Welcome to New Haven (46 page)

The pool ‘incident’. Of course.
 
He’d pulled Holly out of the water after Ryan had thrown her in.
 
He supposed her Mom may be kinder to him knowing that.
 

“You’ll be fine.” Holly said again and opened the front door.
 

They walked through to the kitchen were Holly’s Mom was making coffee.
 
Holly looked a little like her Mom, but her sister, Emily looked more like her Dad.
 

“Hiya Mum.” Holly said.
 

“Hiya love, you’re early.” She said as she hugged her.
 

“The teacher let us get off earlier today."

“Hiya Dev.”
 
Said Kim.
 

“Hi Kim.”
 

Kim looked right at Alex and looked him over, making him feel a little uncomfortable.
 
But not for the usual reasons.
 
He felt like he was being judged in some way.
 

“Mum, this is Alex. Alex, my Mum, Kim.”
 

“Nice to meet you Mrs. Charles.” He said nervously. Kim smiled slowly.
 

“Call me Kim.” She said.
 
“So, Alex, you’re the one who saved my baby girl?” she asked, leaning against the counter with her hip.
 

“Uh…yeah.”

She’s now going to warn me away.

“Thank you.” She said, still looking at him.

“No problem.” He said, and he swallowed the lump
 
in his throat.
 
Alex was waiting for, ‘but you need to stay away from her’.
 
It never came.
 
Instead, Kim turned to Holly and whispered something in her ear.
 
Holly’s eyes widened as her eyes snapped to her Mom in surprise.
 

“Mum!” She said, to which Kim winked and chuckled.
 

“Anybody like a drink?” Kim asked as she turned her attention back to him and Dev.
 

“No thanks Kim.” Dev said as she rested her elbows against the counter like she was used to being there.
 
She was, of course.
 

“No thank you.” Alex said.
 
He looked at Holly and saw that her cheeks were still flushed from whatever her Mom had said to her.
 

“Ok then, I’ll leave you lot alone.
 
See you in a bit, love.” She said to Holly as she walked over to the lounge area.

Kim sat on one of the two large sofas that faced a diagonal corner of the room, in front of a TV.
 

“Let’s go outside.” Said Holly as she led them to a set of double doors on the other side of the kitchen, by the dining area.
 

“Yeah!” Said Dev, excitedly.
 
“Alex, their garden is soooo pretty.
 
Remember I told you? Well wait till you see it.” Dev gushed.
 

“Wow!” Alex was stunned when they walked through the doors.
 

The garden looked as though it had been done professionally.
 
Dev had told him that Holly’s Dad had been a professional landscape gardener and she’d learned a lot, but he hadn’t expected anything like he had just walked into.
 

The covered seating area, surrounded by flowers and bushes.
 
There looked to be some young trees freshly planted. A greenhouse to the right that had some plants inside.
 

He looked to the left and saw the arched pathway that Dev had talked so much about, with the twinkling lights and climbing plants.
 
There was a bench through there, but he couldn’t see from where he was standing.

Privacy.
 
We could go in there…

He had images of kissing Holly out of the view of everybody entering his mind.
 

He saw the rockery ahead, with lots of different daffodils and tulips among other things.
 

“This looks incredible.” He said in awe.
 

“Thanks.” Holly said shyly.
 

“What did your Mom say to you?” asked Dev as they walked further into the garden and out of earshot.
 

“I don’t think I should repeat it.” She said as she glanced at Alex.
 
He had a feeling it was about him.
 

“Was it bad?” asked Dev.
 

“Erm…from a parents’ view…I guess.”
 

“Well that’s not cryptic.” Said Dev sarcastically.
 

Holly shook her head.

“Over here.” She said as she led them to the greenhouse.
 

Holly showed them some tulip-peony hybrids that she’d grown.
 

She told them about how it took between five and eight years before plants are big enough to flower, when grown from seed.
 

“So you’ve been growing these for years? Alex asked.
 

“The tulips outside…” she pointed to the rockery “…are grown from seeds from the last flowers my Dad cross-pollinated. These here, are the first seeds of
those
plants. The daffodils were our favourites though.”
 

“Wow” both Alex and Dev said.
 

Alex understood Holly’s mood in A.Bio when they were given the flowers.
 

“You did all of this…by yourself?” He asked as he gestured around with his hand.
 

“Yeah, pretty much.” Said Holly. “Oli helped with some heavy stuff though.” She looked a little embarrassed, and Alex didn’t understand why.
 
Everything was so incredible he couldn’t even begin to think how good it was.
 

“Isn’t it awesome?” asked Dev ask she looked around.
 

“Yeah it is.” He said, but his eyes didn’t leave Holly’s, and she blushed.

“This is my Dads” Holly said quietly as she showed Alex the rockery.
 
He noticed the name plaque.
 

‘James Edwards. 12
^th
Sept 1962 - 12
^th
April 2004’
   

“His ashes are inside, behind the plaque.” Holly said and looked to Alex as if waiting for a reaction.

“That’s great what you’ve done for him.” He said as he smiled.
 

“You’re not creeped out?” She asked, looking relieved.
 

“No.” He said with a chuckle.
 
“I couldn’t move some place without my Dad either.” He said as he took her hand. “I bet your Dad’s really proud of you.” He said gently.
 

“I hope so.” Holly said as she looked at the plaque.
 

“Yeah he is.” Said Dev. “But, remember, you need to be careful with your skills.”
 

“Why?”

“Because our Mom will have you over in our garden, like, all of the time.” She said as she rolled her eyes and Holly giggled.
 

“She’s not kidding.” Said Alex.
 
