Don't give up on me ✓

[60] We Danced Together

'The moment you discover he doesn't want the same thing you want... let him go' - Steve Harvey

Chapter 60: We Danced Together

Kaya was the darling of the dinner. She sat next to Mrs Maythorne's mom, at an exceptionally fancy dinner table where our names were written on little cards in front of our seats.

Dinner was served buffet style. Unsurprisingly, the Maythornes were picky eaters, so a buffet was the way they could all have exactly what they wanted.

There were two plates of roast. One for Mama Maythorne who liked it medium rare and one for her husband who liked it well done. There was even a vegetarian option for me. A plate of vegetarian tabbouleh with edamame and feta.

We all started to eat but then I noticed that Jesper hadn't touched his plate. I looked over at him. He was usually the hungriest guy in the room. He looked at me and then down at his plate.

"What knife do I use?" he whispered.

Oh.

There were four knives next to his plate, all laid out next to each other. We looked around at what the others were using. Nate saw my confused look and raised his knife to show me. I smiled at him thankfully.

"The one that looks like a mini gardening tool. The spade one," I whispered to Jesper.

"This?!" he picked it up, "How do you even-"

Mrs Maythorne's mother cleared her throat. She had been watching us, "Where did you grow up, Jesper?"

That question was way too loaded. After watching us struggle with fancy cutlery, it was a judgmental question. She was about to brand us by postcode.

"Nowhere where we had these things," Jesper pointed at the fish knife.

He wasn't about to fall into her trap without making a point about it.

"Hmm," she said, "I wonder where my daughter finds people like you. Living at the Maythorne Manor must be quite the cinderella story for you."

"Yeah." Jesper clenched his fish knife until his knuckles turned white. 

We came from the wrong side of the tracks. We knew we'd never be accepted here.

She turned her attention to Nate, "Nathaniel darling, tell me, how are your parents? I saw them at our country club in August."

Still on the subject of cutlery, I guess Nathaniel grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth. He knew all the customs, how to make small talk, how to flatter the host. Jesper never played those games. He was never part of them.

I looked at Jesper. He lowered his head and focused on eating his fish.

Meanwhile, Nate fielded all of Mrs Maythorne's questions, keeping her distracted from focusing on Jesper again. He was smooth and charming. His smile made the whole table smile. The jackass really knew how to turn the charm up when he wanted to.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Their after-dinner routine could not be more boring if they tried. Mr Maythorne watched baseball and old Mama Maythorne read a novel. Every thirty minutes I felt like checking their pulse, just to make sure they were still alive.

Kaya felt comfortable in their home. There were pictures of her as a kid all around. Hugo too. I looked at her now, sitting cross legged in front of Mama Maythorne, listening as she read out a chapter from a novel. I remembered my own childhood and realized how far away from home we were.