You're So Pretty On the Outside

I stared out over the yard behind Lee’s home. He was sitting inside with his parents, talking calmly. I had excused myself as soon as the meal was over needing some time to think. I found myself a spot in the yard under a tree, the canopy of leaves long since diminished in the fall weather.

“Jen?” Lee called from the house.

“Over here,” I replied, raising a hand and motioning him over.

He walked over, plopping down beside me. His sweater was zipped up completely, hands covered by gloves. His arms wrapped around me in a tight hug. I glanced at him, seeing a smile on his face.

“What?” I asked.

“They like you,” he replied, “a lot.”

“Oh,” I replied, blushing. “Seriously?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed.

“Wow,” I smiled a bit, “that’s a way to boost me up, huh?”

He nodded slowly, holding my gaze. He searched my eyes, his worries evident. I looked away, gazing up through the branches at the overcast sky.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, nudging me.

“Nothing,” I lied.

“Not true,” he argued. “Jennifer, come on; you can talk to me.”

“It’s nothing, I swear,” I repeated.

“Please just tell me.”

Sighing, I closed my eyes, my head dropping. I felt my tears well up again. My breath came out shaky as I looked back across the yard. Lee gasped at my expression, hugging me again.

“God, what’s wrong?!” he asked. I shook my head.

“I miss her,” I replied, “I miss my mom and dad. I want to get out of this job and do something with my life, I want to...”

He leaned in closer as I trailed off. “You want to what?”

I looked up at him sadly. “I want to go back home, just for a little while but...”

His expression darkened as he leaned away slightly. “What?”

“But I don’t want to leave you,” I finished, looking up in frustration. “I can’t ask you to come with me because you have your band. I know it’ll kill me to leave and I’ll be thinking of you 24/7 if I go back but...I can’t stay anymore. I need a break. I need my family. I need to know everyone back home is doing alright.”

“Jen, if you want me to come than I will gladly join you,” he cut in. “The guys will understand. This is our break, anyway.”

I looked up. “No, this is your place.”

“And LA is yours,” he retorted.

I know it was ridiculous. He had reason to think LA was my hometown. The moment the words left his lips, through, I burst out laughing. He frowned at me, tilting his head. I had no idea why I was laughing so hard anyway; it wasn’t that funny.

“I’m s-sorry,” I gasped. “I-it’s just I-I’m not from LA.”

“What?” he frowned.

“I’m from Montreal,” I explained after having calmed down a bit. “Another reason you won’t want to come down; you’ll freeze your ass off the moment we land.”

“You’re Canadian?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“Oh,” he mused. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You never asked,” I answered, “and it never crossed my mind.”

“Oh, okay,” he laughed. “Also, just so you know, I’m used to the cold.”

I smiled. “Not like our winters, you’re not.”

“How would you know?”

“Because this weather is nothing compared to Canada’s,” I replied motioning to the overcast sky threatening to come rushing down.

“Okay, still,” he sighed. “I’d gladly come. Like I said, it’s our break. We don’t start touring for another few months and I wouldn’t mind meeting them.”

I looked up. “You’re willing to meet my parents?”

“Well,” he said uncertainly, “yeah I mean; we’ve together for almost a year now, no?”

“8 months,” I replied.

“Close enough,” he rolled his eyes, “and anyway, you’ve met mine so I think it’s fair to say it’s about time I met yours, right?”

I smiled. “You’re the first guy who hasn’t flipped out over meeting my mom and dad. You sure you want to get yourself into this?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“Positive?” I asked, leaning in closer. He nodded firmly.

“Alright then,” I smiled, “I wish you good luck.”

“Why?”

“My dad’s a military official,” I replied with a teasing smile. “Stay on his good side.”

I kissed him gently, getting up. “It’s kind of late,” I remarked. “Can we head out?”

He stared at me in shock, eventually nodding blankly. Grinning, I reached down and grabbed his hands, pulling him to his feet. I pressed our lips together once more before leading him into the house. His mother gave us leftovers to bring home. I thanked her, kissing her on the cheek and Lee’s father as well. Lee had recovered from my little bit of information enough to say goodbye to them as well.

We left the house, climbing into the car. I closed the door, glaring at the dashboard as I tied myself in. Lee got in next to me, waving to his parents.

“Love you, mum,” he called, responding to her words of affection. I waved to them, smiling.

“I still hate this thing,” I grumbled as he pulled out.

“After 8 months of using them,” he smiled.

“Shut up, their horrible,” I reminded.

“Hm,” he hummed, falling silent.

We got to the apartment complex and headed for ours. I let us in heading straight to the kitchen to drop off the food then to our room. I sighed as I fell to the bed, smiling.

“Tired?” Lee asked as he joined me.

“Mhmm,” I replied, rolling over and curling into him.

When he didn’t reply I peaked up. He had a preoccupied look on his face as he stared up at the ceiling. I touched his forearm, pushing myself up.

“I was only joking,” I replied, brushing his hair from his eyes.

“He’s not a military official?”

“Oh no, he is,” I replied. “He isn’t that bad though. Don’t worry about it. You’ll get along fine.”

“Promise?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die.”