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He gave me a camera.My jaw fell open when I unwrapped it.
“Drew, oh my goodness, this is…”
“Don’t you say a damn thing about it costing too much, Maria, I swear.”
It was a beautiful camera, and he’d given me a few rolls of film to start off with as well. Playfully, I snapped a photo of him giving me his customary “now listen here” expression, and he rolled his eyes. I couldn’t help but laugh.
There was something I’d learned about Drew recently. He wasn’t always glum or in a bad mood. He just had a face that looked serious all the time.
His brother, Jonah, was astoundingly late. He arrived around twelve-thirty when we were all settling down with sandwiches and more coffee. He waltzed in like he owned the place and grinned, his eyes sparkling when they fell on me. He had a roguish expression about him and wore a worn-out plaid t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans and a cowboy hat. His long black hair fell down past his shoulders. He looked a little younger than Andrew, but not by much.
“Well, there she is, the pretty lady.” He tipped his hat at me before he removed it, setting it on the back of a chair in the kitchen. “How do you do, ma’am.”
“Don’tma’amme, please,” I laughed. “I’m twenty.”
“I’m Jonah.” He offered a hand. I took it, expecting a shake, but he kissed my knuckles.
“Maria.” I drew my hand back awkwardly. The way he was looking at me was disarming, and felt horribly like the way Drew had that night in the bar. Like he wanted a taste to see if it was really as good as he thought.
“Jonah,” Andrew snapped from the other room. He muttered something incoherent under his breath. Jonah winked at me and sauntered towards his brother.
The rest of the afternoon was spent playing with the boys, eating far too many sweets, and telling stories. Drew was right about Jonah; he was quite a bit chattier than I expected. He livened up the room and led the conversation, and told plenty of stories about their childhood. Drew seemed more chatty than usual, and I could tell he was in a good mood. I even caught him smiling a few times. I took my fair share of photos with my new camera, excited to have the film developed.
We got home fairly late and put the boys to bed. They passed out almost immediately and we snuck out of the nursery together. Drew walked close behind me on our way out.
Part of me wanted to say goodnight and go to bed. But the other part wondered if I could get some answers out of Drew tonight, since he seemed to be in such a good mood all day.
“I love my camera,” I said softly as I turned around. “Thank you so much.”
“I want you to take lots of pictures of the boys as they grow up,” he said, looking me in the eye, but then looking away.
He was expecting me to leave, I realized. The camera was a request for photos for when I left.
Ask me to stay.
Then he said, “My parents would love some photos, and… I’m sure yours would too.”
“Yeah.”
“That hair oil was…” he trailed off as he met my eyes again, looking from one side of my face to the other. He swallowed hard, his eyebrows lowering slightly, making him look a little more intimidating than usual.
I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to finish his sentence.
“Thoughtful. And kind. Thank you.”
“It’s nothing compared to what you’ve done for me, Drew. I can’t thank you enough. I don’t know where I’d be right now if it wasn’t for your kindness.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere, Sugar,” he said, and he lifted a hand. He caught a piece of my hair that had fallen from my ponytail and tucked it behind my ear.
My stomach flipped, and I felt my mouth pop open the smallest bit.
“I heard what you said,” he whispered softly. “To your mom. About going to school up here.”
I swallowed hard, not trusting my voice. “Yeah,” I whispered back. “I was thinking about it.”
“You know, you… all three of you… you can stay as long as you want.”
I was pretty sure that was as good as I was going to get tonight. “I’d like that.”
