Love You Forever (2013 Wattys Finalist)

Chapter 27 - Two Broken Hearts

When Robert reached the women, May asked, "Do you have everything?" Even though she was smiling, Robert could see a tension in her eyes that hadn't been there before. She knew something was going on between him and Georgie.

"Yeah," he said, feeling uncomfortable.

"Okay," she said, quickly glancing at Georgie before she turned and began to lead the way out of baggage claim, still holding her hand.

When Robert followed them, Marianne dropped back to walk alongside him. She asked him about his flights, how jet lagged he felt, and other general travel questions. While he answered her, he tried to ignore how quiet Georgie and May were. By time they'd reached the car, the travel chat had been exhausted. He put his suitcase in the boot and climbed in the back seat. Georgie got in the back seat as well. He looked out the window to avoid looking at her, but also to get his first proper look at the States.

It was jarring at first to be riding in a car where May, who was driving, was sitting on the left side instead of the right, and to be traveling on the wrong side of the road but it helped take his mind off the awkward tension between him and Georgie. Once they were on the motorway, there was quite a bit of traffic but they moved along at a fast rate of speed. May and Marianne spoke quietly to each other a few times, but other than that it was silent in the car.

It was a surprisingly short trip and it wasn't long they were driving through a neighborhood of nearly identical box-like one story homes. Robert was surprised how small they were, he'd always thought American homes were large. May parked the car inside a small garage next to one of the homes, and once Robert had his suitcase, they walked into the house through the back door, entering the kitchen.

With all four of them standing there, it seemed uncomfortably small. He looked around to avoid looking at Georgie who was standing next to him. It was a cheery room, painted a sunny yellow. By the looks of cabinets and countertops, Robert thought it probably hadn't been updated since the home had been built several decades ago. There was a small eating area which was dominated by an old green Formica and stainless steel kitchen table and four matching green vinyl and stainless steel chairs.

"Are you hungry, Robert?" May asked with a warm smile.

"I am, yeah," he replied gratefully. Even though he hadn't had much of an appetite for the last week, he was starting to feel the effects of not eating anything since the dinner he'd been served during his overnight flight from London.

"Good! We hoped you might be. Georgie, why you don't show Robert around and help him get settled while we start cooking supper," she suggested gently. Robert made eye contact with Georgie, then quickly looked away from her sad eyes.

"Um, okay," Georgie said quietly. She left the kitchen and Robert followed while May and Marianne began getting things out of the fridge.

They walked into a small sitting room and Georgie said quietly, "This is the living room," while motioning with her hand in a vague way. She waited while he looked around.

When Robert realized this small room was the main living space, he thought the house almost seemed smaller on the inside than it looked on the outside. There was a couch and a recliner against one wall facing a cabinet with small flat screen TV sitting on it. An upright piano was against another wall. He went to the piano, but resisted the urge to touch the keys. A quick scan of the books stacked on top let him know Georgie wasn't the only one who played. He saw some familiar titles but it was mostly older books, some classical music but mainly the scores of old musicals.

The room wasn't spare, but it was clear to Robert that home decorating wasn't something May put a lot of effort into. Except for some antique photos that Robert guessed were ancestors of May, the only other decoration on the walls was a generic landscape hanging behind the couch. Off the sitting room was a short hallway leading to the bedrooms and a bathroom.