Become

Chapter 38

     Austin's truck pulls up into our driveway, and my stomach clenches up. Great. Like it needed to hurt worse.

     "Leigh," calls my mother from the kitchen, "what are you doing? Stalking that boy from the window? Come help me set the table."

     I trudge in.

     I'm just starting to set it when the doorbell rings.

     The sound of the door opening reaches my ears, and I walk into the living room, where Austin is pounced on by my littlest siblings, who have been waiting gleefully by the door.

     Keith. "Hi, Alex!"

     Austin. "It's actually Aust-"

     Keith. "Do you wanna play soccer?"

     Austin. "Sure."

     Keith. "REALLY?"

     Julie. "No! He can't! He has to play Barbies with me! You will, right, Alex?"

     Austin. "Um, my name is-"

     Keith. "What about baseball?"

     Julie. "No! Barbies!"

     Austin. "Could you tell me where-"

     Keith. "What about basketball? Do you like basketball?"

     Julie. "No, he doesn't! He likes Barbies!"

     Keith. "No! He's a boy! Boys don't like Barbies!"

     Julie. "But you played with mine before, with me! Remember?"

     Keith. "Oh. But Alex doesn't!"

     Austin. "Could you tell me where Leigh is?"

     Keith.

     Julie.

     Keith. "So... Yes, soccer?"

     I step out of the kitchen and into the view of Austin, being basically mobbed by Julie and Keith.

     "Hey," he says, with a smile.

     "Hey. Um, guys, his name is Austin, not Alex." Two pairs of open mouths greet me, displaying two tiny sets of teeth. "And I don't know if he wants to play Barbies."

     "I can," Austin says. "Alex -my sister Alex- went through a stage, and I was forced to play Ken tons of times."

    Julie cheers and Keith sits on Austin's foot, wrapping his legs and hands around his ankle, so if Austin wants to go anywhere, he'll have a little bundle on his left leg.

     I mouth sorry at Austin, who laughs quietly.

     "Julie, Keith, you want to go play?"

     Keith stands up and runs off excitedly, but Julie takes a bit of haggling (I offer to play Barbies with her for an hour) before she finally follows him onto the girls' room to play.

     "Okay, tip number one," I say, "Try not to talk to both at one time. It's a bit tiring."

     He laughs. "I can handle it. Probably."

     "Oh, Austin... The fun's just beginning."

     + + + + +

     Dinner is not as painful as I expected, but is far from a walk in the park, or whatever people say. A swim in the pool. A trip to the ice cream store. I don't know, okay? Something easy.

     Mom grills him on stuff like his plans for the future, and his family, and my siblings ask him mostly random things (favorite color, pets, whatever). Ben wants to know about his truck, and of course Daisy is just so thrilled that I am, to quote her, 'finally growing up and not quite as lame as she's always thought'.

     Thanks, Daisy.

     Austin has brought a pie, homemade by his mom. (This buys him Mom points, of course.) It tastes amazing, and spurs on another round of family questions.

    

     Finally, after what seems like forever, Mom leans back in her chair. "I like you, Austin. You seem like a good kid."

     I take in a deep, full breath, aware that I've been practically holding my breath the entire time.

     Austin smiles. He seems to be a lot more comfortable with this than I am. He's crazy, but whatever. At least he's not sweating in his chair. "My mom would be glad to hear that," he says, and my mother gives him a polite four-note laugh.

     He keeps going, like a private comedian, and Mom laughs more every time.

     I sit back and just enjoy the show, unable to stop smiling.