Through The Lens (5 page)

“Oh,” she said, the
dawn of recognition coming over her face as I watched the exchange. “Later,
then?” she asked him.  He nodded.  She turned back to the window.

Unsure what to do, I
said, “I don’t know.”

“I’ll pick you up when
I get off,” he said. “I’ll call you to get your address.”

Seeing the line grow, I
quickly said, “Okay.” Dipping under his arm, I sat back at my spot and got back
to work.  Later, when my shift was over and I left, I thought I was off the
hook.  He hadn’t asked me for my phone number.  Thus he couldn’t contact me.  I
wasn’t sure if I was more relieved or disappointed.  That was until he texted,
asking me for my address.  Then, I remembered that the schedule in the break
room listing our phone numbers next to our names.  Well, damn.

Once I was back at
home, I was bursting at the seams needing to talk to Madison. She immediately
picked up on the first ring and I gave her the bulk of the story, I waited
while she digested the news.

“So, let me get this
straight.  The hot guy that you met while taking pictures downtown, the one who
got you the job, is Allie McDougal’s boyfriend.  Like I knew she was from here,
but wow.”

I did omit that Allie
was working at the museum with me.  I’d promised not to tell that much.  Allie
didn’t want her cover blown.  I didn’t think Madison would talk.  However, one
slip, and then everyone might know where she worked.  So I didn’t.  I could,
however, share that I’d met the girl.  “Yeah, and swear you won’t tell anyone.”

“Like who am I going to
tell?” she said. “Okay, Bradley, but he doesn’t count.” She laughed. Madison
must have continued talking.  I caught her midsentence. “So, you’re like into
this guy, right?”

Pausing, I knew how I
should feel. “I hate that I think he’s cute.  It feels like a betrayal. She is
super nice.”

“Jess, it’s okay to
think a guy is hot.  Acting on it is a problem.  So when you are alone with
him, think of him like you think of Bradley.  Friend material.”  I thought
about Allie openly ogling the guys we saw.  Ethan didn’t seem to have a problem
with her doing it either.

“I guess, you’re
right,” I said.  Friends.

Shortly after, we hung
up because her break at work was over. I felt bad for hogging her time, but she
put things in perspective for me.  Ethan was okay to look at, but off limits to
touch.  Not that he even thought I was touchable.  Sighing, I lay on my bed and
turned to face the wall, wondering just what to wear when hanging out with a
guy you think is the living definition of perfection.

With my face buried in a book, I heard
my Mom’s voice drift up from the kitchen.  “Dinner,” her voice rang. I
dog-eared my page and grabbed my cell on the way down.  My Mom had a strict
policy about dinner.  Breakfast and lunch were more relaxed.  But dinner, no
cells allowed.  And she collected them and placed them in a basket making sure
they had been turned to silent first.  This never really bothered me because
Madison and Bradley were well aware of my family quirks.  Tonight, however,
Ethan was planning on picking me up.  So if something changed, I wouldn’t know
until dinner was over.

My Mom stood with the
basket in her hand.  Unceremoniously, I checked to make sure my phone was on
silent before handing it over.  It wasn’t until she gave me a quick smile, and
I turned to walk into the dining room that I noticed the wonderful smell
wafting out of the room.  We never knew when Mom was going to try out a new
recipe on us or if we would get a family favorite.  With Mom’s bistro going all
natural and low fat, my Dad and I had worried about tasteless meals.  We
shouldn’t have.  Mom was a really good cook.  Eating was an experience and she
claimed they were
tasty and healthy
.   All I knew was that the food was
good, most of the time. She had some misses. And she seemed to know when there
was a possibility that a meal would be “gross” because she would have a backup meal
waiting in the so we wouldn’t go hungry.   

Jenna was already at
the table, studying her nails.  Dad looked perplexed and even a little agitated
Obviously, I’d missed something.  Right before I was about to ask, Mom stepped
into the room and placed the basket of cell phones on Nana’s antique console
table that sat against the wall.

Mom liked to
unveil
her
meals.  I just wanted to scarf down the food, especially when the smells were tantalizing.
“Free range chicken with organic carrots and celery,” my Mom announced.

