Alice's Umbrella

Chapter 12: Surprise Dinner

Alice was surprised to find Mr. Matthews' car outside her house when she got off of work Wednesday night. She wasn't sure what to expect when she walked inside-could her mother be sleeping with Elliott's dad already? No way, that was too soon; as far as she knew, they hadn't seen each other since the recital because they were so busy.

Still, she walked in cautiously, just in case they were doing it on the couch or something. When she heard laughter in the kitchen, she relaxed and headed in that direction. She found her mother and Mr. Matthews sitting at the kitchen island, talking. This was certainly an interesting development. They looked up when they heard her enter.

"Oh, hey, button," her mother greeted with a smile. Mr. Matthews smiled at her, as well.

"Hey," Alice returned, fluctuating between suspicion and excitement that he was there in their house. This was a step forward, she was sure, but she was wary that it was happening without either her or Elliott's involvement. "Did I miss a dinner thing?" She asked skeptically.

"No, not all, though I did bring some food," Mr. Matthews replied, gesturing to some containers. "You are welcome to have some. I brought it for everybody. I just remembered what your mother said about not having many home-cooked meals, and you know I always make too much. So I brought some leftovers."

"Oh. Cool," Alice said with a shrug, and she moved closer to hover over the leftovers, scooping up a roll. She tore off a piece with her teeth. "Thanks, Mr. M."

"Make yourself a plate, honey," Ms. Young said.

"I just need to go change. I'll be back," Alice deferred, shoving the rest of the roll into her mouth, then she bounded back into the living room and up the stairs, eager to call Elliott. In her room, she closed her door and shrugged off her backpack, digging through the pocket for her phone. When she found it, she unlocked the screen and called him. He answered I the second ring.

"Yo," he said, and she smiled at the sound of his voice.

"Guess who's at my house right now."

"Umm-Jon Stewart?"

She wrinkled her nose. "No, and what a random guess."

"I took a shot. I'm watching 'The Daily Show' at the moment-it was the first name that came to mind. Why don't you just narrow it down for me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Your dad, idiot."

"Oh-ohhhhhh," he said, understanding dawning on him. He chuckled. "I was wondering where he got off to after dinner. He didn't mention it!"

"Yeah, they were getting kind of cozy in the kitchen when I got home from work," she replied, flopping down on her bed. "He brought some food over for her."

"Well, that's how you know he likes her," Elliott said.

"Mmhmm," Alice hummed, twirling the end of her braid around her finger. "So, what are you up to?"

"Oh, I'm just getting ready to see a movie."

She frowned at that. "A movie. Wait, why didn't you invite me?"

He chuckled. "Ah, it wasn't my plan. I'm going with Danielle and some of her friends."

Alice scowled immediately. "Danielle," she repeated flatly, not sure why just her name was enough to agitate her at this point. "Is this a date?"

"No, one doesn't usually go on dates with multiple people at a time," he said calmly. It made her madder. "Hey, I would have invited you, but the last couple of times I've tried to invite you something with Danielle, you turn me down. I figured you'd just say no again."

Her scowl lessened, and she chewed on her bottom lip. "I wanna see a movie," she said stubbornly. He laughed.

"Okay, then come. I don't think it's a big deal. We haven't bought tickets yet or anything, so we've got to head out now. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"Yeah," she agreed, propelling herself into a sitting position.

"I'll be over shortly then. Say hey to my dad for me."

"Okay, bye," she said, quickly hanging up and shoving her phone into her back pocket. She fished some money out of her backpack and stuffed that into her other pocket, then she checked her reflection in her dresser mirror, attempting to smooth down her flyaways. She briefly considered putting on mascara or something, then scoffed at the idea. Who was she trying to impress? Checking her reflection one more time, she threw her door open to head back downstairs m.

She still needed to eat dinner really quickly.