Seeing Shadows (39 page)

"Hi Mom." Simon returned the hug warmly and then turned to me. "Mom, this is Caitlin."

"Caitlin! So nice to meet you!" Simon's mother held my hands and kissed both my cheeks, which I thought was very European. At least, I think it was very European. The closest I had ever gotten to Europe was being subjected to Colleen's pseudo-French accent whenever she got the urge.

"Hello Mrs. Crewe. Nice to meet you." She was still holding my hands and I felt awkward but didn't want to seem rude by pulling away.

"Call me Beth!" she insisted. "Mrs. Crewe makes me feel old. I feel old enough knowing that my daughter is turning sixteen tomorrow! I'm so happy you could come, Caitlin."

I gave her a smile, trying not to look as uncomfortable as I felt. Simon's mother was warm and welcoming, but it was hard not to feel intimidated. I couldn't think of her as Beth, so I just avoided calling her anything at all. "Thank you so much for having us stay the weekend. You must already be so busy because of the party without having houseguests too."

"Nonsense," Mrs. Crewe said, waving her hand. Her blue eyes sparkled as she winked at me conspiratorially. "It's not like I do anything for these type of things anyways. I just hire the people and they make it happen like magic. I'd feel guilty for not doing more, but unless my daughter still wants a petting zoo for her sixteenth birthday party, it's better to leave it to the professionals."

I smiled at her confession, not knowing what to say in return. I wondered when exactly I had become a mute. Simon must have noticed my awkwardness because he slung his arm around my shoulders, guiding me next to him so I was no longer his mother's focus. "And this is Sarah, Caitlin's roommate and best friend."

Mrs. Crewe greeted Sarah with warmth as well and then she fawned over Grant, admonishing him for not visiting often enough.

"You must all be exhausted after the long drive. Are you hungry?" Mrs. Crewe looked at Maxine, who had been standing by the stairs. "Maxine, can we rustle up something for the kids?"

"It's okay, Mom," Simon interjected before Maxine could reply. "We ate on the road. I think everyone just wants to go to bed. I'm going to grab our bags from the car. Can you show the girls to their rooms?"

"Of course," Mrs. Crewe replied. "But Harold can get your bags."

"It's okay." Simon was already walking toward the front door, Grant following him. "It's late and I don't want to wake him. It's not much anyways." Simon looked back at me before walking outside and smiled. "I'll stop by your room to drop off your suitcase and make sure you're settled in."

I nodded, although I felt a little embarrassed for being singled out by Simon. His statement was clearly directed to me, but I wasn't the only houseguest present. I was worried that his mother would get the wrong idea, but she seemed unperturbed as she indicated we should follow her up the stairs.

"I've put you two in rooms next to each other. This place can be a bit of a maze to navigate, so I thought it would be easier to put you close together." Mrs. Crewe climbed the stairs without a hint of breathlessness as she talked. She must be in great shape because I felt myself getting winded following her. Sarah seemed perfectly fine too. Great, I was the only one out of shape.

"I know this place is too big for us," she continued, "And Martin, Simon's father, always says we should downsize to a smaller house. But I love this place. It's hard to think of giving it up."

"It's a beautiful house, Beth," Sarah said, having no problem using her first name. I envied her ease with strangers. "I can see why you wouldn't want to sell it."

Mrs. Crewe opened the door to a bedroom down the first hall we entered and ushered us in. "Sarah, this is your bedroom. I hope it's okay." She pointed to a door. "That's the bathroom and next to it is the closet. If you need anything, just buzz this intercom and someone will answer." She nodded towards the complicated device that hung on the wall next to the doorway. There was no way I would ever use that. It looked like it could launch rockets into space, and I'd probably end up setting off an alarm by accident.

The bedroom was spacious and impeccably decorated in autumn colors. It was dominated by a king-sized bed with a plush rust colored comforter.

"It's beautiful, thank you!" Sarah said with enthusiasm. She glanced at me, looking contemplative. "Actually, this room is huge. Maybe Caitlin and I should stay in here together. The bed's plenty big enough."

Leave it to Sarah to note my awkwardness. I knew she was also worried about my fear of having visions while staying at Simon's house. I wanted to finger the iridium charm that hung under my shirt but resisted the urge. I knew my aunt said it would prevent my vardoger from entering me while I slept, not from having visions, but I hoped it was like a talisman, keeping everything negative away.

Mrs. Crewe shook her head at Sarah's suggestion. "That's not necessary. I want you girls to be as comfortable as possible and Lord knows there's plenty of spare bedrooms in this house. Caitlin's room is right next door so you'll be close by."

We left Sarah in her bedroom and Mrs. Crewe guided me to mine, which was right next to Sarah's as she had said.

I had thought Sarah's bedroom was beautiful but the room we stepped into next was breathtaking. It was decorated in shades of blue and felt cozy even though it was as large as Sarah's. The four poster bed had a midnight blue comforter but the rest of the room was done in light blues, making it seem fresh and airy.

"I hope it's okay," Mrs. Crewe commented. "It's pretty much the same set-up as Sarah's. The bathroom's there and the closet's right next to it."

I wanted to ask if every bedroom had its own bathroom in this house, but instead I smiled. "It's lovely. Thank you so much. I hope we won't be too much trouble."

