The Boy Next Door > jariana (ON HOLD)

thirteen

Pattie left Justin and me after only a half hour more of strained conversation. Something was on her mind. It was written all over her face when she stared off in preoccupation, starting and stopping conversation. I knew that's why she'd flown out to see Justin. She had something to talk to him about. I worried that it was something serious, like with her health. After all, our parents were getting older, right around the age that those things start to go wrong. Justin blew off my concerns. "She's just being her dramatic self. She probably wants to sell the house or something and's guilt ridden about it," he said coldly, and got in the shower. Gone were his playful gestures. He didn't ask me to take a shower with him for the first time since I'd arrived.

I watched Justin carefully while I rushed to get ready. He was rigid, commonly so whenever his mother was around. Even after all these years, she had the same effect on him. He wore a defensive air, like a break wall at the ready for the next towering wave to hit. I wasn't sure why I felt the need to hurry, but it felt right. As soon as I put my socks on, he called out, "Are you ready to go?"

My mind raced, wondering what my remaining days would hold now that Pattie and Notting would be around. The silence Justin exuded was excruciating for me, but I remained silent. Justin sat at the kitchen counter, thumbing through some papers, when he finally spoke. "Hey, I'm really sorry about this. It's the last thing I would have thought would happen. I mean really?" He looked at me, bewildered.

I walked over to him and embraced his back, resting my chin on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. She came for a reason. I think maybe you should call her and go and meet her."

"I don't want to." He dropped his fists to the counter, shaking his head. "I seriously can't believe she's here."

"Aren't you worried that it's something serious?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I know her, it's never a serious thing." He swiveled to face me, shifting me between his legs. He viewed me thoughtfully for a moment while I played with his hair and traced his eyebrows with my fingertip. He looked and smelled fresh, making me take his head into my chest. I breathed him in. "Let's go," he said, giving my waist a squeeze.

"Okay," I agreed. If he wanted to ignore the fact that his mother was there, then what other choice did I have? I didn't want to ruin my time.

***

We walked in front of Buckingham Palace and I was in awe. It was so massive, and it looked lonely and cold. I imagined the period movies and TV shows about The Queen and The Tudors. The history of England and its monarchy was so intriguing to me. I wished I could go on a private tour of all their residences and meet with The Queen. I thought of Princess Diana, and wondered how it must have been for her. What a tragedy to be hounded so insistently by the paparazzi. To feel the sense of urgency to escape their lenses, that you die fleeing, in a fiery crash.

I thought of the new princess, Kate, and hoped she'd be left alone to raise her family and love her husband, the future King. Prince William would probably be an old man by the time he became king. Queen Elizabeth must be a vampire or something. She'd looked the same for as long as I could remember, old but never aging.

We strolled over, hand in hand, to the fountain and it was partially frozen. I picked up a handful of snow that had piled on the side of the fountain's wall, forming it into a ball, and threw it at Justin. He chased me down the street and scooped me up, spinning me around, threatening me that he'd throw me into the fountain if I didn't behave. Justin's mood was light, as if he'd forgotten that Pattie was there, this was a relief to me. We stood kissing in the cold wind, and I was filled with the warmth and calm I'd been longing for. The idea of coming to visit Justin in London was always so far away, a dream. We slipped back into the ease of enjoying each other without words, just being together. There's something to say about the ability to just be with someone in silence.