Chapter 63

Chapter 63

We were sitting at the dinner table with mom and dad seated at the opposite ends of the table. I was on dad's left, Axel was next to me, then Josh and Hailey. Noelle was in front of me and Xanthippe was next to her, leaving two empty chairs in between Xan and mom.

Everyone was asking about how everyone's life has been lately – catching up on some events that either happened to them personally or to someone that was collectively known. And I've tried, I've really tried, so hard to focus on what they're all saying, but I can't take my eyes off of Axel and how at ease he has been with my family. He nods and smiles as if he wasn't so damn nervous just three hours ago.

He laughs and I can barely hear anything other than him; they're all just noise crackling in the background. Heck, I don't even know what he was laughing about. All I know is that all of a sudden, I am captivated and in trance about how his hair flops perfectly as he moves his head, how his chest shakes up and down as he laughs so free, and how his lips part as he listens with pure intent. My focus remained solely on him and I'm in deep shit.

He cut through the meat with a steak knife, speared the small portion with a fork, and brought it to his mouth. Nodding as he chewed on it then grabbed the glass of water and brought it to his lips. He was wearing his watch in his right hand. I hadn't noticed that before.

"Lauren? Lauren!"

"What?" my head snapped in dad's direction.

"I was asking how things are with your new job."

"Right," I placed the fork down on the plate. "Well," I cleared my throat and tried to put all of my attention on my dad. "It's basically the same as before. Just plain old boring accounting stuff."

Hailey snorted, "Yeah, right, boring... She has told you that she went to Sydney and Manila, right? I'm so jealous."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that," Mom acknowledged. "Charlie sent me some photos. Axel, you were there too, correct?"

"Yes, um, we modeled for the Philippine Fashion Week. It was..." he paused trying to think of the appropriate word. "Memorable." He turned to me, "Right, Lauren?"

"Hmm?" my eyes moved from his lips to his eyes. I adjusted from my seat, taking my hand away from my chin, "Yeah. Yeah, it was."

"Well, that's nice," mom commented. "Has a lot changed since we've been there, Laurie?"

"Yeah, I'd say so. But not by much, I guess. The parks were still there. You know, the zoo and the one with the sea animals."

"Oh, yes, how could I forget? That's where your dad got kissed by a sea lion."

"Oh my God, Dad," Noelle laughed. "I remember you smelled like fish the entire day."

"Hey, that wasn't my fault," Dad replied.

"What's a sea lion, Mommy?" Xan whispered loud enough for us to hear.

"I'll show you a picture, Eloise," Axel nodded and typed away on his phone.

Xan smiled, a blush appearing on her cheeks. Oh my God, this guy's charms even work on kids.

He pulled up a photo from his phone and showed it to Xan, "Oh..." she held the phone tight in her small hands as she stared fascinated at the photo. Then she suddenly grimaced, "That kissed you, granddad?" She wrinkled her nose and everyone laughed at the cute expressions she made, unbelieving and utterly disgusted.

"Why did you call her 'Eloise'?" Dad asked Axel.

"Well," Noelle smacked her lips, answering for him. "She told him she goes by Eloise."

"Uh, since when?" mom asked.

"Since today, Lola. I'm not a little girl anymore. Look," she grinned wide. "I've already lost a tooth."

Mom chuckled, impressed, "I can see that, little miss."

She cleared her throat and held her head high, waiting for mom to correct her term.

"I meant, Miss Eloise."

Xan nodded and continued eating spaghetti.

"Wait, she's only three, right? Isn't it a bit early for her to lose teeth?" mom asked.

"Yeah, about that. I've called the dentist. He said it's a little early, but it's nothing to worry about."

"You know," Axel whispered in my ear. "I also lost my first tooth when I was three."

I turned to him, a smile playing on my lips, "What?"

"Mia pulled it out because I kept on complaining about it. She said it was hanging by a thread and I was so annoying, so she pulled it out."

"Oh my God," I replied in a whisper, fascinated by his story.

"What are you kids whispering about, huh?" Hailey asked.

"Nothing," Axel replied innocently then sipped on the glass of water.

"Noelle," dad spoke.

"Dad?"

"Tell Harry he has to join us on Thanksgiving, okay? That is non-negotiable."

"Yes, dad. He made sure he's free for the dinner."

"No calls?"

"No calls," she gave a curt nod.

"Hmm," Mom's brows rose as she took a sip of red.

"Mom," Noelle tilted her head.

"What?" she feigned innocence as she placed the glass on the table.

"Please."

"I didn't say anything. But you know what happened last time."

"What last time?" I asked looking at mom and Noelle.

"When Noelle wasn't able to go visit you. Lola had to go on her own."

"Here we go again," Noelle murmured as she picked on her food.

"What? You were supposed to have a vacation. I mean I understand that doctors are always on call. But..." she paused clicking her tongue at the back of her teeth. "Oh well."

Noelle gave me a brief knowing glance. I pulled my brows together and jiggled my head to tell her to just let it slip.

* * *

After dinner, Axel helped me clear the table. We were about to do the dishes but my mother shooed us away. We went to the living room where Noelle was talking with Hailey, and Josh was playing with Xan.

The evening was running smoothly until all hell broke loose when Xan started fussing about – crying, wailing, and almost breaking her back when Noelle carried her. We took turns in carrying her, trying to calm her down. She was relentless – crying non-stop, probably because she wants to sleep. She was in my arms when the phone started vibrating in my pocket. I passed her to Axel so I could answer the call. I took the phone out and just as I was about to click on accept, my ears heard an unfamiliar sound for the past fifteen minutes. Silence. I turned and saw a sleepy Xanthippe in Axel's arms. The little bugger stopped crying by some sort of miracle. We all glanced at each other but didn't say anything so we wouldn't jinx it. I went outside and answered the phone call, but I couldn't make much sense of what the other line was saying because my attention was on Axel carrying my three-year-old niece on his shoulders. The phone call ended with me being fifty percent sure that it was just the credit card company offering up loans.

