a life without him. I didn’t dare speak in that moment, because I didn’t want to let on how intensely I was feeling. From the look in his eyes, however, he knew, and felt the same way. Though we had professed our love already, this was something different. Something more than love. And I was feeling it in the crowded break room in the middle of a workday. It was probably for the best that we didn’t have more privacy.
Clearing his throat, Bryce released my hands and reached into the basket. “I just grabbed some stuff from Gustafson’s,” he said, referencing a high-class eatery a few blocks away. They had amazing breads and cheeses, a great selection of wine, and the best chocolate in the city. Bryce pulled item after item out of the basket, and my mouth watered more with every reveal.
Soon we had a spread fit for royalty on the tiny table between us, and we didn’t even notice as the room cleared out, leaving us alone. We were already in our own little world, and it was a place I wanted to live forever.
Chapter 10
Kate’s house was in chaos. Scott and Kyle ran around, chasing each other with light sabers, much to the entertainment of our parents, who were settled in on the couches in the living room. Kate fussed around the kitchen, peeking at the roast every minute and flittering between the side dishes, checking for taste and temperature. I hovered in the doorway, anxiously glancing between Kate and the basement door, which Eddie had disappeared through over an hour ago.
“Are you sure I can’t do anything?” I asked. The table had been set, Kate had been cooking all day, but I still felt like I should be doing something. “Pour water?”
“Nope, Eddie can help me,” Kate said, her smile just a little too cheerful. Her eyes slid to the basement door as well. Eddie had said he was going to bring up an extra table from the basement to set the sides on, but somehow I doubted it took that long to dig out a table. Kate kept the basement clean and organized.
“I can go check—”
“No.” The doorbell rang, and Kate motioned toward the door with a jerk of her head. “There’s Loverboy now! You can help by answering the door before Scott gets there, or your boyfriend will find himself challenged to a duel.”
That got me moving, and I just barely got to the door behind Scott, who threw it open and pointed his light saber straight at Bryce’s chest.
“It’s Darth Vader!” he said, his voice a little too excited to be facing his mortal enemy. “Prepare to duel, O Dark Lord of Evil.”
Bryce’s expression was bemused, and he looked up at me.
“You don’t have to,” I said. “Scott, Bryce just got here, and—”
“You got another light saber, buddy?” Bryce’s face was earnest.
“Yeah!” Scott ran off to get another weapon, giving Bryce time to give me a proper kiss in greeting.
“You just scored about ten thousand points for not calling it a sword,” I whispered as Scott came back, followed by Kyle.
“A light saber is not a sword, Julia,” Bryce said with mock seriousness.
I laughed as Scott barreled over to Bryce with his spare light saber, the red one he always used when he was playing the Dark Side, and Bryce barely had time to grasp it before both boys went on the attack. They parried into the living room, the boys shouting in delight and Bryce making heavy breathing sounds like Darth Vader. Bryce sent a wave toward my parents, who watched in amusement, but was too busy to say hello in that moment.
Kate came to stand beside me, arms crossed. “You had to bring another kid,” she said, nudging me with her shoulder. There was an edge to her words. Kate had been progressively less enthusiastic about my relationship with Bryce with every conversation we had about him. I wasn’t sure why, and I knew I needed to ask her about it, but there never seemed to be a good time. It had been weeks since I’d had a chance to talk with her alone, where one or both of us wasn’t distracted.
I shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt to be young at heart.”
Just then, Bryce rushed to my side, grabbing me around the waist. “Get back, young Jedi, the princess is mine!”
“Never!” Scott yelled, echoed by his brother. “Don’t worry, Aunt Julia, we’ll save you!”
Bryce tried to hide behind me, but was too slow for Scott, who managed to get a good jab in.
“I’m hit!” Bryce said, holding Scott’s light saber as if it were sticking out of his body. He stumbled back and forth, falling to his knees. “But . . . I’m . . . your . . . fath . . .” He fell to the floor in a dramatic death scene, sticking his tongue out to prove that he was truly dead.
Scott and Kyle cheered. “We saved the princess!” Kyle said as they jumped in circles around me. “Long live the Jedi!”
Loud clapping broke through their celebration, and I looked to see Kate standing at the entrance to the dining room. “Okay, well done, Jedi, now please go wash your hands and come to the table.” The boys immediately complied, which was impressive, but since they’d been able to finish their play this time, there wasn’t much reason to argue.
While the boys had been playing, Eddie had reappeared and the table he’d brought up was heavy with all the dishes Kate had prepared. Everything was in perfectly matched serving dishes, steaming and ready to be devoured.
“After you, Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne,” said Bryce, who had come in from the living room, and it occurred to me that I hadn’t bothered to introduce them yet.
“Oh! Sorry!” I backtracked to where my parents had paused by Bryce. “Mom, Dad, this is Bryce Covington. Bryce, my parents, Allison and Dan Hawthorne.”
