Meet Me at Taylor Park (9 page)

“Because it’s the start of something new,” he said.

*

Chapter 7

That Christmas, Katie invited Brandon for dinner at her house. She was setting the table with polished silverware and fine china when her mother came into the room.

Her mother, Catherine Simpson, was a large lady that oozed authority. As a high school teacher, she had to, or else she would have been eaten alive in the classroom. Unfortunately, she had a habit of bringing that attitude back home.

“Honey.” Catherine put a large hand on her daughter’s shoulder.

Katie spun around. She had to crane her head up to see her mother’s face.

Katie smiled. “Are you excited about meeting Brandon?”

Her mother nodded, her bob hairstyle bobbing up and down. “Yes, but to be honest, I have my doubts.”

Katie set down the last of the plates. “What do you mean?”

Her mother gestured to the chairs. “Why don’t we have a seat?”

They sat down.

Her mother adjusted her silver-rimmed glasses. “When I was young, I wanted to be an actress. Then I met a boy I really loved and he convinced me not to enter that industry, and just be with him instead. He would afraid he would lose me to Hollywood partying and all that.”

Katie raised her eyebrows.

Catherine waved one hand. “Don’t worry. This was before I met your father.”

“Do you regret not being an actress?”

“No, I don’t think I would have liked to be one, but that’s not the point.” Her mother stared at her. “I didn’t even try. I didn’t get to audition. I was too wrapped up in him even to bother.”

Katie started playing with her hair. “What are you saying?”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t date, but just don’t let a boy stop you from at least trying to fulfill your dreams. Even if you fail, at least you can say that you tried and you won’t look back on it with regret.”

Katie looked at her mother’s serious face. “Why can’t he go to New York with me?”

“You have your dad in New York already. He could take care of you. And besides, would you ask Brandon to make that sacrifice for you?”

Katie shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“And even if he did go with you, he might turn off a lot of designers. They like to see single girls, not attached ones.”

Catherine put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder, patting her. “Just remember what I said. I’m only doing this for your own good, honey.”

Katie nodded. “Is dad OK in New York?”

“I don’t care.” Catherine got up. “You got a package from him. An application form for an internship at Prattico’s in New York.”

Katie perked up.

Her mother gestured toward the kitchen. It’s waiting for you on the counter.”

The bell rang and Katie turned toward the door, forgetting all about the application form.

“I’ll get it.”

Her mother got up. “Dinner’s ready. I’ll get the food.”

Katie opened the door and gave Brandon a big smile. His face was red and his hood was covered with snowflakes.

Katie peered outside. It was dark and the snow was coming down hard.

She rushed into his arms, and kissed him.

He hugged her, and shivered. “It’s so cold out here.” Then, he sniffed the air. “Smells like gingerbread. Spicy. Just like you.” He pointed at her.

Katie slapped his fingers away playfully, throwing her head back.

A blast of winter wind entered the front door, and Katie scrambled to close it. Brandon took off his jacket.

“I can take that for you,” Katie said. “Are you nervous?”

Brandon hugged himself, trying to warm up. “God yes.”

“Don’t worry. My mom will love you,” she said, taking his jacket. She noticed that he was wearing a beautiful white sweater and casual jeans. Typical winter wear.

She liked it. She went up to him and kissed him again.

When she was done, he said, “What was that for?”

She remembered what her mother had said about having to leave him. “Just because.”

She hung up the jacket. “Just because,” she repeated.

He grinned and looked around. In front of the fireplace was an ornate Christmas with an angel on top.

“Wow, your family goes all out. Mine barely has Christmas dinner.”

“That’s why I invited you.” She took his hand and his face lit up.

They were about to enjoy a moment, when her mother’s piercing voice shouted, “Dinner time.”

She appeared in the hallway, and the couple stopped holding hands.

Katie turned toward her mother. “Mom, this is Brandon.”

Catherine smiled and extended one hand. “Brandon, I’ve heard so much about you. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Brandon shook Catherine’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Simpson.” He noticed that she had an iron grip.

“Please, call me ‘Your Highness.’”

Brandon looked uncertain.

Then, Catherine burst out laughing. “I’m just kidding.”

Brandon laughed nervously. He got the feeling that she was not entirely kidding.

Catherine pointed in the direction of the dining room. “Let’s eat. I’m starving.”

Brandon was led into a dining room piled high with all sorts of Christmas dishes. There was a roast turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce, mash potatoes, garden salad with multiple kinds of dressing, garlic bread, gingerbread cookies.

The three of them sat down. Brandon said, “Wow, this looks so good.”

Catherine indicated the dishes. “Please help yourself.”

The three of them began to pile food onto their plates while Winter Wonderland played on the radio in the background.

Catherine started cutting her drumstick. “So Brandon, what are you thinking of doing after graduation?”

“Well,” he said, playing with his fork. “My father wants me to be an investment banker, but that’s not where my passion is.”

Catherine stopped cutting and stared at him. “And what is your passion?”

“Well,” Brandon said, dropping his fork. He looked at Katie, who half-smiled. “I thought about being a farmer. Growing food for people.”

Catherine narrowed her eyes, and bit her lips. “I see,” was she said.

Then, she set down her fork. “You do know Katie’s passion, is that correct?

“Yes,” Brandon said, staring at his plate.

