7. 7
7
LYLA
T his first week of work flew by faster than I could have imagined. I tentatively sip my coffee as I’m opening the store for the day when Dennis comes in.
“Mornin’. I wanted to check in and see how the first week has been going.”
I chuckle and pat his shoulder.
“Same as when we chatted yesterday, Dennis.”
He runs his hand through his hair and looks at me sheepishly.
“I just wanted to make sure he’s been treating you right is all.”
I beam up at the man in front of me and feel my heart constrict at his words. Other than my mom, I’m not used to people looking out for me and caring how my week is going. I feel tears well up in my eyes and quickly blink them out of existence.
“He’s definitely not overly talkative, but that’s okay. I’m used to being alone with my thoughts.”
I regret it the moment it slips out. Something about the people here has me wanting to open up more than I have in years and it’s deeply unsettling. Dennis eyes me curiously before a soft smile touches his face .
“He’ll come around. Parker just takes a while to trust people.”
After finding out what happened to him, I decided to let him come to me. Parker doesn’t seem like someone who can be persuaded by my words. I know that I have to show him that I’m trustworthy and that I’m going to see this through. Something about his story made me realize that for Parker, actions speak louder than words. Since we’ve been relatively quiet in the store together this week, I put my best foot forward as an employee. I did extra cleaning, sometimes even doing the same task a few times a day. I made sure the shelves stayed stocked and I’ve been hitting it off with the customers, which seems to make Parker’s teeth grind.
Dennis interrupts my thoughts.
“I actually wanted to see if you were free for dinner tonight. I’m having the family over for a barbecue and thought if you had nothing going on, maybe you’d like to come join us for the evening.”
I chew on the inside of my cheek as I contemplate his offer. Parker is obviously going to be there and I’m not sure how he’ll feel about me party crashing. Although, this could be a good opportunity to get him to warm up to me.
“Sure, Dennis. I’d love to come. Can I bring anything?”
“I’ve got everything we need. Come by around six and we’ll start dinner shortly after.”
Parker enters the store and stops short, seeing his father and I standing there.
“Here again, Dad?”
“Just making sure you’re treating our Lyla nicely.”
Parker exaggeratedly exhales and looks up to the ceiling as if sending a prayer.
“And inviting her to dinner tonight.”
Parker’s head whips towards his dad and he whispers a curse before making his way to the back office.
I’m not sure what has happened between us this week. He’s still quiet and broody, but seems less angry. I don’t really know what that means for us, but I’m hopeful that it’s a step in the right direction. After all, he outright hated me when we first met. Now, I catch him watching me around the store and he doesn’t seem to scoff every time words come out of my mouth.
Progress.
“Well,” Dennis says. “This should be an interesting night.”
I pull up to the Hamilton’s family home and sit in my Jeep for an extra few moments before taking a deep breath and gathering up the courage to head inside. I make my way up the driveway and raise my hand to knock on the door, but it opens before I can connect my fist. In front of me stands the cutest little girl I’ve ever seen in my life. She has curly and wild brown hair with rich chocolate eyes. She looks to be about five or six years old and is sporting a silver tiara with a lavender dress. Under one of her arms is a stuffed pink hippo that has obviously been well-loved.
“Who are you? Oh! You must be the new girl. I’m Lucy. And this is my hippo Georgina. I’ve had her since I was a baby and she’s my favorite stuffed animal. My second favorite is my crocodile. His name is Hector.”
This must be the granddaughter.
I bend down to meet her at eye level and stick out my hand in greeting. She grips my hand and shakes it wildly. I chuckle.
“Hi Lucy, it’s so nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard about you from your grandpa. And it’s nice to meet you too, Georgina.”
Lucy giggles, “Nobody ever talks to Georgina except for me. My mom says adults don’t do that. Do you have a stuffed animal? What’s their name?”
Man, this girl can chat a mile a minute and is potentially the most outgoing kid I have ever met. I adore her already .
