~Dedicated to strange and wonderful families~
Chapter Twenty Three-"And I have no idea about your granny panties"
So you know how every once in a while you have those bad days; you know the kind where your hair is all out of place and you can’t seem to find the right clothes and not to mention that you may have misplaced your contact lenses so you were forced to wear thick glasses that belonged to an eighties geek? Well that bad day was happening to me and what made it get worse was that I had less than an hour to get ready for my date with Dave.
Firstly let’s get one thing straight, I did not lose my contact lenses, I just left them somewhere in the house where I couldn’t seem to remember. Secondly, my hair had been acting up the whole day mainly because of the humid air and the whole frizz that seemed to torture me whenever the air got just a tad bit warmer. And lastly, my clothes were in the washing. I blame my mother since she was too preoccupied with wedding preparations that she forgot about dry cleaning which in turn made her forget about getting any supper so I ended up cooking.
Yes cooking and I didn’t exactly get along. And coming to cooking, did I forget to mention that I may have burnt the chicken I was trying to roast? But in my defence, roasting chicken wasn’t as easy as it seemed on TV. You had to make sure that the chicken didn’t stay in the oven over an hour or maybe two or you know three while you may have been digging around the house because you misplaced your contact lenses and maybe was trying to also look for an outfit to wear in the process.
“I think you look cute,” Juliet commented, as she took in my appearance.
I snorted, “Jules, I need to look more than just cute.”
“Why? It’s just a date with Dave and you’re clearly way out of his league,” Juliet replied, “If anything, he should be panicking about the date not you.”
I fiddled with my glasses before glancing at my reflection in the mirror. My hair which had frizzed into a massive ball of curls and static was braided back tightly so that there were just a few strands that seemed to have fought their way out. I wore a simple blue dress-top over a pair of shorts which came up to just above my knees. My makeup was on a bare minimum with just a coat of lip gloss and some eyeliner and of course there was the fact that I resembled a school girl going to do homework instead of go on a date to my boyfriend’s house.
“I might meet his parents,” I replied, “and then they’re going to think that I’m some freaky nerd helping him with his homework.”
Juliet grinned at me before answering in a smug tone, “But you’re already doing that with Sean.”
I fought the blush away but eventually lost the battle and resorted to rolling my eyes at Juliet who was smirking at me widely. Huffing I retorted, “You know I don’t appreciate my best friend implying stuff about me and Sean.”
Juliet faked innocence, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“And I have no idea about your granny panties,” I replied with a smile.
“Take that back Viv!” Juliet threatened, “You know I have to wear them when I’m on my period,” she whispered, glancing around even though there was no one else in my room.
I frowned at her before grinning slightly, “Fine, fine I take it back.”
Juliet opened her mouth to reply when my phone began to buzz. I glanced at it then at Juliet who nodded for me to answer it before mouthing, ‘I’ve got to go’ which meant that she had to go to work as a waitress at her father’s restaurant and then as soon as she was off her shift, she’d be phoning me for all the details about my date with Dave. I rolled my eyes at her as she bounced away happily before I picked up my phone to see a text from Dave.
You ready?-Dave
I typed back a simple ‘Yes’ before grabbing my purse and asking Mr Wiggles for good luck before I walked out of the front door, locking it since mum was still at work before I made my way to Dave’s car which was parked at the end of the driveway. He smiled at me as I got into the car causing me to notice his clear, sky blue eyes and to forget the fact that I looked like a complete nerd next to him.
“Hey,” Dave greeted warmly.
I felt my nerves hitch as I replied, “Hi.”
“You’re wearing your glasses again?” Dave asked.
“Uh yeah,” I replied, suddenly feeling self-conscious as he began to drive, “I couldn’t find my contacts and I didn’t like the thought of walking into walls and uh…” I giggled nervously.
Way to go Viv! That was totally smooth.
“You lost your contacts?” Dave asked, arching an eyebrow.
I laughed again, this time it sounded strained, “Did I say lost? I meant misplaced.”
Dave laughed and I felt the uneasiness slowly fade to relief. What was wrong with me? Dave wasn’t going to start laughing at me and then mock me because I wore glasses and had hair that was frizzing badly. He was my boyfriend, not some bully that was out to get me and throw paper balls at my head like some bad teen movie. I sighed to myself and let my eyes drift towards the houses we drove past and I realised that Dave had to be well-off since the more roads and houses we passed, the better and richer the area seemed to get.
