“Yes, we’re two of a kind. The two family pets,” Adam said as he looked at Sydney, a smug expression on his face. “So, tell me how you met my sister,” he said, turning back to Nicholas.
“Let’s all go to the family room,” Patricia interrupted, ushering them along. He noticed she had an accent he could not place, but based on the sound of it, guessed it was Caribbean.
Once everyone was sitting, she asked Nicholas if he wanted something to drink.
“No thank you ma’am,” he replied. “I had quite a big tub of fruit punch at the cinema.” He smiled at her, then turned to Adam.
“I met your sister in the library. I was heavily into studying when she approached me, asking for my number.”
Sydney burst out laughing.
“Come on Nicholas. Okay, he’s half right. I approached him, but I just asked him if he had a test coming up since he was so ‘heavily into studying’ as he put it.”
“Okay, that’s true—she didn’t ask me for my number, but I was hoping she would.” He briefly looked at Sydney. “I had seen her before but was too intimidated to approach her, so I was pretty happy when she came up to me.” He turned toward Albert and Patricia. “Mr. And Mrs. Johnson, I can’t tell you how glad I am to have your daughter as company. She’s a wonderful, intelligent person, but of course, you already know that.”
He glanced over at Sydney, smiling, hoping he wasn’t laying it on too thick.
Sydney dropped her head and blushed.
He addressed her parents again.
“I’d like to get to know her better if that’s okay with you. I already consider her a valuable friend.”
Albert started to speak but Patricia cut him off.
“Nicholas dear, what Sydney wants is important to us. Of course we’re okay with you guys dating; clearly she wants to be with you.”
Sydney blushed more fiercely.
“Mom! Did you have to say it like that?”
“What dearie? You like him don’t you? That’s all I meant.”
Sydney looked in his direction without actually looking at him.
“Well, I wouldn’t go out with him if I didn’t,” she said in a low voice, and with a slight shrug, clearly trying to be casual about it and failing miserably.
Nicholas felt his heart warming over—she was so cute when embarrassed. But at the same time, he felt sorry for her.
He watched Sydney’s growing discomfort and understood why she had tried to keep him from her family. For some reason she seemed unsure under their gazes, unable to handle their scrutiny. The only person she looked like she was okay being herself with was her brother.
Nicholas decided it was time to end her embarrassment. He looked at his watch.
“Well, it was certainly a pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, and you too Adam. Hope to see and chat with you all again soon, but I should get going now.”
He stood up and Sydney followed.
He shook hands with each of the Johnsons again, this time, bending to kiss the top Mrs. Johnson’s hand. She smiled in delight and he hoped he didn’t upset Mr. Johnson as a result. However, he figured once the mom was on his side, he would be just fine.
He and Sydney made their way to the door.
“I’m sorry I subjected you to that,” she whispered, holding the door open as he stepped outside.
He was a little thrown off because those were the exact words he had wanted to say to her.
“No, it really was a pleasure,” he insisted. “I’m glad I met them; they seem great.”
“Yeah,” she said. “They are.”
She didn’t look like she meant it but her contemplative expression quickly morphed into a happy one. “Well, thanks again for a great night!”
Her pretty little teeth made an appearance.
“Again, my pleasure.”
He bent and kissed her hand too.
She laughed.
“That reminds me,” she said, “when did you become all Sir Nicholas?”
He smiled.
“When you’re a guy, you have meeting the parents of girls in your future. So you better learn to turn on the charm. Especially when it’s a girl you really, really, really like.”
He grinned at her and winked.
Then he remembered something that had caught his interest.
“Oh hey—where’s your mom from? Sometimes she sounded normal and sometimes she sounded like she was from somewhere else—like, not American.”
“She’s Trinidadian. She’s also part Indian and Caucasian in case you were wondering—her mom’s black and Indian, her dad’s white—Portuguese.”
“I wasn’t asking...”
“Yes, you were—I saw the way you were looking at us. Don’t worry—I’m aware we all look pretty different from each other. I know you guys aren’t used to that.”
“Wait—’you guys?’ What do you mean by that?”