“I don’t see how you
people eat those poor animals,” Jenna said.

Sighing heavily, my Mom
said, “Not tonight, Jenna.  I made a special tofu dish for you.”

Dad and I looked at
each other, silently gagging to ourselves without outwardly doing so.  We just
knew and started laughing.

“Settle down, people,”
my Mom said, sounding bored because this was our normal routine.

After Mom announced all
the dishes, we dug into the food like vultures.  I was seriously hungry.  Lunch
had been a cup of yogurt.  I hadn’t had time to prepare lunch to take with me
this morning.  I’d just lost the weight, and I wasn’t prepared to put it back
on by eating fast food or hot dogs from the food court, even though it all
smelled delish.

“How come Kyle is never
home for these family meals,” my sister complained.  Kyle was our younger
brother.  He was nearly fifteen and would be a freshman this year. 

“Kyle had football
practice, then a late meeting,” my Dad announced, with his chest all puffed
up.  Dad was a notorious nerd.  He was tall and lean, sporting no muscle at
all.  Kyle had gotten Dad’s dark hair and height, but that was about it. 
Everything else was Mom.  His bulk, his good looks and charismatic nature were
all hers.  Needless to say, Dad was proud to have a son that was so heavily
involved in sports.  Something he didn’t do in school and therefore wasn’t a
crazy advocate.  Dad let us make our own choices.  And I knew that because Kyle
was so successful, Dad was bursting with pride.

“It’s not fair he gets
to always skip family meals,” Jenna continued.  For me, I’d always let this
argument go.  I enjoyed family time.  But today, I wished I could take a stand.
It was unfair that Kyle seemed to get away with more than Jenna and way more
than me.  Still, I stayed with familiar patterns. Erring on the side of
caution, I kept my mouth shut.  I was always the easy going one.  I didn’t want
to end up in trouble.  I wanted to go out tonight with Ethan. “Dad, I’ll be
home by midnight,” Jenna said.  I’d missed everything else.

Looking up, suddenly
nervous, I just spit it out. “I’m going out tonight.”

My family stopped dead
in their tracks.  I mean, it wasn’t like I didn’t hang out with Madison and
Bradley all the time.  I guess I understood a bit.  I never announced my
comings and goings because why would I?  Unless my words meant something
totally different, which it did this time. And that something came in the form
of a boy and it was painfully clear to everyone around that table. 

“Oh,” Jenna sang.
“What’s his name, and why am I just hearing about him?”  She looked like she
wanted to clap her hands and bounce up and down in her seat to
cheer
me
on.  She’d been out last night, and I’d left early this morning.  So we hadn’t
talked at all.

Recapping the story
because Mom and Jenna hadn’t heard, I told them all about meeting Ethan and
then getting the job at the museum.  Mom was quiet.  I knew she was putting all
the pieces together, much like Dad did with his numbers. 

“Yum, I like.  I must
meet him,” Jenna said.

“Can I check my phone?”
I asked my Mom, hoping she’d have pity on me. 

Putting her fork down,
she said, “If this guy is worth anything at all, he can wait until you finish
dinner with your family.”

She hadn’t said it
rudely.  It was just proper in her book.  So even though I was a tiny pissed, I
really wasn’t all that mad.

Dinner finished, and I
all but leaped from my chair to get to my phone.  All for a boy I couldn’t
have. After a few swipes and key strokes, I did have one missed call.  Without
looking back, I darted to my room already calling Ethan back.

“Hey,” he said, his
voice was like liquid chocolate over the phone.

“You called,” I said,
biting my lip.  How dumb was that response? I flopped on my bed and buried my
head in the pillow.

“Yeah, I was wondering
if you would meet me,” he said.  “I’m running late and I was hoping we’d have
enough daylight left.”  Summer meant the sun didn’t dip beyond the horizon
until almost nine.

My sister had already
announced she was going out. “My sister is using the car tonight,” I said.

“Okay, well, I’ll just
swing by instead of going home first,” he said.  After giving him my address
and rough directions, he added, “You should wear pants.” And then he hung up. 
It was weird.  I didn’t know why he suggested that.  Were the chemicals used in
the photo process somehow dangerous to exposed skin?

