From Me to You [Complete]

55

We bring the linens out onto the patio to set them up. Our parents are planning a nice send-off dinner since it's our last night at the cottage. Tomorrow I'll be heading home, albeit briefly, since my great aunt and uncle are having a party on Sunday which we are headed to next. Michael is heading home tomorrow too, since André comes back from his trip tomorrow and they have to meet him at the airport. I feel a little strange thinking that this week is almost over, and wondering how on earth it went by so fast. We unfold and spread the tablecloth out nicely. Michael puts the napkins on the table, and I pick up one, unsure what to do with it. I wish the time would slow down a bit so that this week won't be over so fast.

"How did you do that?" I ask, seeing the neatly folded napkin in Michael's hands.

"Oh, it's easy." He walks me through the folds until I've created the same pattern. I hold it up in accomplishment before placing it at one of the spots around the table.

"When did you become such a napkin master?" I ask, moving on to the next one and trying to replicate what Michael just taught me.

"Practice," he says, flourishing a napkin in my direction.

"Hey Amanda," says a voice behind me. I exchange a look of fake alarm with Michael before turning around.

Joe and Ann have just come up the back steps. Unlike the Lyon brothers, Joe is about Ann's height, and he has reddish hair that's cut short and neat. His eyes are gray, and they look very clear in the late afternoon light. He has an arm around Ann's shoulders. She is smiling, but I can tell there's a bit of a strain. I hope he wasn't too hard on her. I feel a little guilty about how excited I was to see them fight earlier. At least I missed it, so they'll never be the wiser about how I felt.

"Hey Joe," I say. I give him a brief hug. "How was the drive?"

"Good," he says. He looks over at Michael expectantly.

"Oh," I say, stepping back toward Michael. I introduce him as a Lyon, and he and Joe shake hands. I have no idea what Michael's opinion of Joe is, since we never really talked about it before.

"Glad you could make it," Michael says politely.

"Thanks for having me," Joe answers just as politely.

Michael and I turn back to our napkins, as I hope that Joe will wander away again. If I have an awkward relationship with my sister, I have even weirder relationship with Joe. He's older than my sister, he really doesn't seem interested in me, and I always have no idea what to talk to him about –especially since he's a little unpredictable emotionally. At least we aren't normally left alone together or anything.

My dad comes out of the cottage, saving Michael and I from having to continue a conversation. "Here you go." My dad hands Joe a beer which he graciously accepts. "Did you bring your guitar?"

"Yes actually," Joe replies, and takes a sip of the bottle.

Michael looks at me with surprise. I guess I never told him that Joe plays guitar.

"Great. We should play tonight." My dad leads Joe and Ann down the steps in the backyard, and out of earshot.

"They seem okay, right?" I ask Michael, following them with my eyes.

"Yea, they do," Michael says. I look at him, a small frown on my face. Michael stops folding to look at me for a second. "Honestly, I think they are good. Ann just probably forgot about...things...while she's been here. I feel like it's the atmosphere here or something, makes people live in the moment more than normal."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I tease.

"Hey, no," he says, his tone serious. He puts a hand on mine. "I mean that I just enjoy life more while I'm here, worry less. And I'm enjoying it. Really." His eyes are intense on mine.

"Okay," I say uncertainly –I have no idea what Michael is really getting at. I turn back to my napkin, which doesn't seem to look right.

"Woah, what happened here?" Michael cries when he sees it. I gratefully relinquish the napkins to him and take a seat at the table to watch him fold the rest. If only this week didn't have to end.