Contessa (60 page)

“
Brandon?
”
he reminds me.

“
I heard he made an apology phone call to him, as well. He was invited back, too.
”

“
That could be awkward.
”

“
He
’
s not coming. He
’
s a coward. You
’
re not. See the difference?
”

He sighs heavily and nods, taking the handle, but not opening the door. I kiss him on the cheek for encouragement. He smiles and finally turns the handle and holds the door open for me. I grab two bottles of water out of the refrigerator and hand him one, then notice some groceries on the counter and start to unload the bags for my parents. Jon takes a seat at the bar.

“
Hey, sweetie,
”
Mom says as she walks in, kissing me on the cheek.
“
Jon, it
’
s nice to see you.
”
She hugs him, and I can tell he
’
s still unsure what to expect.

“
Thank you for the invitation.
”

“
Is Dad with you?
”
I ask her.

“
Yeah, he
’
ll be here in a second. Are you two hungry? We
’
re just having sandwiches for lunch.
”

“
I
’
m okay,
”
I tell her, looking at Jon.

“
We were just having s
’
mores,
”
he says.

“
Great.
”
She throws up her arms dramatically.
“
Good, healthy snack to start the day.
”

“
Thank Chris, he started the fire.
”

“
I
’
ll thank my brother later,
”
she says with a smile.
“
You
’
d think Anna would teach him better.
”

“
They give Eli anything he wants, you know?
”

“
So we should blame Eli, then,
”
Mom ponders.

“
He is a troublemaker...
”

“
I see you made it here okay,
”
my dad says, finally joining us in the kitchen. He sets a present down on the bar in front of Jon. My boyfriend glances at it, noticing the tag that has his name on it.

“
Yes, sir.
”
Jon shakes his hand nervously.

“
And the car will be back around six. Does that still give you enough time with your family?
”

“
Plenty of time, thank you. I can
’
t tell you how much I appreciate the invitation today.
”

“
Contessa, were you surprised?
”
he asks me, then glances back at Jon.
“
Or couldn
’
t you keep a secret?
”

“
No, sir, I did.
”
Jon swallows, and I can tell he thinks something bad is coming. My dad pats him on the back and sits down next to him.

“
It
’
s Jack.
”

“
I was completely surprised, Dad, and I feared for his life.
”
I smile at Jon, who is struggling to breathe normally. The room is silent.

“
I apologize–
”
Dad says.

“
I
’
m sorry–
”
starts Jon. He motions for my dad to continue.

“
Things just got a little out of hand the other night.
”

“
Yeah, the conversation kind of got away from me,
”
Jon admits with a blush.

“
I don
’
t want you to ever be afraid to talk to me, Jon,
”
Dad offers.
“
I
’
m normally much more reasonable than I was the other night. Even though you had some things to say that I wasn
’
t exactly ready to hear, I
’
d never want to discourage you from having an open line of communication with me. I know I should appreciate that. Not many fathers get that from their daughter
’
s boyfriend.
”

“
Well, I think I was a little
too
open–for my own comfort level, at least.
”
He looks away and shuts his eyes briefly.

“
Just know I appreciate your honesty. I
’
m truly sorry for getting so angry.
”

“
Your anger was understandable, though, sir. You got your point across clearly. Don
’
t worry.
”

My dad smiles a little and nods.
“
Again with the
‘
sir
’
bit?
”

“
I
’
m sorry, Jack. That
’
s just the way I was brought up.
”

“
Okay,
”
Dad hedges playfully.
“
Listen, we didn
’
t get to give you your gift the other night. We wanted to do it before all the family madness happens later today.
”

“
It
’
s not necessary–
”

“
We know,
”
Mom says.
“
We wanted to do this for you.
”

“
Go ahead,
”
I encourage him. Jon picks up the package, a little caught off-guard by its weight.

“
I guess it
’
s not a shirt,
”
he says in jest, removing the bow and unfastening the tape from the ribbon.

“
Told you, Mom. Should have gone with clothes,
”
I tease her. We all watch anxiously for Jon to take the paper off. When he finally does, getting a peek of the packaging, he covers it up quickly.

“
I cannot take this.
”
He shoves the gift to my father.
“
No way.
”

“
Jon–
”
Mom says.

“
It
’
s too much,
”
he says to my dad.
“
Too
nice
,
”
he adds to my mother. His eyes settle on mine as he shakes his head.
“
I can
’
t take it.
”

“
We want you to have it,
”
I tell him.

“
You
’
ll need it next year,
”
Dad says.
“
You
’
ll want your own computer. You won
’
t want to work in those computer labs all night.
”

Mom chimes in, trying to be convincing.
“
Livvy says you spend most of your time at the library now, using theirs. You need your own.
”

“
I was planning on buying one over the summer. Working to save the money. I
’
ll get one of my own,
”
he explains.

“
Well, now you don
’
t have to worry about that,
”
Mom says.

Dad takes the rest of the wrapping off of the gift and opens the box.
“
We had it set up with the software we thought you
’
d need for papers, for your urban planning classes, too.
”

“
Jacks knows some people on the board at Columbia, so he did a little research.
”

“
But I haven
’
t even been accepted there yet,
”
Jon says, taking the computer out of the box and pressing the power button. He drags his fingers over the keys carefully as I move to stand behind him, admiring his new gift.

“
Jon, your scores will get you in,
”
my mom says.

“
Your second round scores? They
’
re unheard of,
”
Dad adds.
“
Columbia would be insane not to let you in.
”

“
I just don
’
t want to jinx it,
”
my boyfriend says to my parents.

“
Your admittance isn
’
t based on luck, Jon,
”
Dad says.

“
I know,
”
he says with a sigh.

“
The password
’
s Livvy, with a capital L,
”
my dad tells him as Jon stares at the login screen.
“
Thought I
’
d make it easy for you, but I
’
d encourage you to change it to something more secure.
”

“
Of course,
”
Jon says, typing my name on the keyboard.
“
I don
’
t know, guys
.
”
He looks up, still unsure.

“
I know,
”
I tell him.
“
And it fits perfectly in your bag. We planned it.
”

“
Yeah, I left that at your house–
”

“
I have it upstairs. I was in a hurry the other morning and needed something to carry my stuff in.
”

“
My mom
’
s going to freak.
”

“
We asked your mother first,
”
Dad says.
“
She finally said it was okay. She knows you
’
ve needed one for a long time. And when she realized that meant you
’
d be home more often for your brothers, she knew it was a good thing.
”

“
Wow,
”
Jon whispers.
“
I
’
m not sure how I could ever repay you,
”
he says.

“
You won
’
t need to.
”

“
I will, though. I
’
ll think of something someday, and I will. I
’
ll consider this a loan or something. It
’
s the only way I can accept it.
”

“
Jon–
”

“
Please, Jack. A long-term loan. Can we just consider it that for now? I
’
d feel a lot better about it.
”

“
Alright. But I
’
ll never ask for anything in return.
”

“
Okay,
”
Jon says.
“
But I
’
ll make it up to you some day.
”

“
Actually,
”
Dad says.
“
I
’
ll ask one thing of you. Please don
’
t ever hurt my little Contessa.
”

“
Dad,
”
I say, embarrassed.

“
Never,
”
Jon answers quickly.
“
I wouldn
’
t dream of it.
”