Page 11 of Wants and Needs
Oh, he means drunk.That isn’t too weird at a wedding, is it?
“Yes, uh,” Carter says, and clears his throat, looking down at his feet, then he looks back up at Dad with his eyes now a bit narrowed, like there’s tension there.
That could mean a number of things, but I think in this context it means he’s nervous, right?
“There were a number of years that weren’t the best for me.” His words don’t make a lot of sense to me, or why he’s saying it, but then he starts to talk really fast. “I still hadn’t gone to therapy then, to work through the guilt I felt over my parents’ deaths.”
There are a lot of things about social nuances I don’t understand, and by a lot I mean most, but right now, with the sudden and complete silence in the foyer of our family home, with Carter still standing in the hallway, I have no issues understanding that everyone is uncomfortable.
It’s because of how personal what Carter just said is, I’mprettysure.
There’s another long moment of silence, then Mom’s moving quickly. She puts the flowers semi-carefully on the entrance table and then goes right in for a hug.
Carter’s eyes go wide for a moment, and then he hugs her back. The second he closes his eyes I hear my brothers’ footsteps behind me.
“What’s happening?” I hear Larson whisper, and that’s another trigger for Mom to start moving quickly again. She steps back and grabs her flowers.
“Come on now, use your manners. Say hi to Carter, then it’s time for dinner.” She walks away and won’t raise her gaze from the flowers, and I don’t know why.
Dad, on the other hand, turns to look at me for a second, and I see he’s smiling naturally now—I know his real one—and turns back to Carter.
“Please come in,” he says, and waves a hand in my direction.I move away, going straight to the kitchen to help Mom take the roast out of the oven, but I still hear them talking. “So what were you doing in England?” Dad asks him.
“I was just taking care of a few things,” Carter says, this time I recognize that he’s being vague.
“Well, I’m glad you were,” Dad keeps the conversation going, not sounding bothered at all. “I want to thank you for helping London.”
“Of course,” Carter says, seriously now, just as I turn around with the heavy platter and walk it carefully to the kitchen table. Once I’ve set it down and nothing was spilled, I look up to see Carter once again smiling softly at London. “I’m glad I was too,” he murmurs, then his whole torso expands with a big breath and he looks at Dad again. “I went to sell my parents’ home and finally settle their estate.”
Dad’s reaction is very confusing; he drops his head until his chin is almost touching his chest. But then another inexplicable reaction comes from Carter. He... bursts out laughing and pats my father’s shoulder in a very friendly way. I know that’s friendly.
“You can’t help but bring the mood down,” Mom tells Dad in a soft voice, and when I look, I see her love for him in her eyes.
“Not to worry,” Carter tells them both. “Really, I’m a lot better these days.”
“Why don’t you tell us about your parents?” Mom asks softly, then she pulls out her chair and I go to sit too.
With all this confusion, I’m starving, and since we have someone here who I’m not used to, I just know the confusion won’t go away any time soon. My brain is in for a busy night.
3CARTER
I domy best to release the sigh slowly so no one thinks I’m bothered by Sam’s request that I tell them about my parents.
I’m not, I know I’m not. It’s just... new.
It’s been a long time since I’ve talked about them to anyone who isn’t my therapist or Milton—even my friends. They didn’t know them, and even with Ru, who did meet my parents a dozen times, I couldn’t speak about them.
But these are practical strangers; they don’t know me.
Well, Ed Trent clearly had a bad impression of me when he met me at Mike and Theo’s wedding—and who could blame him—but now I think we’re on way better terms than when he first recognized me.
I have to hand it to him, he didn’t have one ounce of hesitation when he confronted me on my drinking. I like that in a person.
I go to sit only after everyone left standing is by their chairs,and I end up between Ed and London with Liam right in front of me.
As far as I can tell, he’s wearing the same white button-down he was wearing at the airport. Unlike London and me, he hasn’t changed, but his light brown hair—the exact same shade as his brothers—looks unrulier than before, like he’s finger combed it a lot. That’s the only visible sign that he’s maybe not had the easiest day, but otherwise he looks perfectly put together.
I can tell he’s like me and has to shave every morning if he wants to remain clean shaven, because like me, he already has a little bit of scruff covering his cheeks and around his mouth.
