Page 36 of Crash Over Us

“Jacob’s going to be here?” Her eyes widened and we crossed over the threshold.

“Yeah, he just texted me—” Before I could warn her Jacob gripped me in a huge bear hug.

“Damn, you haven’t been back in the gym with all your time off.”

I punched him in the arm. “Says who?”

Mom poked her head around the corner. “I thought I heard you.” She smiled warmly. “Margot?”

“It’s so nice to meet you.” I thought I saw Margot’s fingers tremble when she shook my mom’s hand. God, I wished there was a way to make her less nervous. I knew the dinner at Carrie’s was fucked up, but this was nothing like that.

I tapped Margot’s shoulder to remind her I was carrying the gift she had brought my parents.

“Oh right. I brought something for dinner.” She took the bag and handed it to my mom.

“What’s this? You did not need to bring a single thing. We just wanted to meet you.”

My mom loved gifts. She loved getting things, whether it was a magnet for her fridge, an ornament from someplace I had visited, or flowers. It didn’t matter. Gifts always lit her up. I laughed inwardly, knowing she was putting on a performance for Margot. She unwrapped a bottle of wine and a cork in the shape of the lighthouse.

“Oh, this is fantastic. You would think I’d have one of these, but I don’t.” She twirled the lighthouse bottle topper in her hands. “Something about living here makes me less inclined to buy the things I really like the most. I can’t explain it. But this is adorable. Thank you.” She hugged Margot.

Jacob laughed. “Come on, let’s get a beer. Nice to see you again, Margot. How have you been with all the excitement this week?”

I rolled my eyes at Jacob. There was always joking between us. I didn’t know if Margot was ready to be thrown into the deep end of the pool yet. She needed to wade in and adjust to the depths.

We followed Mom into the kitchen. The table was set. I hoped it put Margot at ease that this was nothing like dinner at Carrie’s. There was no fine china, or crystal. And definitely no tablecloths that cost a thousand dollars.

Mom stopped and reached up to cup my face in her hands. “How is that cut? Do you need something for it?”

“I’m fine, Mom. Really. Medical has been all over it. Several times.”

She sighed. “I don’t like that you’re hurt. You know that.”

The underlying current of this dinner was that my parents wanted to act normal and have a regular family dinner, but with it being on the heels of the attack they were going to fuss and worry.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Margot asked.

Mom and wiped her eyes after she stepped away from me and began chopping vegetables. “How are you at peeling carrots?”

Margot smiled as she picked up the vegetable peeler. “Pretty good, I think.”

Jacob grabbed a few beers out of the fridge and handed one to me. “Should I open the wine?” he suggested.

Mom pointed to the cabinets near the sink. “Wine glasses are up there. Pour two.” I saw her wink at Margot.

“Where’s Dad? Is he watching baseball?” I hadn’t noticed his truck in the driveway, but my attention had been on Margot.

“No. He’s not home yet. He went down to the boatyard. He’s looking at a new boat.”

“Oh no,” I moaned. “Another one?”

“I just stay out of it,” Mom commented. “You would think we have enough boats, or we had enough, or he would be tired of buying and selling them all the time.”

Jacob drank his beer. “I think he doesn’t know what to do since he retired, Mom. It’s his hobby at this point.”

The carrot peels piled up while Margot sliced over the carrots. “I guess boats are your thing,” Margot commented.

Jacob laughed. “You saying we have a problem?”

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