I recalled how Sam and I could only video chat that day thanks to my lack of available funds and the distance between us. “No…not like I wanted to,” was all I offered up.
They both nodded and then looked toward the fire. Footsteps coming from the direction of my father’s study drew all of our attention. My father shot my mother a relatively satisfied smile which was difficult to read. Mr. Tanaka’s expression didn’t give much away either as he gestured toward his wife to join him upstairs for the evening.
“Guess that’s our cue,” Kira said, hoisting herself to her feet. “See you in the a.m.,” she added with a casual smile on her way to the steps. My father took Mrs. Tanaka’s seat beside my mother and quietly filled her in on the details of the meeting. Reina lingered by the fire although her family had already retreated to their rooms.
“So…tell me what you’ve been up to. Judging by the drama earlier, I’m gonna make a guess that your house is not always this peaceful.”
I smiled at Reina’s summation. “Not always.”
She nodded knowingly. “Daddy puts us on notice about our behavior, too, when company’s around. Mostly to keep me and Kira from clawing each other’s eyes out.”
I smirked and checked my phone to respond to Sam’s “Hurry up!” text.
“The girlfriend?” Reina asked.
“Yeah. I’m actually gonna head up so I can call her before she passes out,” I said, stretching when I stood. “Night.”
“Does she go to Westwood, too?” She asked just as I’d turned to walk away.
“Uh, no. She’s at Charleston. I’m transferring there in January, though.”
She stared thoughtfully. “That’s sweet, I guess.”
I nodded, not feeling the need to prolong this conversation any further. “Night,” I repeated, this time making it all the way to the stairs and up to my room before anyone else could stop me.
The second I closed the door, I dialed Sam. She answered in a whisper to keep from waking Angel, I guessed.
“Took you long enough,” she teased.
“I know. Blame my mother. Only have to keep this up a few more days,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief.
“She trying to force you and your dad to get along?” Sam asked.
It occurred to me that I hadn’t mentioned our houseguests, but if I did, I’d have to get into why they were here and it’d become a…thing. It wasn’t important anyway, so I just replied with a vague, “Basically.”
“Oh…well, maybe something good’ll come of it.” She seemed so optimistic.
“I wouldn’t count on it.”
“Enough about him, though,” she said, sounding like she was wearing a smile. “Back to that picture you sent me.”
I laughed. “What about it?”
“It got me kinda hot; what’re you gonna do about that?” She teased.
Just as I got ready to answer, Angel chimed in with a well-timed, “O-m-Geee!!!! I’m not even asleep yet!! Stop it with the dirty talk! For the love of God!”
Sam could hardly catch her breath from laughing. When she calmed down, she gave Angel a half-hearted apology and then addressed me again. “Well…I guess this conversation is over. Call me when you wake up?” She asked, unable to hide the twinge of excitement in her voice.
“Of course I will. I just called to tell you that I love you anyway.”
I could hear her smiling through the phone when she replied. “Love you, too.”
The line went silent and I lay there staring up at the ceiling until I dozed. I awoke the next morning to the smell of something cooking in the kitchen – a smell I hadn’t smelled in so long that it was foreign to me. I made my way downstairs, still sporting the t-shirt and basketball shorts from the night before, and the worst case of bed-head known to man. When I sat across from the twins, Kira was of course the first to say something smart.
“Did you remember to close the dumpster when you climbed out of it?” She asked.