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“Eli, his name’s Eli.”
“Nice to meet you, Eli.” She poked her head out of the door and looked around. “And your mom, is she here?”
“Hmm, about that, she got called into work. They needed the extra hands, what with it being Thanksgiving weekend and all.”
“I see. Well, come in. Becca, your friend is here,” she yelled, her choice of the word ‘friend’ leaving a sour taste in my mouth. Becca and I were much more than just friends.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and Becca’s eyes landed on the little person standing beside me. A quizzical frown crossed her face, but Eli had other ideas.
“Becca!” He barreled past her mom and leaped at Becca, wrapping himself around her waist.
“Hi, buddy. What are you doing here?”
“Mom had to work.” The words rolled off his tongue like a well-rehearsed lie.
“She did, did she?” Becca’s eyes snapped to mine, and I saw the suspicion there, but I wasn’t going to give her the truth here in front of Mrs. Torrence. Besides, if I’d told her Mom had to work last minute, she would have tried to cancel, and I wanted to do this. Needed to do this.
Becca sighed. “Well, come on. Mom made cookies.”
“She did?” Eli’s eyes sparkled with delight. “I loves cookies.”
“Yes, yes, but not before…”
It was too late. Eli and Becca were already off to the kitchen, leaving me with her mom.
“He’s a little hyper sometimes. Sorry.”
“How old is he?”
“Four.”
“I see, and you’re eighteen?”
I nodded. I knew what she was thinking, so I cleared it up for her. “He wasn’t planned,” I said.
“Oh, I see.”
I stifled a laugh. I didn’t know who was more nervous; her or me. There wasn’t time to overthink it because an older man with graying hair and Becca’s eyes stepped into the hallway. “Hello, you must be Evan. I’m Becca’s father, Geary.” He stuck out his hand, and I accepted.
“Nice to meet you, sir.”
“Did I hear a child laughing?”
“Yes, yes, you did,” the mom said. “Evan brought his little brother with him.”
“How wonderful. It’s been years since we had a child running around the house. Can I get you a beer, Evan?”
“Geary.” She gasped, her eyes widening in horror.
“Now, now, Melinda. It’s one beer, and I’m sure it wouldn’t be the first time.” He flashed me a knowing grin. I liked this guy. He was real. He reminded me a lot of Becca.
“Thanks, Mr. Torrence, but I’m driving.”
“Please never call me Mr. Torrence again, it sounds far too stuffy. Geary is just fine.”
I nodded, following them into the kitchen. It was a real kitchen, separate from the living room. Eli was busy tucking into a cookie while Becca got him juice.
“Do you want one?” she asked me, and I shook my head. Her nerves showed in the red stain on her cheeks and down her neck. It was cute.
