Natalie is about to get the full Lucy experience. She won't know what hit her.
I grab our luggage from the trunk and follow them into the house.
The familiar smell of home washes over me. It’s been a while since I was last home. I take in the walls covered with family photos, many of them featuring a much younger version of me in various hockey uniforms.
My mother put us in rooms next to each other. My old bedroom for me, and the guest room for Natalie.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“She seems lovely, Ethan.”
“She is.”
“And she came all this way just to help with your treatment?”
“That's right.”
My mother pats my cheek with a knowing look that says,I don’t buy that for a second. “Dinner is ready. Then tomorrow we'll go see your father, and you can yell at him properly for being an idiot.”
After she leaves, I unpack my bag and sit on my childhood bed, surrounded by faded hockey posters and dusty trophies. Through the thin wall, I can hear Natalie moving around in the next room.
I want her in this room with me.
16
Natalie
The guest room is cozy, with a handmade quilt on the bed and lace curtains on the windows. A vase of fresh wildflowers sits on the nightstand, their honeyed fragrance perfuming the small space.
I unpack my suitcase and try to quiet my nerves. Meeting the parents is one thing. Meeting the parents during a family medical crisis while pretending to be just the physical therapist is something else entirely.
Through the wall, the floorboards creak as Ethan moves around in his childhood bedroom. I can’t help but picture childhood hockey memorabilia and old trophies. I wonder if he has stuffed animals hidden somewhere. I'll have to investigate.
Dinner is pasta and meatballs, and it’s delicious. Lucy dominates the conversation with questions about New York, about my job, and especially how exactly I ended up traveling across the country with her brother.
“So you just dropped everything to come help him with his knee?” She twirls her fork skeptically. “That's very dedicated.”
“That's my job,” I say.
“Uh huh.” She exchanges a look with Danna. “And you live in the same building as him?”
“The team arranged housing for me there. It's convenient for our sessions,” I say, trying to act cool.
Ethan kicks her under the table, and she yelps. “Ow! What? I'm just asking questions. Being friendly.”
“You're being nosy,” Ethan says.
“Same thing.”
After dinner, Danna shoos us toward the living room while she cleans up. Lucy plants herself in front of the TV and flips through channels until she finds a reality show about dating. Ethan sits on the couch, and I take the other end of the couch, maintaining an appropriate distance.
By ten o'clock, everyone is exhausted. Danna announces she's going to bed and Lucy yawns dramatically before heading upstairs. Ethan and I are left alone in the living room, the TV playing in the background.
“I should go to bed too,” I say, standing.
“Yeah.” He stands too, and for a moment we just look at each other. “Thank you for being here.”
“There's nowhere else I'd rather be.”
