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Ember
He seems so happy when he leads me to the front door of the house and punches the code in the key box so we can go inside. He talks the property up, telling me every highlight it has - especially the room over the garage which the realtor tells him can be used for an at-home office or a mother-in-law suite. Then he drops the bomb on me and tells me he’s started the process to buy the house.
“Oh my God!" It's hard for me to keep the shock out of my voice. "It’s…It’s a lovely home.”
“And it’s big enough for a family too.”
His words cause my nose to burn and my eyes to mist but I shove it aside. “You…you’re trying to…I mean you’re thinking…?”
I don’t finish the question. Instead, I just give him a brittle smile and hope he can’t see my hurt over his excitement. I’m really happy for him but I’m also kind of bummed out. The weight of worry lands heavy on my shoulders and all I can think about now is that me and mom are going to have to find a new home, to start all over.
We may even have to move back to the city…or even further. And that makes where I go to school just as iffy. And now he’s telling me he’s thinking about his future. But I won’t be in it. Once mom and Roger divorce, we won’t be stepcousins. We won’t be anything. It’s not that I’ll never see him again. I am Mandy’s friend after all, but it won’t be the same. And what am I going to do when I overhear Mandy talking about the person he plans to start this future with? It will kill me, that's what. I knew we couldn't stay with him indefinitely...I just thought I would have more time.
He leads me into a room with a fireplace in it. On the floor is a blanket and a bottle of something in an ice bucket along with two glasses. He leaves me to go fiddle with the fireplace, “What…?”
“I thought we could celebrate.”
“C…celebrate?” I swallow down my sadness and make sure the smile doesn’t fade. I don’t want my situation to bring him down or ruin this for him. It’s special that he wanted to share this with me. I go to the blanket and sit while he pours us two flutes of champagne. I’ve never had anything like this before, so I’m surprised when the bubbles go up my nose and tickle.
“I think we’ll be in the house by Christmas. We can spend Christmas here.”
I bobble my glass and the liquid inside spills, splashing my shirt and leaving a trail of cold on the skin underneath.
“Oh shit! I’m sorry.” He wanted to celebrate this moment with me and here I am showing him why he should have chosen another person to celebrate with.
He moves quickly while telling me, “No. No need to be sorry. You…here, let's take this off and lay it here, so it can dry by the fire.”
He has my blouse unbuttoned and off me before I can think of another way to fix the situation. I subconsciously cross my arms over my thin bra even though I’ve been bare before him and search for something to say, “I think Mandy will really love the house.”
“It doesn’t really matter if Mandy likes it or not. Not that I don’t want her to feel welcomed, but she gets a room, you get to decorate the rest.”
The champagne must have gone straight to my head because I’m having trouble following his train of thought. “Me? Why would you want me to decorate your house?”
He gives me a confused look, “I wouldn’t, I want you to decorate our house.”
“Our house? You…you want me to come with you?”
“Uh yeah! I didn’t get a big ass house for just myself. And I would think the mother-in-law suite would have given it away. I mean, that ain’t for any of my relatives. Well, except for Mandy but like I said, I figure she’ll have her own room. She probably won’t be here all the time anyway, what with college and a…”
“Wait! You want me, and my mom, to move here with you?”
“Hell yeah! I know what a close relationship you have with your mom. I don’t want to come between that. Shit, it works out perfectly for me because you understand how close I am to Mandy. You understand having only each other. I know she’s going to need a place to stay during the divorce and maybe after, but she’ll want to be here for the babies too.”
“Babies?” My mind whirls with all he’s giving me to process. “You…” My mind goes blank. It trips back to my original question because that seems safer somehow. “You want me to move in with you?”
He laughs softly but I don’t think it’s at me necessarily, “Yes! I want you to come live with me. I want you to come stay with me…forever!”
“Forever?”
“Forever. Always.” He looks around and waves his hand, “All of this…is for you, Ember.”
Tears clog my throat, a few escaping to run down my cheek.
“I, um, brought you here not just to show you the house. And if you don’t like it just tell me and we’ll look for a new one.”
“No…no, I…it’s beautiful.”
