Page 26 of Stay with Me
“Can we have a carafe of the house sangria?” Drew ordered. Oooh, sangria. Not something that Brody would have chosen but it sounded like a good choice.
“Perfect. Do you want me to put in an order for an appetizer?” Sara suggested as she shifted to leave.
“Give us a minute to decide on our meals before we’re tempted by the appetizers,” Drew replied, looking again to Brody for agreement.
“Sounds good to me,” Brody agreed. Sara left the table and Brody turned back to Drew. “I’m sorry I’ve been distracted. It has absolutely nothing with you or being here with you. Let’s figure out what we’re going to order and then I’ll explain.” That seemed to appease Drew as he let go of Brody’s hand and grabbed his menu.
It didn’t take long for them to decide to skip appetizers and chose two of the house specials. They hadn’t chosen a Mexican restaurant but there were a few Tex-Mex options on the menu that caught their attention. They’d opted for two different ones and were going to share. Once Sara came back with the sangria and took their orders, silence fell over the table.
Brody took a sip from his glass before he started talking. “I don’t know if you remember me telling you and your uncle that I grew up in foster care?” He watched Drew scrunch up his face and then nod. Brody took that to mean that he remembered, so he continued, “When I graduated high school and got the scholarship to ECU, my foster parents, Erin and Jerry, were so excited. We had a celebratory dinner. They helped me move down and into the dorm for freshman year. But as the years went on, they weren’t able to visit much and with our summers being cram packed with assignments, I didn’t get to spend time there. We talked on the phone and they sent, well probably Erin more than Jerry, but I got little notes with gift certificates or small presents in the mail.” Brody stopped to take a drink and give himself a breather. Why was it so difficult for him to share this with Drew? He didn’t think that Drew would hold it against him. Drew’s family seemed to be the type to adopt new members allthe time, clearly believing family was what you made of it and not necessarily what you were born with.
“Hey, look at me,” Drew said quietly, reaching for Brody’s hand. “It’s okay. You don’t have to open a vein. And I can guarantee that no matter what you say, I’m not going to think bad of you. You’re looking at the fuck-up of all the heptad’s children.”
Brody frowned and shook his head. “I’m not sure why you think that, but we’ll visit your misguided impression another time. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, I reached out to ask them to pin me and be there for graduation but the calls didn’t go through and the letter I sent was returned to me. You know what happened at pinning.” Brody shrugged and tried not to fidget. Drew’s laughter interrupted anything he could’ve said.
“Hmmm, could you be referring to my dad and uncles making Master Sergeant Coffey genuflect or Nova’s water breaking in the middle of the ceremony?” Drew asked.
Sara appeared next to the table with her hands full. “Okay, pollo espinacas for you and spinach artichoke enchiladas with chicken for you. Plates are hot so be careful. Can I get you anything else right now?” she asked as she placed extra plates next to each of them. Guess they weren’t the first to share entrees. When they both shook their heads, she left them to their meals.
“Oh my god,” Drew exclaimed after taking a bite. “You have to try this.” Drew held out his fork for Brody to open.
The flavors that exploded in Brody’s mouth made his eyes go wide. “Oh, wow,” he said after he swallowed. He heard Drew make a choking noise and looked up. Drew was turning red. Thinking that he was choking, Brody started to get up. Wonderful, Heimlich maneuver on their first date. Drew wavedhim back to his seat and took a deep breath. Okay, he must not be choking.
“I’m fine just wondering what I could do to have you make that sound for me,” Drew whispered. Brody thought back to what he’d done and realized that he’d moaned when he tasted the sauce on the enchiladas.
“I would not be opposed to you trying anything you’d like on me. If you still want to after I finish my story,” Brody offered with a small smile.
“I highly doubt you’re going to change my mind with your story but go ahead and finish. Maybe we could get dessert to go?” Drew suggested.
