Chapter 5 #2
“Nope.” Sophie looked at the screen, beaming.
“Friends?” her mother squealed, correctly interpreting her daughter’s look of joy.
“Yep. One in particular. Actually, he’s more of a boyfriend.”
Her mother shrieked in delight while her father barked out, “Who is he, what’s his name, where’s he from?”
“His name is Jesse Smith, he’s from Pine Ridge, New York, and he’s a business major.
” She decided not to mention the part about him being a junior in case her parents objected to a slight age difference.
“He’s sweet and funny, and smart and no, I didn’t sleep with him, and yes, he pays for my meals when we go out.
Well, now he does. Up until this last week, we were just friends. ”
Her mother was too happy “to English.” She rambled something prayerful in frantic Armenian, crossing herself with a beatific smile. Her father was still scowling.
“Business major, hm? Antonia’s not a very good school—”
“Gee, thanks, Daddy.” Sophie rolled her eyes and chomped through a Greek salad she’d chosen for that weekend’s “family dinner.”
“You had a reason to go to that small school! He’s from New York, they have a lot of good business schools there!”
“Sam!” Her mother hissed, smacking his elbow. “Why shouldn’t he go to that school? Maybe he likes the mountains? Maybe God put him there so he would meet our Sophie!”
“Oh, Mom, don’t bring God into this, please.”
Wrong thing to say. “Why should I not bring God into this?”
“Alidz,” her father sighed.
“You choose one college out of 165 in our state and you pick that little place and he picks that little place, and—”
“Alidz!”
Sophie ate an olive as her mother explained loudly (in Armenian) how it was obviously divine providence. “You are not going to be one of those girls who go away to college and forgets her upbringing!”
Faith. One of those inexplicable things that had seen her family through war, refugee camps, genocides, immigration, infertility, and more. So much more. “No, Mom. No, Daddy. I like Jesse a lot, but we’re not serious or anything.”
“Bring him home with you for Thanksgiving!”
“I can’t, Mom. He has to be with his mom this year, she’s his only family.
Or at least, the only one nearby for Thanksgiving.
” Even though it was true, Sophie felt like she would have wanted to keep Jesse away from her parents for now, anyway.
Her father might scare him off. Her mother might smother him and overwhelm him.
Mostly, she simply wanted to experience this on her own.
As she sat, smiling softly without speaking, she realized her parents weren’t speaking, either. They were looking at one another, but not with romantic reminiscing in their eyes. “Mom?”
“Nothing, Sweetness.”
“Did you tell him about your family?” her father inquired, his fork pointing toward the screen.
“Of course! I talk about you all the time.”
“What does he look like? Is he handsome?” her mother fished, dark eyes gleaming.
That earned a genuinely enthusiastic response! “Oh, Mom, yes! Wait, I’ll send you a picture if you promise not to make a big deal.”
“Why do you have this boy’s picture in your phone?”
“Daddy, chill. We’re friends. If I had friends growing up, I bet I’d have their pictures in my phone, too,” Sophie snapped. It shut her parents up, but this silence wasn’t pleasant, it was hurt. “Sorry. Hey, I’m glad I met him. There.” She tapped her phone, held her breath, and hit send.
Her mother was quicker on the draw. “Here, Sam.” She held the phone out so they both could see.
“Did it come through? It’s not the best picture. It’s always cloudy out here.”
“You... look happy with him,” her mother replied in a tight, cheery voice.
“Your heads are touching.”
“That’s ‘cause it’s a photo of both of us, Daddy.” It had been just this week that she got brave enough to casually ask, “Can we take a picture?”
“Sophie, he looks... like such a nice boy. He surely is handsome, isn’t he, Sam?”
“I suppose so. One of those pretty actor boys with a dimple in his chin.”
“A cleft, I think they call it a cleft,” her mother murmured, fingers pinching and sliding on the screen to enlarge the picture.
“Wh-where is he from?”
“Pine Ridge, New York. It’s not too far from the college, about an hour and a half away."
Both of her parents nodded and made humming noises of comprehension.
The conversation became stilted. Her mother started talking about work and her father was silent. He didn't return to his favorite topics of her grades, her job search, or her long-overdue weekend visit.
"I should go soon. I have a new piece and I have juries right before break." Sophie tried to find a merciful end to the dying conversation.
“Are you going to see that boy tonight?” her father asked in a flat voice.
“Um... I dunno. He might come over, or we might meet up at someplace for a snack. He does take a couple of night classes. I'm not sure if he has one tonight,” she fibbed.
