Page 57 of Into The Light
"How are you doing?" she asks in a soft murmur pitched for my ears alone.
"Okay."
"Sorry about the third-degree," she says.
"Don't be. You brought home a convicted felon. He's gonna have questions."
She stands in front of me, looking up at me. “You're more than that, Bear. A lot more."
I allow a tiny smile—she likes it when I smile, I've noticed. Haven't had much reason to, but now, for her, I'm re-learning how to. "Thank you. I'm just saying, I get where he's coming from."
She shoots a sideways glance at her sisters. "Don't mind them. That's how they always are."
I arch an eyebrow. "Not sure what you mean."
She laughs, leaning into me. “Yes, you do." She pats my chest. "I appreciate you coming. I'm glad you're here."
"Thank you for inviting me. It's interesting to see your family. Where you grew up."
I feel eyes on us—Natasha and Nikki are watching us whispering to each other.
Noelle stares right back, not moving away from me; I get the sense that Noelle is using me to make a point of some sort. Something to ask her about when we're alone again.
The next few hours are…interesting. The food is amazing—the steak is the best I've ever had, not that I’ve had many: thick, juicy, well-seasoned, and perfectly cooked. With the meat are baked potatoes with all the fixings, corn on the cob, salad, rolls, and a homemade lemon meringue pie.
The one thing that bothers me, though, is my observations of Noelle's role in the family. Baked potatoes? Noelle made them. Dessert? Sliced and served by Noelle while everyone else sat around outside and chatted; once dinner was made, Noelle rose and served dessert automatically, and no one even offered to help her. When dessert was finished, who cleared the table? Noelle.
That's the last straw for me. As she balances a stack of plates in one hand and tries to open the door with the other, I look around the table, trying gamely to suppress a growl.
I don’t entirely succeed, and everyone, including Noelle, goes silent and turns to look at me.
I rise from my seat, take the stack of plates from Noelle's shocked and unresisting arms, and draw open the door. I set the stack in the sink, return to the outdoor table, and gather up bowls, dessert plates, and silverware.
Noelle frowns at me. "Bear, what are you doing? You're a guest. It's not your job."
I cast my baleful stare around the table. "Ain't yours either. Don't recall your name being Cinderella." A gasp comes from one of her sisters. I rake my eyes from face to face around the table. "Rest of you folks have hands. Maybe use 'em."
Stunned silence ensues, and I carry the dishes into the kitchen, set them in the sink, and head out the front door.
I don't like the burn of anger in my chest.
It's not safe. Not healthy.
For other people, I mean.
I sit in the grass under the old oak tree next to Panzer, who groans softly and rests his head on my thighs. I scratch his ears, letting the sunlight and warmth settle my nerves.
I hear her approach, feel her sit next to me. Let out a growling sigh. "Sorry, Noelle. Didn't mean to embarrass you."
She lifts my arm, ducks under it to put her head on my chest, and settles my arm around her waist, my hand on my hip. "You didn't embarrass me. You embarrassed my family."
“That’s worse. I just…" I shake my head, feeling the ridges of bark roll against my scalp. "Pissed me off how they all seemed to expectyouto do all the work."
"That's how it's always been," she says. “I’m used to it."
"Shouldn't be. Least, how it seems to me. I ain’t ever had a family, so I guess I don't know shit about it, but it seems like everyone oughta help."
She’s quiet for a while. "Bear…" A sigh, her gaze going through the open front door to where we can make out movement in the kitchen. "They're in there doing the dishes together. It feels weird to not be the one doing it."
