Up in the Air

Chapter 19

Adam's eyes instantly narrowed. "If you're not going to see your boyfriend, why are you dressed like," his eyes went up and down my clothes – a loose smock dress and a pair of flat ankle boots that Becca got me last year on my birthday which I'd only recently begun to wear. "Well, why are you in a dress?"

I sighed. "One, Daniel isn't my boyfriend -"

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Two, my shoulder still hurt too much when I took off my sweatpants. I'm not about to try and pull on some jeans with this should. Plus, I am not taking any more of those painkillers. I feel like they kill any and all capacity to think," I complained.

Before Adam could say anything else, Becca smirked at me. "So, who's Julian?" she asked, eyebrows wriggling.

"You guys know him," I shrugged. "Well, maybe not you, Becs; but I've been going to school with him since elemetanry. Julian Pitt, does that name ring a bell?"

Two seconds of silence passed. Then Mom, Dad and Adam all started talking at the same time – or they started yelling at the same time.

"The boy who painted your hair?"

"The kid Nathaniel punched?"

"That moron who made your life hell?"

I blinked at all three of them. Was everyone this bothered about Julian?

"He isn't so mean now," I whispered.

Granted, Julian Pitt was still as irritating as ever but he was no longer the tormentor of my childhood. That, at least, I was sure of.

"People can change," I said when my parents and brother continued to stare at me.

"If he pulls anything on you -" Adam started.

"He won't," I cut through his words. "Julian's ... different now. He's more mature. I mean, he has to be right? He's basically living on his own."

Adam snorted. "Yeah, because living in that large mansion with the personal chef and the maids requires such maturity."

"No," I shook my head. "He literally lives on his own when his parents are out of town. He stays in one of those newer houses on Oakland Street?" I frown. "Though it feels more like a mausoleum than a house. Plus he kind of lives off of deliveries from Mel's. It's a bit sad, actually," I laughed half-heartedly.

Instantly, both my parents' expressions softened.

It was only then that I realized my mistake.

In telling them about Julian's current level of maturity, I somehow forgot that my parents were a pair of bleeding hearts.

"Well, that's just not right," Dad commented, a frown marring his brow.

Mom smiled. "Do you want to bring some food when you go work on your project?"

*   *   *   *   * 

Mom's actual idea of 'family bonding time' yesterday involved a lot of cooking on her part and eating on ours – though mostly by that, I mean mine.

She was able to cook, in the span of one morning, a lasagna, a humongous batch of Buffalo wings, roasted carrots and potatoes, a beef stew, meat loaf and a vegetable casserole. Not content with any of that, she even prepared a roast chicken for dinner and paired it with a salad of mixed greens, sliced apples, grapes, blue cheese and pistachio nuts.

Coupled with the baked goods Mrs. Anderson sent over – two dozen tiramisu cupcakes, one of her delectable triple chocolate cakes and a blueberry pie – suffice to say, we had too much food on our hands.