Chapter 15 Cam
Chapter 15
Cam
Fifteen Years Ago
D usty’s arm was slung over my shoulder as we walked up to the front door of his house. It was my first time here. Even from the outside, the white farmhouse looked big and bright and warm.
“I have no idea what my mom is making for dinner,” he said as he opened the door. “But if you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it. She won’t be offended, I promise.”
Yeah, right—like I wasn’t going to eat whatever she put in front of me no matter what. I wanted Dusty’s mom to like me.
When we stepped into the house, I immediately felt like I’d been here before, even though I hadn’t. It just felt that familiar. Unlike my house, which my parents paid people to keep so meticulously clean that it almost felt sterile, this one had signs of life everywhere. Shoes by the door, blankets and books on the floor.
“Is that you, bub?” I heard a woman call from farther inside the house.
“Yeah,” Dusty called back. He dropped his arm from my shoulder and used a hand at the small of my back to guide me forward.
The kitchen was around the corner, and when we got there, Dusty’s mom had her back to us as she worked at the stove. Her hair was long. It fell all the way to the middle of her back. Some of it was gray, and some of it was blond—now I knew where Dusty got his hair color from.
“Hey, Mom,” he said as he walked toward her. He gave her a hug from the side, and she wrapped an arm around him the same way. Then she turned toward me and gave me a smile that could thaw a windshield on a winter day.
“And you must be Camille,” she said as she put the wooden spoon on a spoon holder and walked toward me. I expected her to go for a handshake, but she didn’t.
Instead, she pulled me into a hug. A tight, warm hug. I stayed still for a moment, surprised, but I recovered enough to hug her back quickly before she pulled away. Dusty was grinning at me.
“So nice to meet you, honey,” she said. “We’ve heard so much about you. I’m Aggie.”
Aggie and Dusty looked very much alike. They had the same angular features and slim build. I wondered if he got anything from his dad. “It’s so nice to meet you, too,” I said genuinely. “Thank you for having me.”
“Of course. We’re just waiting on Dusty’s dad to get home and then we’ll dig in. Dusty, honey, will you set the table?”
“Sure thing,” he said. Aggie stayed by me.
“Do you prefer Camille or Cam?” she asked. “Dusty has used both.”
No one had ever asked me that before. “Cam,” I said.
“Cam it is, then.” Aggie grinned at me. Was it normal for people to be this nice to people they just met?
Aggie and I chatted for a bit—about school and soccer. She asked if she could come to a game, and I told her I would love if she did.
When I heard the front door open again, I also heard two sets of feet come into the house. One of them ran toward the kitchen. When I saw the kid appear around the corner, I figured she was Greer—Dusty’s little sister.
“Who are you?” she asked when she noticed an outsider in her kitchen. She and Dusty had the same eyes, but her hair was almost black and as long as her mom’s.
“Greer,” Aggie chastised.
“I’m Cam,” I said. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Greer looked me up and down. “You’re pretty,” she said. Then a man came around the corner—Dusty’s dad.
He put his hands on Greer’s shoulders. “She comes off a little strong,” he said to me. “But she means well.”
Dusty’s dad—Renny—was tall. His hair looked like it used to be dark, but now it was mostly gray. He was clean-shaven and wearing jeans and a T-shirt from the grocery store, along with his nametag. Both of his arms were full of faded tattoos.
“You must be Cam,” he said to me. His eyes were bright. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”
“All good things, I hope,” I said, reaching out to shake Renny’s hand.
“Good would be the understatement of the century,” Renny said as he took my outstretched hand. When I looked over at Dusty, he looked like he might be blushing.
“Welcome. We’re happy you’re here,” Renny said before moving past me to his wife. He gave Aggie a kiss on her temple and then her lips, and I realized I’d never seen my parents kiss.
When the oven timer went off, Greer and Dusty went to help their mom bring dishes over to the table—chicken, steamed broccoli, and one of those pasta side dishes from the box. I followed so I could help, too.
Dinner conversation flowed easily. Greer told everyone about the Bill Nye episode that she got to watch at school that day—the one about volcanoes; Aggie and Renny talked about their work, and Dusty told them about school. I chimed in when he was talking, and the way everyone at the table listened and leaned in to pay attention to me when I spoke felt…new. I wasn’t used to it.
“How long have you two been married?” I asked Dusty’s parents. They sat near each other at the table—Aggie at the head of the table and Renny to her right. They held hands on the table throughout the whole meal—except when one of them had to cut something.
“Twenty years.” Renny smiled. “Of pure marital bliss. Isn’t that right, scrumptious?”
Aggie rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “That’s right.”
“Ew,” Greer mumbled, and Dusty laughed.
“What about your parents, Cam? What do they do?” Aggie asked. I knew she was being nice, but I didn’t want to talk about my parents. Not while I was here spending time with this family that actually felt like a family.
“My dad is the CEO of a bank,” I said quickly. “And my mom does a lot of charity stuff.”
“Do you have any siblings?”
“I have an older sister,” I said. “Violet. She’s in her second year at Yale.”
“Damn,” Renny said. “Your parents must be so proud of you both—Dusty tells us you’re as smart as can be.”
I looked over at Dusty, and he gave me a reassuring smile. “Um,” I said, not really sure how to respond. “Yeah,” is what I settled on.
“I’d love to meet them. Maybe at one of your games?” Aggie said. “I can ask them how they got so lucky with such a great girl.”
“They, um…” I stumbled a little. “They’re, um, really busy.”
Aggie tilted her head when she looked at me, and I had a feeling she was figuring out way too much about me with that look.
“Well,” she said after a few beats, “you’re welcome here anytime.”
“Yes, you are,” Renny said. “Anyone who can get Dusty to be on his best behavior is a miracle worker in my book,” and then he winked at his son. I loved watching this family—the ease with which they interacted with one another. I felt lucky to be here.
With Dusty.
“Who wants dessert?” Aggie asked after a second, and Greer’s hand shot up.
Tonight was perfect.