Chapter 36: : Chapter 36

‘Don’t worry about it. It’s just Kai being Kai,’ I assure her. Then we go to eat with my family. I know the girl beside me is nervous but she has nothing to worry about. I take her hand as we enter the living room as silent encouragement.

My older brother and parents stare at the gesture, Kai winks at me, my mom smiles and my dad still has that stupid tough-guy act going. The twins with their non-existent filter don’t let me off so easily.

May starts off by making a gagging noise. Then Daniel hits the spot with, ‘Is she your girlfriend?’ Before things can get awkward over that, May swoops in with the, ‘Like Ricky?’ As if that weren’t bad enough, Daniel adds, ‘I liked Ricky. She always played with me. Flower girl went straight to your room,’ right as we sat down.

I dare a glance at Florence to my right to see a frozen smile on her face. Before I could say anything, she takes a deep breath and tells the twins, ‘I’ll be happy to play with you guys. Maybe next time your brother won’t kidnap me as soon as I arrive.’ She even eyes me playfully and I relax a little. She can gladly throw me under the bus as long as she’s not uncomfortable.

My family grills Florence throughout the meal but she handles it like a pro. She keeps smiling and laughing with them and my chest feels weirdly fuzzy at that. I like that she gets along with the people that mean the most to me. Her hand stays in mine beneath the table at all times which might complicate it for me to eat but I won’t complain.

When I notice her taking smaller bites and eying the rest of her food skeptically, I squeeze her hand.

‘You don’t need to finish it,’ I tell her. That has never been a rule at our table. Whatever wasn’t eaten could just be reheated the next day. Honestly, who wins when someone has to force themselves to eat more than they want?

Florence smiles gratefully at me and sets her fork down.

‘You can give it to me, I still need to grow!’ May says proudly.

‘So does she. She doesn’t look tall and strong. I can see her ribs and her arms are thinner than mine!’ Daniel adds. That makes Florence pull her hand from mine as if she were physically hit by the words. When I look at her, her smile looks frozen and stiff and she chuckles uncomfortably. She subtly rearranges her jacket so it fully covers her body. The gesture doesn’t sit right with me. I hate that she feels the need to hide.

Thankfully, Kai starts up a completely new conversation, diverting the attention away from Florence. I could kiss him for that. Metaphorically speaking, of course. We’re not that kind of family.

Meanwhile, I have no idea to cheer the girl next to me up. She’s relaxing a bit more as the minutes tick by but I can tell my brother’s comment really got to her. If he weren’t so young, I’d start a fight. Maybe not at the table but certainly later.

‘You said that?’ Florence asks me, clutching her stomach as she laughs. Kai just told her a story from when I proposed to my old history teacher because he looked like professor Lupin. At least she’s finally genuinely laughing again.

‘Are you guys ready for cake? Elija didn’t give me much of a heads up so it’s store-bought. I hope you like lemon, Florence,’ my mom interrupts.

‘I- yeah, I love it but you really didn’t have to do that. You already let me stay for dinner,’ Florence says, clearly startled.

‘But, Sweetie, it’s not your birthday without cake,’ my mom insists. Then a phone goes off and interrupts the moment.

‘So sorry. It’s my mom, I should take it,’ Florence apologizes as she gets up. She walks a few feet away and answers the phone.

‘Hi. Yeah, at a friend’s house,’ she says. Meanwhile, my noisy family is silently eavesdropping and I don’t have the strength to tell them to stop.

‘I’ll come after cake, okay? Well, because it’s my birthday, I guess,’ she says shyly into the phone, making me narrow my eyes. ‘Yeah, that’s today. I understand, no worries. Thanks, see you later.’ As soon as the phone call ends, my mom walks to the kitchen with pursed lips.

I share the sentiment, it’s obvious her mom forgot about her daughter’s birthday. That’s why Florence was home alone. I clench my fists but force myself to smile when the girl comes back.

‘Here it comes,’ my mom announces, coming back with a cake decorated with eighteen candles.

For the rest of the evening, we maintain a comfortable conversation. Then, Florence thanks my parents profusely before telling us goodnight and getting ready to leave.

‘Thank you for today. It was probably the best birthday I’ve ever had. I love your family,’ she tells me at the door. We’re alone now but I wouldn’t put it past my family to be eavesdropping again. Good thing I don’t care.

‘Of course, I’m glad you had a great time. Now, drive safely and text me when you’re home, okay?’

‘Will do,’ she says. Then I lean down to kiss her goodbye just because I can’t help myself and I’ve been wanting to do that again all evening. When she pulls back, her cheeks are rosy and she’s smiling.

‘Bye,’ she says shily. Then she’s gone.

As soon as the door closes behind me, Kai jumps at me.

‘So, is she your girl or what?’ he asks. I just laugh at him and shake my head. I’ve had too great a night to be mad at him for snooping. When I settle down on the couch in the living room, I find my mom already waiting. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I like her. She’s really sweet, probably good for you,’ my brother goes on. Then my dad joins us ‘Twins are in bed, what did I miss?’ he asks.

‘They kissed,’ my mom says cheekily.

‘Not surprised. Eli’s been mooning over her all dinner,’ my dad says.

‘Longer than that. Remember when he told us all about how shiny her hair was?’ Kai laughs.

‘I hate you guys,’ I tell them playfully.

‘Florence loves us though,’ my mom adds. ‘Sorry, couldn’t help it.’

‘I can’t believe her own parents forgot about her birthday. She doesn’t even have siblings, you said. Who can’t remember a single date?’ my dad adds. Florence thought he didn’t like her and here he is, angry in her defense.