Dinner with Family

“Daniel,” I said, offering my hand.

“None of that now,” he said with a laugh, bypassing my hand to hug me. He squeezed tight before releasing me. Rubbing me on the shoulder, he gave it a squeeze before taking a seat at the table.

Sophie watched it all with a happy thread floating through her calm noise. “How are you doing? You were vague when I spoke to you on the phone last week,” she asked as I moved around the table to kiss her on the cheek.

“Good,” I said as I took my seat.

“Jake,” she said with a look I recognized all too well. It was the look she gave me when I didn’t add to the conversation.

“Classes are going well. Got an A on my Gifted History and Application exam. Been driving back and forth to school.”

“See!” Daniel said, puffing out his chest. “I told you he would start driving eventually. No one can resist the siren song of a—”

“You are not buying that sports car. We talked about this.” When he opened his mouth to argue, a single look silenced him. Smiling, she turned her attention back to me. “Continue.”

I thought for a moment. “Things have been rough with Alexis and Natalie lately.”

“Those sweet girls who live next to you?” I nodded as I looked through the menu. “What happened?”

“I had to turn down Alexis because I was already had a girlfriend. She didn’t take it too well and was starting down a—”

“Wait, wait, wait,” she said, waving her hands at me. “Back up. Girlfriend?”

“It’s Chloe, isn’t it?” Daniel said with a wide smile. I nodded and he snapped his fingers. “Knew it! I saw the way you looked at her at the event.”

Sophie couldn’t resist laughing, looking at her husband. “Oh, this I have to hear. What was Jake’s magical look to clue you in on that detail?”

“What? A man knows,” he said in a low, mysterious voice. He looked over at me, giving me a wink.

Shaking her head, her eyes swung over to me. “As for you. Girlfriend? How long?”

“I asked her out after the charity event.”

“Nice,” Daniel said, nodding in approval. “Smooth, ask them the hard questions when they are happy and—”

“I swear, if you bring up that damn car one more time…” She brushed him aside, focusing on me. “That was weeks ago. You’ve been seeing someone that long and you haven’t told me?” She was upset, but it wasn’t directed at me. If I was reading her noise right, she was upset that it had slipped past her for that long. I think she believed there was a distance growing between us.

“It’s not that,” I said, taking a leap of faith that I was reading her right. “It’s a complicated relationship and we are still trying to figure things out. I was planning on formally introducing you two once we had things settled.”

She smiled as I saw the relief and happiness go through her noise. “But a girlfriend! Chloe seemed like a sweet girl.” Her eyes lit up. “Oh! You should bring her to dinner next week.”

Daniel nodded. “We can make it a double date!”

“Does she like Italian? We can go to that—”

“I don’t like that place,” he said, cutting her off. “How about steak? Everyone loves steak. I’m thinking—”

It went back and forth numerous times. It might have seemed like a couple bickering over where to eat, but their noise was free of any negative emotions. This was the dance they always did, teasing and playfully arguing with each other. It really was a dance, their noise circling and weaving together in a complex pattern. I think Daniel had an undocumented Gift. A weak level three that made people a bit more playful. Either that or he had a powerful charisma and his natural personality brought that out of the people he met.

Most importantly, this was the reason why I’d moved out. Sophie had done a lot for me, and I was thankful for that. Her attention should be focused on her husband and herself, not me. These weekly meets were enough to reconnect and recharge.

The food was good as always, and I managed to counter all her probing questions about my new relationship. If I did bring Chloe next time, I would have to warn her to be on her toes. She had met fun Sophie at the charity event. The next time they met, she would be meeting mom Sophie.

Outside the restaurant, I waited beside Sophie as Daniel went to get the car.

“Have you told her?”

The concern in her noise told me what she was talking about. “Not all of it. She knows I’m mostly numb to emotions.”

“You’ll need to tell her about the other thing as well.”

“I know.”

“The longer you wait…”

“Yeah.”

She was antsy, shifting in place as her nerves ate at her. Finally, she huffed and turned to face me. “I hate doing this, but your mother would kill me if I didn’t—” Drawing in a deep breath, she nodded to herself. “Make sure… Make sure you two use protection, okay?”

I turned my head, looking at her. There was a flush of red in her cheeks as she looked away. “Protection from what?”

“If you two have—” She stopped, eyes narrowing as she looked at me. “You know damn well what I’m talking about.”

“I do. And we will.”

“Good,” she said, glancing away. “As much as I would love some mini-Jake’s running around, you aren’t allowed to have children before me. It’s a rule.” She was smiling as she gave me a nudge with her arm. “And teasing me now? Who are you and what have you done with Jake?” The warmth of her noise washed over me. “I’ll have to tell Chloe to keep up the good work.”