TIME WARP!

Friday came and I was dressed to impress. And sweating bullets. I think I went through three rolls of deodorant on the drive over. I took a deep breath before ringing the bell and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Finally, the door opened and a stunning woman answered the door. She looked like a supermodel on her day off. Still amazingly beautiful but relaxed. "Yes? How can I help you?" She spoke

"I um, I'm...Claire and I are supposed to go...out."

"You're Claire too?"

"No, I mean, no ma'am. My name is Brian. I'm here to take Claire out." I wasn't sure what made me more nervous, Claire or the supermodel in front of me.

"Oh, you're that Brian." She smiled at me like a shark smiles at a baby seal. "Do come in, I'm Cecilia. Claire's mother."

"A pleasure to meet you." I walked inside and offered her my hand.

She took my hand and shook it, her smile remained but her eyes turned cold and harsh. Suddenly her eyes softened. "Are you thirsty?"

"I-I'm fine." What was with this woman?

"Well," she sighed as she sat in a leather chair. She motioned for me to sit and I obeyed. "Tell me a little about yourself, Brian." She ordered more than asked.

"I...Not much to tell really, I have a brother and a twin sister, I'm on the swim team, uh, get decent grades, going to college next fall."

"Where?"

"NYU. Sorry, but Claire is here right?"

"Claire's here. But you know how girls are." What? "It gives us time to chat at least. That's fine isn't it?"

I knew from experience you never upset the mothers of whoever you're dating. People act like dad's are scary but know nothing about momma bears. "It's just fine. I've always prided myself on being a real straight shooter."

"That's good." She knew I knew what this was, this wasn't a casual conversation but the toughest interview I will ever have. "Let's start with your family. Jerri is your brother correct?"

"He is."

"Yes, he's a very sweet boi, I think he and Claire are good for each other."

"Good for each other?"

"I won't pretend my Claire isn't a wild child at times, lord knows I try to keep her in line but I'm often away on business. Jerri has improved Claire's wilder side."

"Has he?" Did she not know her son was dancing at clubs?

"Yes. You are not the first boy I've spoken to since the start of the school year." Steady, I reminded myself, she was trying to get a rise out of me, make me feel unimportant.

"Claire is not the first...my first date either. But I like...Claire."

"She is a lovely girl."

"I'm sure it has much more to do with you than Jerry. After all, children imitate their parents the most."

"Hm, no I doubt that." She got a far off look in her eye before snapping herself out of it. "But you," she leaned forward, "You dressed nice."

"...Yes ma'am?" What was she on about?

"And you're polite."

"I try." Was it getting colder or just me?

"That's good. Most boys your age are rude and think a leather jacket, bootcut jeans, and a t-shirt are acceptable date wear." The room grew silent as if the house itself was holding its breath. "It shows a lack of respect for my Claire." The leather of her chair creaked as she leaned back in her seat. "See that you maintain this level of respect for my Claire and we won't have any problems."

I swallowed hard. She was maybe 135, 140 soaking wet, 5'7 or so, and had long slender arms that showed she kept in shape but didn't do anything too heavy. And yet, I was utterly terrified by the look in her eyes. "Y-yes ma'am." The rest of the conversation was comparatively normal as we waited for Claire.

"Momma!" I heard Claire shout as she hurried into the living room and gave his mother a hug. "I didn't know you were home."

"Of course I was dear, I told you I wouldn't miss this for the world." The sugary sweet voice and loving tones we a stark contrast to the menacing mother whose sneer could stop a clock in fear. "I was just getting to know your new beau." She stood embracing Claire in a hug.

"Oh momma," Claire looked embarrassed, "I'm sorry I didn't get out here sooner." She whispered loudly as he broke the hug. I finally got a clear look at Claire. He wore a dark green dress that stopped at his knees. His makeup was impeccably done and his hair had been styled. I was blown away.

"Wow." My heart beat like the drummer in a speed metal band.

"You like it?" He smiled as he turned in place giving me the full scope of the dress.

When I finally remembered to breathe I spoke, "You look amazing." Claire smiled and turned back to her-his mother and I could've sworn I saw him blush. Couldn't be, I'm sure Claire received thousands more and better compliments at the club alone. Cecilia smiled sweetly at me and hugged Claire one more time before we left his house. I couldn't process it in my mind that Claire was a boy. She looked nothing like one.

We drove in silence to the restaurant, I think he was waiting for me to speak first and I had no idea what to say. More than ever I was worried about saying the wrong thing and ruining what could be something great. "I...um do you like...music?" God, please kill me.

