The Thing About Flip Flops

Chapter Twenty One: Kids, Don't Be Like Aunt Emily

Jack answers the door for me.

"Oh! Hey, Audrey! Good to see you!" He says in a painfully too-loud voice.

"Hi, Jack! Good to see you too!" I look around for someone, then whisper, "Let me in. It's fucking freezing out there."

"Jack, who is that?" A woman's voice calls out from a room to the left. My eyes widen, but Jack shoots me a look that says I got this.

A middle aged, chubby Japanese lady with a black bob and a kind-looking face comes into the front hallway and looks confused.

Jack turns to her. "Good morning, mom. This is, um, Audrey. I forgot to tell you guys that she was going to come over for breakfast."

Jack's mom's expression clears and she smiles knowingly at me. I can see how my friend is related to her. They look alike. Except he has lighter hair (more dark brown than black) and is a boy.

"Hi, Audrey. It's nice to meet you." She goes in straight for the hug.

"What- Okay. Yeah, hi! You too," I say, hugging her back. Jack catches my eye behind her and sticks out his tongue mockingly. I glare.

"I'm Hana. Do you have a coat you want me to hang for you?" She asks, shooting Jack the look. Oh no. She knows. Damn. She probably heard us giggling last night.

"Um. Actually, I left it in my car." I point towards the front lawn, where my dad's car is. Nice save, Audrey.

"Okay. Come in, come in, my husband is cooking something up."

"Sounds great!" Jack and I follow Hana into the kitchen. It's really small but cosy, reminding me of my grandma's house.

A younger boy who looks like Jack except with slightly chubbier cheeks is sitting at the table, scarfing down toast. Judging by the packet of Swiss Mix on the table and the brown powder around his cup, he's drinking hot chocolate. He looks up at me when we enter and asks Jack, "Who's this?"

"Hey. I'm Audrey." I wave at him.

He looks at me for a second.

"Ohhh. Audrey. I'm Mike," he says once he's swallowed his food. I greet him back. "Why are you wearing my shirt inside out?" He asks suddenly.

I choke on straight-up air. "I'm... not?"

Jack rolls his eyes at his brother. "Anyway..."

"Hi, Audrey," a tall brown-haired man standing at the stove cuts in. "Call me Alex. I'd shake your hand, but..." He raises his hands, showing that he's holding what looks like fifteen eggshells.

I chuckle and Jack explains, "Oh. Dad wants to be on MasterChef."

"Wow. Cool!" I say. "But isn't Gordon Ramsay kind of a jerk?"

Jack's dad, Alex, chuckles, and then says, "TV personality, perhaps. I intend to find out."

I shrug. "Cool! Good luck with that!" I mentally slap myself in the face. That seriously sounded sarcastic. He probably hates you now. Good job, Audrey. Jack lightly takes my wrist and sits me down at the kitchen table with him. Hana sits opposite us, next to Mike.

"So, Audrey. Tell us a bit about yourself."

"Oh! Um, I'm Audrey, I'm eighteen, and I live on Ally Park Lane."

Why did I say that? Is it weird to tell someone where you live? Wait, of course it is.

Luckily, Hana doesn't find this weird. "My sister used to live right near there!" She says excitedly, then frowns. She turns to her sons. "Do you all remember Aunt Emily? Kids, don't be like Aunt Emily."

Mike coughs into his hot chocolate and Jack clears his throat. He mutters, "How on Earth could we forget dear old Aunt Emily?"

Why do I feel like there's a story behind this?

Alex sets a plate in front of me and I thank him, digging in. It's amazing.

"Aunt Emily got locked up last July for robbing a craft store while on coke. She was short on knitting supplies but she was definitely not short on drugs." Jack whispers to me quickly.

I choke on my food.

"So, Audrey," Hana says. "What's your family like?" She's approaching the subject matter bit by bit. I hope she doesn't know that I spent the night in her son's room, but I have a feeling she knows a lot.

"Um. They're nice. I live with my dad. I have an older sister but she's in college." I don't mention anything about being adopted, because the whole process involved a lot of complications and I don't know these people well enough to feel comfortable telling them. Still, I feel inexplicably like I can trust them. Maybe it's because they all sort of remind me of Jack.

"So you have a sister?" Alex asks.

"Yeah! Her name is Genevieve, and she's up at a college in Montana. We still FaceTime a lot, though."

I notice Jack frown as I mention Genevieve, but he doesn't say anything so I don't think much of it.

I'm finished with my food, so I get up to wash my dishes. "Thanks so much for breakfast! It was really good. We should probably get going, though. School."

I say goodbye to Jack's family, thanking them.

"Don't forget me," Jack says, getting up as well. "I'm coming along, remember?"

Right. It would be weird if it seemed like I was just coming for breakfast, but it wouldn't seem as strange if I was only stopping by for breakfast while picking Jack up for school.

"Hold on." Hana stops Jack. "I want to have a quick chat with my son, if you don't mind."

"O-of course." I step out into the hall, taking the hint, and begin to tie up my shoes, trying not to eavesdrop.

Obviously, I do though.

"She's a very nice girl. How long have you two been together? I didn't want to ask in front of her." It's Hana. I feel heat in my face.

"We're not together, mom."

"Really? But you always mention..."

"Mom! No. We're not- no," Jack yelps quickly.

I hear Mike chuckle. "Then why was she wearing my clothes?"

"And where was her coat?" Hana adds. "And why was your room-?"

"As long as you're being safe, son," Alex tells Jack.

"It's not like that!"

"Okay. But she's sweet." Hana again. "And pretty. And she seems to like you..."

"She doesn't," he says quietly.

"Be sure to clean up your room later, though, okay?"

My eyes widen, and I quickly move away from the doorway and continue tying my shoes. Jack steps out of the room looking annoyed. Is the idea of us dating that disturbing to him?

"Bye, guys," he calls.

"Nice to meet you," I add to his family.

He slides on sneakers quickly and we head out to my car.

"Nice conversation in there?" I tease as we hop in. He knows as well as I do that I was eavesdropping.

"I hate you."

"Your family doesn't seem to think so."

"That's only 'cause Mom saw us last night."

"Mhm," I agree, nodding.

I start the car, determined to bring some noise into the awkward silence.