Spotlight on Nobody

- 37 -

~ song: Shy by Leon Bridges ~

I can feel the nerves radiating off of Leo, but his façade doesn't give him away. From the outside, he looks completely at ease stepping over the threshold of my childhood home; his deep green eyes crinkled to match the kind smile on his face, walking confidently beside me, seemingly completely at ease. But his tighter-than-usual grasp on my fingers gives away the fact that Leo, the Grammy-award winning, world-famous superstar, is nervous to meet my two parents. The thought that he is more nervous to make a good impression on my parents than he is for a red-carpet appearance or sold-out arena performance makes me smile to myself. As we follow my skipping sister down the hallway, I raise his fingers to my lips and kiss them gently, my way of saying chill out, they'll love you.

We find my parents bustling around in their favorite place: our kitchen. Not only do they love to cook, but this room is arguably the most beautiful in the house. My dad knocked out the entire back wall and replaced it with wall-to-wall sliding glass doors; a rather California touch in this otherwise East-coast classic. The result is a room bathed in sunlight filtering through the trees, dappling the floors, counters, and cabinets in an ethereal glow. My mom is busy arranging peonies and Queen Anne's lace – both undoubtedly from our backyard – in a big ceramic vase, while my dad scoops ice cream into five dishes. My smile only grows seeing the two of them, my dad's free hand on my mom's hip, both humming in harmony to whatever old Coldplay song is playing on the speakers.

"Leo, how do you feel about dessert before dinner?" are the first words out of my mom's mouth. Instantly I feel Leo's hand relax in mine as he realizes my parents really are as chill as I described them.

"That depends," he says with an easy smile. "Is there chocolate involved?"

"My man!" my dad, our family's resident chocoholic, exclaims, and we all laugh.

"Leo, meet my parents," I say, making the proper introductions that my parents deemed unnecessary. "Parents, this is Leo."

My mom makes her way around the counter, pulling Leo into a warm hug, the sweet smell of peonies lingering around her.

"It is so nice to finally meet you," she says as she locks my boyfriend in her embrace. "Call me Holly."

My dad extends his hand across the counter. "Russell," he says in that way that men introduce themselves with just their first name – no frill. "We've heard a lot about you. Maybe too much," he says, shooting a wink at me as I blush.

"I bet I've heard more about all of you," Leo counters with a smile. "Nell has unlimited stories about you guys."

"Oh good, so she's told you how we normally murder her boyfriends and bury them under the tree in the front yard?" Savannah asks nonchalantly, straight-faced and serious. "Kind of a family bonding ritual."

"Yup, but she promised that you guys would serve me ice cream as my last supper, so I took my chances," Leo fires back without hesitation.

Savannah smiles as my parents laugh. "I like him," she says to me, as if Leo isn't in the room. "He can keep up."

"Speaking of ice cream," my mom says, as she slides three bowls across the counter to us. "Hope you're an adventurous eater," she says semi-apologetically to Leo. "Russell thought vanilla-rosemary ice cream would be a great use of our rosemary bush so...."

Surprisingly, my dad's invention is delicious, especially since it's drowned in a puddle of warm chocolate sauce. As we eat the bowls of melting sweetness, Leo slips easily into my family's banter. Most of the questions are directed towards me and my final exams, with Savannah interjecting some stories about her courses, which finished a few weeks earlier than mine. With each spoonful of ice cream, I notice Leo loosening up more and more. I can see he's relieved that my family is more interested in my mundane report of final exams than in anything having to do with his fame. I, for one, am proud of how my family is treating Leo as just any random guy, especially since my sister is an undoubted fan of his music. Slowly the conversation shifts away from my exams – they're not that interesting to talk about.

"What's for dinner?" I ask as I grab the empty bowls.

"Well, I was thinking that could be up to Leo," my mom responds. "When's the last time you've had a home-cooked meal?" she asks him.

Leo smiles somewhat sadly. "It's been too long."

"What's your favorite home-cooked meal?"

"I eat anything, really," he assures her, not wanting to be a burden.

"A polite boy like you? I believe it. But I'm asking, what's your favorite?"

Leo glances as me sheepishly and I pull a face as to say come on, just tell her. "Probably chicken pot pie," he answers honestly, a blush blooming over his cheeks. Savannah does a little dance in the kitchen and my dad shoots a fist in the air victoriously.

"Lucky for you," my dad says to Leo, "the Greene family specializes in pot pie."

"Don't get his expectations too high," my mom scolds with a smile. "Nell, show Leo around. We'll eat in an hour or two, okay?"

"Woohoo, let's go!" Savannah says with enthusiasm.

My mom shoots her a crippling glare, clearly feeling as though Leo and I should get some alone time. "Savannah, don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"What?" Savannah asks. "No, it's summer break, I'm –" My mom raises an eyebrow. "Oh, right, yeah, I'm totally busy... like, so, so busy," she says – not convincing anyone – and runs upstairs to her room.

My mom shakes her head. "That girl can be so oblivious," she mutters before turning to the two of us. "Alright, shoo, let me get cooking!"

And so, I grab Leo's hand and drag him out of the kitchen, giddy to be alone with him for the first time all day.