Moonsland (EN)

James (VII)

  I walk around the city and see some stores already closed. I still don't know what to take. I've never done this before, which excuses my ignorance. The most obvious thing for Emi's mother is a bouquet of flowers. I go into the first florist I see, say it's for a friend's mother and the florist makes a bouquet with a mixture of red and white flowers. For Emily's father I'm thinking of wine or something similar. There's a good chance he'll like it. They all do. I'll go to a friend of my parents' who sells very expensive reserves. I'll buy him the wine and some champagne as a backup. All that's missing is the most important girl and her brother. What do fifteen-year-olds like? Books, games, music, girls? I have no idea. Think James, think... Emily said she didn't talk to him much, so they must have tastes... They're honking behind me; the light is green. I accelerate and go back to my calculations. What was I thinking? Oh yes, they must have different tastes and if Emily likes reading, her brother must like games. And now guess what game he doesn't have and what device he plays it on?
  If this were a movie, the character would get everything right and make everyone happy without knowing your tastes. But in reality, things are more complicated.
  So, I go to an electronics store and buy a game for a console, one for a computer and, if in doubt, a card to spend on any game. When I paid, the man at the checkout asked me for my ID card, afraid that I was spending my parents' money on games for myself. After seeing that the names matched, the man apologized and said it was just to avoid any problems.
  I get in the car and it's almost time to go to Emily's house, but her present is still missing. If I don't buy anything, it'll seem wrong to be giving something to the family and not to her. In fact, I don't even know if I should really give everyone something, they might think I want to buy them something or that I'm bragging about my parents' possessions.
  I'm thinking of giving her a simple perfume or something similar. There's a women's store nearby. I'll stop by and fly to Emily's. I hate being late for important things that aren't boring (yes, I'm talking about you, school and any event with my parents and... almost everything in general).

  I arrive at Emily's house two minutes before the scheduled time and I'm almost sweating from all the running around. Tip: Tight pants and sweat are not friends.
  I take the bunch of flowers and Emily's present and head for the door along the stone path in the garden. As I'm about to knock, I think I'll play a joke on Emily, pretend I haven't brought her anything and then surprise her. I ring the bell and what looks like a gnome opens the door (just kidding!). Jonathan, at least I hope I didn't get the wrong house, is shorter than I imagined. He must be around 1.65m or less. I'm a little surprised, because nowadays children are taller than adults. Since John doesn't talk about who I expect him to be, I ask:
- John, right?
- Yes, come in. - he says, opening the door wider and gesturing inside. - Are you Emi's boyfriend?
- I... I'm not a boyfriend, but I'm a friend. - I reply, a little flustered.
- Jonathaaan! You embarrass me! You only had one job. - says Emily's voice from the top of the stairs leading to the second floor. When I look up from where the voice came from, I see Emily coming down wearing a long-sleeved, full-length dress with buttons that ended just before her thighs. It was a tight, beautiful dress in a shade of smoky blue. When she finished walking down the stairs in her little white sneakers, I was speechless. I just stare at her.
- Do I look bad? Do you think it was too much? - she asks, worried by the look I was giving her.
- No, no, no. It's just... you look stunning. - I say. I'd kiss her right now without a problem.
- Thank you! - she says thank you, a little flustered. - You look very nice like that too. You didn't just come in black.
- I had to do something different. - I replied, going forward to hug him.
- I'm here too. - says Jonathan, pretending to cough.
- Nobody asked you anything. - Emily replies.
- I've already asked you not to talk to your brother like that, Emily. - warns Emily's mother as she enters the foyer. - Hello, James! I'm Ellen, Emily's mother and, of course, Jonathan's.
- Good evening, Mrs. Castle! - I say, handing over the flowers I was still clutching behind my back. - These are for you. I didn't know what to give you, so I decided to go with the cliché, I hope you like it.
- How nice, James. Thank you! - he says thank you, genuinely happy. - Come in, come in. I don't know why we're here at the door.
As we entered the living room, to the left of the entrance hall, Jonathan whispered to me:
- You know, it's a shame you're not Emi's boyfriend, I wanted someone to play console games with me.
- I'm not, but I can play if you want. - I reply. I've never been one for video games, but I don't mind making this kid happy.
- Really? That's so cool! - she exclaims happily.
  When I look at Emi's father, I'm surprised. He's taller than me and burly. I'm only 1.75m tall, but since the children are both relatively short, I thought the whole family was short, but it turns out they just didn't match the father in that respect. Ellen is a little shorter than Emily, so she's probably around 1.65m. But truth be told, they're a beautiful family. Emily is short like her mother, brunette like both her parents, green eyes like her mother, perfectly slim body for my meaning of beauty, which is chubby, wavy brown hair, clearly a mixture of her father's curly hair and her mother's straight hair. Simply incredible. But I digressed. I was talking about Emily's father.
- Good evening, Mr. Castle! - I approach him to shake his hand.
- David, call me David. How are you? - he introduces himself casually.
- Well, thank you. Do you like wine or champagne? - I ask, intending to get it from the car if he likes it.
- Why do I like it? - It gets confusing.
- Sorry for asking, I brought two bottles and I wanted to make sure you liked them before I gave them to you. - I'm sorry.
- Thanks, man! You didn't have to bother.
  I got Jonathan's bottles and games from the car, now that I know he likes games, and gave them to him.
- I'm sorry I didn't bring you anything, I couldn't find anything for you. - I'm lying. I want to surprise you later with the present I've brought you.
- It's okay, James. You usually bring flowers. You don't have to bring presents for everyone. - Explain it to me.
- Yeah, sorry. I'm not an expert. - I say.

