In the Eyes of the Queen [ Labyrinth ] ✔

Chapter Twenty-two

Usually, Karen opens the door, but when your daughter brings a man home, that becomes the father's job, apparently. I try to be happy to be home and disinterested in my "friend" in order to overcome the awkwardness.

"Good morning, Daddy!" I pull him into a hug by his neck and plant a kiss on his cheek before releasing him. I am not overdoing it, I promise. That is what I always do when I am happy to see him. "I missed you."

I think he eyes Jareth and mumbles something about doubting that, but I ignore it.

"Daddy, this is Jareth." Notice how I did not say 'friend' or 'boyfriend' or 'fiancé' or anything definite? "Jareth, this is my father, Robert."

They shake hands and exchange polite greetings and Karen rescues us from the threat of an awkward standoff by ushering us inside and away from the encroaching warmth of the summer morning. I introduce Jareth to her, and then to Robby who has also made his way into the hall. Freddy comes running (or something as close to running as a one-and-a-half-year-old can manage) downstairs at the sound of our voices and captures one of my legs in one arm and one of Robby's in her other.

I pick her up. "And this is Freddy." She stares at Jareth for a moment but then returns to her usual antics as if he is not there. As she scampers off to play, the "adults" head toward the sitting room. Jareth and I lag behind and Toby comes running down the stairs, disheveled—likely from goblin antics—and stops short upon seeing Jareth.

"Jareth!" he yells and attaches himself to the Goblin Kings legs in an enthusiastic hug.

Jareth wears a crooked grin. For a moment I enjoy the unexpected site of the Goblin King enjoying the affection of a child, but then I groan with realization. I forgot Toby remembered him, and I am sure his exclamation was loud enough for my family to hear from the other room. How will I explain that?

I bend down to pick up Toby, but Jareth gets to him first. I stare, open-mouthed, not caring about what I look like. Jareth, the Goblin King, is holding a child—and smiling contentedly, as if it is natural. 'It is natural, Sarah,' I remind myself; 'He's a baby snatcher, remember?' How rude of me. But it is disconcerting sight.

I grab for Toby, who protests with an "Aaah!"

Jareth smiles, reassuring him quietly so my family cannot overhear, "Tobias Jarethkin, I will play with you later."

Toby smiles at that. "Yay! My punch is a lot stronger now."

So Toby punched Jareth when he was in the castle? Rock on!

I suffocate my smile and glare at Jareth as Toby runs off to join Freddy. Does he know how long I spent retraining the goblins to call Toby 'Toby' or at least 'prince' and not 'Jarethkin.' Despite my success with the goblins, for some reason, in moments of extreme disobedience, Toby only listens to me when I call him 'Tobias Jarethkin' as the Goblin King just did. Now I know the perpetrator of that renaming. We will talk about it later.

We join my family in the sitting room. They have conveniently left both the couch and an armchair open for occupation. Is this a test to see whether or not we will sit next to each other? Jareth chooses the armchair and I withhold a sigh of relief at not having to choose. I again try to act disinterested as my family chooses innocent conversational topics: the weather, whether or not everyone is enjoying the summer, Dad and Robby's jobs, Toby's preschool, how proud they are of me for my hard work at school and my job.

I wait for the conversation to turn to Jareth, and then us. Soon enough, Robby is inquiring about Jareth's work and where he is from and other such basic information. I am grateful that Jareth is an excellent actor. He goes along with our planned back-story and embellishes it with partial truths and white lies.

Karen sneaks over to me on the couch while the men converse. "So, who is this Jareth Underwood?" Do not ask me about the surname, it was Jareth's on-the-spot creation.

"Aren't you listening, Mom? Dad and Robby have been making him answer that question in depth for several minutes now."

She gives me a sly look. "That is not what I mean and you know it. You brought a man home." The stress on 'man' is not so much to indicate gender as it is to emphasize Jareth's... maturity. I know I am going to have to tell them his fake age sooner rather than later.

"I ran into him on vacation," I begin, recalling our prepared story. Karen pulls me into the kitchen, leaving Jareth to fend for himself against my overprotective male kin. "And we spent time together when we were both free."

"You didn't let him... pressure you, did you?"

Karen is so blunt.

"Mom! It's not like that!"

"It isn't? Because I'm pretty sure that's what it means when you bring a man home, especially a—how old is he?"

"He's only thirty-five," I whine.

"Only? That's," she does the math quickly in her head, "sixteen years older than you. He is practically twice your age."

"Was twice my age when we met," I mumble, as if accidently. I put my hand over my mouth and widen my eyes, looking at Karen as if realizing I said that loud enough to hear.

She gives me a quizzical look that holds both suspicion and relief. "You met him when you were sixteen?" There is the reason for her suspicion. "So you've known him for several years now?" There, apparently, is the reason for her relief: we've known each other long enough that, although our initial meeting seems a little inappropriate, we are not rushing into things. I do not bother correcting her to say I was actually fifteen when we met. I will address that later only if needed.

"So it's not like that, huh?"

I twitch my cheeks. "I didn't mean it isn't like that, I meant it isn't sexual."

"But you want it to be."

This is why I do not talk to Karen about boys. "Mom! You know I—"

"Yes, I know; I know. Calm down, honey; I am just teasing you."

"Some way to tease."

I know this conversation is far from over, but we are interrupted by Dad.

"Apparently the children haven't eaten yet, Karen," he announces as he walks into the kitchen. I hope he is not grouping Jareth into the 'children.'

We manage to prepare and eat breakfast and spend time playing with the toddlers and socializing amongst the adults without awkward conversation for a while. I sneak away for a moment to call the apartment complex office to learn the procedures for moving out. Jareth and I purposefully gradually expose my family to our purported closeness. Karen whispers to Dad and Robby at different times and I am sure she is sharing her gleaned information about our possible romantic relationship.

After a while, Jareth and I find ourselves on the back porch swing, while Toby and Freddy run around the house with invisible goblins and my parents and older brother converse in the kitchen. I see Dad and Mom leave Robby and head to the living room. Robby disappears upstairs. I rise, intended to eavesdrop on my parents in the living room, but Jareth pulls me back down to the bench swing.

"What are you doing?"

"I was going to listen in," I admit.

"Here."

Jareth summons a crystal and holds it in frontof us. As I watch it, curious, I see theimage of my parents in the living room. I gasp. He is scrying. How convenient! Wait, does he ever do that to me? I am interrupted in my thoughts by my father's voice in my head and I turn back to watch theimage in the crystal.