Chapter Twelve
Ok. I could do this. Two more hours of family time and I would be free. I just had to get through lunch at Grayson’s. A monologue about my failures from my mother. And Beckett’s interrogation. Easy peasy.
“Grayson, we brought you something,” my mother announced when he opened the door to his apartment. He was in his Grayson glory in athletic shorts and a high school wrestling t-shirt that was snug now across his shoulders. His hair wasn’t brushed, but it was short enough that it only kind of stood up at odd angles, and he was wearing his glasses instead of contacts, they weren’t as cool as Fin’s, but they did make him look smarter.
“Thanks for dressing up, Gray,” I snorted when I walked past him. I was of course in the new clothes my mom bought me, a showpiece to all her hard work this weekend.
We spent all of Saturday shopping. She was relentless in her pursuit to spend money on me. I eventually gave in, but only because I was able to distract her from housewares by expressing my desperation to have new clothes. To my surprise she didn’t have one negative thing to say about my new “style.” She even helped me find cute outfits that were less…. missionary.
“You look different, Els,” he said in an accusing tone.
“You look the same,” I snarked back, immediately on the defensive. “I thought grad students were supposed to dress for success?”
“Grad students spend seventy percent of their life studying, grad students are lucky if they remember toget dressed,” he intoned back.
“I think she looks stunning,” my mother cut in. She was standing in the open kitchen admiring both of us with an amused smile. It was like we were the most adorable thing she’d ever seen. “Ellie’s always dressed too mature for her age. This new look is more attractive.”
Oh my gosh, even my mother thought I was dowdy!
Grayson didn’t miss that either. He barked out a laugh and then said, “And by mature, she means you two could swap clothes, Els.”
“Oh, now I get it.” My mom tsked at my sarcasm and Grayson smiled at me.
“We brought lunch,” mom patted the counter where she had laid our deli lunch out on platters and in appropriate bowls. Grayson probably would have protested the use of all his dishes except he knew mom would stick around and wash them too.
“Where’s Beckett?” I asked. I walked over to Gray’s refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water before taking a seat at his table.
Grayson’s apartment was a ton nicer than mine, but not many weren’t. He had new appliances and new carpet. His apartment building was in a nicer part of town and actually not that far from Fin’s. Although Fin’s was trendy and modern, Grayson’s was comfortable and very, very new. Gray had also inherited a lot of furniture from our extended family. Money was spread through the ranks of the Harris’s and whenever one of us moved out on our own, every kind of relative would swoop in to add a piece of their outdated furniture. Outdated meant last season, since every woman, including my mother seemed to be in the constant process of remodeling this room or updating that room.
I was determined to be different.
However, it was nice to have all that free furniture.
Was nice.In the severely past tense.
Grayson checked a text and then answered my question, “He just pulled up. He only just got home.”
“Did they win this weekend?” Beckett had been traveling for baseball since Thursday.
“Of course,” my mother answered like there was no other outcome.
The door opened and Beckett stumbled in. He looked like hell. His eyes were tired and bloodshot, his mouth drawn in a grim line. His shoulders sagged and his hair was…. askew. The several days of beard growth along his jaw did not improve his Grizzly Adams appearance. He was wearing his team warm up pants and a long sleeved baseball t-shirt that had his name and number on the back.
“Ack!” I screeched. “You are scary looking!”
He gave me the evil eye and sunk down into a chair at the table. He put his head directly into his hands and immediately started snoring.
“Is he serious?” I asked Grayson.
Grayson walked over and pushed at his elbow so that his hands flew apart and his face met the table with a loud smack. I bit my lip to keep from bursting into laughter while Beckett jumped up and started chasing Grayson around the room. He was now sporting a huge red mark across his forehead and the bridge of his nose to go along with all the rest of the disheveledness.
“Boys,” my mother sighed. “Settle down, let’s eat.”
“You are so dead,” Beckett growled.
“You’ve never been able to keep up with me, what makes you think you can now?” Grayson taunted while jumping over the couch. I admired his form, he would have made a good hurdler.
Beckett was close behind him though and almost got hold of his shirt. They continued to chase each other around the apartment while I walked into the kitchen to help my mom set the table.
