Run Away With Me

Chapter 23 (Katherine)

Okay. Full disclosure, Hannah is awesome. Hannah, my dad's girlfriend. They've gone on two dates this week alone. The one on Saturday that you already know about, and they went out Wednesday night to go see a movie. And then he brought her home on Friday. Today. And even though I've only known her for 5 minutes, I just know that she's awesome. 

Hannah's pretty enough, I guess. I mean that in a good way. Like, she's not super-mega-foxy-awesome-hot, but she's far from ugly. Average height, not too skinny. She has really nice cheekbones. I don't know. She's pretty normal. Again, in a wonderful way. She's easy one the eyes. Except for one, prominent feature. One that I'm quite fond of. She has bright red hair. Just like mine. And I love it. 

My dad guides through the house to the dinner table. He made dinner all by himself. I'll admit, I was a little worried when he told me about his plans for dinner. The basics is pretty much all he can do. Pancakes, mac-n-cheese. Things like that. But tonight he wanted to do pasta. Not, like, spaghetti. I wouldn't be so worried about that. He wanted to make a lasagna, with salad and homemade garlic bread. He took the day off work just to do it. I tried to offer my services, but insisted that he do it on his own. So I stowed away in my room, trying not to worry. I mean, what was it to me? It was just dinner. Worse case scenario, we have to order pizza. Or buy a new house. But around 4, the scent of fresh baked bread wafted in through my door, and I couldn't resist a peek in the kitchen. 

My father is many things. Oddly enough, clean is not one of them. Organized, yes. But not clean. The kitchen was thoroughly dusted in flour. As is he. But sure enough, sitting on the counter was a perfectly baked loaf of bread. He's sliding a lasagna into the oven as I walk in. Thank goodness he didn't insist on making his own noodles. I'm sorry, but I just don't have that much faith in him.  

And now here we are! Hannah is here, and the food looks delicious. We all serve up and dig in, and I can't help but feel a bit proud of him. I mean, this food is so good.

"Wow, Joe. This is excellent," Hannah says, voicing my opinions. I just nod, my mouth full. 

"Well I'm glad you like it." We eat in silence for a bit before Hannah clears her throat. 

"So, Katherine. Tell me a bit about yourself." I think while swallowing. 

"Well, what do you want to know?" 

"You know, like, what are your interests? Your hobbies. Who are your friends?" I smile a little, thinking about the boys. Hannah takes notice. "Hmm, maybe more than friends?" My dad groan and I can't help but snicker. 

"Take your girl talk elsewhere, I want to eat!" We laugh, and I turn back to the question. 

"Well, as to interests, I really into writing, journalism specifically." Hannah nods, but offers no comment, so I press on. "And I do have quite a few close friends. I have a couple who still live here in Kansas City, um, their names are Darcie and Willa. We've pretty much been friends forever. And then I have some friends who live in New York. That's Race, Crutchie, Albert, Davey, Spot, Jojo and Jack." I can't help but smile when I think of them. 

"Crutchie? Race? Who named your friends?" I laugh. 

"Oh, yeah. Those are just nicknames. Um, Crutchie is Charles, Race is Anthony, and Spot is Sean." Hannah nods. 

"So, how did these friends come to be in New York?" Hannah asks, taking another bite of food. 

"Well, it was mostly Jack's idea. We got tired of boring old Kansas, so we decided to move to New York. City of dreamers, ya know?" Hannah gives me a knowing look as she takes a sip of her wine. 

"We?" I feel my face warm up ever so slightly. 

"Yeah, we." She gives me a piercing look, but doesn't press any further. 

We finish dinner with little a little small talk. Dad informs us about a new car coming out, Hannah tells me a bit about herself. Apparently she works with Dad, in a managerial position or something. After dinner, Dad comes to a shocking realization. 

"I forgot to make dessert!" I stifle a laugh, and I can tell Hannah is too. 

"Well, why don't you go get something?" I suggest. 

"Yeah, leave me and Katherine to talk about girl stuff." I snigger, Dad already grabbing his coat. 

"Okay, okay. I can take a hint, I'm leaving. Any preferences?" 

"Oh, oh! Can you go to that pastry shop off of church street?" Dad nods, and grabs his keys off of the counter. 

"Will do. I'll be back in a bit. You two try not to get too close okay? I don't really fancy dating my daughter's best friend." Hannah rolls her eyes. 

"Get out of here," she says, pushing him out the door. He raises his hands in submission, and heads out the door. She laughs and collapses next to me on the couch. 

"Okay, time to spill. I know there's gotta be someone you got your eye on," Hannah says with a mischievous glint in her eye. 

"Okay, so maybe there is someone. Kinda. Maybe. It's complicated." I shake my head, wondering what was actually happening between me and Jack. I mean, surely it would've been something if I were still there, right? But I guess that's just it. I'm not still there. 

Hannah interrupts my train of thought. "Okay, complicated.  That always means there's a story, so tell me everything." I smile, thinking about the story I'm about to launch into. 

"Okay then. Well, first things first, I guess. His name is Jack." 

"Jack, as in, the boy you followed half-way across the country so he could chase his dreams? That Jack?" I stifle a laugh. 

"Yeah, that Jack. Anyway, I kinda always knew he liked me, but I didn't really bother with him, because I knew he'd get over it quick. It's not his fault, really, he's just a lover boy by nature. But then, one day, we went  out for lunch-" and I launch into the whole 'we accidentally walked across the city' ordeal. I made sure to include all details, including falling asleep next to him on the couch. A full grin has spread across my face when I finish, and Hannah low-key looks like she might explode. 

"OH my gosh, that is so adorable! Is there more to this story? Oh please tell me there's more." I snicker. 

"Yeah, there's more." I tell her about the alleyway, about our dance under the stars. About our kiss that was so rudely interrupted by Davey. About how he came to see me before I left, and we got interrupted again. I sigh, tears threatening to fall. 

"So, that's that." I try for a smile, but my heart's not in it. Hannah returns mine with a sad smile, but her eyes light up quickly. 

"Oh, do you have a picture? I wanna see what he looks like!" A real smile comes to my face, and I pull out my phone, trying to find a good one. But, to be fair, they're all good ones. I mean, it's Jack. I settle for one that we took on our graduation day. His infectious smile lights up the screen, and I feel a smirk creeping up the corners of my mouth. 

"Oh, he's cute. What is he like, does he play football? A musician maybe?" My smile grows wider. 

"He's an artist." Hannah nods as her smiles grows. 

"Well, I think he's a keeper. Even if he's in New York." I turn from the screen towards Hannah. 

"You think so?" 

"Oh, darling. I know so."