In the last week, she'd all but memorized Jesse's schedule. He seemed to get his consulting work done during the day and talk to his mother in the mornings (which she thought was really sweet). He’d told her he was also a morning person in terms of studying and writing his papers.
It made sense for him to take classes at night.
He'd also mentioned that fall and winter were his slower seasons for his sideline and he would be slammed again in the spring and summer as everybody prepared to head into a new fiscal year.
Sophie, who had never cared much for the business world, tried to make meaningful contributions to the discussion but in reality, all she cared about was the fact that she had a friend who made his schedule and habits known so they could hang out.
No, it was more than that. She had a boyfriend. She was one half of a couple, albeit a very new one. Couples knew stuff about one another. They created chemistry. Then, intimacy. Then, physical intimacy. She blessed her pale complexion right now as she felt her cheeks heating up.
“Be careful. Boys in college... they can be bad news,” her father chided gruffly.
“Boys in any place can be bad news,” her mother laughed bitterly. “Guard your heart, Sers.”
“I think he’s really different. I just have a feeling.”
Sophie waited for the cautionary tales and rebuffs, but they never came. Her parents shifted their glances subtly toward one another and nodded. “Trust your instincts. They can keep you safe,” her father intoned.
They finished their protracted farewell at last and Sophie shut the screen. “That was definitely a little bit weird.”
Her phone buzzed on the corner of her bed.
Jesse: Hi, Beautiful. Walk in the moonlight?
She texted back, her thoughts of practice forgotten. Meet you where?
Jesse: I’m already outside your dorm.
“I TOLD MY PARENTS ABOUT you last week,” Sophie made the announcement as casually as possible. Some guys took that as a sign of big expectations.
Jesse tensed slightly. She could feel his muscles go rigid under her arm as they walked in the blustery twilight. “What did they say?”
“Well, Mom said you were handsome, but don’t be grossed out. She meant handsome for me, not her. Dad wanted to know about your job and where you were from.”
“That’s it?”
“No, Mom also invited you home for Thanksgiving and Daddy went all Papa Bear and told me to watch out for college boys. Did you... tell your mom about me?” Sophie hoped that last bit wasn’t some terrible dating faux pas.
“No—not yet.”
“Oh.” Don’t be stupid. Don’t pout. Don’t feel hurt. It’s super soon to tell anyone, probably.
“She’ll tell me it’s not fair to you,” Jesse mumbled, an edge of frustration in his voice. A crumpled tin can went soaring down the block, sped onward by his angry kick.
Sophie tilted her head in confusion. “Because of your medical condition? The—fertility stuff?”
“Well—”
“That’s bull! Tell her I’m not bothered by that stuff. I mean, if you want to tell her. It’s true. I’m not. And if there is some condition that medical science hasn’t figured out yet, well, we’ve both got it!” she laughed, her heart in her words, even if there was really nothing funny.
Jesse suddenly grabbed her arm tightly, pulling her to face him. “You’re not like I am,” he whispered.
Before she could protest, he was kissing her.
It was no little peck this time. Sophie felt her scalp prickle and her breasts tighten in a way she didn’t even know they could. She made a squeak of surprise as his cool tongue pushed into her mouth and his hands gripped her waist hard.
The fairy princess finds her knight, her pale, cool knight. Soon they climb the tower stair and do secret deeds before the witching hour ends.
She kissed him back, her hands latching onto the long dark hairs at his collar, panting softly as their mouths danced, a nibble here, a bite there, scraping teeth, and hungry sounds.
They ended abruptly. “Oh, God. Soph, I’m sorry.” Jesse backed up, eyes wide. He looked genuinely surprised and semi-guilty.
“I’m not!” Sophie laughed breathlessly.
“I... I’m not one of those guys who rushes into anything. I don’t... I’m old-fashioned.”
“How old-fashioned?” Sophie’s eyes widened. Is kissing with extras not allowed? Not before there’s a ring on it? Not until we’re engaged? Not until we have at least three dates that don’t involve tacos or take-out?
“Heh.” Jesse kept his eyes down. “It’s not that I don’t understand modern ideas. I think as long as two people want to do things, they should go ahead. I just... I don’t want to.”
The hurt that she’d told to leave earlier flooded back, a sharp sting in her already tingling body. “Excuse me?”
“I don’t want to get carried away. I understand that I started it, I just didn’t mean to.” His surprised look had turned into something almost angry. His fists were balled, white knuckles pushing up under pale skin.
“Well, if you wanted to start it, doesn’t that mean you wanted to?” Sophie asked, somewhat timidly.