Loving Jane

Twelve

We were all huddled in the living room now after we ate. The twins had headed up to their rooms after eating, leaving the adults to chat freely. There were more people present since the arrival of Ms. Martinez and Sebastian. Dr. Martinez, Mrs. Martinez husband, joined us minutes after Randy arrived home from picking up my brothers

"Thank you so much for dinner, Jane. That was lovely and delicious," Dr. Roger Martinez remarked as he sat down beside his wife on the big couch.

My mother and Randy settled on the single couch, where Randy had to sit upon the armrest to give her space. As for me, I took the other single couch after Sebastian's refusal to sit. It left him to stand beside me, seeing as the group was in pairs.

"I'm glad you liked my cooking, Dr. Martinez," I replied with a shy smile.

"And you were so doubtful of your skills a few hours ago," Sebastian remarked off-handedly with a grin. "That was some good roasted chicken."

"I can't take all the glory on this. You did help me prepare for everything," I countered.

"What's this, Sebastian?" Dr. Martinez studied his stepson in a new light. "You've never cooked your mother and me anything before."

"That's because I was mostly at university, and when I do get home, I'd likely crash in bed or study up all night," he lightly retorted.

Dr. Martinez stiffly smiled and nodded. "Of course. Even then, you were quite a workaholic. I'm shocked you came with us here in Seattle for the weekend."

I peered up at him and quickly regretted as our eyes met. I looked away as he cleared his throat and hastily replied, "Well, I have the two days weekend off the hospital. I figured might as well make it into a vacation."

There was a brief silence from our parents, which only made the moment awkward. I sat up and squared my shoulder before meeting their gaze. My mother was smiling at me, as did Mrs. Martinez. But Randy and Dr. Martinez looked slightly confused and skeptical. I didn't give them a chance to contemplate when I stood up.

"I think I might head back to the kitchen and start cleaning up the dishes. Someone had to do it." I said and slowly headed out of the room.

"Wait!" Mrs. Martinez called. I stopped and glanced in her direction. "Sebastian, why don't you help Jane out as well?" Though it was a question, it sounded more of a command.

I didn't wait for Sebastian to reply and interjected. "No, it's okay, Mrs. Martinez. He already helped me cook dinner. You're a guest here. I can do it, or I can ask my brothers to help me."

Mrs. Martinez was about to protest when Sebastian started walking in my direction. "No, it's okay. I'll help clean up as well. It's no trouble, Jane."

I hesitated for a moment but ultimately nodded reply. I didn't dare look at the faces of our parents. I could feel their judging gazes piercing at the back of my head as Sebastian and I walked out of the room.

Once we were out of earshot, I addressed the obvious. "You shouldn't have done that, you know. They'll get suspicious. And my mother gets a bit nosy and fastidious about this kind of thing."

Sebastian snorted and started gathering the dirty place in the dining table. "Suspicious of what, Jane? I only want to help."

I rolled my eyes. "You know that's not how my mother and yours see it."

"See what?" He remained oblivious.

"You know what I meant, Seb." I groaned in frustration. My cheeks suddenly felt flushed.