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From somewhere, I summoned a smile and put it on. “Calvin and I get along very well. I understand that I come from a very different place than the San Ramon tribe, but I like to think we’re all traveling toward the same destination, even if the paths we’ve taken there haven’t been the same.”
Delia’s mouth thinned, and she and her husband shared an unreadable look. Next to me, Calvin shifted, and I reached under the table and touched his leg, trying to let him know that I understood his desire to protect me, but that I could also take care of myself.
Raymond set down his knife and fork, his dark eyes meeting mine directly. “Those are good words, Selena, strong words. But although I think your motivations are pure, have you ever stopped to think about what might happen if your relationship became truly serious? None of our people have ever been with achontal,an outsider. What if you should have children?”
If the floor had opened up and swallowed me whole right then, I would have thanked the Goddess for her intervention. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem as though I would be so lucky.
“I don’t think we’re quite that far along yet,” I said, my voice calm. Honestly, I had to admit I was proud of myself for not losing my cool.
Or fleeing the scene, which would be more in tune with my personality than exploding with rage.
“That’s enough,” Calvin said. Like me, he seemed outwardly calm, but I could tell from the way his dark eyes blazed that he was exerting every ounce of self-control he had not to lash out at his parents. “I’m not going to sit here and let you interrogate Selena like this.” He glanced over at me. “You still have some leftover enchiladas in your fridge, right?”
I couldn’t quite trust myself to reply beyond nodding.
“Well, then.”
He stood and laid his napkin down on the tabletop.
“Calvin — ”Delia began, and he shook his head.
“You’ve had months to get used to the idea, Mother,” he said. “If it takes you more time than that, so be it. But we’re done this evening.”
Since I could tell there was no point in continuing the discussion, I stood and also placed my napkin on the table. Saying it was nice to have met them would have been a lie, and so I remained silent as I followed Calvin out of the dining room and down the hallway.
The fact that neither Delia nor Raymond tried to stop us told me everything I needed to know. That realization only increased the knot of anxiety in my stomach, but I forced myself to pull in a breath and do my best to ignore the sensation.
Calvin remained silent until we were off the private lane and back on the main road — such as it was.
“I’m sorry about that,” he said at last.
“It’s not your fault,” I replied, which was only the truth. I certainly wouldn’t hold him responsible for his parents’ bad behavior.
“Still — ”He broke off there and gave a disgusted shake of his head. “I really thought when they invited you over for dinner they’d finally relented. Now I know they only wanted to tell themselves they’d made the gesture and that I’m the one being difficult.”
I realized then that my hands were shaking. Funny how I could stare down ghosts with no problem, but a couple of disapproving parents were enough to completely put me off my stride.
“So…what now?” I asked, and wished that my voice didn’t sound so small.
He reached over to touch my hand, to wrap his warm fingers around my cold ones.
“This changes nothing, Selena,” he said, his voice firm. “Absolutely nothing.”
I hoped he was right.
12
The Brew That Is True
Even though he’dmentioned the leftover enchiladas at my place, Calvin and I ended up going to his house after that disastrous dinner and nuking some frozen tamales. I could tell he didn’t want to discuss the incident, so I left it alone. Honestly, the mere fact that we were together at his house after walking out on his parents told me everything I needed to know, even though inside I ached for him at having to make such a terrible choice.
He didn’t have to go in to the station until noon, but when I woke up in the curve of his arm around eight the next morning, I knew I needed to get back to my apartment, stat. Because I hadn’t known how our dinner with his parents would go, I hadn’t stopped to plan for a possible overnight stay at his house…and that meant I had a very angry cat waiting for me back in downtown Globe.
I kissed Calvin goodbye and murmured an excuse about Archie, and to my relief, he didn’t argue, only said he understood and that he’d call me later that morning.
By the time I got home, it wasn’t quite eight-thirty. As soon as I opened the door, Archie remarked, “How nice of you to drop by.”
He was sitting on the dining room rug, tail lashing back and forth.
