Chapter 23
“So what’s the plan?” I whisper to Seth as we sit at the top of the stairs, spying on Claire and John as they rush around the foyer, looking for last minute things before they leave.
“Ok, so we’ve told mum and dad we made reservations for them at Le fromage et la confiture, about an hour from here.” He whispers back.
I look at him sceptically, “The Cheese and Jam? There’s actually a restaurant called that?”
He shakes his, laughing to himself a little, “No it’s fake. Mom and Dad’s French is shocking so they probably won’t realise something’s up … I guess their language skills are genetic though because that was the best Tristan and Wes could come up with.” He pauses for a minute as Wes walks into the momentarily empty foyer and starts making hand signs at us. Seth waves him off, mouthing “Get them out of here!” Wes turns back just in time to hold up John’s car keys as his parents walk back in. Seth looks back to me, “We’ve given them phony directions which should leave us around 2 hours or so before they come back.”
I tuck my hair behind my ear thoughtfully, “Won’t they think something’s dodgy if they go on this random windy 2 hour drive to the middle of nowhere.”
Seth snorts, “At the moment Dad’s as dense as grandma’s homemade cheese while mom’s too excited to even think about it, so no. I’ve told them if they get lost or something to call me. If we manage to finish everything up before they call though, I’ve got some handy excuses which should get them racing back. Mainly involving Dylan and the sandwich press.”
I shake my head laughing, “Nice. What about the food then? Where’d you end up putting it?”
We duck down as John starts to mount the stairs, only to be called back by Claire who says they’re leaving right now even if John doesn’t have his watch. “All the food’s at Jake’s friend house. It’s just down the road in his fridge so one of us will need to go grab it when they leave…”
I nod my head as we watch Wes practically shove them out the door, “Have a good time!” he say to them loud and clear before the door’s shut. As soon as it is, I dash to my room, grabbing all the drycleaner bags from the closet filled with out costumes, “OK people!” I say, following Seth downstairs, “We have an epic dinner to make so let’s get started!”
Tristan and Seth start moving the furniture in the dining room to make room for tonight’s festivities, Wes drags a protesting Sam to the bathroom to make sure he takes his shower properly, bringing the table cloths that we’ll be using so he can iron them at the same time [who knew they could be so domestic?], Dylan starts to set up his camera’s and decorations, the twins disappear to find candles and sort out their special surprise which they’ve organised, Finn sits down on the kitchen counter and reads his book and Jake grabs my hand, dragging me out the door.
“I’m guessing we’re getting the food?” I ask him as we hurry down the lamp lit street, shivering against the cold.
Jake nods, quickening his pace, his hand still around mine, “Yeah, you remember Jeremy? From the supermarket? I dumped the stuff in his fridge. I texted him 10 minutes ago so he should have everything out in bags by now.”
We turn into the driveway of a nice picket fence house which eerily reminds me of the house in the psycho killer movie…
Jake raps on the door loudly and we hear someone jog over from inside. Jeremy, dressed in what I’m assuming is his normal day and night wear (sweatpants, a singlet despite the cold and thongs – I mean rubber sandals) opens the door, “Hey guys!” he says with a grin. He steps back from the door, letting us in, “The food’s thataway.”
We bustle over towards the room he’s pointing to and grab the bags sitting on the tiled kitchen floor, Jake taking the majority of them.
“Thank you so much.” I say gratefully as Jake manages to drag me out, “We owe you one.”
Jeremy waves at us from his open doorway, “I expect an explanation tomorrow.”
I wave one last time before running faster to catch up with Jake.
Jake grins, “Now for the fun part.”
I roll my eyes, “You mean you hanging around to eat the chocolate I’m trying to cook with while pretending that you don’t even know how to turn on the stove?”
He shifts his bags to one hand and grabs my own hand again, “Nope. This time I’m going to help you out.”
*
I lean against the counter, exhausted by the amount of work I’ve done in such a short period of time. I wipe the back of my hand across my forehead, probably smearing even more oil and flour across it…
Jake walks back in, now freshly showered, looking actually really good in his dress shirt and slacks with a sleek black dress vest over the top. Staying true to his word, he replaced Seth as my helper (much to everyone’s surprise) and I was able to get my cooking done much quicker. Seth, weirdly enough, was more than happy to give up his job as my helper too and he went off to deal with the commotion Dylan was making in the study. After the mains and the entrées were in the oven I ordered Jake to go get ready while I finished up.