Sydney remained silent.
Nicholas stared at her until she looked at him.
“Let’s get something straight here—there will be none of that ‘you guys’ stuff between us, okay? Yes, I noticed you all looked different, but don’t you dare assume I’m some ignorant fool who wouldn’t understand.”
“Look, don’t take it personally. It’s just been my experience that...well, white people aren’t really that attentive to black people as a whole—they don’t notice the little things. Sometimes even the big things. But I know with my family, it’s obvious—like my brother is much darker than my mom, and his hair is straighter than all of ours. I know we can be a bit confusing, and I’m used to explaining, that’s all. I’ve run into white people who can’t comprehend that my brother’s part white, or that I am—although they’re more inclined to believe me since I’m a little lighter, and he’s easier to believe as part Indian so he sometimes leaves the white part out. Still, some people have a hard time wrapping their heads around the mixed thing—as if it’s inconceivable that people of different races actually have children, forget about how long it’s been going on. Or more like they get confused if the children aren’t smack dab in the middle when it comes to looks.”
“Okay Sydney, I understand all of that and yes, I might not be the most knowledgeable about that stuff but please don’t assume anything about me because of ‘my race’—don’t generalize like that. If I have questions, I’d like to be able to ask them without feeling judged. In all honesty, I wondered about you—you struck me as possibly being mixed but don’t think I pursued you because you’re supposedly safer—you still look like a black girl, so I figured you were. If you had told me otherwise though, I wouldn’t have been surprised.”
“Look who’s making assumptions now,” she said quietly, but he knew she wasn’t serious.
After an uncomfortable moment, she said:
“Well, good night Nicholas. Until...next time.”
She seemed to be trying to avoid eye contact with him so he bent down and kissed her lightly and quickly on the lips.
He could tell he had surprised her, but she recovered quickly, looking like she wanted more, finally looking into his eyes, but he didn’t want to overdo it. Let her dream about more.
“Good night Sydney,” he said, caressing her cheek with his thumb. “Call me when you’re ready.”
***
Sydney called him the next day for a movie session at her place, but after that, Nicholas couldn’t get another day in with her since most of the holidays, she was visiting and spending time with family members and finishing up the last of her Christmas shopping.
Meanwhile, Nicholas spent his time avoiding Amber Hansford, playing video games, watching television, and re-screening some movies he wanted to show Sydney for ‘blood and guts.’
In no time it was Christmas day, and Nicholas found himself at dinner that night with his whole family. They had exchanged gifts that morning and as usual, he and Eddie were unimpressed by the gifts supposedly picked out by their parents. However, as usual, they got something interesting from Allison; this year, she bought them a white water rafting trip.
Christmas night, however, was most unusual since they all found themselves looking at John Edward Dhalton, the man Nicholas hadn’t seen in years.
Earlier that day, Nicholas was wishing he could be with Sydney, impatient to see her face when she received the gift he had gotten her but right now, he was glad he was here, participating in and witnessing this historic miracle.
John had been just a few minutes late and Nicholas and his siblings had stared in shock when they saw him enter.
He was like a whirlwind, his energy making Nicholas feel like parts of his father wanted to go in various directions all at once, leading to him pushing against them all with a force beyond his frame, expelling him forward.
Nicholas couldn’t get over it; yes, Evelyn had kept saying he would be there, but she was always promising he would be at some gathering or other and he never showed. But there he was: salt and pepper hair, dark eyes, looking every bit the multimillionaire he was.
“Sorry I’m late,” he had said casually before seating himself at the head of the table. Evelyn’s face had lit up for a brief moment, most likely glad he had actually shown up as she had promised this time.
Allison’s eyes had lit up too and she looked like she was about to hop out of her seat to go and hug him. It was amusing for Nicholas to watch Allison struggle with her affection. She ended up just settling for a bright:
“Hi daddy!”
“Hi darling,” he said, not looking at her, in fact, looking as if he couldn’t wait to get out of there. Nick felt a small wave of satisfaction, followed by a smaller wave of guilt for enjoying John’s dismissal of his sister.