"No."

"What?"

"I'm the one person in the world who doesn't like music." She smirked letting me know she was joking.

"If I didn't know better I'd say you were teasing me." I opened up my phone and started up my favorite romantic songs playlist. If I was going to do this I was going to go all out. I didn't want any regrets. It featured a lot of soft piano music and John legend songs with a few light jazz mixed in. And yes a few classic country songs. I'm a cliche hopeless romantic, what can I say.

Claire didn't seem to mind as we drove on. The music seemed to spark the conversation between us. It would usually begin with him asking what song or singer was playing, then I'd ask if he liked the song or singer and before we knew it we were talking about music, movies, and what we enjoyed doing when not at a drag club.

"Really?"

She nodded excitedly and her eyes lit up with passion. "I want to be a real singer. Music...without music what's the point of life? And think about it, songs are simply poetry, we can express how we're feeling in a set of three to five minutes. We can raise people up out of the dark places or we can let them know they're not alone. Everyone has that one song that transports them to that one beautiful moment that they will treasure for their entire life. "

"I don't think I heard you singing. Jerry said you were amazing though."

"What about you? Jerry says you're on the swim team, do you want to like go pro or something?"

I chuckled softly, "Not really. I enjoy it, but...I think if I did it for a career I wouldn't enjoy it anymore, ya know?"

He nodded. "So what do you want to do?"

"I...don't know, I know I want I want to travel."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Think about it, so many people live and die in their home state, hell their home town, and they never get to see the world. There are so many people out there and each one has a million stories to share. This is the second house I've ever lived in and, there is so much more here than I could've imagined."

We finally arrived at the restaurant, it was a lot fancier than I expected, good thing I brought a tie, it really fancied up my sport coat. We traversed through the crowd of tables to find our own while a man sat at a piano playing soft melodies for the customers. We ordered drinks, non-alcoholic this time, I was driving and they would definitely be carding, according to Claire. We settled for a couple of sodas along with our food.

We talked about people we knew in our little circles of friends and teachers we liked and didn't like. It was much easier than I thought, something about Claire made me feel as though I were talking to a friend, not just a girlfriend...or I guess boyfriend in this case. This was going to take some getting used to.

Claire must have read the look on my face because he kissed my hand. But the sparkling smile I had seen earlier began to fade. I couldn't let that happen. I stood up and walked to the small elevated stage. I whispered my request to the pianist who nodded with a smile and handed me a wireless mic kept there for duets or important announcements I figured. "Ladies and gentlemen, forgive the interruption but there's going to be a slight change in tonight's entertainment." The man played a comical riff behind me that the crowd seemed to enjoy. "For the first time tonight, the ineffable, the wonderful, the stupendous Charline Mcbride!" Claire hid her face behind her hands. "But first, just so it's fair..." I let my words drop off as the music began. With all the confidence and skill of a four-year-old in a batman t-shirt, I belted out Killing me softly.

I was terrible, I know I was, but in the dim light of the restaurant, I saw Claire smile. He stood and approached the stage and I stopped singing in the middle to a smattering of applause. "What are you doing?"

"Getting you to smile." The crowd collectively awwed and I realized I still had the mic on. Once again Claire hid his face but I could see that smile. "I think I warmed them up for you," I whispered, passing the mic to Claire. I kissed her softly on his lips. "Sorry, I couldn't wait until the end of the night to do that." The crowd awwed again and we realized Claire had the mic to her chest. I leaned into the microphone, "Knock em' dead."

Claire took her place center stage and I took mine front row. A nice couple allowed me one of their two empty seats and he gave me a bright smile. The kind that smiled with your eyes as much as anything else. "Thank you," he turned to the pianist and whispered something. He turned back as the piano began its soft intro. It was one thing for my brother to tell me how amazing Claire could sing, it was another thing to witness it first hand. "Billy Ray was the son of a preacher man and when his daddy would visit he'd come along." And in that moment, listening to him sing, I knew this would forever be my moment. Here, right now, with him. I only wished it would last forever. But, as all things do, it ended to a round of well-deserved applause.

I jumped to the stage and picked Claire up spinning him around in my arms. "You're amazing!"

"You think so?"

"Jerry really undersold how amazing you are." Claire smiled and I slowly sat him back on the floor.

"What?"

"Nothing." I couldn't shake the goofy smile from my face the rest of the evening.