“Lucy, for goodness’ sake, let her come inside. Sorry, she heard you pulling up and got excited.”
I look up to see a stunning woman who looks identical to Parker. This must be his sister.
“Hi. Peyton, is it? It’s so nice to finally put a face to the name. I’ve heard so much about both of you ladies from Dennis.”
Her smile immediately puts me at ease and she already seems more receptive to me than her brother.
“Hi, Lyla. It’s so nice to meet you. I thought about sneaking upstairs to introduce myself over the weekend, but it was so busy and I figured you would be unpacking and getting settled.”
“Mom, when is it going to be time for dinner?” Lucy interrupts. “I’m starving!”
Peyton looks down at her daughter and runs a gentle hand through her curls.
“I think Grandpa is getting it ready right now, but you have to be patient. Let’s go play for a while until it’s ready, okay?”
Lucy pouts and stalks further into the house, her mother motioning me inside. I take a minute to appreciate the house as they continue towards the back. The main living area is up a small set of stairs and sits on the left side of the house. To the right is a hallway with a bunch of doorways, which I figure lead to the bedrooms. The living space is filled with brown suede couches, with pops of cream and purple in the throw pillows. The walls are a beautiful sage green and there’s a stone fireplace set against one wall.
I continue walking through until I find the kitchen at the back of the house, where Dennis is chopping and prepping dinner. He looks up when he hears me approaching.
“Lyla, glad you could make it! I hope Lucy wasn’t too much for you. That little fireball can talk your ear off.”
I wave him off.
“She’s sweet, I don’t mind. Can I help you with anything in here? ”
He gestures to a second cutting board with some veggies beside it.
“If you don’t mind chopping up the vegetables over there. I just have to finish prepping the potatoes.”
I ease in beside him and get to work. He asks me about my first week (again) and about art. Apparently Bev came in over the weekend asking Peyton about me. Then, he inquires about my life before moving here. I tense, immediately uncomfortable with the topic. I take a deep breath before answering.
“Well, it was just my mom and I. I felt bad leaving her, but I had to get away from there. It became suffocating.”
Without looking my way, Dennis asks, “How so?”
Something about his demeanor makes me feel more at ease, so I decide to tell him the truth.
“My dad wasn’t a nice man and I had a hard time being in that house. In that city. In that life. Everywhere I looked, there was a bad memory. Memories of times I would rather forget.”
Dennis mulls over my words. It doesn’t feel like a pause of discomfort, but rather a pause to make sure he considers his response.
“So you left.”
“I left.” I concede. “As much as I love my mom, it felt like I couldn’t move forward. I felt stuck. So, I saw the job posting here and kind of applied on a whim, to be honest.” I flush. I don’t want him to think I don’t care about this job or that I’ll leave as abruptly as I’d arrived.
“Well, I think that’s very brave of you to make a fresh start for yourself.”
I glance over at him and give him a soft smile. Nobody had ever been a role model for me growing up. My dad wasn’t someone I could look up to, and my mom was so beaten down by him that she was a shell of a human. Dennis is a man that loves his family and sets a great example for them every day, and I can’t help but envy his children.
He must see something written on my face, as his next words are barely above a whisper .
“What did he do to you?”
I still for a moment before I continue chopping. I take a deep breath, and then another.
“He—well, he was an alcoholic. He was so angry all the time. With me, with my mother, with his life. He hated how sensitive I was and constantly tried to toughen me up. I think I was more of a burden to him than anything.”
Dennis puts his knife down and gives my shoulder a soft squeeze, just as I’d done for him during that first day when he talked about his late wife. He’s encouraging me, letting me know he’s there.
“He used to hurt me. Emotionally and,” I swallow. “Physically.”
Dennis’ gaze bores into me. I can feel him tense at my words, at what I’d just revealed.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Lyla. Nobody should ever have to feel unsafe in their own home. A parent should be a source of comfort.”