“We’d have to smuggle you out.”
 

“Ok, well, enough of being depressed.
 
Let’s go inside.” Said Holly and turned to go back.

 
Alex kept hold of her hand, and Holly was bursting; she was so happy. Alex liked the garden and hadn’t been creeped out that she kept her Dad’s ashes in the rockery.

He’s so perfect.

Alex suddenly dropped her hand when they walked through the door.
 
Oli was standing in the kitchen and he’d been watching from the window.
 

“Oh, Hi Dad.” She said as she realised why Alex had let go.
 

“Hi sweetheart.” He said as he kissed the top of her head.
 
“Hi Dev.”
 

“Hey Oli.” Dev replied.
 

“And you must be Alex.”
 

“Nice to meet you Mr. Charles.”

Holly saw that he was just as nervous with her Dad as with her Mum. Oli held his hand out and Alex took it.
 
They shook as Oli said…
 

“Call me Oli. I believe we have you to thank for helping our girl.”
 

“It was no problem.” Oli looked between Holly and Alex, then winked at Kim who was sitting on the couch.

Oh no

“I just want to tell you one thing.” He said.
 

“What?” asked Holly.
 

“You’re Mom and me, are too young to be grandparents.”
 

“Dad!” squealed Holly.
 

Alex was shocked and Dev was laughing behind her hand.
 

“That’s what I said!” laughed Kim.
 

Dev laughed louder and Oli winked at Holly and pointed at Alex.
 

“Let’s. Just. Go.” Said Holly as she grabbed both Alex’s and Dev’s hands and walked out of the kitchen into the hallway.
 

“I am
so
sorry.” She said as she stopped and turned to face them.
 

“That’s…uh…ok” Alex looked like he was still in shock. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
 

“Yeah, me neither.” Holly led them to her own hangout room.

“Ooh this is
nice
!” Dev said as they walked in. “So this is what was happening when you were having work done.?”
 

“Yep.” Said Holly. “Take a seat.”
 

Holly loved the room.
 
The walls were bright white with a purple border around the top. The floor was oak with under floor heating, keeping her feet toasty warm.
 

She had a mini fridge and snack cupboard on the far right for when she was watching movies.
 

The sofa was big enough to fit four people.
 
The kind that felt like a bed when you sat down. It had soft, black fabric that made you want to cuddle into it. Purple and lilac throw pillows at either end, and a silver framed, glass coffee table in front.
 
That sat on a black and silver specked rug.
 

To the right of the couch was a huge round love seat, or cuddle chair, designed for two people to snuggle together.
 
On the wall hung a huge sixty-inch flat screen TV.
 

“Instead of having a ridiculously huge garage, we had half made into this.”
 

“It’s awesome.” Said Alex as he looked around.
 

“Thanks” smiled Holly.
 
“Anybody want a drink or something to eat?” she asked them as she walked to the snack cupboard.
 
“I’ve got water, fizzy lemonade, orange, or apple juice.”
 

“Lemo for me.” Said Dev, using Holly’s slang word.
 

“Just water, thanks.”

“Okey dokey.” Holly said as she grabbed their bottles.
 
She opened the cupboard and brought out sweet popcorn, tortilla chips and dip.
 
She knew Dev loved the stuff and had stocked up.
 

“Oh you are a
lifesaver!
” Said Dev excitedly.
 
“Seriously, Hol. How can you
not
like this stuff?” She said grabbing the chips and dip.
 

“I really don’t like it. Just Em.
 
That girl’s a human bin, I swear.”

Alex loved Holly more relaxed.
 
Maybe she had been so shy because she liked him and didn’t know he liked her back? That’s how he felt anyway.
 
He felt relaxed himself, knowing that Holly had feelings for him too.
 
He didn’t have to worry about slipping up and embarrassing himself.
 

“Would you like something else?” Holly asked him. “Dev told me you don’t like salsa either.”
 

“No thanks. Popcorn’s my thing.”
 

Holly passed him a tub of popcorn and got one for herself and sat on her cuddle seat. Alex wanted her to sit next to him, or on his lap…
 

“Should we watch a movie?” asked Dev.
 

“Or you could work on your Algebra.” Said Holly as she raised an eyebrow. “That’s what we were supposed to be doing today anyway.”

“I vote no.” Said Dev.
 
Folding her arms in protest.
 

“Actually…” Said Alex. “I could use some help too.
 
If that’s ok.” He smiled at Holly.
 

He would daydream about her tutoring him.
 
Then at the end of the lesson, she would let her hair down, take off her jacket and start to unzip her skirt…
 

“Uh, Alex?” Said Dev.
 

“What?” He was embarrassed about being caught in his Holly haze for the second time that day.
 
Ok, so maybe he would still get embarrassed for a little while… Holly was still looking at him and she had her lower lip between her teeth.
 
Had she just been in an ‘Alex fog’ as he heard the other’s say?
 

“I said you’re boring.
 
Besides, we don’t have our books because we didn’t have algebra today and we haven’t been home yet.” Dev looked pleased with herself because she’d gotten out of studying.
 

“Ok then, if you want to watch a movie…that’s ok, I guess.” Holly said mostly to Alex.
 

“A movie would be great.” Not that he’d be paying attention to it with Holly in the room.
 
She was so beautiful he could barely concentrate on anything else.
 

Holly got up to get the remote for her media server.
 

Alex moved away from Dev and patted the seat between them for Holly.
 
Right on cue, she blushed and then took the seat. Dev chose and decided on The Amazing Spiderman.
 

“I’ve wanted to see this movie for a long time.” Said Dev. “I was sick when the gang went. Have you seen it?”