I stayed like that, protected by Caleb, for a few hours. At first we just whispered sweet nothings to each other and stole secret kisses from each other, ignoring the spread of food laid out in front of us. We ignored the weird looks from passerby; we ignored the sun setting; we ignored the sudden change in the weather; we ignored everything except each other.
I rested my head onto Caleb's chest, snuggling up under his neck. No matter where I snuggled up to him, it felt like I fit perfectly; like our bodies were meant to connect.
Caleb shifted to make himself more comfortable. I lifted my head up. "Am I annoying you?"
"No! No,...I actually feel very content with you." Caleb looked at me again and smiled. "Here, let's get this out of your eyes." He gently pushed my hair back, tickling my face. I giggled, which caused Caleb to laugh with me and for my hair to fall back into my eyes.
"Laughing won't help you keep the hair out of your eyes." Caleb brushed my hair out of my face again. His fingers lingering on my face, slowly tracing my jawline and sending shivers down my spine.
I looked up into his eyes. "You're beautiful." He murmured. I blushed, and suddenly Caleb was aware of our surroundings. "You need to get home, it's getting late." He somehow managed to pick me up with him as he was standing up.
"What about the food?" We both turned our heads down to stare at the spread of ignored food. In seconds, both of us were on our knees shoving the food and the blanket back into the basket.
A chill had come over the air which sent me shivering. "Here," Caleb said, handing me his jacket, "put it on and come walk next to me." I obediently did what Caleb told me to; thankful for having his jacket and for a reason to walk next to him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pressing me closer to his body.
"Aren't you cold now, Caleb?"
He looked down and me and smiled. "Not with you by my side." He leaned down and kissed my cheek quickly.
The walk to my house was over too soon; I wanted to spend more time with Caleb. "Please join us for dinner." I asked him as we climbed up my front porch steps.
"I don't know if your parents would want me too."
He knocked on my front door even though it was my house and we could have just walked in. Both Mom and Dad answered the front door. "We figured you two were together." Mom smiled at us. "Thank you for walking Shay home Caleb, and please come in. You're more than welcome to join us for dinner if you would like."
I gave Caleb a triumphant look as we walked into my house.
"Thank you Mrs Mitchell. I would love to stay for dinner but I don't want to impose on you if it'll be any trouble."
"Of course not! You're always welcome to join us for any meal, you know that Caleb."
I smiled; I always knew that secretly Mom loved to have Caleb around, even if she didn't act like it.
Caleb smiled at my mom. "Well, thank you Mrs Mitchell, and I would love to join you for dinner tonight. Thank you."
Dad, who I had no idea how he felt about Caleb, spoke up for the first time since Caleb and I walked in. "Caleb, would you like to come into the den and talk before dinner?"
Caleb gave us one of his classic smiles, which made Mom beam and even Dad seemed to soften up. "Okay, but first may I ask what is for dinner?"
We all laughed, including Dad who smiled and gave a small chuckle. "We're having baked chicken and potatoes." Mom answered.
"Sounds delicious, and once again, thank you for having for dinner." Caleb said once again before following Dad into the den.
Mom and I walked into the kitchen and immediately I went over to the sink to peel and wash the potatoes. Mom was seasoning the chicken and we worked in the unusual silence only for a few moments. "He's really caught up on you, Shay."
I stopped peeling the potato in my hand but I didn't turn around. "I know." I whispered, barely audible.
"It's a shame you two aren't soulmates."
"Yeah." I had a feeling I knew where Mom was going with this conversation and it wasn't a conversation I wanted to have.
"I imagine he's told you more about Marley than that she's just his sister."
I was right. "Yes, he has."
"So you know she ran away to live with that guy who she met and decided is her soulmate?" I nodded, knowing that Mom had turned around even though I had yet to do so.
Mom placed her hand on my shoulder and gently turned me around. "Honey, I see the way he treats you, the way he looks at you. I see the love you two share. For some reason, the government doesn't see what everyone else sees. I understand if you would rather be with Caleb than with your soulmate, but I see Caleb as your soulmate."
I was taken back, I wasn't expecting that. "Mom...are you..." I couldn't get the words out of my mouth.
"I'm giving you my permission to run away with Caleb. Just please promise me that you will wait until you're older."
I looked at my mother, really looked at her. I studied her laugh lines, and her hair that was starting to grey, and our similar face structures, and her beautiful hazel eyes. My mother was strong, and caring, and beautiful, and understanding.
My voice cracked, "Thank you...but I don't know if thats what I want to do, but thank you for understanding." I wrapped my arms around her torso and hugged her tight, like I used to do when I was younger.
She kissed the top of my head like she used to do when I was younger. "Of course Shay, of course." We stood in the middle of the kitchen hugging each other briefly because we heard the water running from the sink and reality came back into place. "Let's finish dinner before the men come looking for dinner." And just like that we went back to our roles in the kitchen and acted like that conversation just didn't happen.
Soon after we started cooking again, Caleb and Dad walked into the kitchen, laughing. "Shay, please get us drinks." I whipped my head around, remembering what happened the first time I had dinner at Caleb's. I immediately I went to reach out to Caleb to see if he was okay because I knew how he felt about drinking, but I stopped myself because my parents were in the room.
Caleb tensed up, but quickly regained his previous posture. "I'll just have juice or lemonade. Just tell me where it is and I can get myself a glass."
I peeled the last potato and went over to where Dad kept his drinks and the glasses. "Which one do you want Dad?" I held up the bottles by their necks. He pointed to the one in my left hand, deep in conversation with Mom. "The lemonade is over here, Caleb." He came over to me as I was pouring Dad his drink. I looked at Caleb from the corner of my eye; he seemed so comfortable in my kitchen.
"What did you and my dad talk about? You seemed to get along well."
"Oh, just school mainly. He wanted to know how my grades are and he asked me about my friends."
I wanted to know the answer to that one. "Let me give this to my dad and then I want to know the answer to that last question." Dad and Mom had left the kitchen without informing either Caleb or I. They were in the den, talking softly. I waited a few moments to see if I could hear anything they were saying. They said my name and Caleb's, and I decided I didn't want to hear what they were saying. I knocked on the wall softly. "Dad? I have your drink ready?"
"Shay, come in here." I walked in quickly and placed this drink on the coaster on the table. "Set the table please while your mother and I talking." I nodded, and slipped back out of the room.
I snuck up behind Caleb and wrapped my arms around him from behind. He turned around, smiling.
"So what did you say when my dad asked you about your friends?"
"Honestly?" I nodded. "Honestly, I sad that you're my best friend and that I promise to respect you. Your father and I started talking about our relationship and how he felt about it. As we have gotten closer, and he saw how we act around each other, he said that he's glad that we met."
"I'm glad we met too."
"I am as well, but lets not get emotional now before dinner." I laughed, because I felt us getting into an emotional conversation.
My parents walked back into the room then, and we went back to working around the kitchen on dinner. Just like that, everything was back to normal.