They went back to their meals, putting portions on the extra plates to share. As they ate, Brody told Drew about his side trip to see his foster parents on the way to San Antonio. When he couldn’t put another bite in his mouth, Brody pushed his plate to the edge, stacking his silverware and napkins. One of his foster mothers had been a waitress and he’d spent time at the diner with her. He always ‘bussed’ his table when he ate out. It was a small thing but it was something he could do to make it easier on the staff. He hadn’t always been able to tip well, but he didn’t leave a mess.
“I got an email today from a caseworker from North Carolina. I guess my last caseworker was let go and when they were going back through his cases, they reviewed mine. The jackass apparently told Erin and Jerry that they couldn’t have any further contact with me once I turned twenty-one. Said I’d aged out and my files were sealed. If they remained in contact that they could face legal proceedings.” Brody was still in shock.
“Are you fucking kidding me? I hope they did more than fire the fucker,” Drew demanded as he pulled out his cell phone.“Okay, so North Carolina. That would be Uncle Danny. He has to know someone—”
Brody reached across and pulled Drew’s phone out of his hand. “Whoa, what are you doing?”
“I’m calling in reinforcements. The man needs to face consequences for his actions. It’s not Uncle Danny’s job but I’m sure with all the disasters he’s helped with in the last twenty years or so, he knows someone. If not, I’m positive that Uncle Liam does. Did you get to meet him last year?” Drew asked. Brody started laughing which made Drew narrow his eyes at him. “Are you drunk?”
Brody snorted and stopped laughing. “I am not drunk. We’ve each had maybe a glass and a half of the sangria. No, I’m laughing at how pissed you are on my behalf. And I love that you’re calling your family for me. I’ve never had that before. Well, when your uncle, aunt, and cousin stepped up for me at the pinning but…” Brody shrugged. “You don’t need to call your uncle. The email asked if I wanted the information to contact my former foster parents. Said that there were notes that they repeatedly asked how they could be listed to be contacted if something happened to me. Asking what they could do to remain in my life. I guess they really didn’t disappear on me. They were forced out.”
Drew took Brody’s hand in his and squeezed. “I can see why they would want to. You’re an amazing person. I’m lucky that you’re giving me a chance.”
§ § § §
Drew stepped out of the restaurant behind Brody. They’d had a small tussle over the bill — Drew won, thank you very much — and now what? Drew knew that he did not want their night out to end but where to go from here? He wasn’t the best dancer.Wasn’t the best at anything really. Have you met his family? Before he could settle on something, Brody held out his hand to Drew.
“Wanna stroll the Riverwalk with me?” Brody asked. Drew looked down at Brody’s hand. He didn’t think they’d get their asses kicked holding hands down here. As Brody started to pull back, Drew grabbed on tight.
“I would love to. I was wracking my brain to figure out what we could do now. I don’t want the night to end,” Drew finished with a shrug.
“It’s cooled off enough that we won’t melt as we walk around. Or we could find a dance club?” Brody suggested as he pulled Drew along as he moved to their left. There was a slight breeze moving around off the water as they got closer to the banks.
“Ummm, I guess we could but I have to warn you, I’m not a great dancer. Aunt Trish taught all of us how to waltz so we wouldn’t embarrass ourselves at Haley and Kevin’s wedding a few years ago. I didn’t crush Maggie’s toes so I counted that as a win. Of course, the others were twirling around like they’d been in dance class their whole lives. Well, Maddy and Maggie took dance, if you consider competitive cheer as dance. Nova might have taken a few years, too. With Aunt Trish as her mother, she had to have. I really can’t remember.” Drew stopped himself at that. He didn’t want to ramble and make himself look like a fool. He thought he had a chance with Brody.
“Why does it matter that Trish is Nova’s mother with dancing?” Brody asked. Drew always forgot all the little details that new people to the heptad’s circle didn’t know.
“Aunt Trish was a Broadway tour performer before she married her first husband. She met him when her show was at a stop in Seattle.” Drew watched the people as they walked along.He didn’t notice any frowns or extra attention toward them. Good, he didn’t have to worry.