  Shortly afterwards, Emi decided to show me around. At the door to the right of the hall is the living room and kitchen, which are connected in an open concept with a peninsula. As we continue through the entrance hall, we come out at a door that leads to a porch where you can see a small garden with an inflatable swimming pool, covered up. It's very cold, so Emily starts to shiver and I give her the coat I had slung over my shoulders.
  We quickly went inside anyway, because I can't stand this cold with a coat, let alone without one. With my choice of clothes, it doesn't seem like we're in one of the coldest autumns ever. I wore a summer outfit just because it's the prettiest one I own, but the cold makes itself felt. We went up the stairs, straight to the second floor, where there's a bathroom that isn't very big.
- Do you share a room with your brother? - I ask. I only see two rooms.
- No, you'll see. - he says, taking me by the arm to a second floor that seems to be the attic.
  Open the door and you can see a beautiful room. It's not as feminine as I thought it would be, it's more related to art and theater and has an incredible skylight in the middle. As we are a little way from the city, you can see the many stars in the infinite sky that amazes us with its beauty every night. Ideally, it should be possible to see the full moon, and in fact it is. The full moon was last night, so you can still see it today. It's as beautiful as ever. I look around the room again and comment:
- It's incredible! Really beautiful.
- Thank you! - she exclaims. He puts his arms around my shoulders, facing me. My heart races slightly, but I feel a little uncomfortable.
- But you haven't seen the best part yet. I don't even know if you will. - Tell me.
I was curious.
Emily pulls me by the arm to go down again, but I stop her.
- Aren't you going to show me the 'best part'? - I ask her.
- Maybe... But not now. - He laughs.
We went downstairs after Emily's mother called us to eat.
- Where were they? The food is ready. - Ellen tells us.
- I was showing James my room, Mom. - Emily apologizes.
- Is that all? - asks Ellen, looking sideways and giving a cheeky smile.
- Mom, don't embarrass me. - Try whispering to Emily.
- David, John! Come and eat, I won't tell you again. - Ellen shouts.
  Ellen serves us all her pasta bolognese and we all start eating. A few moments later, Ellen breaks the silence that had settled over the dining room and asks me:
- So, James, what course are you on?
- I'm studying health in the APL class, i.e. Anatomy, Psychology and Literature.
- Do you want to be a doctor or something? - ask me.
- I'd actually like to help people psychologically. I think it's an area that people tend to undervalue, but it's just as important as physical health. Did you know that half of mental illnesses appear by the age of fourteen and half of them go undiagnosed? It's very important to understand the symptoms because, if the illness isn't treated, it can lead to problems in adult life. - speech. - Sorry, I won't shut up on this subject.
- No problem, it's great to have that adoration for something, like you do, especially knowing that you can save lives. - says Ellen.
- I really hope you can.
- And you live nearby? - he asks me.
- Not really, I live in the city center. - I reply.
- Okay, are you enjoying the food?
- I'm loving it! - I reply. - And John, what do you like to do in your spare time apart from playing games? - I try to create themes.
- I like annoying Emi. - She laughs a lot at your joke.
- You'll see, crazy. - Emily says jokingly.
- It's been like this practically since Jonathan was born. - says Ellen. - Remember when Jonathan was born and Emily was so jealous because all the attention was on him? And there was that time she hit him with a sweater, but after we told her it was wrong, she never did it again.
- She's a rich daughter. - says David.

  We continued talking about Emily and John's embarrassing situations at dinner, like when Emily threw up on a cousin at a party at her house when she was ten. Or when John wore baggy shorts and got out of the pool without them without noticing.
  In the end, David was talking to his children about a play he had done as a child, so I took the opportunity to go into the kitchen with her mother.
- Mrs. Castle, I brought Emily a present and I don't know if she'll like it. - I introduce my concern.
- Ellen, don't forget. And you didn't have to, James. If she likes you, it's not because of what you can give her. - Calm down.
- No, of course. I didn't think so at all. But I'm used to giving a souvenir to the person organizing the event... or the dinner, in this case. I bought it for him...
Just then, Emily enters the kitchen area and asks:
- What are you talking about?
- I was... - I start to apologize.
- You don't care. - says Ellen, interrupting my attempt to explain. - It's a conversation between mother-in-law and son-in-law.
- Actually... Ellen... your daughter and I aren't boyfriend and girlfriend. - I say.
- No, Mom! I told youwe weren't. - she says, looking rather indignant.