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Tully dropped her bag onto one of the chairs at the kitchen table and walked past the newly dirtied dishes in the sink. They’d had pasta for dinner tonight. There was some left at the bottom of the pot for her, probably starting to grow stale.
She scooped what was left into a bowl and popped it into the microwave, standing and watching it warm up.
When it dinged, she pulled it out and sat at the wooden table large enough to fit six.
Nathan’s kitchen table was this big too. Six seats for three people—a single child and his parents.
Tully’s family was large enough to fill almost all the chairs when everyone was here—three kids and two parents.
She chewed on the stale noodles that were only halfway cooked.
Somehow, her table was always emptier than Nathan’s.
fifteen
nathan
“Nathan had a friend over today, dear,” his mother said, breaking up the sound of metal utensils scraping across porcelain dishes. Both Nathan and his father, Rodger, paused and looked up, meeting each other’s eyes. His mom looked back and forth between them, evaluating.
Nathan held his breath, sensing what the reactioncouldbe. Normally it would be a small beratement of not taking his studies seriously enough. From the narrowing of his eyes, and the opening of his lips, Nathan knew it was about to happen. But so did his mom, and she added the last part to halt the reprimand. “A tutor.”
His dad’s lips snapped shut, and his head tilted. “A tutor?”
“Oh, yes. A really cute girl too. What was her name again?”
Nathan swallowed the tough piece of meat that was in his mouth. “Tully.”
“Right. Tully. Such an odd name, but she’s a sweetheart.”
“She’s valedictorian.”
“Valedictorian?” A man of few words, Nathan had to learn to read his father from a young age. Whether he was happy, or upset, or disappointed, he could tell just from the jut of his chin or set of his shoulders. And now, based on the rise of a single brow, he was intrigued, maybe even pleased.
Something Nathan wasn’t used to seeing.
“Top of the class all four years,” he added and waited with a tightening band around his chest. He was saying anything he could now to keep that look on his dad’s face.
They stared at each other for several seconds, and Nathan realized he was holding his breath. Then, his father nodded. “Good. You could benefit from having someone like that around.”
Nathan’s eyes widened a bit, and the tightening apprehension dissolved into straight-backed surprise at so easily getting his father’s approval. So he got carried away, let the approval get to his head and loosen his lips.
He hadn’t planned on bringing the faux-relationship up to his parents. A tutor was one thing. It showed Nathan’s willingness to take his father’s threats about college seriously. A girlfriend though. Nathan assumed it would only give his father another reason to lecture him on spending more time with a girl than in a book.
However, his dad said himself that Nathan could benefit from spending time with someone like Tully. What if he knew exactly how much time Nathan was spending with her . . .
“She’s my girlfriend.”
A cough sputtered out into the dining room air, and for a long moment, the only sound was of his mom hacking into her hand after choking on her potato. His dad, keeping his attention on Nathan, reached over and patted his wife’s back until her throat cleared and she managed to finally respond.
“Girlfriend?” Her voice was wheezy. “Why didn’t you tell me that? I could have been a much better host!”
“Sorry, Mom. It’s new so she’s shy.”
Even though he was addressing his mom, he was still waiting to see what his father would say. This could be either a huge mistake or a great plan.
His dad picked up his glass, sipped at the ice water, and after a few seconds said, “Introduce me to her next time she’s around.”
Nathan’s mouth opened, shocked, then closed. His lips pursed to hold back the smile, and he only nodded once in response.
