"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT," I said into my phone. I was on the phone with Talia, and I was starting to get more than a little ticked off. "I get that you think you're a million times more intelligent than I am, but this is a partnered project. I'm not writing a report on something I had no part in. My ideas are good; you just need to get off your high horse."
She scoffed. I pictured her twirling a braid. "Lenny, all I'm saying is; we don't have nearly enough experimental basis to source. How the fuck is anyone supposed to understand how the human body works? Not everything is meant to be figured out. Not everything has an explanation. Let it go. We'll do something else."
"You know anatomy exists for a reason, right?"
"And you know that doesn't explain shit, right?"
For the next three seconds, I shut my eyes. I could hear her breathing, waiting for me to say something only for her to counter it immediately. I took a deep breath, inhaling all that wonderful polluted air. "Can we discuss this later, with Professor Chantrea?"
Talia clicked her tongue. "So we just leave it for the rest of the week?"
"If you can manage to tear your eyes away for a few days, then yes, Atalia. That's the plan." I marched up the Odinox family's wooden steps onto their front porch. Unlike us, they had a welcome mat, a doorbell, and a doggy door. I rang the doorbell. "You need a break."
She let out a sigh. "Bye, Lenny."
I shoved my phone in my back pocket and took off my shoes. Welcome mats usually stood to mean no shoes in the house. I also didn't know about wearing shoes around Kaylee.
The door opened to reveal a boy that looked to be twelve at most, and bore no resemblance to Nash. He frowned at me for a good minute, squinting both eyes, looking me up and down and up again ... "Are you Lenny?"
At least I didn't have the wrong address. What were the odds of two different Lennys being scheduled for dinner at two different houses at the same time? Like...zero, probably.
"Yes, and you are?"
"Jonah." He ducked back inside. "Well, my mom's in the kitchen with Odin, and I'm not supposed to let strangers in..."
"You're not supposed to tell strangers your name, either, J," said the voice I'd come to recognize as Kaylee's. Jonah rolled his eyes and beckoned for me to come in. I pushed my shoes to the side with the others, a pair of yellow sneakers and a beat up black converse, and followed him in.
The living room walls were lined with family photos, single person photos, photos of Darius, photos of Darius with Kaylee... but the ones which demanded the most attention were the family photos. Most of them were old; I could tell for two reasons. 1. Because a woman who was clearly their mother was present, and 2. Because they both looked way younger than they currently were, if Kaylee's missing front teeth were anything to go by.
Kaylee came up to me in hot pink crutches, her hair wild as always, thick ass kinks framing her face. I couldn't even begin to imagine how hot she must've been feeling.
"Thank you for coming," she said in a small voice, "I know you probably had better things to do."
Not really. "Well, it's my last day here. Thought I'd do something worthwhile." I winked at her and she laughed. "So, Jonah. You guys friends?"
"Best friends. He's the best thing that's happened to me since the accident," she said so casually that I almost started to think I was the only one who thought this was a big deal. Oh, yeah, I lost my legs in an accident five years ago, but now I've got this cool new tablet, and a best friend whom I love to death, so it's all good.
We were quiet for a few minutes. I kept looking at the pictures and trying to assign timelines to them. There didn't seem to be any taken after the accident.
"These crutches are good, too, though I could do without all this pink." She grimaced. "I'm just really happy I can stand and walk again. It's a little ... hard, what with how little upper body strength I've got, but hopefully Dad and Deja let me get prosthetics soon."
While my opinions weren't credible since I didn't know many people with disabilities, I assumed they wouldn't want to talk about it. Like it'd be some sort of ... elephant in the room, and that it would be ignored always and forever, because that's just what people did about elephants in rooms, but I didn't think they'd be so open about it, and I definitely didn't think a child would talk about it so freely. But thinking about it, it sort of made sense to. It could be a coping mechanism, and it could also be that it just didn't matter.
I had a feeling Kaylee had decided to focus on the pros, if there were any, because constantly thinking about all the things she wasn't allowed to do was likely to be a mood kill.
"Do you have a physiotherapist?"
"Nope." She turned to face me. "Dad only just started to drive again, and we can't really afford one on top of everything. Deja's been so much help, though. I'm really lucky to have her. And Jonah."
A smile creeped across my face. Nash emerged from the kitchen with a napkin in his hands. "Jonah, Kaylee, go set the table." His eyes met mine. He smiled. And I... I liked that.
