Caught in the Unexpected

Chapter 8

It was nearly noon when Saige woke up. She found me in my bedroom and said a quick "hello" to Grayson who momentarily looked up from my desk where he had been reading my latest poem. It was weird that neither Saige nor Grayson acted like they needed an introduction. Saige made a gesture behind Grayson's back. A gesture telling me (in a crude way) that she thought he was hot. Then she pounced on the bed next to me.

I was reading a memoir about a modern day slave girl who got kidnapped and sold into a terrible human-trafficing ring. Saige took the book out of my hand and tossed it from my grasp. "Did you guys really meet on a train?" She asked after flashing me a mischievous grin.

Grayson pulled himself away from the poetry and looked at me. He looked at me like he just remembered the punchline of a joke. I closed my bulging eyes and secretly counted to ten. Then before I could answer Saige's question, Grayson answered for me. "Saige, your sister caught me in her beautiful web."

"Oh brother," Saige said with a look on her face that demanded a real answer.

I obliged, "I needed a seat on the train, and Grayson let me sit by him. That's it, no big mystery!"

Grayson's face changed, and I saw disappointment, and I realized my attempt to avoid Saige's questions probably hurt his feelings. Made me seem indifferent even though I was the opposite. I decided to be transparent and honest. Grayson was worth that, at least. So I told Saige how I really felt, "okay, Saige, it's like this...I don't know how or why Grayson sees me, but he does. He's like no one I've ever met or known. Kind and thoughtful, and...well, you can see how gorgeous he is...and he makes me happy, really happy. Oh...and we did meet on a train somewhere between here and Chicago. Does that adequately answer your question?"

The look of shock on Saige's face was worth every word.

As soon as Saige left the room, Grayson looked at me in quiet way. Then, he got up from my desk and crawled onto the bed beside me without exchanging a single word. Then, he rested his head on one of my pillows, draped his arm over my torso. And I read while Grayson treated me like I was his home.

Karaoke Grayson

What was it about karaoke that made it food for the soul? To the Bennetts, a night of karaoke at Peppi's Pizza meant family bonding. And Peppi's was the place where any brave "The Voice wannabe" could eat...and sing. Sing in front of friends and strangers on a 6'x6' stage. Everyone called the owner "Peppi" even though it wasn't his real name. The short, stout, bald owner cried when he spoke of his own family. That was probably why he got along so well with Laurabelle's dad. Both of the men loved their families like it was a privilege—not an obligation.

Saige pointed to a table front and center, "let's sit over here."

"I don't like sitting by the stage," Laurabelle complained, but everyone followed Saige to the front anyway.

I had been looking forward to this crazy experience with Laurabelle's family. Mainly because Laurabelle didn't know I could sing, really sing. Like I used to be the lead singer in a band kind of sing.

The pizza bulged in my stomach by the time we looked through the Karaoke playlists. Niles and Saige were first to turn in a song, Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." Overachievers. 

Laurebelle watched as I looked through the possibilities. "Let's sing one together," she suggested.

"Really? You want to sing with me?"

"Sure," she said.

"Nah, it's okay. I can do it on my own," I said and made sure there was an adequate amount of fake worry in my voice.