Bryce shook their hands. “It’s great to meet you at last. I’ve heard so many good things about you from Julia.” He placed an arm around my shoulders. “You’ve raised a good daughter here.”
From the direction of the kitchen, I heard what sounded suspiciously like a laugh, quickly covered up with a cough, and I shot Kate a look. She raised an eyebrow at me before walking over to us.
“And this brat is my big sister, Kate,” I said, nodding in her direction.
Kate wiped her hand before reaching out to clasp Bryce’s. “That’s older sister,” she said, smiling. “But much more fun.”
Bryce laughed. “I’m not sure I can agree with that,” he said. “But I can see that beauty certainly runs in the family.”
I could practically feel the effort Kate put into not rolling her eyes, and I narrowed my eyes at her
. Bryce was being very charming, and trying to fit in. Since I’d done this with his family not long ago, I felt for him. Maybe it was a little cheesy, but I didn’t doubt his sincerity.
Kate checked that Bryce and our parents weren’t looking and stuck her tongue out at me before clapping her hands again. “Okay, let’s all sit down! Scott and Kyle should be done pretty quick.”
We took our places at the table after a quick introduction between Bryce and Eddie, and sure enough, the boys came racing in seconds later. Kate had stuck them on the end with Eddie, placing me between Bryce and Scott and my parents across from us. She took the other end of the table.
“Should we get started?” she asked, reaching back for the first dish to pass.
Bryce’s hand grabbed mine under the table, and I looked up to find him staring at me. I tried to discern what he was trying to tell me, and then it hit me.
“Hey, guys, can we hold on a sec?”
Activity stopped, except the boys, who were whining about when they would get the dish with their mom’s homemade mac and cheese. Everyone stared at me.
“Uh.” I cleared my throat. “Do you mind if we pray first?”
Now they really stared. I wasn’t sure my family had ever prayed before a meal, except possibly some Easter or Christmas Eve feasts. It wasn’t something that came naturally. Bryce had always prayed before meals since we’d been dating, and while I’d been trying to get in the habit, being back with my family had pushed it completely out of my mind. Gradually, eyes shifted from me to Bryce, and understanding dawned. Of course they weren’t surprised. I’d filled them all in on my visit to Bryce’s church.
Kate slowly set down the dish she’d been about to pass. “Of course, Julia. Go ahead.”
I looked at Bryce, feeling panicked, and he nodded in encouragement. Everyone bowed their heads, and I took a deep breath.
“Uhhh, God? Thank you for this food. And, um, for everyone at the table.” I racked my brain, trying to remember how the prayer had gone when the Reverend blessed our meal. His had been long and flowery and beautiful. Mine was . . . less so. “Thank you for Bryce meeting my family, and please let Scott and Kyle behave for the meal.” This elicited giggles from the boys. I was glad they were paying attention. “Bless this evening. Thank you.” I peeked through squinted eyes at the rest of the table. Everyone else’s head remained bowed respectfully. “Oh. Amen.”
A chorus of amens echoed mine and Bryce squeezed my hand again. “Nice job,” he whispered, leaning over so only I could hear. “Thank you.”
I squeezed back as the dishes started making their way around the table. Kate was a great cook, and soon the only sounds were chewing and the occasional exclamation about how heavenly the food tasted. Eventually, conversation started up again.
Bryce asked most of the questions, expertly keeping the focus on my family instead of delving too deeply into his own story. He talked with my dad about the job he’d worked for thirty-five years, asked my mom for gardening tips, discussed all things Star Wars with my nephews, and was even able to talk computers and gaming with Eddie. I watched him insert himself gracefully and seamlessly into my family, and it felt right. Hope and love swelled in my chest as all my favorite people got to know each other. There was laughter and gentle ribbing, mixed with serious topics.
My family was interested in the Church of the Life, and Bryce was happy to tell them about it, though he seemed more restrained than he usually did with me. He had told me once that sometimes people were put off by his devotion, and I wondered if he was holding back because he wasn’t sure how it would be received. He had certainly noticed my family’s surprise when I’d requested that we pray before eating. I hoped that hadn’t made him uncomfortable. If it did, he wasn’t letting it show.
Kate was the only one who remained mostly silent through the meal, other than to graciously accept the compliments on her cooking. She spent most of the time studying Bryce and looking between the two of us. I wasn’t sure Bryce had noticed, but it was starting to make me uncomfortable. I was usually good at reading my sister, but she had her poker face on tonight and wasn’t giving away a thing.
Soon the plates were scraped clean and the boys requested to be excused, off on their next adventure before their parents even had the words out of their mouths.
“Should we move to the living room?” my mom asked, pushing her chair out.
“I’m going to get a head start on cleanup,” Kate said, starting to stack plates.
“I’ll help,” Mom said.
