He parks in the driveway behind Addison’s car, and the air between us is even quieter once he kills the engine. I gather my things and start to change my focus, putting aside this little fight for the day.
As I reach for the door handle, Jesse’s soft voice stops me. “Ella.”
“What?”
“You wanna go in there like this?”
“Do we have a choice?”
“We can talk for a couple minutes.”
“This isn’t a couple-minute conversation.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re not getting your way.” I open the door and get out. Jesse says my name once more, but I keep on walking to the front steps.
The sound of Maureen and Addison echoes in the kitchen, while the TV is on in the living room. Leonard and Cody are watching something.
“Smells like tacos,” I say, turning the corner.
“You are correct,” Maureen answers looking behind me. “ Where’s Jesse?”
I turn around to find him still at the door taking his boots off. “Right there.”
His eyes land on mine when he stands and walks closer. His face is blank, trying to mask his frustration.
I walk over to the sink and wash my hands to help. Mason emerges from the dining room with an empty water pitcher. Still in his pajamas, he looks wiped. He wasn’t at church this morning, so he must have workedlast night.
“How are you, Mason?”
“Tired. I’m going back to bed after we eat,” he mutters, his voice hoarse and congested.
“Yeah. Good. You sound sick.”
“I am.”
“Unless it’s an allergy, your eyes are pretty red.”
“I’m fine. But thank you, nurse,” he teases with a nudge.
* * *
When we sit down for dinner, I’m pretty positive Jesse and I are the only ones who can feel the tension. Everyone else is their smiling selves. Well, except Mason because he’s sick, and Cody’s kind of a grump, but everyone else is normal.
The conversation at the dinner table is lively, but I can’t focus. My mind is still reeling from the argument with Jesse. He’s sitting across from me, his usual relaxed demeanor noticeably tighter. His jaw is clenched as he tries to play along with Leonard’s jokes, but his eyes flick to me every now and then, as if he’s waiting for me to say I’m not going to Texas without him. Joke’s on him because I’m not going to.
This is something I need to do on my own. I don’t want him anywhere near my drama or my problems that I created. He doesn’t need all that.
Maureen offers everyone more food. Cody and Mason tease Addison for crushing her taco shell over her plate to make a salad. The table erupts into banter but I keep my head down, scooping some refried beans onto my plate.
“I sense there’s trouble in paradise at the south end of the table.” Cody points his fork at us both.
Jesse looks to him and then me. His expression hardens, likehe’s about to give him hell, but I speak up first.
“We’re fine, it’s nothing. Just a difference of opinion.”
Jesse scoffs. “More like a disagreement about who can and can’t drive a U-Haul across state lines,” he mutters under his breath in a casual tone. But I know I’m not the only one who can pick up the sharp edge to it.