Soon after, we all bid our goodbyes and Noelle graciously drove us back to the hotel. I was sitting shotgun and Axel was sitting in the backseat next to Xanthippe sleeping in her car seat.

Josh and Hailey still had somewhere to be. I'm guessing it was part of Josh's 100-step plan proposal. At this point, I don't even understand all the fuss and hype of proposals. I mean, sure, grand gestures are nice, but, in my opinion, there's a fine line between being romantic and going overboard. And at the rate Josh is going, he's a hair's width close to crossing that line.

Before we parted, Noelle and I talked about some of the specifics that we'll iron out tomorrow to prepare for the setup of Josh's proposal site.

I changed into my pajamas and slumped on the bed. I stretched out my hand and noticed my perfectly done nails. My mind suddenly wandered back to the salon where Axel basically swept me off my feet, picking me up like he was the perfect boyfriend.

I don't know what happened to me at dinner. I don't know why I'm suddenly so interested in what he'll do next. Maybe I'm going out of my mind. Or maybe it's only because he has helped Hailey and me with Becky. I remember how her jaw almost fell to the floor with disbelief. A satisfying sight indeed. If someone came to me ten years ago and told me that would happen, I would have never believed them. Sure, I was delusional at sixteen, but I know how to identify fantasy from reality. A small-town girl like me dating someone of the celebrity status was straight up out of a dream. But here we are, laying in the bed of the adjoining room of a celebrity.

Psh.

Axel has just been Axel to me for the past few weeks – nothing but a nuisance that pesters me even when I told him to back off. But now, in my hometown, being in his presence feels surreal, like I am living my sixteen-year-old self's biggest dream.

I brought a pillow to my face and grumbled out my frustrations.

"Grant?" a knock on the adjoining door almost made me jump.

"Yeah?" I tried to keep my voice even but failed miserably.

"Can I come in?"

I sat up and fixed my hair. "Come on in."

The door parted slightly. He peeked his head first before going in. He was wearing the same shirt and sweatpants he was wearing earlier today.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I can't sleep."

I sighed loudly, "Neither can I."

He moved closer and motioned to the bed asking permission to sit, "Can I?"

"Sure."

The bed dipped a little with his weight. He glanced at me and smiled, I smiled back briefly before looking away.

What did I subject myself to? This is torture.

We sat next to each other in silence, not knowing what to say.

He cleared his throat and I expected him to say something but he only stared out the window, not a word out his lips.

"Have you-/Do you-?" we said at the same time then we laughed. "You go first," I said.

"Do you have any other plans for the week? I mean except for the proposal preparation."

"Uh, no, not really, but I can show you around if you like."

The room was dark with only the bedside lamp lit, but I swear for a quick second, I saw his eyes light up with excitement.

"Yeah," he said coolly. "I guess that'll be nice. How about you? What were you going to ask?"

"Oh," my head bowed like a schoolgirl. What was that, Lauren? I inhaled as I forced myself to meet his gaze. "Have you ever tried basting a turkey?"

He was taken aback by my question, "I can't say that I have. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you're in for a treat. Lola has this tradition that you can't eat the turkey if you didn't participate in the basting."

His brows raised, obviously weirded out, "Can I ask why?"

I shrugged, "Some things are just what they are."

"Okay," he nodded. "But how? I mean there's only so much of- whatdoyoucallit?"

"What?"

"The, um, the liquid that you use to put on the turkey."

"You mean the sauce?"

"Yeah, that. I mean wouldn't Lola run out of sauce if everyone has to put it on the turkey?"

"No. She's got it figured out. That's why she has to know how many there'll be at dinner. I think she rations them."

"Nothing to do with how much food she has to prepare?"

"Not really, I don't think so. I think it's all about the sauce because she cooks food that could feed us for about a week from leftovers."

He smiled at me – the kind of smile that could turn my knees to jelly if I wasn't already sitting.

I laughed nervously and turned my head down, "It's a weird tradition, I know, but Lola likes to include everyone in the process."

He exhaled stretching his arms, "I get it." He nodded, "And it's nice." He smiled again, but this time it was calmer. "It's nice to be included. Thank you."

I can't help but smile back, "You're welcome."

Silence has settled yet again then a thought popped in my head, "You know..."

"Yeah?" his spine straightened, alert and curious about what I was going to say.

"We've never really talked. I mean besides the things we argue about, we've never really talked without fighting, you know?"

He paused for a moment to think then a deep chuckle came from his chest.

"What?" I asked.

"Well, I beg to disagree."

"Really? Name one instance we've never fought in a lengthy conversation."

His eyes traveled down before meeting my eyes, "The diner."

The air suddenly felt thick. He was right. We never argued at the diner. It was the place where he told me about his parents and how they met. It was the place where he told me about their family secret – his long-lost sister. It was the place where he betrayed me – hiring paparazzi to take photos of us to publish in the tabloids the next day.

"Yeah, that..." my voice trailed and the buzzing energy that was humming around the room was suddenly zapped, swapped with awkward silence.

He seemed to notice that my aura has changed.

After all this time and after all the confusing feelings that arose within me today, I still can't bring myself to forgive him. One reminder and I'm back to that bathroom sink.

"Okay, then," he stood. "I guess I better turn in."

"Yeah, I'll try to get some sleep too."

"Thanks for the company."

I only nodded as he opened the door to his room. He turned and smiled, "Good night."

"Good night," I replied and he's gone.

I let my body crash on the pillows.

Get it together, Lauren. Get yourself together.