“No, no,” Kate said, waving her hand dismissively. “Go relax and get to know Bryce better. Julia will help me.”
I shot her a look. “Julia will?”
“She will.”
“But what if I want to—”
“You already know Bryce. Come help your old sister.”
I rolled my eyes and turned to Bryce. “I’ll be in in a little bit. Go enjoy yourself.”
He stood, pulled my chair out, and pulled me up, then leaned down and dropped a kiss on my cheek. “I’ll keep a spot warm for you.”
He waited for my parents and Eddie to come around the table, and then followed them into the living room. I stacked dishes silently with Kate, making neat piles on the counter by the sink.
“Do you want these in the dishwasher?” I asked.
“No! This is my good china. It has to be washed by hand.”
“Are you serious?”
She laughed. “You really are hopeless sometimes, Julia.”
“I just live in the real world, not a magazine,” I said, bumping her with my hip as I brought another load in from the dining room.
“Real people use china.”
“Real people use sturdy plates. Or paper plates if they haven’t run the dishwasher in a while. Why would you want to own dishes that don’t go in the dishwasher?”
“Because I’m classy.”
I laughed as I went out to wipe down the table. I poked my head in the living room. “The extra table can be brought down whenever you go back down, Eddie,” I said.
Eddie looked up from what seemed to be an intense conversation with Bryce. “Thanks, Julia. I’ll bring it down later.”
“You can do it now,” Bryce said. “We can pick this up when you get back. Or I can help you.”
“Uh, no, that’s fine,” Eddie said. “It’s not a two-person job. I’ll be right back.”
My mouth almost fell open in shock that he had taken Bryce’s suggestion. I watched him fold up the table in bemusement before looking back at Bryce, who winked at me. He knew exactly what he was doing. I blew him a quick kiss before returning to the kitchen to help Kate hand wash the mountain of dishes we had dirtied.
“Eddie is bringing the table back downstairs,” I told her as I rolled up my sleeves and grabbed a towel to dry the dripping dishes she handed me.
“He’s disappearing already? Ugh,” she said. “I would have thought he could stay at least a while longer for tonight.”
“Actually,” I said, “I think he was going to bring it down and come back up. He and Bryce were in some sort of deep conversation.” I turned to stack the plates on the counter. Kate remained silent, and when I turned back, her back was to me, her hands submerged in the sudsy water. Steam still rose from it, so it couldn’t have been comfortable to leave them in there, but she didn’t move. “Kate?”
“Bryce got Eddie to stay upstairs?”
“Yeah. But I’m sure Eddie is just trying to impress him.” I knew immediately it was the wrong thing to say.
“Why would he need to impress Bryce?” Kate asked, and there was venom in her voice. “When he doesn’t make any sort of effort to impress me? What’s so great about Bryce?”
“That’s not fair.”
“What’s not fair about it? We’ve spent half the evening with him and we know nothing about him,
Julia. Can you not see that? See how he avoids talking about himself?”
My heart sped up as I realized the implication of her words. Bryce had spent the evening trying to learn about the family, and she saw it as something shady instead of something selfless. “He was trying to be polite,” I said. “No thanks to your silence.” In fact, Bryce had tried to engage Kate several times, and she had responded in short sentences, not offering any additional information. Eventually he would move on, but he never stopped trying to bring her into the conversation. “You’ve been weird ever since he got here. Just because the boys like him and Eddie wants to stay up here and talk to him doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with him.”
“He’s too . . . shiny,” Kate said, finally pulling her hands out of the water and spinning to face me, splashing bubbles across the kitchen floor. “Everything he says about himself is a cliché. Even his compliments are clichés.” She wasn’t speaking loudly, for which I was grateful, but each word hit me like a punch in the stomach. “You are so smitten with the idea of Bryce, I wonder if you even really know him at all.”
“I know plenty,” I said, frost dripping over my words. “Bryce has been nothing but good to me, and nothing but kind and charming to the family tonight. How dare you question his motives? How dare you question my judgment?” The towel twisted in my hands. “Just because your marriage is in the toilet doesn’t mean you can dump all over my relationship.” She gasped, but I didn’t give her time to respond, throwing the towel on the counter. “I think I’m done helping. My boyfriend is waiting for me.”
I spun on my heel and stalked out of the kitchen, bypassing the living room and heading straight for the bathroom. I needed a few minutes. Leaning against the porcelain sink, I willed my pulse to slow down. Deep breaths, Julia, I chanted to myself. She’s just jealous. She and Eddie are going through a rough patch and she can’t stand to see me in a healthy relationship. Gradually my pulse slowed and I calmed down. In fact, I started to feel sorry for Kate. I had never been happy with Jake, and she’d walked me through every step of that while her relationship with Eddie seemed like the stuff of dreams. Now our roles were flip-flopped, and I couldn’t imagine it would be comfortable for her to be the sister in need of relationship help.