He holds out his bow tie, “Do you know how to tie one of these by any chance?”
I smile kindly at him, wiping my hands on my apron, “Yep.”
I reach up trying to put it around his neck and I end up standing on my toes and tottering in front of him as I try to tie it. Without warning he grabs me around the waist and lifts me up onto the kitchen counter, “Easier?” He asks as I stare at him in surprise.
“Uh, y-yes.” I stutter, shakily continuing to tie his bowtie as he stands directly in front of me. From my new position I’m now at his height and I force myself to concentrate on what my hands are doing, trying to ignore his abbs which are pressing into my legs and his piercing blue eyes which I can feel watching my every move. I somehow manage to finish his bow and I straighten it, “Um, done.” I say stupidly, leaning back slightly. My heart beat quickens as he reaches a hand up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear. He leans towards me and for a second I stop breathing as I realise what I think he’s about to do.
‘Thump.’ “WHO THE F** put a F***ING BOX IN FRONT OF MY F***ING DOORWAY!?” Dylan roars from upstairs.
The moment’s broken and I take the chance to hop down from the counter and race upstairs to see what’s happened, rather than sit in an awkward silence with Jake. Once I get upstairs I’m only half paying attention to Dylan as he sits on the floor in his boxers clutching at his foot and swearing profanities at me as I try to see if anything’s broken. Rather, my mind is racing, trying to figure out whether Jake was actually just about to kiss me. I’m so deep in thought that I’m not even embarrassed by Dylan’s lack of clothing. I don’t even realise that Sam’s standing next to me, looking at Dylan solemnly.
“You’re not supposed to swear.” He says simply.
I can tell Dylan’s about to give his youngest brother a piece of his mind and I whack him across the head before he can, “Sam’s right. Now stop being such a baby and go get changed, you’re foot’s completely fine.”
Dylan glares at me about to say something but then he shuts his mouth and fake limps quietly back into his room, kicking one last time at the box in his doorway. I turn around to see a pretty peeved looking bunch of brothers looking absolutely drool-worthy in their matching costumes. We can’t afford false alarms right now, especially when Claire and John are probably on their way back now.
I smile, trying to ease the tension, “It’s Dylan, what do you expect?” Most of them roll their eyes and walk back downstairs while Jake, Seth and Wes stay. “How long have we got?” I ask, rubbing my eyes, trying to avoid looking at Jake.
Wes crosses his arms, “If you can get ready within 15 minutes then about an hour and a half.”
I stare at him wide-eyed, “Are you serious?!”
He shrugs back, “They called half an hour ago to say that they couldn’t find the place and they’re coming back home.”
I rake my hands through my hair in exasperation, “Then why didn’t you tell me?!”
Sensing that I’m probably about to claw out Wes’s eyes for his totally nonchalant demeanour, Seth quickly heads downstairs to check on dinner and to make sure everything’s set, dragging Wes with him.
Jake stays though, keeping his calm gaze on me and I turn around walking towards my bedroom to grab my things, he follows me in, “Are you ok?” he asks as I grab a towel and my costume. I nod my head absentmindedly. “If you want to kiss me that bad then you just need to say so.”
I whirl around, my mouth hanging open to be met with his suggestive, cocky grin.
“You’re face! You actually thought I was serious?!” he suddenly laughs.
I immediately frown and start flinging clothes and random objects at him, “You are so full of it!” I yell as he cracks up laughing on my floor, “I wouldn’t kiss you if you were the last guy on Earth!”
He sits up, wiping tears from his eyes, “That’s what they all say babe.” He tenses his biceps, “But that’s when the guns come out.”
I storm out of the room completely furious; I wasn’t the one who was leaning forward to kiss him! He was leaning forward to kiss me! What is his friggin problem!?
Under the shower head I push my angry emotions away, forcing myself to think of what’s going to happen tonight instead of Jake’s random moods. I smile to myself as I imagine Claire’s absolutely thrilled face and John’s one of shocked happiness. It’s going to be awesome.