I wracked my brain for any information I could remember on Dave and remembered that his father was supposed to be some retired personal trainer who won quite a few medals for swimming which would have explained Dave’s natural fish-like abilities when it came to the sport. Not that I minded, it’s just that sports-freaks never really appealed to me all that much. Imagine training all the time and eating healthy and of course, always being competitive, not exactly my cup of tea.
Eventually, the car slowed down outside a large but cosy looking double storey house. The gate opened and we drove in and I was greeted by a large front yard with a large jungle-gym. I frowned when I couldn’t bring up any conversation with Dave about him having any little brothers or sisters. Dave must have noticed my puzzled look towards the play-set and he smiled as he explained.
“My mother’s a child psychologist, she works with orphans and sometimes brings them home,” he said with a shrug, “so she likes them to feel at home.”
I smiled at the thought, before replying, “That’s really nice of her.”
Dave nodded before he led me into the front door. I was greeted by the warm smell of something sweet and honey-filled and the warm and inviting looking home. I could hear the faint sound of humming coming from what I presumed to be the kitchen since that’s where the warm smell was drifting from and heard a TV somewhere near. Dave took my arm in his as he guided me towards the warm scent, proving my theory of it being a kitchen.
A woman in her mid-forties with long auburn hair and a bright smile was humming to herself as she pushed in a tray of what I assumed to be cookies into an oven. She turned around and her brown eyes lit up when they landed on Dave then onto me. Her smile widened as she spoke in a motherly tone.
“Dave you’re home,” she gushed, “And who is this darling?”
“Mum,” Dave replied with a smile, “I’d like you to meet Vivienne, my girlfriend.”
Mrs Peterson smiled at me, “What a pretty name for such a pretty girl.”
I blushed slightly, “Thanks Mrs Peterson.”
“Please darling, call me Heather,” Mrs Peterson replied.
“Okay Mrs-” I stopped when she gave me a look, “uh Heather.”
Mrs Peterson smiled at me before shooing Dave and I out of the kitchen with an authoritative, “Let me cook in peace.”
“Don’t mind mum,” Dave replied as he guided me towards the sound of the TV, “she’s a bit of a hippie.”
I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my lips as I thought about my own mother and how she spoke to me about absolutely anything and everything. We entered what seemed to be the living room where a TV was playing what looked to be a cricket match. A man with blonde hair and eyes a shade darker than Dave’s sat on the leather couch opposite of the TV. He glanced up when Dave entered and instantly his eyes moved to me.
“Dave,” the man greeted with a smile, “you’ve finally brought home a girl.”
Dave rolled his eyes before laughing, “Dad, this is Vivienne.”
I extended my hand out as Mr Peterson shook my hand and replied, “I’m Gerald. It’s nice to finally meet the girl who my son keeps going on about.”
Tossing a glance at a now blushing Dave, I responded, “It’s nice to meet you too Mr Peterson.”
Mr Peterson smiled in return, “So I hear you’re a smart one?”
I nodded slightly, “Well yeah, sort of.”
“Academics are all good but tell me Vivienne, what do you think about sports?” Mr Peterson asked, guiding me to the couch.
“Dinner’s ready,” Mrs Peterson called out and I fought the urge to scream up in relief.
Mr Peterson was great, don’t get me wrong but I couldn’t have taken another minute with him listening about how match-fixing was becoming a growing problem and how to bat a ball in cricket or what a red card was in soccer. I was the kind of girl who shied away from basic PE, so to listen to sports professional was like sitting through a three hour lesson with your most hated subject. All in all, that equalled to torture.
Mrs Peterson guided us towards a sliding door which led to an outside porch. A table sat in the middle overlooking the view of the town of Redwood, decorated in its dazzling lights and tiny shops. The table in the middle was set up with brightly lit lanterns and plates of steaming pasta and salads along with roast chicken reminding me of how much I should learn on how to cook before heading off to college where I’d probably starve to death.
After settling down to eating, I spoke, “The food’s delicious.”
“Thank you darling,” Mrs Peterson replied, “It’s nice to be appreciated once in a while around all this testosterone.”
Mr Peterson snorted and Dave only grinned at his mother. Mrs Peterson scoffed before asking, “So darling what does your mother do?”
I sipped at my juice before answering, “Oh she’s a secretory for an advertising business.”
“That’s wonderful and your father?” Mrs Peterson continued.
I stilled slightly and I heard Dave say under his breath, “Mum.”
