Page 53 of Holiday Love
Teddy
Don’t mention Helen’s suspension.
Don’t mention we aren’t really dating.
That’s the chant running through my head as the doorbell fades and the deadbolt clicks. I’m terrified I’ll be the one to rat her out. Why is it that when you’re keeping secrets, it feels like they’ll be the first thing out of your mouth?
Helen’s parents live in the hills of Laguna Beach, with an ocean view that belongs to a reality TV show. From the outside their house looks like a 1970s ranch, but when her mom opens the door I see a set of stairs behind her that must go to a lower level. The smell of roasting turkey and fresh-baked bread hits before I step over the threshold.
“Helen! Teddy!” her mom sings out, giving us each an equally tight hug. Balancing on my crutches, I extend the bottle of white wine I got on the way here. Helen said it wasn’t necessary, but I explained that my own mother would have my head if she found out I’d been invited for Thanksgiving dinner and hadn’t brought a gift.
“Come in! Come in!” Helen’s mom ushers us through a bright entryway filled with houseplants. Leaves rustle as we walk past, and flowers bob their delicate heads as if they’re saying hello.
This must be where Helen gets her green thumb.
We move into a kitchen with flat front white cabinets and beige granite countertops. The kitchen shares space with an octagonal breakfast nook that has wide windows framing an elevated view of the Pacific Ocean.
California’s version of November feels more like June. By this time in the late afternoon, the morning fog has burned off, leaving behind bright sunshine and an endless blue sky. From up this high the water looks calm, but the last part of our drive was along Pacific Coast Highway. I’d rolled down my window to let in the ocean-scented wind and to hear how hard the waves crashed into the rocky coastline. Farther out, surfers took on one swell after another in a calculated sort of chess where the ocean came out ahead more often than not. I watched them with a gut-twisting mix of anxiety and envy.
I had a strange sort of flashback. Day turned back to night. Light to dark. I’m falling, sinking beneath the water. Down, down, down to the sandy ocean floor. There’s the distant echo of someone laughing, but that can’t be right.Can it?No one had been with me when I almost drowned. I focus on the memory, try to sharpen it, solidify it, but it slips through my fingers.
“When the EMTs brought me into the hospital, they said I was surfing alone, right?” I had asked Helen, who was driving since my cast wouldn’t allow me to do it.
She’d glanced over, a furrow in her brow. “Yeah. Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” I’d told her. I’d tried to dismiss my uneasy feeling, even though it clung like salt on skin.
Now I stare at the spot where the ocean meets the horizon out the window and force a smile. “Beautiful view, Mrs. Chu.”
“Call me Linda,” she replies, her grin widening as a short, stocky man enters the kitchen. He has gray hair and a gently lined forehead. Wire-rimmed glasses can’t hide the fact that he looks like Helen. Same straight nose, full lips, slightly pointed chin.
“You finished at the hospital early!” Linda says, lighting up as he places a kiss on her cheek.
“McAllister discharged most of our patients yesterday,” he mutters, his voice low and efficient. “Besides, had to rush home to see my favorite daughter.” He crosses to Helen and plants the same kiss on her temple, which makes her blush furiously. "Hey Baobèi. I'm so happy you're home."
Helen rolls her eyes with fondness. “I’m youronlydaughter, so by default your favorite.”
He chuckles and swings his gaze my way. His eyes narrow. No smile when he says, “You must be Helen’s new boyfriend.”
Guess I’m not getting a kiss on the cheek.
I swallow down my nerves and remind myself that one of the few talents I have is charm. I smile widely and extend my hand, trying not to wobble on my crutches. “I’m Teddy. Pleased to meet you, sir.”
Fathers, I’ve learned, like to be called sir.
Not Helen’s dad apparently.
He grips my hand just a little too hard, his fingers tightening around mine in a hold that felt less like a greeting and more like a test. I cover my wince, keeping the smile plastered on my face. An uneasy silence follows when he releases me.
Helen’s gaze bounces between us, her forehead knit with a worried frown. Her mouth twitches like she’s about to say something, but then her dad’s eyes drop and lock on the massive bruise that covers Helen’s thigh.
His brows snap together, doctor and father both rising to the surface. “What happened to you?” His voice sharpens as he leans in, peering at her leg like he’s already cataloguing the size and depth of the wound.
Helen brightens, trying to wave it off. “It’s so cool! Teddy’s teaching me how to surf.”
“Surf?” Phillip straightens, his gaze sliding to me. There’s no mistaking the steel in his eyes, but it isn’t just the father sizing me up now, it’s also the physician calculating risks. He exhales once, slowly, as if fighting to keep his voice level. “That’s dangerous, especially for someone who’s never been on a board before.”
“No, no.” Helen makes a placating gesture, her palms lifted to the ceiling. “It’s just in the living room for now. We haven’t even gone into the water, but I’ve graduated to kneeling on the board. Soon I’ll try standing.” She rises onto her toes and grins, excited.
