Hunter sputtered. “You can’t—”
“I’m sorry.” Aunt Dinah stuck her pinkie finger into her ear and twisted it around. “My ears must be failing me because it sounded as if you were about to tell me what I’m allowed to do within my own walls, Hunter James Gardner.” Her expression, which had started off as innocently baffled, became darker and more intimidating the more she spoke. By the time she got to my stepdad’s name, she was using the full power of her evil eye to make Hunter tremble in his chair.
But then he pulled his shoulders back. “I’m not a kid, Aunt Dinah. You can’t order me around anymore.”
“This is my house,” the old woman hissed. “I can and will order you around however I please.” Hunter was about to argue further when Aunt Dinah snapped, “You are excused, sir. Goodnight.”
“But—” Hunter looked down at his plate, which was still half full.
Aunt Dinah stood up and pointed at the stairs. “I said, goodnight!”
I didn’t watch him leave. I was too busy grinning at the old lady, who was officially the dopest human being on the planet. I was going to be just like her when I was wrinkly.
Aunt Dinah stayed standing until Hunter slammed the door to the guest room where he and my mom were staying. Then she smoothed the front of her khaki skirt. “I’m sorry, Charles. Hunter’s behavior was inexcusable. I’ll understand if you choose to stay home for the remainder of his visit.”
“It’s fine,” my boyfriend said and even I believed him.
I took his hand under the table. He gave it a quick squeeze but didn’t look at me.
My mom heaved a big sigh. She looked completely worn out for a second before she tugged on that faithful smile. “So. Charlie. Have any hobbies?”
◆◆◆
The rest of the evening turned out great. We finished dinner and took our dessert in the sitting room. Aunt Dinah encouraged us to play some more of those board games she’d bought for Jasmine’s visit. The old lady didn’t participate; she was happy to sip her coffee and watch from her armchair. My mom kept firing questions Charlie’s way, but he answered them all with patience and kindness.
“It looks like Dinah is starting to fade,” my mom finally said.
The old woman’s head bobbed as she tried to keep her eyes open. “I’m fine.”
“It’s late. Why don’t you go on upstairs to bed?” My mom put her cards down over the coffee table. “I can do the dishes for you.”
Aunt Dinah sat up straight. “A hostess doesn’t leave her guests and she certainly doesn’t let them do her dishes.”
“Why don’t we all go to sleep then? It’s been a long day.” Glancing at the stairs, my mom added, “I should probably check on Hunter.”
“It was great to meet you, Mrs. Gardner,” Charlie said, extending a hand.
My mom shook it. “You too, Charlie. I’m sorry if things got a little awkward earlier.”
Bitterness and frustration had me balling my hands into fists. “The hell it was, Mom! It was painful. And rude. If he’d treated any of your friends like that, they wouldn’t wanna be your friends anymore.”
“Oh, he was just tired from traveling, sweetheart. You know how he gets when he’s tired.” But the halfhearted smile she wore told me even she didn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. “Thank you for dinner, Dinah. It was delicious. See you all in the morning.” With a little wave, my mom retreated to the stairs.
“Would you like a ride back to the precinct, Charles?” Aunt Dinah asked, rising from her chair with a grimace. From the way she favored her left side, I knew her hip was acting up again.
“I’m okay skating.”
It was a testament to how tired and achy she was feeling when she didn’t scold him for turning her down. Instead, she nodded and followed my mom.
“I trust you to see him out, Esmeralda.”
“You can count on me,” I said with a salute she didn’t see.
We stayed standing only long enough to see my aunt disappear up to the second story. Then we dropped back into the plastic-covered couch. I groaned and Charles exhaled with enough force to make his lips flap.
“Holy shit,” I said, stretching the words out as long as I could. “I need a drink.”
“That was exhausting.” Charlie leaned his elbows on his knees and scrubbed his face. “I need a nap.”
“You were amazing.” I sat up to rub his back. “The way you handled Hunter.” I gave a little whistle. “So friggin’ impressive. So hot.”
I was rewarded with the tiniest of smiles.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” After giving him a peck on the cheek, I reached for my crutches. “Come on. Let’s unwind.”
By “unwind,” of course, I meant finishing off the rest of the sour cream pudding cake while taking turns with the can of whipped cream. We sat across from each other on my bed with the plate of cake between us, each armed with a spoon. Led Zeppelin played quietly on my phone while we shared memories of nights that might’ve been worse than tonight.
Charlie squirted some whipped cream into his mouth and hummed as if he’d just remembered something. He swallowed the foamy white deliciousness before handing over the can. “North Precinct’s Christmas party, right after we moved to Seattle. Uncle Vic was asked to play Santa. Sitter called out sick at the last minute so Jasmine and I had to go with him. It was the first time we’d visited the precinct and we were the only kids there. I swear the DJ scratched the vinyl he was playing when the three of us walked in. Let’s just say the music he’d
