Starting Over

As I finished the weak and breathless statement of my name I slowly extend my arm to shake his hand. A shocked expression covers his face but is quickly replaced by his shy smile as he brings his hand towards mine. I became too aware of my senses once his hand met mine, slowly bringing our joined hands up then back down. He pulled away quickly and for the first time since our eyes met looked away to glance at my hands.

“Why are your hands so cold? It’s the middle of summer.” Oliver asked almost scared.

I quickly shoved my hands into the pockets of my shorts and shrugged.

“I hope I’m not being too forward but would you and your family like to have dinner with ours?” Carol asked before Oliver got the chance to speak again, thankfully.

“Thank you that would be great actually. What time should we be over?”

At this I had a panic attack on the inside. I was going to have to spend my first evening in this beautiful city sitting in a stranger’s house; not just any stranger, a cute stranger.

“How does six work for you? My husband doesn’t get home from work until five-thirty.”

“Sounds good, it was nice meeting you Carol and Oliver” my mother said with a wave as the pair walked back to their house.

I spun around on my heels to face the front door of my home again, this time preparing to walk inside for the first time. Has my mom pulled the key out of her pocket and walked closer to the door I grew excited to finally see the inside. My mom opened the door and quickly ran inside to see the house before me; I ran just as fast inside and was at a loss for words. The house was the most beautiful one we have yet to live in. The entire house had dark-stained hardwood floors with base and crown molding in all the rooms. Every room aside from the kitchen and bathrooms had the original décor; i.e. doorknobs, sconces, window frames.

“Mom, this is amazing.” I yelled as I ran up to hug her.

“I know; I can’t wait to make it home.” She said hugging me back tightly.

We pulled apart and started running around the house looking at all of the architecture of our 1829 home. I started up the spiral staircase, almost falling twice, and began searching for my room. After opening a couple doors that led to a bathroom, the master bedroom, and a closet I finally found the room I would be claiming. I slowly walked in and let out a light gasp at the beauty of the room.
I ran back down the stairs to see the moving truck stopping in front of our house. My little family didn’t have much stuff so unpacking never took more than a day or two. As the boxes were being moved from the truck to their designated rooms of the house I chose to stay out of the way and sit outside on my front lawn. A few hours passed before the truck began driving away and I walked back inside to help my mom unpack our belongings.

“Let’s get this over with.” I mumbled before opening a box.

~~~

It was nearing five-thirty when we finished the first floor of the house which meant I had half an hour to get ready for dinner with our neighbors. I grabbed my phone checking it for messages, noticing a message from Shae and ran upstairs to quickly get ready. I changed from my shorts and a basic black tank top to a pair of denim cut-offs and my favorite sweater. I didn’t do much to my naturally straight hair other than run a brush through it; my black hair always made my porcelain skin stand out. I applied a thin layer of eyeliner to my large grey eyes and dabbed on a light layer of peach colored lipstick before fixing my septum piercing and walking out of my room. As I walked down the staircase I opened the message and smiled at what it said:

Hey Spence! I miss you so much! Mom is doing fine, I guess. The house is so beautiful; I can’t wait to move in next week! Call me tonight! I love you. xxx.

When I got downstairs my mom had gotten ready and had a plate of cookies ready to go. I didn’t bother questioning the cookies because it was typical for my mom to bring something when going to someone’s home for a meal. She always said it was the proper thing to do. We gave each other an approving smile for our clothes. We walked to the door and I put on my Dr. Maten boots while my mom put on her ballet flats and started the walk across the street.

I was nervous to say the least, I’ve never done well with meeting new people but now I have to eat dinner with new people and I don’t know if I’m ready for this. When we reached the front door my mom knocked twice and we waited in silence for the door to open. After about one awkward minute the door slowly opened to reveal someone I hadn’t met. I assumed he was Carol’s husband because of his age. He smiled widely at the sight of us and held out his hand to shake ours.

“You must be Elizabeth and Spencer; I’m Ian, Carol’s husband.”

He shook our hands and opened the door wider to let us in. My mom walked in first and I followed close behind her. Ian took the plate of cookies from my mother and began walking towards the kitchen, signaling for us to follow him. As we walked closer to the kitchen a delicious smell filled my nose and I became hungrier than I was before.

“Oh, hello Elizabeth and Spencer, welcome to our home!” Carol said setting a spoon down and walking toward us with open arms. She hugged my mother and then hugged me, “You both look lovely.”

“Thank you, Caro; so do you.” My mother replied with a smile.

“Boys come down, our guests are here.” Carol yelled to the staircase that went from the kitchen to the second level.

Boys? There was more than one? I don’t think I can handle more than one attractive boy during this meal. As tried to force the thoughts of how tragic this evening could go from my head Oliver came down the stairs followed by a younger looking boy.

“Spencer you’ve met Oliver, but this is my younger son, Tom.” Carol said gesturing to the younger boy, Tom.

He held out his hand to shake mine with a large smile on his face. He seemed to be less shy than his older brother but equally attractive. I shook his hand and returned the smile.

“Hello Oliver.” I said taking my eyes off Tom to face his brother.

He smiled and locked eyes with mine yet again, “Hello Spencer.”

“Darling, would you mind helping my boys set the table. Dinner is almost done.” Carol asked me.
“Not at all” I said never breaking eye contact with Oliver.

Tom walked to a cabinet and took out six plates then walked into the dining room. Oliver and I followed quickly to help set the table. We didn’t talk much while we did so, just questions like “could you hand me that napkin” or “does the fork go on the left or the right.” There was only one last plate to be placed and I had leaned forward to grab it at the same time as Oliver did so. His fingers brushed against mine and he pulled away quickly.

“Your hands are still cold.” He said quietly.

“Sorry.” I mumbled before hurrying back to the kitchen to help bring the food to the table.

Carol, my mom, and I held pots in our hands as we walked into the dining room and placed them on the table.

“Food!” Carol called for Ian.

Ian came bounding into the room and took his seat at the end of the table across from Carol. Tom had taken the seat next to mom forcing me to sit next to Oliver.

“Dig in” Carol exclaimed grabbing a spoon to put food on her plate.

We didn’t talk much during the meal; they asked basic questions like where we moved form, where we have lived, etc. That was until Ian asked about our family.

“So is it just you two or is there a mister in the picture?”

I didn’t like talking about my father much. It hurt to know he could just leave my mother and me. I slowly looked down at my lap, covering my face with my bangs, not wanting to see the sympathetic looks.

“Well, there is no mister in the picture, he left when he found out I was pregnant with Spencer. There is a third, though. I’ve recently adopted Spencer’s best friend, she is spending the rest of the month with her mother.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, if there is ever anything you need come by, you’re always welcome.” Ian said sounding sympathetic.

“Thank-you but we’ve been fine without him. He wasn’t going to be good for us anyway.”

I took a deep breath, still covering my face when I felt a hand grab mine. I froze for a second before looking at my hand seeing Oliver’s holding it. I slowly brought my eyes to meet his, both of us looking like a dear in headlights. He flashed his shy smile before speaking quietly so no one else could hear.

“I’m sorry, Spencer.” And he gave my hand a light squeeze before turning his attention back to the conversation, still holding my cold hand.