Dennis nodded and meandered out the door, not bothering to grab anything. Elly continued awkwardly. “I know this great place in University City. They supposedly have the best burgers in St. Louis.” Her brother—her brother!—gave an ambivalent shrug and headed down the hallway.
Elly waited until he was a few feet ahead of her and quickly flung the “Do Not Disturb” sign into the bedroom. That room needed to be turned over, badly. She smiled as she caught up with him in the hallway, trying not to convey the unease tightening in her chest. The elevator door opened with a loud chime, and Elly and Dennis stepped inside. They rode down the three floors in silence, then walked out of the hotel lobby into the bright May light, making their way to the car.
Dennis let out a hefty sneeze that made Elly jump. “Bless you.”
Dennis looked at her like she was an alien. “Yeah. I have allergies.”
Elly pounced at the opportunity to make conversation. “Oh yeah, like hay fever?”
Dennis rubbed his eye with his meaty fist. “I think so. It wasn’t really a problem in Ohio, but I can’t stop itching my eyes here. And sneezing. I haven’t even left the hotel.” He let out another loud bellow. “Do you have allergies?” he asked as he wiped his runny nose on his sleeve.
Elly fought back a gag at the stream of snot on his shirt. “Uh, nope.”
Dennis rested his arm on the hood of Elly’s little Tercel. “Well, I guess that’s one more shitty thing that was only passed on to me.”
Elly felt herself freeze. A wall of awkwardness, thick as glass, came down between them. This was weird. How would this ever work? Elly caught Dennis’s angry look before it shot to the ground. “Sorry. I’m a downer.”
Elly felt a counterfeit smile pass over her lips. “Don’t worry about it.” He is so peculiar, she thought. Almost as peculiar as I am. There was a deafening silence as they drove to University City. Elly flipped on the radio. An upbeat Celine Dion song pumped out of the back speakers. Elly tried to sing along, figuring that if she was singing with the radio, she wouldn’t look as nervous as she felt. After wailing her way through “Because You Loved Me,” she looked over at Dennis, whose face had paled. He looked like he was about to vomit. “Are you not a Celine Dion fan?” she asked.
“Is anyone?” he replied. She turned the radio down and he looked out the window with a huff. When they pulled up in front of the bright neon lights of Blueberry Hill restaurant, his face lit up. “Thanks” he said, and pressed his nose up against the window.
“This place looks semi-interesting.” Elly grinned as a piece of curly blond hair fell in front of her face. Well, it was something. They were seated quickly at a booth in the back, surrounded by toys and pop-culture memorabilia. Above Dennis’s head, Beavis and Butthead dolls stared down at their table, and scantily clad waitresses swaggered past Roy Roger dolls and comics. She glanced over at Dennis, who was looking all around them in wonder. “Cool, huh?” Kids said ‘cool’ these days, right?
“Bangin’.” Dennis raised an eyebrow in her direction and shrugged. “I guess.” He was lying. Elly could see a joyous little kid longing to burst through his eyes.
She casually picked up a menu. “Well, get whatever you would like. Apparently the burgers here are world famous.”
Dennis gave a slight nod and gazed at the menu. Ten long minutes of silence passed before a sickeningly cute waitress tottered up to their table, her ponytailed bright-pink hair bouncing with each step. “Hey guys. I’m Carlie. What can I getcha?”
Dennis stared at her chest, which was threatening to spill forth from her tight button-down uniform. Elly, annoyed, snapped her fingers at him, and then instantly regretted it. She turned to Carlie. “Yes, I’ll have the jerk-chicken sandwich, with fruit and an iced tea, sweetened. Thanks.”
Carlie turned to Dennis with a sly grin. “And you, you big boy, what will you have?”
A blush spread up Dennis’s cheeks as he stammered out his order. “Um, I’ll have the pretzel sticks with nacho cheese to start with, the chili mac after that, a chocolate shake, and a barbecue burger with cheese.”
Carlie gave a bouncy nod. “Hungry?”
Dennis stared back at her chest. “Uh … yes, ma’am.” The waitress walked away.
Elly smiled kindly at Dennis. “You might have to take some of that home. Their portions are really big.”
Dennis bit his lip and looked away nervously. “Did I order too much?”
Elly felt her heart clench. Had she made him feel bad? “No, no, not at all; I’m sure you are very hungry. You’ve had a long journey.”
Dennis lifted and dropped his shoulders. “I guess.”
Elly was reaching desperately for conversation. “So, you don’t like Celine Dion.”
He grinned. “Obviously.”
“What kind of music do you like?”
Dennis leaned back in his chair. “Um, I like a lot of bands and music, I guess. I like punk, mostly. You know, the Ramones or The Clash?”
Elly tried to look like not only did she know these bands, but that she enjoyed them. “Oh yeah, totally.”