Leah and Trent

Chapter Thirteen

October 9 2016 - Sunday

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Leah

(Song: Satellite Call by Sara Bareilles)

It was a special day. At least to my brother it was. He had invited Sharen over to our house for a family dinner, which was funny because we didn't have family dinners at our house. Not since our parent's divorce.

Leonard had spent the entire day cooking and setting up the table to make it look like a magazine cover. He used the lavish patterned tableware that my mother kept for display in the dining room. He took up the entire kitchen making spaghetti and a salad; it was the only real meal that he knew how to make. I had offered to help, but he wanted to do everything by himself.

Once Sharen walked through the door, her and Leonard couldn't stop staring at each other. Even at the dinner table they kept turning to each other and grinning like someone had said something funny. But nothing was funny, not even the awkward situation that obviously Leonard and Sharen didn't know they were a part of. But leave it to my mother to pop someone's bubble.

"Do you play sports, Sharen? Are you on any teams?"

"No," Sharen said plainly.

"Hmm. Why not?"

"I'm not really interested in sports."

"Well, you can't really know that until you try it, and it's not just about interest. It's about productivity and being active." The air around the table seemed to drop. It wasn't hard to understand what my mother was getting at. Sharen wasn't exactly skinny. She didn't have a slim figure. And my mother really took that to heart. She had told me before that she couldn't just ignore it because she was a healthcare professional. The first time my mom even saw Sharen she had turned to me and said, "How could Leonard date her".

". . .I'm just not a high school sports type of person," Sharen said slowly directing her eyes at my mother.

"Please, neither was Leah and Leonard before they started. But here they are, Leonard a quarterba-"

"Running back," Leonard said staring intensely at his plate.

"What?" my mom questioned.

"I'm a running back."

"Right, right, and Leah's a cheerleader."

"Yeah, well, I'm in my senior year, and school's already started," Sharen said slightly tapping her fork against her food.

"There's still the winter and spring seasons. And there are different programs outside of school."

"Sharen's a fashion designer," Leonard said shooting his eyes at mom.

"That's besides the point, Leonard. I'm saying she needs some type of physical activity."

"I have plenty of physical activities," Sharen said slightly turning her head to look at Leonard. I saw a smirk on Sharen's face, but I didn't think my mother noticed it.

"Are you part of a gym?"

"Mother," Leonard said gripping his fork.

"It's just a question."

"Yes, I am, actually."

"It's just you have such a pretty face, but beauty takes work- I tell Leah this all the time. She never listens to me." I looked down at my food and moved my fork through the noodles on my plate.

"She's gorgeous, actually," Sharen said. I looked up and spotted Sharen smiling at me. I quickly looked back down and twirled some noodles around my fork before quickly shoving it in my mouth.