Ashley~
Sarah Beth had tightened the black bow tie a bit too tight. It was as if someone were strangling me, and I had to keep my chin up in order to breathe. Also, I had to completely shave my chin. Gone was my stubble that I kept perfectly neat and even. My chin felt nude.
"Okay. There are a few things you should do when you meet her!"
"You told me."
"Let's go over it again! What does she hate?"
"Music... cars... television..." She seemed like the most boring person possible, but I did not dare say that to Sarah Beth.
"She has been sort of... deranged lately. She's been in a hospital for a while. It's her Asberger Syndrome. She says what she thinks."
"That's social anxiety disorder, Sarah Beth."
"Well... She has that, too!"
I grew more nervous as I thought of how crazy her Aunt must be. Sarah Beth was a bit dotty herself, but for her to stress how nuts a family member of hers is? The woman must be a lunatic.
After we set up the table (Which was very elegant and pink) with food (Which was very fancy-looking) and cleaned the flat (Which was already tidy), Sarah Beth and I sat at the table and stared at the door. Nearly an hour went by before anything happened. The phone rang, and I picked it up.
"Hello, Miss Madge."
"Hey, Hot Patootie. There's a party of two here that want in the room. I don't really want to know what for, but should I let them in?"
"Yes, Madge. Thank you."
"Buh-bye."
Finally, our guests arrived while Sarah Beth was in the kitchen. The first one I saw was a short, stout lady with iron grey hair and a tired, agitated face with makeup that was thicker in certain places. She was, undoubtedly, Sarah Beth's aunt.
"Good evening, Ma'am." I smiled, but got nothing close to a happy look in return. She muttered something and looked around the room, giving judging looks at the flat. lt was then that I had a good look at her. She was plump, but not large. Her lips were long and thin, almost like a toad's. The most striking thing about her was the pink. Pink dress, pink shoes, pink bow... her clothes reminded me of Sarah Beth on Halloween, but without the hat.
Behind her came a man that looked to be the same age as Sarah Beth. He had strawberry blond hair and was quite tall. He wore a black suit like mine, but wore a red tie with gold stripes. It looked a bit silly. He nodded and smiled back when I greeted him, but he also went looking around the room. I began to feel nervous.
"Rufie!" Sarah Beth ran to him and threw her arms around him. Their hug lasted for a while, and I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. She finally saw my discomfort and introduced us before having them sit down.
We sat down at the square table. Sarah Beth and Rufus were on one side, and I had to sit with her Aunt. She would not stop watching me from the corner of her eye. On the other side, Sarah Beth was leaning toward Rufus. In fact, she was almost on him. He took a few looks at me while eating his beef stew, but soon warmed up to me.
"Sarah Beth was putting butter on a roll when she got tired of her aunt's rudeness. "Auntie! Auntie, why don't you try to talk to Ashley?"
"Yes..." The woman slowly smiled until she looked downright menacing. "Get to know each other better... Ashley?"
"Yes, Ma'am?"
"Do you believe in magic?" Sarah Beth gagged on the roll. Rufus patted her back and eyed me alarmingly.
I looked at the woman and smiled nervously as the boy across from her helped my choking girlfriend. My smile turned into a worried frown quite quickly, however. The woman continued to look at me menacingly, like she was expecting my hair to burst into flames for her enjoyment.
"Not really," I began. "I mean... it's not real, you know. It would be sweet, but no. It's all in books. And movies... and... er, you know..."
"Movies..." The woman grinned even wider. She looked back to her niece. "You hear that? He doesn't believe in magic, Sarah Beth. He also watches movies. Sounds like a great man, hrm?"
I glared and turned my head to my food, stuffing my mouth full of mashed potatoes. Just survive past dessert, and they will be gone, I thought. Dessert...
"AUNTIE..." Sarah Beth stabbed her spoon into her mashed potatoes. "Is a fan of magicians. Isn't that right, Auntie?"
"Yes. I very much so love magic. So does Rufus. He's such a nice young man. A nice, normal, generous, kind, caring, handsome-"
Rufus stopped her. "So, Ashley! What do you like to do?"
"Movies." The vile woman mused, sipping tea.
"Well, I enjoy music." I cursed myself as soon as I remembered "She hates music" from earlier.
"Do you like Celestina Warbeck?" I had no idea what she was saying, but then she started singing. "Oh my poor heart, where has it gone? It's left me for a spell...."
"Auntie! That is it! One more and I will ask you to leave!" Sarah Beth slammed her fists on the table, her face filled with rage. "So, Ashley? What were you going to say?"
"Er, I play in a band, you see."
"Really? That's nice!" Rufus smiled. "I love music, too! Sarah Beth has shown me a lot of different types."
I cleared my throat. "So, how long have you two known each other?"
"Forever!" Sarah Beth said.
Rufus laughed. "We're basically like brother and sister."
"Yeah." Sarah Beth finished her food and stood up. "Well, I think it is time for plum pudding!"
---
We had cleared the table, and I had gotten out of the tight formal wear and back into my jeans and logo tee, where I felt at home.
"Ashley, I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Don't lie."
"Well, the guests were a bit..."
"Terrible?"
"No. Intimidating."
She laughed a bit. "Yeah. I guess so."
"Well, Rufus is cool. Your aunt..."
"You can call her Dolores."
"Dolores doen't like me that much. And I feel as if I should have her blessing in order to date you, and..."
Suddenly, she kissed me. I closed my eyes and calmed down a bit.
"It's okay, Ashley. Auntie is just cautious. And Rufus thinks you're great! We talked afterward, and he says he's glad that I found someone that's good to me like you."
I shrugged.
"Well, good night." She took her bows out and smiled at me reassuringly. "It will be just fine. You've got practice in the morning."
"Yeah." I headed for the door. "I'll see you, Sarah Beth."
She yawned. "Okay. Bye!"
I left and got into my car. I felt a bit better. One family member liking me was better than none, and I was determined to make it two.