Someone knocks on the bathroom door and I finish washing the conditioner out of my hair, turning off the shower and stepping out quickly, “I’m coming!” I yell out as I dry myself and start to get into the dress Jake hired for me. It’s a cute black little number with a square neck, puffy, short sleeves and a skirt that flares out slightly, stopping an inch or two above my knees. I tie the white apron around my waist, completing my look and open the bathroom door. No one’s in the hallways but I can hear the boys working in the kitchen under Seth’s supervision. As long as he’s there I’m not too worried about the food.
I slow as I hear someone talking in my room and I stand just outside my door, listening to the one-sided conversation going on.
“I tried you’re stupid sensitive personality and it didn’t work!” I peek around the door to see Jake sitting on my bed, looking out the window as he talks on his phone, “... Yeah, I’ve been trying all kinds of things. I tried being kinder, nicer, more understanding. It’s just not getting through to her!... Yeah, I tried that too, it’s not working. I’ve gone back to my joking kind of side now, I think I scared the shit out of her with that romantic douchebag … I know you told me to, but it’s not working idiot… Trust me, being all macho and coming on strong is not the answer, she’ll flip if I try… I just… I just want her to like m–” He suddenly turns to see me eavesdropping and mumbles, “I’ve gotta go.” Into the phone before hanging up. I decide to not be embarrassed for getting busted and I stand there, crossing my arms. Jake makes to push his hair back but then remembers it’s been styled and lets his hand fall, “How much of that did you hear?” he asks, avoiding my gaze.
I shrug, “Enough to know that you’re trying to get with some poor defenceless girl who obviously needs some sort of restraining order against you.” I start rooting through my cupboard and pull out a hairdryer.
I plug it in and start to dry my hair while Jake seems to relax a little, “Don’t you have something to do?” I ask as he watches me with that eerie way of his that makes me feel self-conscious.
He shrugs, “Not really. That dress suits you by the way.”
I quirk an eyebrow, turning my head to look at him, “Are you saying I look good as hired help?”
He smirks, “I’m saying you look hot as hired help.”
I roll my eyes and turn up the fan speed of my hairdryer, letting it drown out anymore idiotic conversation.
Soon I’m running down stairs to check on my raspberry tart which I forgot about. I settled on making both the tart and the chocolate fondant with ice-cream and raspberry sorbet. Oh, I had so much fun making them!
I jog into the kitchen to find it dimly lit by candles with some soft music playing in the background, the dining area now cleared except for a lone table standing in the middle of the room , two chairs placed on either side of it, cutlery and glasses set out. A vase filled with roses is set in the middle of a low doughnut shaped ball filled with water with small floating candles that bop on the surface. A small space has been cleared on the other side of the table for which I’m assuming is a stage and I start to get nervous about the duet Jake and I are going to sing. We haven’t practised that much and I’m seriously hoping his weird whiplash moods aren’t going to affect his voice…
All the boys are lined up in height order [Zach looking pretty pissed since Chace is apparently just that tiny bit taller] all dressed in the same waiter costumes with white cloths slung over their arms looking like they just casually descended from heaven.
I stand there in shock as Wes grins, “So what do you think?”
“What do I think?” I exclaim, “Guys, this is amazing! They’re going to love it!”
They all seem to relax slightly and I find myself feeling pretty proud that we were able to pull all this off, forgetting Jake and his weird phone call.
As everyone either stands around awkwardly, trying not to get their costumes wrinkled, Seth walks over to me and starts to tell me everything he’s done. I nod my head, “Thank you so much Seth, I don’t know if I could have pulled this off by myself.”
He shrugs, “I may not be able to do a lot of things but it really does mean a lot when people are grateful for my help.”
I squeeze his hand before turning around with some oven mitts and taking the tart and chocolate fondants out of the oven. A rich, warm smell immediately fills the kitchen and suddenly I’m fending off straying fingers and even tongues as brother after brother tries to taste what I’ve made. I whack Dylan on the butt with a rolling pin as he tries to dip his hands into one of my test fondants while I’m helping Sam tie up his bow tie.
Ignoring Dylan’s cry of, “First my foot, and now my tail bone! Will someone just wheel me to hospital already!”
