Sam’s Point of View
I wake up around nine o’clock lying on Chlo; she is fast asleep. She looks so peaceful when she’s sleeping. I like being this close to her; she makes me feel safe. I try to fall asleep again so I put my head on her chest and hear her heartbeat; it’s soothing actually. About five minutes later, I hear footsteps come into the room and I open my eyes to see my grandma standing there. I quickly sit up and my cheeks get red from embarrassment. “I…it’s not…uh…”
“Sam, it’s alright. Everyone sleeps so why not sleep with someone you care for?” After she says this, she leaves. I put my head in my hands. I’m so embarrassed. I knew someone would come in and see us together. I’m surprised Chlo hasn’t woken up yet. I guess she’s just a deep sleeper. My grandma comes in the room again but with a camera this time. “Grandma, why do you have a camera?”
“Lie down like you were before.” I lie down beside Chloe not wanting to touch her because I feel a bit uncomfortable at the moment. “You weren’t like that before,” she says with a smile. I awkwardly move and put my head on Chlo’s chest. Grandma puts the camera up to her face and takes a picture. “You guys look really good together.” I blush and look down. “What’s the deal between you two?”
“W-what do you mean?” I ask sitting up.
“Don’t be a ding dong. You know what I mean,” Grandma says as she walks over to me and sits beside me on the ground.
“I think I am in love with her,” I shyly admit to her.
“Interesting.”
“Why?”
“Because I met your Grandfather when we were about your age and he told me he loved me. I told him I loved him too. We have been in love ever since.”
“What are you inferring?”
“Maybe you and Chloe will be in each other’s lives for a long, long, time,” she said quietly and happily. I smile thinking about what the future could bring.
“Wait…I thought you guys met when you were in university?”
“No. We only told you that because we knew that you didn’t know what love is. And now that you do I can tell you that your first love stays in your heart forever even if they aren’t in your life.” Chloe sits up and looks really embarrassed and surprised that my grandma is right beside us. “G-good morning, Nancy,” she says not making eye contact with her. “Good morning, dear.” Chloe looks at me and I give her a look to tell her that everything is okay. The muscles in her face and arms relax. “I was just asking Sam what he would like to eat for breakfast,” Grandma says calmly.
“You were?” She looks at me and widens her eyes as if to say ‘just go with it’. “Oh, yeah…right. You were,” I say with a weak smile.
“What would you like?” She says to Chlo..
“Would it be alright if Sam and I made breakfast today?”
“Yes, go ahead you two!” She said obviously sounding excited. Probably since she didn’t have to cook. She ran out the door and left Chlo and I alone. “You and Ms. Pecanhogen weren’t talking about breakfast, were you?”
“No, not exactly,” I say. I’m a little nervous because I don’t really want to tell her what Grandma and I were talking about.
“Oh. Okay,” she said obviously wanting to know what the discussion was about but not pushing it because she is too polite.
“Thanks for not trying to butt in,” I say with a small smile.
“Don’t thank me. You don’t need to tell me everything. Everyone deserves privacy,” she says as she leans forward and kisses me on the forehead. Her lips are warm against my skin. We get up and go to the kitchen and start making breakfast. We get out eggs, flour, chocolate chips, bacon and other baking ingredients. She starts by making the chocolate chip pancakes and then asks me if I could start making the eggs. I’ve never cooked before in my life. I open the drawer and get out a pot and I turn around when she laughs at me. “You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?”
“No freaking clue.” We both laugh. “One thing you need to know. Eggs aren’t cooked in a pot,” she says as she puts the pot away and grabs a pan. In the end, Chlo cooks everything and I just sit at the counter and watch her. God she’s beautiful especially when in my clothes: my boxers right now, and my button-up shirt on News Years. She turns around and slides a plate of food towards me as she says, “Here you go handsome.” I like it when she calls me that. Grandma and Grandpa walk in the kitchen and both say, “Wow, it smells amazing Chloe!” She smiles at the ground. “Thank you. What would you like?” She asks my grandparents.
“A bit of everything.”
“The same for me too please.” Grandpa sits in the end seat on the left and Grandma sits on the end seat right beside me leaving a space for Chloe between Grandpa and myself. She turns around with two plates and hands them to my grandparents. “It looks delicious,” Grandma says.
“Yes, very,” Grandpa adds in. Chloe smiles at both of them as to say ‘thank you’. She gets her food and sits beside me. I put my hand on her lower back and she smiles at me. We all eat. “Where did you learn how to cook?” Grandpa asks, “I feel I’m eating in a restaurant!” Chloe laughs and says, “I taught myself.” Grandma and Grandpa both look at her with their mouths open looking really surprised. “We should have you over here more often!” Grandma says excitedly, “You should stay over again tonight!”
“That would be great, but I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Chlo says politely.
“Family never intrudes,” Grandpa says smiling as he puts his arm over Chloe’s shoulder. She’s really happy now. “So, what’ll it be?”
“I’ll only stay if it’s alright with all of you.” Grandma, Grandpa and I all exchange glances and say, “We’d love to have you stay.”
“Okay, then I will.”
When we’re all done Grandma gets up with her plate. “I’ll clean up, you can sit down Ms. Pecanhogen,” Chloe says smiling at her.
“Why thank you,” Grandma says as she hands Chloe her plate. Grandpa then says, “Sam, she’s a keeper.” I whisper the words ‘I know’. I see Chlo blush. “Thank you very much for a delicious breakfast Chloe,” Grandpa says.
“Thank you,” Grandma says.
“Anytime,” Chlo says smiling. My grandparents walk out of the room.
“Can you pass me your plate please?” She asks me.
“Yeah, sure,” I say also handing her my grandpa’s and hers.
“Thank you.” She turns around and starts washing the dishes. I get up and walk over to her. I hug her around the waist as I give her a small kiss on the neck. “They really like you,” I tell her.
“It’s good to hear that.” She turns around, hugs me, and leans down so her head is on my shoulder. “Thank you. For everything,” she says. I feel something wet on my shoulder, so I lift her up to see that she is crying a bit. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be crying.”
“Why are you crying?” I wipe her tears away with my thumbs. “Because I/m happy. This is the only place I feel accepted.” I pull her in to me and hug her again.