“You made it honey! This is wonderful!”
Evelyn’s plastic smile made its reappearance.
Nicholas noticed his brother also watching John in silence, both of them taking in his features as if burning it into their brains in case they never saw him again.
“Hello dear,” John replied, his tone matching Evelyn’s smile.
“Nicholas, Edward.”
John glanced at each of them in turn, but quickly went back to looking everywhere but at his family, tapping the fingers of one of his hands on the table, the other hand under his chin. He kept checking his watch.
“Dad,” Nicholas and Eddie said the same time in greeting.
Marla busied herself with catching John up with the meal since the servers had already brought out the food before he had arrived, also not expecting him at dinner.
John waved away the salad and ignored the platters of shrimp toast, chicken satays and spring rolls.
“Main course please,” he said to Marla, which the rest of the family was currently enjoying.
Marla immediately brought him a plate of roasted turkey breast stuffed with apricot and cranberry farce, and a piece of crisp long island duck breast with butternut flan, flanked by roasted baby potatoes.
They poured him a glass of
Châteauneuf-du-Pape
.
He dug in.
Evelyn attempted to slow him down.
“So, dear. How are things at the office?” she asked.
“Great,” he said, stuffing a piece of turkey in his mouth.
Evelyn looked at them all, her expression seeming to say: “Speak now while you have the chance!”
“Daddy did you like the present I got you?” Allison asked, smiling at him.
“Huh? Oh sure darling. I’m sure I will, haven’t opened it yet.”
Allison’s shoulders slumped.
Eddie piped up next.
“Um, dad. I’ll be interning at Dhalton Industries pretty soon. What should I be looking forward to?”
“A lot of hard work son.” John was tearing through the turkey. “I hope you’re serious about it because it takes everything you’ve got.”
“Oh absolutely sir, I’ve been bred for this since I was a boy.”
Nicholas tried not to laugh at Eddie’s choice of words.
John looked up, studied Eddie for a few seconds, then continued eating.
Nicholas watched his father in disgust, his eyes narrowed—a look that seemed to be lost on John alone, for everyone else was looking at him in worry.
“Nicholas, do you plan to work for Dhalton Industries as well?” John asked without looking up.
“Not a chance,” Nicholas answered, burning his gaze through John who looked up then as if he felt it. John stared into Nicholas’s hatred for about three seconds.
“What do you plan to do then?” John asked, going back to his food.
“I doubt that matters to you. Sir.”
Suddenly, all eyes were on Nicholas. Even the servants’ movements were silenced.
John looked up again.
“What did you say son?”
He seemed to really see Nicholas this time, his eyes hardened.
“Marla, please bring my husband his dessert—-cranberry pear and walnut torte dear? Or egg nog buttercream and cranberry chocolate torte? I think the latter Marla. Do hurry.”
She rushed the servant along.
“Dear?” she said, looking at John.
John was busy looking at Nicholas, both staring daggers at each other.
“Yes hon, that’ll be fine,” John replied with a voice laced with steel, not taking his eyes off Nicholas.
Suddenly Allison got up and ran out of the room crying, breaking the tense moment.
Nicholas got up, grabbed a spring roll and went after her.
Allison ran to the family room and plopped herself down on the couch.
“Why can’t I have a normal family? Why?” she cried, her face in her hands.
Nicholas sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.
“Because people who aren’t normal are in it,” he said.
Allison removed her hands and pressed her head against his chest.
“Why doesn’t he love us Nicholas?”
“I don’t know,” he replied.
When they returned to the dinner table, John was gone. Everyone picked at the rest of the Christmas dinner in silence, but Nicholas dug in with more fervor than before.
***
A few days later he was able to catch up with Sydney, calling her and warning her that he was coming over whether she liked it or not.
He pulled up to her house and honked his horn as a warning, then got out of the car.
She came outside a few seconds later looking delighted. She greeted him then started to lead him inside but he held her back.
“I’ve got something for you,” he said, smiling.
“Really?” Sydney’s eyebrows rose and she smiled back. “You know you shouldn’t have...”