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Chapter 16
"You look beautiful," I compliment Jolie.
"It's not too much?” she asks. "I didn't know how dressed up to get."
I shake my head as I walk towards her. "Nothing about you could ever be too much."
She throws me a smile over her shoulder and reaches down to pull up the zipper on the side of her dress. The dark green color looks great on her, showing off her legs from the knees down, only making me wish even more that we could take these clothes off, skip this dinner, and get right back into bed. As she adjusts the thin straps on her shoulders, I can't help but step closer and stroke my finger down her arm. I still feel amazement every time I touch her skin and realize all over again how soft it is. You'd think that would have gone away with how much we've been together this week, but nope.
In between her and I going to work, we've spent every other minute together. It feels natural. It feels right. Going to sleep and waking up next to her. Watching her for a few minutes when I wake up before her. Watching her dry off after a shower and sometimes, most of the time, convincing her it's a better idea to get back into bed naked than get dressed.
But today has been filled with tension since the morning. Breakfast was almost silent as the dread of this dinner hung over us all. I don't know if Jolie and my grandma are feeling as uneasy as me, or just sensing my unease and reacting to it. But either way, it's affected us all throughout the day.
And now, the time is here. The dinner starts in fifteen minutes. My grandma is upstairs, getting ready. Jolie is dressed, and I finally give into the fact that I have to put on my button-up shirt and pants now.
"Hey. You okay?" Jolie softly asks.
I look up to meet her eyes in the mirror. "No."
She nods. "But you're gonna be?"
"Once this is over, I think so. Just gotta make it through the night."
Jolie and I meet my grandma in the living room. She doesn't wear dresses, ever, so she has on black pants and a purple shirt. I open the door for them and once we're outside, I offer them both an arm.
"Well aren't you the luckiest guy in the world to have both of us by your side." My grandma grins.
"I am lucky," I agree.
We walk the few steps to the house, and I ring the doorbell. Dread, a dark, deep dread, swells in my stomach as I wait for someone to open the door. I try to tell myself it's all in my mind. It won't be as bad as I'm making it out to seem. If only I had listened to my instincts and gone home then.
Mikaela opens the door, smile on her face. "You know you don't have to ring the doorbell, Elijah. Come on in."
"Thank you. Jolie, this is Mikaela. Mikaela, Jolie."
"So nice to finally meet you," Mikaela says.
"You too," Jolie returns.
We follow Mikaela deeper into the house, the smells of many dishes intermingling under my nose. We reach the living room, and there's more people here than I expected. His mother is missing, probably in the kitchen, but Denise sits with her aunt in the corner. A few of their cousins are on the couches and even some people we went to high school with. What are they doing here? They didn't keep in contact with Ben. I know they didn't, so why would anyone invite them? That dread grows as the eyes in the room come to us.
Denise stands, a tight smile forming on her lips. "Hey Elijah. I see you brought your girlfriend to meet us."
"Yeah. This is Jolie. Jolie, Denise. Oh, and that's Regina." I point as she comes out of the kitchen and heads our way.
"Hello, hello. Welcome. I'm so glad you could all make it," Regina says a bit too loudly.
She grabs me in for a hug and then does the same to Jolie. She knows better than to try with my grandma, so she just tilts her head at her.
"How have you been Louise? I haven't see you since..." I see her smile dim at what she would have had to say. Since the funeral. But she shakes it off. "Haven't seen you in a while."
"I've been just fine," my grandma answers. "So what's on the menu?"
"Oh, a little bit of everything. I made all of Ben's favorites. Lasagna, burgers, my chicken salad. And a few other things. And of course, cake."
My eyebrows furrow. Cake for a person who's not here to eat it for his birthday? I see Denise and Mikaela shoot each other a look behind Regina before Denise shrugs at her sister.
"Well whoever isn't here by now is late, so let's get started," Regina announces. "Everyone grab a plate and find a seat wherever you can. We'll share stories of Ben while we eat."
