Paper Trails 2 | Draft

47.

"Years of love have been forgot, in the hatred of a minute."

*****

We drove to New Haven, Connecticut for the weekend. I knew what I needed to do, what I wanted to do. And before I did it, I needed a quick getaway. Especially with Brandon. He made me feel lighter. Airier. He made me forget, just for a little while, that my world crumbled around me. I was nervous. Meeting parents made me nervous. But he'd put his hand on my leg, offered me a smile, and told me to relax. "They like you already," he had said. "They just want to put a face to the person I told them about."

They like you already.

I forced a smile on my face, knowing they wouldn't like me for long. Neither would he. But I was selfish, and I wanted this moment. I deserved this moment. And even if I didn't, I don't care. I was going to take it.

His parents lived in a two story house sitting on five acres of land, complete with a pool, a barn, and a horse. Yes. They had a horse.

Brandon tells me about the horse as we bring our bags inside.

"Her name's Honey. She was mine. After I left for college, I figured my parents would send her off. Sell her. Something. But they keep her around for me, for when I get back. They hired someone to keep ger groomed. To ride her, so she doesn't lose her touch. You even been on a horse before?"

I had not. They frightened me. They get scared so easily. What if it thinks it sees a snake and it goes crazy, starts running off with me on it? How would I stop it? What if I couldn't, what if I was thrown off?

"She's a sweetheart. Can't wait for you to meet her."

I met his mom first, on the way upstairs. She'd been leaving her room, ready to greet us at the door but Brandon had just let himself in. She smiled when she was us and wrapped us both up in one big ass hug. She said I was beautiful, hit Brandon, and told him his description didn't do me justice. I'd smiled, genuinely pleased with how it was going. I met his father next, after we'd settled in. He wasn't home when we got there, but he got in a few hours later carrying grocery bags. When he saw his son, he looked relieved and told him to get the rest of the bags from the back of the truck. He hadn't noticed me, so I'd slipped out after Brandon and helped bring in the rest of the bags.

When his father finally saw me as we entered the kitchen, he stopped, looked me up and down, and shook his head.

"Brandon, I taught you better than to have a woman carry your weight." Then he hugged me. "I'm Charlie. You must be Neila."

I smiled. "It's no trouble. Nice to meet you."

"Tell me, how could my boy pick up a nice, pretty girl like yourself?" After a minute he laughed. "I sometimes wonder the same thing for myself when I look at my wife."

And then I got it. Why Brandon was so nice, so respectful. Why he was always complimenting me. He grew up around that. A father who was there to live his mother. He had someone to look up to. Someone he could aspire to be.

It was refreshing. They were refreshing. We spent the night talking and laughing. We played Scrabble (Charlie won) then chess (Brandon won) and then May brought out some cards and we played a few card games. I won twice, May won once. It was a family game night and not once did I feel left out. They treated me like family.