Jenna barged in shortly
after I’d hung up.  “So tell me what you won’t tell Mom and Dad,” she said
playfully.

“There’s nothing to
tell.  He’s a friend,” I said.  When she waggled her eyebrows, I added, “And I
know his girlfriend.” I sat up wearily holding my pillow to my chest, that fact
never ceasing to cause a heavy weight to sink in my chest.

Her face fell. “Well,
too bad for that.  Is he cute though?”

Recalling his face, I
said, “Yes.”

“You like him,” she
hedged sitting on my bed next to me.  

“No, he’s cute. And
seems really nice. But he’s taken,” I said, arms tightening around the pillow

Pursing her lips, she
said, “Maybe not for long.”

“No, Jenna.  I like his
girlfriend.  I would never-”

“-Pugh,” she said. “Oh
well.  I meant to tell you that I spoke to Josh today at practice.”

My head snapped up.
“Josh joined the cheerleading squad?”

Grabbing a pillow, she
lightly hit me on the head with it. “No, silly, and guess what?”

“
What
?” I said
overly dramatic.

Rolling her eyes, she
said, “He asked about you.”

Josh Macon was one of
the most popular guys in school.  His short crop of brown hair begged you to
run your fingers through it.  But who was I to fool myself.  He was another guy
way out of my league. “Josh
likes
you,” I said.

“No. That was over so
long ago. We’re just friends.”

“Yeah, right,” I said.

“He knows Billy and I
are meant for each other forever,” she said with her version of a thespian
sigh.  Billy was her longtime boyfriend.  They’d been together for what seemed
like forever if you considered a year and a half as forever.

Jenna soon left to get
ready, leaving me alone to do the same.  I had no idea what to wear out with a
boy.  It wasn’t a date.  We were just friends, and we were just hanging out. I
told myself.  Otherwise, I would have had Jenna help me.  Still, I wanted to
look good.

Freshly showered and
trying not to think about it, I put on a pair of faded blue jeans.  I took out
a shirt that was a step above a tee, but a step below a blouse and pulled it
over my head.  Satisfied, I put on my newer Chucks reserved for special
occasions and took a look at myself in my mirror.  I wished Madison were here. 
Jenna’s great, but she was most likely already in the full swing of her ritual
to get ready.  There was no interrupting her beauty process.

Still, I found myself
in my sister’s room.  I didn’t ask if I looked okay because that would put too
much emphasis on hanging out with a boy I had no business liking.

“You look nice,” she
said, with her hair pulled up and one eye opened wide and the other closed as
she applied mascara.

And that was all the
confirmation I needed.  The doorbell rang, saving me from the questioning look
in her gaze and the fact that I'd wanted her confirmation was not lost on her. 
“You look great, too,” I threw out as I headed downstairs.

Racing to the door, I didn’t hear or see
my parents.  The only noise was the patter of my feet against  the dark stain
wood floor and the only thing in my sights was the door.  But just as I planted
my foot on the landing of the stairs, my father stepped out of the living room
and directly into my path.

Looking at me, he said
in a low voice, “I want to meet this boy before you leave.”

Grateful my Dad hadn’t
voiced his request like he was using a bullhorn, I slowed my pace to the door,
hoping my racing heart would have time to slow before I opened it.

Taking a deep breath, I
pulled open the door and saw Ethan standing on my stoop.  He was wearing the
same dark tee shirt and pants he’d been wearing to work as the required
uniform.

“Wait here a second,” I
said, just as he was forming a word on his lips.  I closed the door in his face
and winced to myself catching his startled glance. It was a bit rude, but I was
totally unprepared for my father’s interference. Turing, I followed after my
Dad and into the living room and said, “Dad, I want you to be nice.”  I’d  been
hoping to avoid this situation because technically this wasn’t a date. 
However, my father was having none of that. My Mom thought it was cute and told
me, rules were rules. Any boy coming to pick them either Jenna or me up had to
meet Dad. Never had I ever expected that to apply to me.