I crouch down again and continue straightening up Sam’s suit. “You are just too cute!” I squeal as I wrap him up in a hug.
I notice Jake roll his eyes at me and he walks over to Tristan who’s lighting some of the floating candles that have gone out. I don’t know if I hear him right but I think he mutters, “Why doesn’t she call me that?” before leaving. Weird guy.
The doorbell rings and everyone freezes, listening to the age-old familiar sound echoing throughout the house. They’re early.
I’m the first one to snap out of it as the bell is rung again, “Places everyone!” I stage whisper, clapping my hands. I re-straighten Sam’s jacket and untuck his shirt from his underwear one last time [somehow he manages to do this every 15 minutes] before pushing him towards the entrance to the kitchen after Tristan who runs for the door.
I stand in my position by the counter as the boys stand in their own places and wait.
The door opens and Claire’s voice carries down to us loud and clear, “What kind of directions are you giving us? We ended up at some run-down old barn in the middle of nowhere! And what’s this about Cheese and Ja…” the words seem to die in her throat as she’s probably now taking in Tristan’s costume.
As rehearsed, he clears his throat and I can practically see him giving them the light bow he practised so many time in front of the mirror, “We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience Madam but we at the Bon Garcon are only here to please, so if you wouldn’t mind giving me your wrap and sir, you’re jacket, then I can lead you to your table.”
There’s some bewildered silence as John and Claire seem to process what’s going on and then there’s some rustling of material as they comply with Tristan’s request. The front door shuts and footsteps are soon heard walking down to the kitchen.
They walk in and their looks of confusion and curiosity soon turn to looks of shock and soon tears. Claire starts to bawl her eyes out as she realises what’s going on and Tristan pulls out a box of tissues which have been conveniently placed in the drawer next to him. John looks on with a proud, happy expression.
Once she’s got her emotions under control, Tristan nudges Sam forward and he stands in front of his parents clutching at the menu’s I helped him draw up yesterday. “Good evening.” He says in a clear posh voice, just like a taught him, “and welcome to the Bone Garsen. I am one of your hosts, Samuel.” He holds out his hand, “Please follow me to your seats.” Claire puts her hand in his and lets him lead them over to their table. Once they are seated Tristan nudges Sam again as he momentarily forgets his lines. He looks up at him annoyed, “I know! You don’t have to jab me so hard!” he turns back to John and Claire who look like they’re about to die from how cute he is. I know I am. “Tristan, along with Seth and Finn will also be your... servants…” I hide a smile behind my hand at Sam’s slip up while John and Claire chuckle but he carries on, “And Hailey is your chef for tonight.” I give a little wave from behind the counter. “AND NOW!” Sam announces with great gusto, “You’re entrée!” he does an elaborate bow and the sound of ripping material makes my heart sink.
Tristan sighs and hands me a mortified Sam over the counter before turning back to his parents, “Can I interest you with some wine?” he asks, trying to distract them from Sam’s pants dilemma.
I grab a couple of safety pins I’ve stuck in my bra [Ok, as weird as that sounded I knew something like this was going to happen, so where’s a better place to put them?] and start fixing up his pants quickly. When I’m finished I must say I’ve done a pretty good job… You could say that Sam’s just taken on more of a…. punk look.
Seth and Finn hand out the entrees of garlic bread [Fancy, huh?] and tonight’s escapades really get underway.
“Psssst!” someone hisses from the back door.
I see Tristan glance up from pouring the wine into John’s glass and roll his eyes. He straightens with a sigh and says in a bored tone, “Now introducing the marvellous, magical magnificent W–”
“You forgot Mysterious!” the voice hisses again.
Tristan rolls his eyes again, “Mysterious Wesdini…”
Polite clapping ensues before Wes enters the ‘stage’ with an eye catching flap of his large, black Dracula cape…
“Lady and Gentleman!” he addresses Claire and John, “I, the Marvellous, Magnificent, Magical Mysterious Wesdini, will be one of your entertainers for tonight!” he says proudly.
