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"You like nature?" Sean said as he opened his menu.
"Who doesn't?" That’s it. Topic closed. No going down memory lanes.
I skimmed the meal choices and found the healthiest option. An omelette with vegetables sounded perfect.
"Yeah, I was surprised to find out that some people in this city think a playground is enough nature." He closed his menu. "Do I get to pick what I'm eating and drinking?"
"If you insist," I answered, just as the server came to our table.
"Are you ready to order?" she asked.
"I'll take a vegetable omelette and a cup of black tea," I said.
"Vegetable omelette but without the bell peppers and coffee," Sean added.
The server walked away, leaving us to our conversation. What could I say to him besides scolding him for skipping out on Vitamins A and C in bell peppers?
"Maybe we should go camping as our first fake vacation. It can be just a couple of days upstate," Sean said.
"Make it Pennsylvania. They have better laws about campfires."
He nodded, his eyes shining with curiosity. "Can I ask you why you decided to help me?"
"It's a free country. You can ask anything you want. Freedom of speech and all that."
He grinned ear to ear. "Is that your way of saying you have the right to remain silent?"
"You're a smart guy. Picking up on things just like this." I snapped my fingers.
The server brought our food and drinks, then disappeared into the kitchen again. My omelette looked perfect. Sean's lacked important nutrients.
"You know bell peppers are high in Vitamins A and C, right?” Why couldn’t I just keep my mouth shut?
"They're also high in being disgusting." There was no accounting for poor taste.
"I got emancipated when I was sixteen," I said, deciding he had the right to know. "My sisters are younger than me, so I wanted to get custody of them, but it's difficult when you're a minor yourself. Nadya also got emancipated a few months later, but only because she could stay with me. Ljuba was too young, so we kept fighting for her, but I only got custody of her when I turned eighteen. I understand what it's like to want to get your sibling out of a bad situation."
For a long moment, Sean looked like he was going to ask more questions, but all he said was, “That makes sense.”
“When are you going to help me pack?” The important question. Much more important than the reason I needed to get emancipated in the first place, or an explanation about how I ruined my sisters' lives.
“Whenever you’re ready.” He chewed his food, choosing to look at the silver-gray tabletop, black floor, white plates. Finally, he lifted his eyes to meet my gaze. “I’m sorry about the whole moving-in thing. I should’ve figured he’d throw that at us because it makes sense for the faking, but it doesn’t make sense for anything else.”
“It’s alright. I’ll get over it.” I had gotten over worse things than this. At least this time, it was for a good cause.
“Almost forgot.” He pulled a small box out of his pocket.
An engagement ring. Pretty. Shiny. A little too shiny, like those fake ones Ljuba used to like until she had learned that the brass was sure to show.
