Page 13 of Still Love You

CHAPTER FOUR

Silas

"Does anyone want dessert?" Candace asks, holding out a plate of flat pale discs. I think they're supposed to be cookies.

"No, thank you," Willow and I say at the same time.

Candace invited me for dinner, but given that Willow and I just splurged on burgers and fries, we weren't really hungry. But we managed to eat a few bites since her mom went to the trouble of making dinner, which consisted of steamed tofu smothered in some kind of sauce and served with lumpy mashed potatoes. The meal was pretty bad and dessert will be even worse.

Willow's mom is a horrible cook. She's also a horrible baker. But in her defense, she can only do so much when she's limited to organic, dairy-free, gluten-free ingredients.

"Then I guess I'll save these for later." She winks at Willow. "It's a new recipe. Your father loves them."

"I think I heard my name." Carl appears, wearing pajama pants and his long blue robe, his curly brown hair a mess from sleeping on it. "There's my girl." He goes up to Willow. "Welcome home, honey."

"Hey, Dad." She hugs him. "Are you feeling better?"

"Much." He stands back and rubs his stomach. "It must've been those strawberries. They were starting to get pretty moldy."

"Dad, you need to stop eating that stuff."

"Nonsense." He kisses her cheek. "Mold is a product of nature. I just had a sensitive stomach today. So Silas, any problem with the move?"

"No. Willow had everything packed and ready to go."

"She's always so organized." He stands next to Candace, taking one of the cookies from the tray she's holding. "Are you kids going out tonight?"

He acts like we're dating again. Like Candace, Carl would love to see his daughter end up with me. He didn't used to be like that. He used to try to keep us from dating, but back then he didn't want any boy dating his daughter. His liberal values turned conservative when it came to Willow. Candace was the opposite. She thought Willow should be allowed to explore her sexuality, which she did. With me. Many, many times.

But before I could even date her, her dad made me take a quiz. An actual quiz he'd written and printed out. I had to sit at the kitchen table and take it while he watched, as if I could somehow cheat on it. The quiz had all these questions about Willow's likes and dislikes, including her favorite colors, foods, movies, and bands. Then I had to make a top ten list of things I like about her. That was followed by an essay about why I wanted to date her. It took over an hour to finish the quiz and I ended up getting an A minus on it. Carl said I had her favorite foods wrong but I actually had them right. Willow pretends to like their vegan health food but she's a junk food girl all the way. And she loves meat, as evidenced by how fast she ate that burger today.

"We're going to the park for the outdoor movie," I say to Carl.

"I'll go change." Willow takes off for her room.

Carl sits across from me and lowers his voice. "You didn't tell her, right?"

"No. But it's going to be impossible to keep this from her."

"I need you to do this for me, Silas. I don't want her knowing until I've exhausted all my options."

"Can you get another bank loan?"

He shakes his head. "The bank won't loan us another dime. We've already given them the house as collateral. We have nothing else to offer them."

"Use my truck."

"We're not doing that. You're already doing more for us than you should."

"You guys are like family. I'll do whatever I can. I'll get to work earlier and stay later. I was thinking of planting some flowers in the space where the broccoli didn't grow. People pay more for flowers than broccoli."

"We should try that," Candace says, sitting next to Carl.

He nods. "It's a good idea, but it's not going to be enough."

"Dan will give you a loan," I say. "I know he will. I just haven't been able to reach him."

Dan is the guy who gave me the truck. He's worth millions. I haven't been able to call him because he's doing medical aid in a remote part of India where there's no phone service.

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