Art Is Dead

"He exists!"

I grimaced. I had gone to pick Bo up from the airport, and before we had even made it inside the house I could hear Kyler yelling from somewhere behind the windows. I hurried up the stairs and opened the front door for Bo, who was struggling to carry his suitcase from the car. He flashed me a smile, as if he were trying to tell me that everything would be okay. I turned away and tried not to let him see the expression on my face. As soon as Bo was inside, I hurried after him and pulled the door closed.

"Hi," Kyler appeared in front of us, holding out his hand in offering. "It's nice to meet you."

Bo managed to set down his suitcase as gently as possible, then gripped my brother's hand in greeting. "Hey, I'm Bo."

"This is my brother Kyler," I introduced. "And Kyler, this is Bo. My completely non-fictional and totally tangible boyfriend. Are you happy now?"

Kyler's cheeks flushed cherry red. "Really, Nat? You couldn't wait ten minutes to be a jerk?"

"I've waited long enough," I replied, kicking off my shoes. "At least I let you introduce yourself. All things considered, I was being generous."

While Bo untied his sneakers, I wandered into the living room. Marcus was sitting on the sofa next to Dad, and Mom was sitting in her rocking chair. She had a ball of yarn in her lap and a pair of knitting needles working furiously between her hands. Jessie had gone back to her mother's house for New Years, so it was just going to be the six of us. I was kind of sad that Bo wouldn't get to meet Jessie on this visit, but at least he got to meet everyone else.

"Hey guys," I said, making everyone look up and acknowledge my presence. "Bo is here. Remember what we talked about; be nice, smoke outside, and the first person to make a stupid comment that makes him feel awkward is getting a wedgie. Any questions?"

"Are you drunk already?" Marcus asked, smirking at me gleefully. "Because you kind of sound drunk. And you were driving, so you're kind of making me nervous."

"Pipe down," I snapped.

"Nathalie, calm down," Mom rolled her eyes at me, then continued knitting. She didn't even raise her head when Bo and Kyler entered the room.

"You gave us a rundown of the rules, and you left your boyfriend with Kyler?" Marcus said, sounding purely interested. I knew that inside he was absolutely loving this.

I shot Kyler a look over my shoulder, and he shrugged innocently. I let out a breath slowly, then decided to brush it off. "Okay, everyone, this is Bo. Bo, this is my mom, my dad, and my brother Marcus. They birthed me and raised me and stuff, so I keep them around."

Bo shook everyone's hands politely. Dad was watching him closely, his eyes swiftly tracing Bo's movements from behind his glasses. I couldn't decipher the look on his face, and that thought scared me. My dad was incredibly over protective of me. I knew that he had wanted nothing more than to choke the life out of Trevor when he'd cheated on me, and my pain had been hard for Dad to handle. He was going to make damn sure that Bo wasn't going to do the same before he let him be accepted by everyone else.

I sat down on the loveseat and motioned for Bo to join me. He sat on the other end, leaving a clear and visible gap between the two of us. I sighed and picked up another set of knitting needles. I began looping the yarn over one of them, casting on for a new scarf. Mom had bought me several new shades of yarn for Christmas.

"You knit?" Bo asked incredulously.

"I taught her to knit when she was ten," Mom smiled faintly at the thought. "I figured it would keep her out of trouble. Now it's just something that we do together whenever she comes home."

"Do you think it's weird that I knit?" I cast a glance over at him. He was watching my movements with quiet consideration.

"Not at all. I think it's kind of cute. I don't know any other girls our age who can do that. Can you make me something?"

I held up my started project. "What do you think this is? You always complain about the cold, so I'm going to help you beat it."

Bo smiled sweetly at me. "You are the greatest person that I've ever known. By far."

I snorted. "I feel like you will regret that statement in the future."

"She is telling you the truth," Kyler warned, letting out a cackle. "Nat is so far from great that it's not even funny."

"She yells," Marcus added, nodding feverishly. "And she hits."

"I only hit you guys," I retorted, switching my needles around and beginning to stitch another row. "And that's because you totally deserve it."

Mom held up her knitting in front of Marcus. "These socks will be big enough, won't they? You kind of have small feet."

"Small feet, small hands, you know what that means," Kyler laughed.

"Stop it," Mom scolded. "I thought that we were going to have a nice evening together. We were supposed to be a normal family for one day for your sister. Is that really too much to ask?"

I leaned over and murmured softly to Bo. "At least no one is dwelling on your celebrity status. This is literally the best I could have hoped for."

"Actually, I'm loving this. I understand so much more about you by observing your family."

"Don't tell other people what happens in this house. I love having the air of mystery around this."

"So, Bo," Dad spoke his name with a hint of distaste, as if the nickname was too childish for someone of Bo's age. "Nathalie tells me that you're a comedian."

"Yes," Bo said respectfully. "I have a couple of CDs out and a DVD."

"Dad, I already told you that Bo was the youngest person to get a Comedy Central special. He's really quite accomplished, especially for only being twenty-one."

"I wasn't asking you," Dad had a hint of irritation in his voice, but I knew that he wasn't actually mad. "Let the boy speak for himself."

"Let the record show that I did not willingly throw Bo to the wolves," I said loudly. "Whatever happens from this point forward is not my fault."

"Noted," Mom said, still focused on her knitting.

I looked back down at the scarf I was working on. I heard the conversation around me turn to the usual interrogation that every father perfects before their daughter can even walk. My brothers were more than happy to join in. I was pleased to see that Bo was holding his own. He wasn't the type to fold under pressure. He answered every question promptly and always kept his respectful tone. Dad seemed to be rather impressed by the time dinner was ready and Mom made him stop. He got to his feet and shook Bo's hand again, almost as if he were congratulating him.

"I can't find anything wrong with you. Yet."

"Thank you, sir," Bo smiled. I patted him on the shoulder affectionately.

"You passed," I whispered.

He looked relieved. He blew his hair off of his forehead. "And you were worried."

"I wasn't worried about you passing their test," I corrected. "I was worried about your sanity. We'll go back to the city the day after tomorrow and it'll be okay."

"I don't know why you're in such a hurry to get out of here. I'm starting to feel right at home."

"Don't get too comfortable."

"Give me one good reason not to."

I smiled. His family hadn't acted half this insane, and he was still fully prepared to stay with me. The panic that I'd felt when I had met Elise seemed stupid now. There was no reason for me to be worried or insecure about what we had. Maybe we hadn't been together for long, and maybe things were never going to be as easy as I wanted them to be, but I would be stupid to give this up. Bo was everything that I had ever wanted in a guy, and in all honesty he seemed to good to be true. I wasn't about to push away the most perfect guy that I had ever met.

Bo sat down next to me at the table and squeezed my hand beneath the cover of the tablecloth. My stupid grin widened, and I saw my mother wink at me out of the corner of my eye. Even my brothers didn't look pissed off. Bo had impressed everyone that day, including myself.

"I think he's a keeper," Mom whispered in a hushed tone. She didn't intend for anyone to hear her, but everyone had done just that.

I nodded happily. "I think so, too."