“And you know that Katie is going away after graduation, right?”

Katie was in the middle of drinking a glass of apple juice. She set it down abruptly, some of it spilling onto the tablecloth. “Mom!”

Catherine shrugged. “What? It’s the truth.”

Brandon put up one hand. “No, it’s fine, Katie.” He turned to her mother. “Yes, I’m aware of that, Mrs. Simpson.”

Catherine took a sip of her glass of water. “Alright, just as long as you know. I hope you’re not going to move there with her. It could really get in the way.”

Katie gripped her knife so hard that her knuckles were whitening. “Mom, we haven’t even talked about that yet.”

“You have to talk about it sometime,” her mother said.

Brandon didn’t know what to say, so he just pushed the mashed potatoes around on his plate, making some sort of hill.

Katie looked at him apologetically. She tried to put some turkey in her mouth, but she had lost her appetite.

Of the three of them at the table, only Catherine Simpson was eating heartily.

*

After dinner, Katie and Brandon stepped out into the chilly night. Christmas lights were hung on the neighbor’s houses. Some of them spelled “Merry Christmas” while others were in the shape of Santa Claus, reindeer and sleds. Red, blue, orange, yellow, green flashed cheerfully all around them.

Brandon held Katie’s mittened hands, and together, they walked up the snow-covered street, which reflected the colorful Christmas lights.

It had stopped snowing. Some of the snow had even melted, creating slush. It was like walking in water.

Katie turned to Brandon, her face pink. “I’m sorry about my mom.”

“That’s alright.” He looked down and kept walking.

“I mean, I know we haven’t discussed after graduation yet. It was rude of my mom to mention that.”

He looked up at her. “Why don’t we discuss it?”

She bit her lower lip, and then fidgeted with the buttons on her winter coat. “Let’s just enjoy the time we have together. The future is far away. Really far away.”

Brandon was tempted to argue, but said nothing. He didn’t want to ruin their Christmas.

So he continued to walk, his boots stomping in the slush.

Just then, a freezing breeze struck them, and they stopped moving and huddled together.

He noticed that her scarf was loose, so he reached over and pulled it tighter for her.

“All better?” he asked.

She looked at him, and he stared back. She enjoyed the warmth that their little cocoon was generating.

As she looked at him, a single snowflake fell on his toque. She touched it with one finger, and it melted right away.

He touched his head. “What?”

“There was a snowflake on your toque. It was really pretty.” She smiled shyly.

“Pretty? You’re so weird.”

She chuckled.

He wrapped his arms around her. “And that’s what I like about you.”

She laid her head on his shoulder.

Brandon murmured, “Do you want to go to my house? It’s warm there.”

Katie nodded. “What are we doing to do there?”

Brandon gave her a mysterious smile, but did not reply. He merely took her hand. As they stomped through the wintry landscape, the flurries started up again.

*

When they arrived at Brandon’s house, Katie was surprised to see how large it was. The house was a Victorian-style three-story building.

Katie shook snowflakes off her coat before stepping inside. “Wow, your house is so big.”

Brandon took off his jacket and closed the door. “Yeah, big, dark and empty.”

He turned on the light, and the chandelier lit up the hall.

He held out his hand and she took it.

“Come on,” he said. “There’s no one home.”

“What are we going to do?” She looked at him uncertainly.

“Let’s go to my room and hang out.”

He saw that she was hesitant, so he said, “Don’t worry. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

Pacified, she followed him up the stairs, footsteps echoing in the grand hall.

They got to his room and he opened the door. She peered inside. It was a typical guy’s room with a desk and a computer in the middle, and an unmade bed in the corner.

He led her into his room, and they collapsed onto the bed. The covers were soft and silky against her skin.

She turned to look at him. The room was dark, except for the honey streetlight streaming in from outside. She could barely make out his face.

For a while, they simply lay there in the silence. Outside, they could hear the snow flurries pelting against the window, and the howl of the wind.

Katie put her hand on Brandon’s face, stroking his cheeks. “Brandon, I feel like I don’t know a lot about you. Tell me a secret.”

“I can’t think of anything.”

“Come on. There must be something.”

He let out a breath. “I don’t want to say.”

“Why not?”

He looked at her with a vulnerable expression. “Because, then, you’d know my secret.”

“And what’s so bad about that? Then, I’ll feel closer to you.”

Brandon nodded. “There is something. Aren’t you wondering why no one’s home on Christmas Eve?”

“Why?”

“Because my parents are jerks. They’re both investment bankers and too damn busy chasing money to be with me.” His tone turned completely serious.

He turned to look at her, and she withdrew her fingers from his face. His green eyes were wide. He sucked in his lips. He looked like he was about to cry.

Katie squeezed his hand. “I’m sure they just want to make enough money to keep you comfortable.”

“Have you seen the size of my house? I don’t need more money. I need my parents.”

Then, he really did cry. Katie thought he was laughing at first, but when she saw tears on his face, she knew it was for real.

At first, she was unsure of what to do, but then instincts took over as she held him close. He tried to say something, but it was incomprehensible. Katie thought he had said,

“It’s hard being alone.”

She continued to hold onto him. After a while, he looked at her. His eyes were bloodshot, but the tears were gone. They had disappeared as quickly as they had come.
 

“I’ve never told someone that before,” he whispered.