Please Stand By

Chapter 1

Cain knocked on the door of his childhood home, his hand shaking and his breath visible from the cold air. A moment passed before he and his girlfriend, Jade, heard a short *click* noise as the door suddenly, the door swung open. A tall man with shortly cropped black hair opened the door, greeting the couple with a warm smile.
"Come in," he said, clearing his voice. "You must be Jade." He said. His voice sounded hoarse.
'He sounds like a chain smoker.' Jade thought, her intrusive thoughts always loved making assumptions.
"Yes sir. It's nice to meet you." Jade said as they shook hands and the couple stepped inside. Jade took note of his firm grasp.
"Jade," Cain said. "This is my dad."
"Hello Mr. Anderson." She said in an all too sweet tone that was very much not like her. He was a fairly tall man. He had dark brown eyes that would intimidate anyone who didn't know him. His skin was the color of dark chocolate. He donned a black t-shirt and a leather jacket as well as blue jeans. He seemed like the type of person who could only be friendly when you've befriended him and have known him as long as his family has.
Suddenly, without warning, a woman showed up from around the corner.
"Close the door, Booker!" She was saying. She had poofy dark brown curly hair that went down to her shoulders. She had on a red blouse and black pants that had unknown stains on them. Her light brown eyes contrasted with that of Mr. Anderson's. She looked so friendly. She reached her arms out to give Cain a hug, then looked over at Jade.
"You must be Jade!" She said. "Cain talks so much about you!"
Jade blushed. "I guess there's no point in introducing myself then." She said with a flustered smile. Jade looked to Cain. He had the look of a man who could have only been embarrassed by his mother.
"Mom..." he said. She nudged him playfully.
"You can call me Trisha, love." Trisha told Jade.
"Noted, thank you." Jade said. She looked around. Along the wall where the stairs were stood multiple family portraits and school photos from throughout the years. Jade walked over to them, looking closer at a photo.
"Who is this?" Jade asked, pointing to one of the photos. It was a girl with straight brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. She seemed shorter than the rest of the family. She had a big grin on her face and a dark blue dress. "That's my little sister, Harmony. She's the youngest." Cain said.
He pointed to a photo of two boys who looked almost identical. The one on the left seemed skinnier. He had curly brown hair, glasses, and braces. He was wearing a vest and dress pants. The boy on the right was not as thin but had more of an athletic build. He had dyed his hair black with a blond streak going through it. He wore a leather jacket on top of a band t-shirt with ripped, cuffed jeans. "These are my older twin brothers. The one on the left is DeShawn and on the right is Trevor."
"So you're the middle child?" Jade asked.
"That's right."
"But Cain loves to act like the oldest." Mr. Anderson said.
"Dad!" Cain exclaimed.
Mr. Anderson burst out laughing.
"Oh please! Jade, you wouldn't believe what your little man got himself into when he was a kid." Jade held back her laughter so as to not embarrass Cain, however, she struggled to hold it in.
"I suppose I wouldn't mind hearing some stories." Jade said, a wide smile on her face.
"Trust me, you don't." Cain said.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Cain answered it this time. At the door was a tall young lady with long brown hair and a green sweater and black jeans. "Harmony!" Everyone was saying. She looked embarrassed to be greeted so enthusiastically. Jade looked at her with envy. She was gorgeous and Jade felt underdressed in her blue blouse and thin black jacket with black leggings. Suddenly, Harmony came over with Cain. "Harmony, this is my girlfriend Jade. Jade, this is my little sister Harmony. The two girls shook hands and exchanged their hello's.
"I know I probably look nothing like those pictures." Harmony said.
"You don't. You definitely look more beautiful in real life." Jade said. Harmony glanced down in embarrassment with a big smile on her face. It was true. She had let her hair grow out and had not straightened it. She had also gotten her braces taken off and had gotten a little bit taller.
"Thank you. And you must tell me where you got this blouse!"
"At a mall in my home town."
"Oh? Are you into going shopping at all?" Harmony asked, a grin slowly forming.
"Only if you don't make me look like a overrated Disney princess." Both girls laughed.
"Can I be that prince?" Cain asked with a silly smirk on his face, leaning against the wall.
"I thought you already were?" Both girls asked. They all laughed. Harmony walked into the kitchen to greet her mother, leaving the couple in the hallway.
"Shopping with Harmony... that should be interesting... and totally unlike you, Jade" Cain said.
"Why's that?" Jade asked.
"She goes all out. She spends a lot and gets really high end things sometimes."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Well... no, but I like how simple you dress. I don't want you to spend a whole lot of money to impress anyone, not even me. "
"At least let me look nice for Thanksgiving."
"You always look nice though."
Jade blushed. She had always been a bit self conscious about herself. She wanted to thoroughly impress Cain yet felt she could never pull something like that off.
They both crossed into the living room. On the right, Mr. Anderson was sitting in a reclining chair, reading a book. The living room had an L-shaped sofa that aligned with one corner of the room and was positioned in front of a big tv mounted on the wall. There was a small stack of cubbies under the tv, each filled with DVD's. On top of the cubbies were a few Jesus statues. One was of him holding his hands out to whoever gazed upon the little statue. Another showed him kneeling before someone. The third showed him holding a cross in the air. Jade had known that Cain was religious, but he rarely expressed it. She glanced out the big window by the tv to find it was snowing. She realized just how underdressed she was for this weather.
Both of them sat down on the couch. Jade tried to sit as proper as possible. Cain plopped down on the couch and slouched back lazily. He wrapped his arm around Jade's waist.
"Lay next to me," He said sweetly, smiling. His voice was gentle and quiet. "Lay on my chest. Snuggle up against me. It's cold."
"I... I want to seem proper. I want to make a good first impression." He sat up and put his face a little closer to hers.
"You don't have to be proper. Once the twins get here, you'll get that it's ok to let your hair down. My family wants you to be at home. Let's act like a couple, okay?" Jade nodded. They both lay back down. Jade nuzzled up against Cain, her head on his chest and one hand where his heart was. His arm was wrapped around her waist. They lay there peacefully for a few minutes, drifting off. Jade began to feel calm as she synchronized her breathing to that of her boyfriends.