The Art of Loving

[32] That's Not the Truth Is It?

After dinner was finished, Henry and Ellie went off to tidy the kitchen as they always had. Brian offered to help, but they all told him he could relax in the garden if he wanted to or unpack. He was reluctant to accept that, but the insistence of four people eventually convinced him.

Ellie and her brother occupied the kitchen, while their parents joined Brian in the garden. Ellie was a little nervous about that, but at the same time she was confident that he would manage that because he was he kind of person who'd probably do very well with parents. He was sweet and understanding and very eloquent and that was something parents liked.

And Henry took the opportunity alone with his sister to ask a few more questions and catch up with her. Of course the main topic of the conversation was Brian and their relationship.

"So Lel, the story ye told Mum and Dad about how ye met Brian, that's nae the truth is it?" Henry asked, glancing at his sister with a smirk.

Ellie looked up surprised, pausing in her task of gathering all the dirty dishes. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I know ye. Ye're nae the kind o' girl who goes out with a guy she meets at a get together."

"Why not?" Ellie asked, shrugging. "What's wrong with that? If ye think that's boring then okay, I'm boring."

"Ye said ye did nae want tae talk tae him. I know ye, if ye want tae ignore someone then ye do that very consistently and it's nae easy tae get your attention if ye're set on ignoring someone. I know what I'm talking about from experience."

Ellie pressed her lips together. "So? I said he was persistent."

"Lel, ye can tell me the truth, ye know? I told ye the truth about how I met Betty, I will nae tell anyone. We used tae do this, remember?"

"I know," she sighed. "But I promised him that we'd stick to that story and I don't want to break that promise. I fucked up enough already, I have tae start making up for that." She looked at her brother to see him looking at her with a small smile.

"Ye really care about 'im.."

Ellie smiled timidly and shrugged. "I do, aye. He's amazing, Henry, he really is. He's so patient and understanding and just so sweet. And not that you want tae hear that but he's so attractive too on top of all that."

Henry chuckled. "No, I do nae really want tae hear that, but I'm so happy for ye that ye finally seem tae 'ave found a good guy. Ye deserve that. And I'll talk tae him, if he wants tae tell me the entire story. I'm really curious what exactly happened."

"Feel free tae do that. When did you think we should come to stay with you? We might come by train then because parking is always a bit of a struggle there." As smoothly as possible Ellie tried to change the topic, but of course that didn't go unnoticed by Henry.

However, he didn't want to upset her so he went along with it. "Whenever ye want tae. Did ye nae say something about wanting tae borrow the van? Maybe ye can stay with me the night before ye want tae do that?"

Ellie nodded. "That actually sounds like a good idea. I'll suggest that to Brian."

"Okay, great. When were ye planning tae go on that trip? Do ye know that yet or was yer plan tae improvise again?"

"Ye know me, we're improvising. I am, at least and Brian has tae go along with that. He told me he relies on me to bring a little chaos into his life."

That made Henry laugh. "He definitely came tae the right person for 'at, I hope he knows what he got himself intae."

"I'm fairly sure he does. With how much he insisted on being with me he is aware of that." Ellie smiled sheepishly at Henry. "I really did nae make it easy for him."