Page 85 of This I Know
“Avery, sit. Please.”
I do.
My mom’s still eating, but she talks anyway. “She said you should follow you heart, huh? That’s certainly an interesting take on the situation.”
“Maybe.” I shrug. “It sure makes sense to me.”
She stops eating and wipes the corners of her mouth with a napkin. Then she sits back in her chair and crosses her legs. “I’m proud of you, Avie. You know that? Just seeing you walk down those stairs every day makes me proud.”
I blush. I don’t tell her about how I almost fell down those stairs the other day.
“And you deserve to be happy.” She sighs. “So if you’re going to be with this boy, it’s on one condition.”
I hold my breath.
“I want you to let me meet him first. How does that sound?”
She’s being reasonable, so I’m not going to put up a fight. I crack a smile. “I can do that.”
Ethan
“Hi,” she says.
She’s standing close to me, a smile beaming across her face. She’s happy today. I love that.
“I have a surprise for you.”
I shut my locker and twist the padlock. “A surprise, huh? What’s that?”
She rolls up on the balls of her feet. For a moment I think she’s about to kiss me, and the hair on the back of my neck stands up. But I’m wrong; she’s just excited, and my heart sinks at the loss of the prospect of her closeness.
She doesn’t notice my disappointment. Her feet come back to earth and she says, “Come to my house tonight? Around six.”
I can’t think of anything except our last dinner; all I can do is give her a dumbfounded smile in return. But I can’t let her catch onto that. I playfully touch her jawline. “I’ll be there.”
Immediately, as though synchronized to our conversation, the bell rings. And before I know it, she’s flown away from me like a bird, gone to her next class. Alone again and not caring about the prospect of being late to class, I lean back against my locker and bring my clenched fist down against the metal with a bang.
I take a deep breath and rub my palms together. I can do this. Thiswon’tbe like dinner at the Kramer’s. I’ll make sure of that.
I’ve just arrived at Avery’s house. Lights are shining through all the windows, and there’s movement behind some of the pulled curtains. I should go in right about now; it’s ten to six.
A shadow whips past a downstairs window, and I see the doorknob turn.
I tense, hoping it’s not her mother.
The door opens, and through a crack is Avery, poking her head out as though she knew I was there all along. And when I see her, all hesitation is erased. Her beaming face is all that matters, and that smile of hers that illuminates the night around me. I wave and give her a sloppy grin.
She ushers me over and mouths, “Come here.”
I meet her at the door. I reach my hand to her waist and lean forward to kiss her on the cheek. The skin of her face is warm.
Together, we step inside. Avery’s home is clean, with a whiteness of walls that screamsI’m freshly done up. Someone may not give a shit about anything else, but someone definitely cares about me.The foyer is compact and leads to a short hallway, which invites you into what looks to be the home’s kitchen. From there, I see no movement and hear no sound.
That is, until Avery says, “Here. Let me take your coat.”
I wore a light coat tonight (it’s the one that’s always stored hastily on the back seat of my truck), though I don’t know why. I don’t even remember grabbing it. It’s just a comfort thing, I guess, for times of uncertainty.
“That’s okay,” I reply. I take the coat off and hold it draped over my arm. “Where should I put it?”