Ignoring the horrible feeling of how my heart was doing erratic beats and the fact that my tongue felt like sandpaper I replied, “Oh well, my father is uh…not living with us. He’s uhm…”
“How about dessert,” Mr Peterson interrupted and for the first time that night, I was grateful for the sport addicted man.
It was three in the morning and to say that I was sleeping would have been the biggest lie of the century. Okay, so maybe I was sleeping a few minutes ago that was until I was rudely awakened by my phone ringing which brings me to my current situation of sitting in my bed while Sean fiddled around with the few books I read whenever I got bored. I yawned slightly, before rubbing my eyes were begging to close again as I stared at Sean who didn’t seem all that awake either.
“So explain to me again why you’re here?” I asked; my voice laced with tiredness.
Sean sighed, glancing at me before answering, “I told you already, I just need some place to crash until my dad cools down with the whole…”
I waited for more of an explanation but when it was clear Sean wasn’t going to continue, I asked, “Whole what?”
He rubbed his tired face before rolling his eyes more to himself, “The whole issue with my mother.”
I frowned slightly, “Why would he be mad?”
“Because she’s coming for a visit,” Sean replied and the last time I was with my mother, well let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.”
It was clear in Sean’s expression and tone of voice that he didn’t want to speak more about his mother but for life of me I couldn’t have been more curious. Sean and I were friends or as Juliet kept suggesting, something a little more which meant that I could ask him about his private life, right? Of course you can Viv! Just man up and ask him already, besides, you do want to know, don’t you?
“Why not?” I asked, feeling more alert now.
Sean ran a hand through his already dishevelled, dark hair before replying, “Can we not talk about it?”
I fought a resigned sigh before conceding, “Okay.”
Sean smiled at me and for the first time since he snuck in through the front door while we tiptoed through the hallway past my mother’s room, I noticed that he looked drained. Maybe I wasn’t thinking straight or maybe it was the fact that I couldn’t take my eyes away from his brown ones but for everything good and sane, I couldn’t help asking if he wanted to stay over for the night and so of course I lied when I said my mother wouldn’t mind him crashing in my room even though she kept harping on about experimenting with sex, because that was not going to happen with us. Nope, not one bit.
So while I lay there in my bed with Mr Wiggles clutched to my chest and Sean there next to me, I realised that maybe this was how it was supposed to be with Dave. The easy-going understanding and no awkward silences and of course the whole ‘I could talk to you about anything’ relationship, but then shook the thought away. Sean wasn’t my boyfriend, Dave was and what Dave and I had was something…special.
Finally I spoke, “I went on a date with Dave.”
After a few seconds Sean replied, “And?”
“And,” I sighed, “it was weird.”
Sean turned to face me, “Weird as in?”
“Well firstly his father kept going on and on about sports,” I complained, “and then at dinner his mother asked about my mother and then,” I groaned, “my father.”
“Your father,” Sean repeated.
“Yeah,” I murmured, “and I got all tongue-tied because I couldn’t lie to her and say that my father was living in the city or anything.”
“Course not,” Sean answered.
I sucked in a breath before replying, “My mother gave me this letter from him before we left for the school trip.”
“From your father,” Sean asked, “You didn’t tell me.”
I bit my lower lip, “No, I didn’t tell anyone, not even Jules,” I whispered, “because I was afraid that somehow, it wasn’t real.”
Sean leaned closer, wrapping an arm around me in an act of comfort, “But it is.”
I breathed in his warm scent as I continued, “He wants to meet me on my birthday.”
“And will you meet him?” Sean asked.
I squeezed Mr Wiggles closer to my chest as I replied softly, burying my face into Sean’s chest, “I don’t know. I’m scared.”
“Of what,” Sean questioned; his voice soothing to my ears.
“Scared of him running away when he meets me,” I responded.
Sean’s arms tightened around me, “He’ll be a fool to run away from you Lanter.”
A/N So hi Geeklings :) Another short-ish chapter but then again, it was written in a few hours while I did my English homework and coughed up a hairball (which means I'm sick yet again-but I blame the rain we've been having). So yes I'm sniffling and coughing up lungs and learning for exams which starts on Friday and here I am, nice enough to write =P Okay, enough chit chat, what did you think about it? Did you like Dave's parents? What about Juliet, should there be more friend moments between her and Viv and lastly, Sean? Are you just as curious as Viv to know what happened with his mother? Remember to vote, comment and spread the word!
xoxo
Mona-Mae
PS: Hope you all enjoyed Halloween and to all those who went through Hurricane Sandy, my thoughts are with you :)