Moisture forms in my eyes and one traitorous tear slides down my cheek. Before I know it, the knife is being taken out of my hand and I’m being wrapped in a warm embrace. I hug Dennis back and squeeze his waist. A cough sounds and we shift apart.
Arctic blue eyes meet mine but they don’t hold any hostility. Instead, they look softer than I’ve ever seen them when directed at me. I shift uncomfortably and feel the urge to run like I had on that first day. What is it about his damn eyes? Their assessments always make me uneasy.
“Sorry to interrupt.” Parker looks at his feet and clears his throat. “I was just seeing if you needed any help in here.”
Dennis leaves my side and comes around the island to hand food to his son.
“Why don’t you get started on the chicken? I’ll start the potatoes in here and Lyla will bring out the veggies when she’s done chopping them.”
Parker nods and looks at me for a moment before turning on his heel and going out to the back deck. I glance back at Dennis, who’s already looking at me.
“I’d prefer if you kept this to yourself, if that’s okay. It’s not something that I usually talk about,” I say softly.
Dennis comes back over to me and lays a hand on my shoulder again.
“Of course. I won’t tell him about what we discussed. And Lyla?”
I meet his gaze and see the sincerity there.
“You can talk to me any time, okay? About anything.”
“Thank you, Dennis.”
We all gather around the farmhouse table for dinner and everybody tells jokes and shares stories. Peyton and I bond over Matt Maeson and Lucy tells me how she just started grade two. She chats about her friends and the fact that Tommy Hilton, a boy in her class, keeps asking her to be his girlfriend. Her dad, Chris, pipes up at that and says she’s too young for a boyfriend anyway. Chris is a second generation Canadian, his grandparents immigrated here from Ghana. His dark features show in his daughter, with her thick curls and deep brown eyes, and a beautiful caramel colored complexion. Chris works as a partner at one of the law firms here and has a special interest in pro-bono work to help women in domestic violence situations. His sister had been in a volatile relationship and ended up having her life taken too early, so his mission is to help women in similar situations get out and find protection. He also handles their court cases whether it’s a protection order or custody battle.
This family is filled with human goodness and I can’t help but admire them. They’re close-knit and they all exude happiness—even Parker. He’s smiling and laughing alongside everyone and seems lighter somehow, as if being with his family brings out the best in him. I watched as he helped Lucy cut up her chicken and as he joked around with his brother-in-law. At work, Parker is all business. Seeing him with his family brings out a whole new side of him and I’m growing increasingly curious as to what makes this man so closed off with everyone else. His ex had to be a part of it, of course, but I hadn’t heard him mention many friends. And while everyone that comes into the store knows him, he never embraces them and he doesn’t have more than surface level conversations with them.
It’s strange to see how he acts around people and knowing that Dennis described him as a sensitive soul. I expected him to be more open, more loving. But everything about Parker screams ‘beware: I bite’, and I find myself wanting to know why.
After dinner, we settle in the living room and Lucy asks me to color with her. At first, Parker protests, saying he doubts I want to lay on the floor and color. Well, jokes on him because here I am, on the floor, coloring with his niece. I pick out the picture I want and get to work. Lucy remains just as concentrated as me and we work in companionable silence.
A night with this family has me aching for something I never had and I’m constantly shocked at how much love they show towards one another. The only person who has ever shown me love is my mother, as I don’t have any siblings or extended family. Watching Peyton and Parker on the couch with a chess board between them makes me envision what they were like as kids. Probably as competitive as they are right now. Parker is currently pressing his brows together, deep in thought, while Peyton is staring him down, daring him to make a move. Finally, he moves his knight and takes her queen.
This continues until Parker comes out the winner, taking down her king.
“I told you Peyton, you’ll never beat me. I’m the champ.”
She scoffs and flips the board off the couch which has everyone erupting into a fit of laughter.