"How am I supposed to use my hands when I'm too busy using my arms to work these stupid crutches?"
Jonah's head popped up from behind the couch. "I'll set it solo."
Nash rolled his eyes. "I don't care how you do it, just make sure it gets done. Dad'll be home soon."
Kaylee made a show of waddling-if you could call it that-behind Jonah to the kitchen, all while mumbling under her breath. For some reason I was reminded of young Keegan.
"Hey," he greeted, tossing the napkin over his shoulder. "I didn't know if you'd show. I, uh, baked honey biscuits, but they're still in the oven, and-"
"I feel like this is the prelude to a ramble, and I'd rather not have to listen to that." I neared him. "Are you nervous about me being here?"
He furrowed his eyebrows and scoffed. "No. I was just letting you know I had honey biscuits in the oven."
"Of course you were," I said disbelievingly.
Jonah's head popped into view. "Dinner's ready."
"No, Jonah. Dinner isn't ready until Dad gets home," piped Kaylee, "but that doesn't mean we can't have an early dessert." I heard something that sounded a lot like the clattering of plates. "Shoot. Jonah!"
"Coming!"
• • •
AFTER DINNER WITH THE ODINOXES, sans Mr. Odinox, I half expected Deja and Jonah to leave-don't ask me why-but they gathered in the living room with the rest of us and a board game. "It's Kaylee's favorite," Jonah whispered as he handed me a miniature silver boot, "but she's never won. Maybe that's why she loves it so much; it's sort of a challenge for her."
I smiled at his words. "What's your favorite?"
"Don't have one, but I've played all of them, I think. Mom doesn't really like video games, and Kaylee's a little iffy about them, so we usually play board games. We have every single board game in existence in the attic. I can show you if you want."
I thought he was exaggerating about having every board game in existence, but I didn't want to chance it. "Um, maybe later," I said. He shrugged, pulling Darius into his lap. "Do you live here?"
"I live across the street. I spend all my time here, though. Not sure if that counts for something."
"You know," Kaylee cut in, "we've never actually finished playing a game of Monopoly."
"You're always the first to go bankrupt, a.k.a., the first to lose. You have no right to complain."
She waved her hand in the air. "I'm not complaining, just stating a fact." She turned to me. "Do you think we could get into the Guinness Book of Records for finishing?"
"What's the point? We won't get paid."
"The point is bragging rights."
Jonah rolled his eyes. "Let's get this started. Mom, Odin, we're waiting on you!"
"We're waiting for you," corrected Kaylee.
"Both are correct," said Deja. Her purple hair was piled atop her head in a bun. She looked from left to right. "Will someone please go up and get Odin?"
"Oh, well, I'd go, but I'm exhausted."
Jonah held up a hand full of Monopoly Dollars. "I'd go, but I do not trust Kaylee not to cheat."
"What, you think I'm gonna steal from the stash?" Kaylee flipped her hair. "I have class, Jonah. I lose with integrity."
Deja gave me the look you give someone when you're about to ask them to help you do something not particularly enticing. "Lenny?"
Ugh. "Fine. Directions?"
"Last room, white door."
"All the doors are white."
"Shut up, Jonah."
Finding Nash's bedroom was as easy as eating a honey biscuit. I knocked once, then twice, then-the door swung open. "Deja says you should come down."
Nash arched a brow. "Shouldn't you be getting ready to leave?"
"Oh, I drove. I brought an overnight bag just in case. It's in the car."
His brow rose even higher. "Didn't you say you don't have a license?"
"I have a permit. Same difference."
"So... you're staying the night?"
"I didn't originally intend to."
Nash shrugged. "Kaylee might want you to. Just saying. You probably should."
I couldn't help it, I smiled. "Kaylee might want me to?"
"The girls been raving about you since she became aware of your existence. She's not letting you leave. I just know it."
That's one more thing you two have in common. "I'll go let Kaylee know I won't stay ov-"
"Why not?"
"Nash," I called. I almost couldn't believe his behaviour. "I have to get back home."
"Why? You're an adult, Len." He met my eyes for a fraction of a second. "And, I want you to stay the night," he said. "Happy?"
"What, like I didn't know?" I linked my arm with his. "Don't worry, I'll stay. It'll make it easier for us to leave tomorrow. But know one thing; I'm a blanket hogger."
I could never have imagined the grin that spread across his face.
Finished writing iMeet Cute last night. Someone please take my phone away.