They clap again and he proceeds to dazzle them with his card tricks and plucking birds out of the air. I must say I’m pretty impressed, even if the birds aren’t pigeons or doves… budgies work too. Even the little Pomeranian which he seems to pull out of his cape is impressive but I’m kind of worried by the fact that some poor family’s probably walking the streets wondering where the hell their dog could be. The last time I checked we didn’t have any pets at all…
His act goes surprisingly well and as he finishes up the mains are served, Roast lamb with rosemary encrusted chat potatoes, carrots and gravy… Ok, it’s simple, but back when I was in Australia Matt’s mom showed me her ‘secret’ recipe and it’s just amazing!
I push back memories of Matt with ease now, he’s old news. I’ve got bigger problems than him to worry over anyway...
Once he’s off I notice that the twins and Dylan have disappeared. The latter soon appears though, carrying an acoustic guitar, a magnificent moustache drawn below his nose in what I’m suspecting is permanent marker.
He’s going to have fun getting that off. I snigger to myself.
He walks silently towards the stage area and takes a deep bow. We all watch in curiosity, dinner and serving now forgotten. Suddenly he straightens up and starts strumming on the guitar, his voice taking up a wailing kind of sound that seems to get soft and loud all at the same time [Think Manuel from Faulty Towers]. We all just stand there in complete and utter shock. Has Dylan finally lost his marbles?
Suddenly 2 figures come whirling into the room arm in arm and soon I’m gasping for breath as I watch Zach and Chace start up a fast-paced tango, Dylan’s wailing voice and his guitar, their background music. The whole scene is so bizarre that I start to cry. The costumes are pretty impressive though. The black suit is shiny and I’m starting to have the suspicion that it’s covered in sequins… the dress is a bright, flamboyant ankle length outfit with a layered skirt which reveals a rainbow of colours as it flaps along to the beat. The funny thing is, is that Zach is wearing the dress while Chace is wearing the suit. I know it’d be mean placing stereotypes but it explains my sequin suspicion at least.
The music abruptly comes to a halt and all three brother’s take a bow, The neckline of Zach’s dress dipping forward erratically due to his lack of cleavage. I notice Jake grinning at me and I raise an eyebrow back. He moves his hand up slightly and my eyes rest on the video camera he’s holding. A slow grin starts to spread on my face and I give Dylan a little wave as he walks out the door and his expression turns worried. He should be.
The mains are finished quicker than I expected, with many compliments to the chef, and I start to prepare dessert. Someone turns some light music on and Claire and John chat together over their candle-lit meal and we give them some space. Jake comes over to help me and I have to slap his hands every few seconds as he tries to sneak raspberries. Seth – with the help of Sam – serves dessert and we leave them all alone. After relaxing on the couch for what seems like only 5 minutes – but is in actual fact about half an hour – Jake pulls me up and we head back to the kitchen. Tristan invites Claire and John to have a little dance on the back veranda while we provide the background music. I sit on a high stool next to Jake and we sing together while he plays his guitar. I can hear the dim clank of dishes as the others clean up and I’m only faintly aware of the fact that the sounds seem to become quieter and quieter as they seem to listen to our voices. The rest of my ‘awareness’ is centred around Jake’s warm form next to me that makes me feel so comfortable, like I never want to get up…
My heart is set on you
I don't want no one else
And if you don't want me
I guess I'll be all by myself
I capture glimpses of John and Claire wrapped in each other’s arms through the open window as we go through our song selection, Give in to me saved as the final song.
I'll use my eyes to draw you in
Until I'm under your skin
I'll use my lips, I'll use my arms
Come on, come on, come on
Give into me
With our backs to the rest of the kitchen, I start to feel wistful watching John and Claire, wondering if I’ll ever get to be that special girl that is that deeply loved by someone else.
Give into me
*
A soft knock sounds on my door and I quickly finish pulling on my sweat pants, “Two secs.” I call out grabbing a random tank top and pulling it on. I open the door as I tug it down over my stomach. “Oh, hey.” I grin at John and Claire. My eyes process that they’re holding hands and I feel like squealing at how cute they are.
Claire smiles kindly at me, “We just wanted to say, thank you for tonight. We really had the best time. It was just that more special because all of you worked together to do something like this rather than buying us something. Nothing makes us more proud than good old hard work from our kids and we really appreciate everything you’ve done.” She lets go of John’s hand and hugs me, kissing me on the forehead and then stepping back.
