Difference Between

Chapter 6 - The Sarah Henry Dilemma

I hate Sundays. At least I do now. At some point between telling us last week that they're dating and today, Mom and Kean decided we should have weekly dinners together. Without telling us ahead of time.

"Don't make a big deal out of it," Don hisses at me before we leave for the Halloways' house.

"Whatever, Socrates," I mutter.

I wonder if Dad actually talked to Don about the whole letting-me-feel-what-I-need-to-feel thing. Or if Don is just ignoring him. Probably the latter. I wouldn't be surprised. He's Socrates after all.

The entire car ride, I stare out the window, repeating "Sarah Henry″ in my head. I have to be Sarah Henry today. And kind of every day. Or else I'm Patrick Henry and I'm selfish. And if I can be Sarah Henry when it counts, maybe I'll eventually be Ludwig Gruber and actually be selfless and decent to Marcus. I know it's possible. Maybe it's been a while, but it's definitely possible.

Mom parks the car in front of the Halloways' house. When the car lurks to a stop, my stomach churns, and it's suddenly hard to breathe. I shut my eyes and take a deep breath. I can do this. I promised Dad that I would even if I don't want to. I just have to be Sarah Henry. Right. Sarah Henry.

I trail behind Mom and Don to the front door. Mom rings the doorbell, and Kean opens it a second later. Mom and Kean greet each other with a hug and lead the way into the kitchen. I shut the front door and join them a second later. Which is a second too late because Mom and Kean are caught up in conversation, and Don is already talking to Tobias. That means I can either join one of them or...

I look towards the stove where Marcus is watching a pan heat up. Maybe I could awkwardly join Don and Tobias. I take a step toward them, and Don immediately glares at me, nodding towards Marcus. I glare back, and his glare only intensifies. He nods at Marcus more insistently.

I mouth, "Fine" at him and turn to Marcus. I take a deep breath. Sarah Henry...

I walk towards Marcus and lean against the counter next to the stove. "Hey," I say. "What's up?"

Marcus glances at me. His eyes widen ever so slightly, but just as quickly he smooths his expression and looks back at the pan. His voice is neutral when he says, "Nothing much. You?"

I shrug. "Not much going on with me either."

He nods. "So..." Marcus stirs the meat around the pan. For a while, the sizzling sound fills the silence between us. When it dies down, Marcus glances at me. "You talked to your dad yesterday, right?"

I straighten. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

He points towards Don and Tobias. Don's telling Tobias about the conversation he had with Dad yesterday. He doesn't say anything about Dad telling him not to guilt me into putting my feelings aside. But I'm sure he did. And I'm sure Socrates is being Socrates about it.

"You okay?" Marcus asks, side-eyeing me.

I nod, glancing away from Don and Tobias. It's not worth getting mad about. And not very Sarah Henry of me either. "Yeah. I'm fine. And you're just as observant as I remember."

Marcus shrugs, turning down the heat on the stove. As he leans forward, the clock face charm on his necklace peeks out of his shirt. Right. He likes the present. No references... Sarah Henry...

It slips back in his shirt when he settles back on his feet, and he glances at me. "I just listen and watch. But, anyway, how'd your talk with your dad go?"

"Just the usual. Catching him up on things. Hearing how his life is going." I run my hand along the edge of the counter. Probably a good idea to stick to topics like this. It's common ground, and not much can go wrong here. I hope. "Did you talk to your mom?"