Leading her to the dining room, I could already hear the whispers behind us. No doubt their discussing the names for our children.
Ms. York, Viola and Liam’s maid, began bringing out the food and setting a plate before each guest. Liam sat at one end of the table, while Viola sat at the other. Maggie sat at her mother’s right with Mrs. McConnell on her left. Mr. McConnell had been sure to take a spot next to my Uncle Liam, not minding that Elora separated him and his wife. The extra chair on our of the table had been removed, leaving a wider space between Maggie and I.
Dinner went smoothly and the conversation was of the normal subjects; small gossip, business trends, upcoming social events. It was all stale. Finally, the families got to the point of this meeting.
"Aidan, Elora here has been studying abroad in Europe for the past two years," Mrs. McConnell boasted and I nodded with a smile. Elora shifted in her seat, a grimace on her face.
Viola cleared her throat and looked at me. I rolled my eyes.
"So what have you been studying, Elora?"
"Art," she bit her bottom lip.
"Really? Do you have any preferences?"
As Elora discussed the art galleries, street artists and exhibitions she’d visited in Europe, passion bloomed beneath her surface. She was pleasant and smart. Maybe Viola had the right idea about dinner tonight. Engaging Elora in conversation the rest of the night became easier. When the night came to an end, I could honestly say the evening had been enjoyable. Elora is a genuinely nice, attractive woman and so unlike her parents.
“Elora, how would you feel about seeing me on Saturday?” She tensed next to me as I walked with her to the front door. “We could go to dinner?”
“Oh…” She gave another forced smile. Before she could speak, Mrs. McConnell slid next to Elora, wrapping her arm around her daughter’s waist.
“Of course she would love to see you again. We’ll have her all ready for you to retrieve at…say, six o’clock?” Mrs. McConnell’s cheeks flushed with excitement.
Elora looked mortified.
“Is that okay with you?” Pointedly addressing the question to Elora, I didn’t want her forced into anything she didn’t want to do.
“Of course. I’ll see you next Saturday. Good night.” With a quick smile and a small nod, she exited the front door. Good byes were being said as Mr. and Mrs. McConnell quickly followed on their daughter’s heel.
Maggie’s snort of laughter drew my attention from the door.
“So, do you have a date with Elora or Mrs. McConnell?” The snort grew into a full belly laugh.
“Margaret.” Viola tried to sound stern, but the quirk at the corner of her lip was giving away the humor she too found in the situation.
~
Lounged on my overstuffed leather couch, I sighed as James flipped through channel after channel.
"So, Elora, huh?" James asked, flipping through TV channels.
"It’s just a date," I shrugged.
James shifted uncomfortably, refusing to look at me.
"I didn’t know you were having dinner with her family," his eyes still on the television.
"It was a last minute thing. Viola asked me to join." He flipped past the sports channels. "Hey, go back so I can see the highlights." He tossed the remote at me and grumbled. Getting up, he went into the kitchen. "What the hell is your problem?" Yelling after him, I switched the TV back to sports.
"Nothing," he shouted. "Just tired I guess." With a shrug he returned to the couch, a bag of chips in hand.
Something’s off with him. But I let it go, not feeling like arguing with him right now. We spent the rest of the afternoon watching TV and talking about the company. When he left, there was still an odd tension in his normally relaxed posture.
~
Another exhausting work week behind me, I found myself spread out on my couch at eight on Friday night. I really was getting pathetic. Just a few weeks ago, I would be out at a club or something, picking up an attractive, willing partner for the night. Now, I was in a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, channel surfing and drinking beer. Alone.
I pulled out my phone to see if James wanted to come hang and play pool, but got voicemail. I knew Oz was working an eighteen hour shift tonight, so I tried Dixon.
"What’s up?" he answered sounding distracted. I then heard laughter in the background.
"Shit, Dixon, if you’re busy I’ll let you go."
"Nah, just hanging out with the girls," he responded.
"Fuck you, Dixon, I am not a chick!" A male voice yelled in the background. Dixon chuckled.
"So what’s going on?"
"Well, I was going to see if you were up for some pool at my place but we can get together another night." I put my head back on the couch.
"You could always head over here, though we aren’t doing anything special. Just hanging out and shit." He offered.
"Nah, I don’t want—"