Broken Hearts and a Small Glass of Lemonade

18: Part Two

Evening of the Same Day:

Adam is about the same age as the woman and has two teenage girls who are both younger than me.  He has burly arms and legs and looks like he could lift at least two tons.  His smile is infectious and his laugh is even more so.  His eyes are green and he has straight black hair which is cut to his ears.

His oldest daughter is nineteen and has curly black hair that dangles down to her waist.  She's closer to my age then her other sister, who is sixteen.  Her eyes are like her father's, but they seem to be missing something-- a light maybe?  She's wearing black skinny jeans and a short-sleeved v-neck t-shirt thing that hangs down to her knees.

Adam's youngest daughter is sixteen, and she has blonde hair and blue eyes.  Her hair is cut short and she has earrings all over her ears.  She's wearing a short dress, which makes me think that his oldest daughter's t-shirt thing is a dress too.  As she comes through the door, she gives me a look of disdain, and suddenly I feel very small next to her.  Her older sister shoves her elbow into her ribs and she complains softly.

"It's a nice house you have here, Suzie," Adam says.  I wince at the woman's name.

"Thank you, Adam," she replies.  She looks comfortable in her flowing, red dress.  I'm almost jealous that she can pull something like that off.

"And is this your daughter?" he asks.  He comes forward and shakes my left hand awkwardly.  "I've heard a lot about you."

I give my mom a glance before replying.

"Well," I say, "this is the first time I've heard about you.  So it's quite a surprise to have you to dinner, but welcome anyway, right?"

He laughs at my confused manner and nods.  When he turns his backs to introduce his daughters, Katey, nineteen, and Kelly, sixteen, I shake out my hand.  His grip is crushing!

As they chatter together, I hurry toward my bedroom and shut the door behind me.  It's too much.  I'm not ready for a social life.  The looks and stares people give me are horrendous!  I look down at the clothes I picked out this morning and grimace.  They don't exactly help either.

I rummage through my closet some more and find a decent red, long-sleeved shirt.  I know it won't hide the emptiness in the right sleeve, but it's better than having it out in the open.

I make my appearance again and Kelly gives me the same look from before.  Right then and there I decide that I will ignore her the rest of the night.  Why is she giving me those looks anyway?  I sit across from Katey and look around the table.

Adam and the woman are seated on the ends of the table, which leaves Kelly, gladly, seated next to Katey instead of me.  Adam seems just as happy as when he came in.  The woman looks even happier than when we were getting ready, and Kelly still looks like she's going to kill me.

"I heard that you explored the town today," Adam says, lifting a mouthful of potatoes to his mouth.

"I did."

"Did you find anything exciting?" he asked.  Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Katey looking at me intensely.  I fight the urge to ask why.

"Nope.  It's just a town."

"Just a town?" the woman says.  "You grew up here and loved it.  Now you're saying you find nothing interesting?  There has to be something."

I grit my teeth.  There was one little thing that I remember, but I'm not going to burst into tears in front of all these people.

"There was nothing," I insist through gritted teeth.  I shove some potatoes into my own mouth and chew hard and fast.  The tears already fighting to come out as I remember the small gas station I walked past today.  It reminded me of Lillie and Riley instantly and I regretted ever going out there.

"Okay," the woman sighs.  "We're not going to get worked up about it.  So, Katey, I heard that you're looking into colleges?"

She nods.  "I've looked into a lot of different schools, but I'm not sure where to go yet.  I still have two months to decide."

Her voice surprises me and I almost choke on the potato I'm eating.  I guess I was thinking she'd sound like a rough person, but her voice is melodic in all ways.

The woman smiles and goes to Kelly next.  "I heard that you're starting High School.  Will you be a Junior or Sophomore?"

"I'll be a Junior," she shrugs and then gives me a smug glance.  I fight the urge to glare back.

The rest of the meal is silent.