“That’s ok.” I say, “I’m glad you liked it. What did you think about the food?”
Claire groans, “I loved it! I swear, if you make those fondants ever again, you’ll never get to eat one since I’ll be stealing them all.”
I laugh, “I’m glad you liked them.” I notice that she kind of steps back a bit and my eyes focus on John whose stance has now turned a bit unsure and maybe even nervous. Claire nudges him from behind and he steps forward a little, clearing his throat slightly, “Um, thank you for the dinner. I really enjoyed it.” He says before quickly kissing me on the forehead. At first I just stand there in awe but then I see Claire’s hopeful expression. Knowing that I’ll have to be the one to break the awkwardness I launch myself at him, throwing my arms around his neck in an affectionate hug. At first he stands there rigidly, unsure of what to do but then slowly he hugs me back before stepping away, saying good night and walking off.
Claire hugs me again, “Thank you for that.” She whispers in my ear, “He’s always been nervous on invading any parental roles for you but he really loves you. He thinks of you as a daughter, just like me.” She pulls away, “You know, if you play your cards right you’ll have him wrapped around your finger in no time.” she sighs, “You’ll have the unlimited access to his credit card that I can only dream of.”
I laugh, patting her on the shoulder, “When that day comes, I’ll be sure to share it with you.”
She kisses me on the forehead again and then walks to her room, leaving me to finish getting ready for bed.
As soon as my door’s closed again I let out a long breath, thinking about how much my life has changed since coming to stay here. I would never have believed that any of this would be happening to me when I first came back to America. No one would have seen this coming, I think. I sure as hell didn’t.
Around 20 minutes later after I’ve turned out my lights and I’m lying in bed, half asleep. I hear a soft knock on my door. Thinking it’s Sam, I call out quietly, “Come in, sweetie.” not bothering to open my eyes.
I roll over on my bed to make room for him and the bed dips, making me roll towards his warm, sturdy form.
Wait a second…
“Jake!” I groan, “What do you think you’re doing?”
I feel his shrug against my back as I turn around, “You invited me in.”
“What are you, a vampire?” I mutter into my pillow, all my strength that should be focused on kicking him out, still dormant, “And I didn’t.”
He puts his hands behind head, settling in and bumping me over so he can have more space, “You did.”
“What about your parents?” I say, trying to coax him out rather than use brute force, “Hello? A guy and girl our age sleeping in the same bed isn’t usually just looked over.”
“You’ve already slept with me before.” He says simply.
“When?” I demand before groaning again, “No, don’t tell me. I’d rather not remember.”
The bed shakes as he laughs quietly, “I’m not crashing here your Majesty, so don’t worry. I just wanted to talk.”
I turn around abruptly and glare in his direction, “Do you have any clue what time it is?”
My dark-adjusted eyes see his face look questioningly at me, “Make-out time?”
I roll over again, elbowing him in the side as I go to show him I’m not happy. We lie there for a few minutes in silence and my brains now hyper alert as my sleepiness wares off and my I’m-in-bed-with-a-guy senses kick in, processing the situation. Memories of earlier bow-tying scenes flash through my mind and my face heats up considerably.
My mind races as I try to think of how to get him out of my bed. Out of my room would be super, but because it’s Jake we’re talking about, that might be pushing it a bit.
I start kick feebly at his legs, pushing them out from under the covers and grabbing as much blanket as possible. Much to my disappointment, shock and annoyance, this doesn’t faze him. He just turns onto his side and loops an arm around me, pulling me close. That’s when I start to struggle, my poor 16 year old heart can only take so much. I mean, it’s not like I actually like, like him or anything… it’s just hard to try and sleep with a hot guy next to you. Especially one who’s a jerk and gets kicks out of embarrassing you as much as possible.
“Jake!” I hiss loudly, “Cut it out, already!”
He chuckles and I finally feel the weight lift off the bed. I start to untangle myself from my blanket but his strong hands help me out, pushing me back down and tucking me in. He smooths my hair against my head and walks out with a soft, “Good night.” Thrown over his shoulder.
I lie there bewildered by Jake and his ever changing moods.
And they say that males are ‘simple’ creatures…