"No trouble at all. I can't tell you how excited I am that Simon has brought a girl home. He's never brought anyone home for us to meet. I know you've only known each other for a few weeks, but I can tell you mean a lot to him. He's told me so much about you that I feel like I know you already." She grinned mischievously. "Don't tell my son though. I'll never hear the end of it if he knows I've been babbling."

I looked at her nonplussed. She seemed to have the wrong idea about me and Simon, but she seemed so excited that I didn't have the heart to tell her Simon and I were just friends. And I couldn't imagine what Simon had told her. How could he tell her so much when Simon himself didn't know that much about me? Admittedly, I had shared more with him than anyone else besides Sarah. But there was still a lot I was holding back.

"I won't," I replied, not knowing what else to say. "And I'm happy to meet you too."

Mrs. Crewe gave me a wide smile and her blue eyes looked so clear and guileless, so much like Simon's when he was happy and carefree, that I felt a pang in my heart. I could understand how Simon could be so free and easy with his affection with a mother like this. I imagined her loving and gentle with a little boy, hugging easily and showing love unconditionally. I wondered if I would have been like that too if I had grown up with my mother, but I shut those thoughts down as soon as they started.

Simon's mother gave me an impulsive hug and I returned it, appreciating this woman for having made Simon who he was today. I wished Simon was someone I could keep in my life, beyond just protecting him from his vardoger, but I knew a lot of my decisions depended on what I learned from my aunt on Sunday. The thought made me melancholy.

After Mrs. Crewe left, I aimlessly explored the room, admiring the large framed mirror across from the bed that hung over a white dresser. I opened the bathroom door and took note of the full tub and shower. Not knowing what to do next and not having my luggage to unpack, I sat on the bed and waited. I had just decided to go over to Sarah's room when I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Simon opened the door, carrying my suitcase in one hand and a plastic storage container in the other.

"Here you go." Simon laid the suitcase on a bench by the foot of the bed. He winked. "I'll collect my tip later."

I laughed and pointed to the plastic container. "What's that?"

"This," Simon announced, holding up the container, "This is Maxine's world-famous blueberry crumble bread. She always makes it for me whenever I come home because she knows I love it. I couldn't go to bed knowing that there was blueberry crumble bread waiting for me, so I figured we could share some before bed."

"Ugh," I said, holding my stomach. "I still feel that chili dog I ate earlier. I think it's going to take a week to digest."

Simon lifted the lid off the container and held it to his face, sniffing the bread and closing his eyes, making indecent noises at the scent. "You don't know what you're missing out on. Your life will be changed after this bread."

I rolled my eyes, not able to contain a snort of laughter. "Fine. I guess I can't miss out on bread that makes you act so orgasmic." I immediately regretted my words, flushing at the crack I had made without thinking.

Simon laughed at my discomfort but didn't comment on it, which I was grateful for. I had been sure he would have pounced on the opportunity to make a suggestive comment. Maybe we were making progress in the friend zone. It would make it a lot easier to stay close to Simon to protect him from his vardoger.

Simon held the container out to me and I broke off a piece of the bread. It was basically blueberry pound cake with a thick generous crumble on top, but when I bit into it I knew Simon was right. My life would never be the same after tasting this bread. I didn't know if it was an insane amount of butter or a secret ingredient I couldn't discern, but the bread literally melted in my mouth, exploding with blueberry flavor at the same time. And then the crumble...Dear God, the crumble was amazing. I could eat bowls of just the crumble. Cinnamony and sweet, it tasted of caramelized oats and sugary goodness.

Simon grinned at my expression as he helped himself to the bread as well. "See? I told you."

"You're right," I said, taking another bite and savoring it. "This is insanely good. I can see why it's your favorite."

Simon paused, a piece of bread halfway to his mouth. "I didn't say it was my favorite."

"Do you mean to tell me that Maxine makes something better than this?" I asked skeptically. "If so, she should quit working for your family and start her own bakery. In fact, she should quit and start her own bakery with just this bread."

Simon popped the piece of bread in his mouth and chewed, swallowing. "She makes a lot of other great things but this blueberry crumble bread is the best. But something else has taken its place as my favorite sweet. There's a certain cookie that I've only just tasted recently, but I can tell I'm always going to want more."

Simon winked at me and I just stared at him. I wasn't sure what my reaction would be at his words until I burst out laughing. Even though there was a warmth settling inside of me at his sentiment, his outrageousness also amused me.

"You're such a dork," I said, playfully slapping him on the arm. "Do you stay up at night coming up with this stuff?"

Simon grinned, seemingly unperturbed by my lack of appreciation for his glib words. He shrugged. "They just seem to come naturally around you. Maybe it's your fault."

I shook my head when Simon offered me more bread. "It's delicious but I'm seriously going to explode from all the junk we ate earlier." In addition to the chili dog I had eaten, Simon had insisted on getting a ton of junk food for the road. I had eaten my fair share of potato chips, Reese's pieces, Cheetos and Ring Dings. It was unbelievable how much food Simon could put away and still keep his lean muscled body intact.

He finished off the last of the bread as I watched him, feeling like one of his groupies that hung out at the East End, hoping to get a minute of his attention. Simon's brown hair was starting to get a little shaggy and in need of a haircut, but it just seemed to add to his charm. I could see the impression of a clearly defined chest beneath his green t-shirt, even though the shirt wasn't very form fitting. His biceps pushed against the cotton of his short sleeves, straining against it. His body was the perfect mix of toned lean muscles.