In This Wondrous Place

I rustled through the medicine cabinet in my bathroom to gather everything that I needed. I grabbed a clean rag and some pain medicine and then strode back down the stairs to the kitchen. Chris was leaned over the sink with his index finger and thumb pinching at the bridge of his nose to stop the bleeding. It seemed to work a little bit, but I handed him the rag anyway and offered the pills.

“It’s just a nose bleed.” He laughed, using the rag to wipe away additional blood, “but thank you.”

“Let me look at it.” I turned his face towards me and eyed the area where I hit him. It was already bruising slightly, but otherwise it looked alright.

I grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and tossed it on to the counter next to Chris. He picked it up and gave me a grateful look before placing it on his face, just to the left of his nose.

My family was scattered around the house, still awkwardly quiet after the whole ordeal at the beach. I saw Lucas waving his hand at me from the porch, gesturing for me to come outside with him.

“I’ll be right back.”

I stepped onto the wooden planks outside and closed the back door behind me. We both walked and sat down on the porch swing, by the farthest window. It’s been a while since I’ve been on the swing, the last time being when my father won his first major sailing competition a few years ago.

“What’s up?” I wrapped my arms around my knees, pulling them lightly into my chest.

“I know we haven’t talked much since….well, since your father.” Lucas hesitated as he spoke the last few words.

“I meant to call, I just—“

“No, no, Em, I completely understand,” He cut me off with reassurance, “I meant to say that – God why is this so hard…”

I gave him a look of confusion.

“What’s so hard? Is everything okay?”

He struggled to come up with the words he so desperately searched for. I could see the cogs turning over in his head and after a moment he sighed.

“Emery, you need to talk about it. To someone, if not me.”

I looked down, realizing what he was trying to say. I can’t go there, not yet.

“Luke, I….I can’t talk about it.”

The sun was beginning to set and what had begun as such wonderful day was becoming one of pain and sadness. This isn’t what I wanted my week with everyone to be.

Lucas placed an arm around my shoulders and drew me to him. We sat there wordlessly, with my head resting on him and his fingers rubbing soothingly at my skin. He understood my apprehension and pressed me no further.

“I’m here when you’re ready, Em.”

Grace popped her head out after several minutes, asking if we wanted to do a movie night. I had a stack of classic films and a spattering of modern flicks at the ready next to my television. Most of them were from Alfred Hitchcock and Quentin Tarantino, since those were my favorite directors, so I secretly hoped everyone didn’t complain about the lack of diversity.

“Could we invite some of hot stuff’s handsome friends?” Grace pointedly looked towards Chris, who was still nursing his bruised, bleeding nose.

“What are mom and James doing?”

“They said they’re meeting up with some old friends in town. So….can we?!”

I rolled my eyes and nodded, saying that I would extend the offer to Chris and his friends. I removed Lucas’ arm from my shoulder, much to his dismay, and walked inside.

“Hey,” I approached Chris, “I know you had plans for the cantina tonight, but I think we’re going to do a relaxed movie night here. Is that something you and your friends are interested in?”

“I’ll call them and see, but I’m sure it’s something they’d be interested. Especially with three pretty ladies such as yourselves in attendance.” He glanced over at Grace and Isabelle in time to see them swoon over his words.

“One of these ‘pretty ladies’ is married, bub.” Mason crossed his arms and put up a tough-guy façade.

Chris threw up his free hand in surrender and the two of them broke into laughter. I was glad to see that the mood had lightened up a bit.

Chris removed the bloodied rag from his face and dabbed at his nose. The bleeding had stopped completely and the ice had diminished most of the bruising. I took the rag from him and tossed it into the laundry bin and placed the ice pack back in the freezer.

“I’m going to step outside to call the guys. I’ll just be a minute.” He pulled his phone out of the pocket of his board shorts and pressed it to his ear as he exited through the front door.

“How much do we actually know about that guy?” I hadn’t realized that Lucas had walked up behind me until he spoke.

“He’s been pretty nice so far. Plus, we have a tough guy to protect us if things go awry.” I poked at my brother’s abdomen as I walked by him. Mason swatted me away before holding out a hand to his wife on the couch.

“We are going to bed early, as a matter of fact. This one needs her beauty sleep.” Mason helped his wife off the sofa and kissed her on the mouth.

“You’re the one that needs beauty sleep, dear.” Isabelle teased, tapping my brother on his nose with a finger.

After Mason and Isabelle went upstairs to their room, Grace and I worked on making popcorn and drinks for everyone. Lucas was in charge of actually picking the film, but his uncertainty made him call out a title every few seconds to see what we thought. Grace and I would thumbs up or down the movie based on how we were feeling for the evening.

Chris walked in and confirmed that a few members of his group would be joining us, including a select few that we might recognize, although he wouldn’t disclose who they were. I hoped for Grace’s sake that it was an actor that she absolutely adored, so that we could make fun of her for drooling the entire night.

“I give up!” Lucas threw up his hands in exasperation, “You two pick the damn movie!”

“With pleasure.” Grace shoved a bowl of popcorn into his hands and pushed him off to the side so that she could view the movie selection.

“Let’s see here…” She scanned the stack of films diligently, “Dawn of the Dead, anyone?”

My eyes lit up and I nodded vigorously. Classic horror films are my absolute weakness and it was just the thing to distract me.

I finished popping the last bag of popcorn and shook it out into a large plastic bowl. The strong smell of the food had filled up the house and it made me feel right at home. From the kitchen, I took a glimpse at the living room in front of me. Grace and Lucas were sprawled out on the floor listening to some casual music in the meantime. Chris, however, decided to join me in the kitchen.

“Do you need any help?” He propped up his elbow on the counter and nonchalantly leaned his head on his hand.

“No, I think I have everything….” I double checked that all the snacks had been laid out, “yep, we are good to go.”

He nodded and reached over to pick at the popcorn. Without skipping a beat, he tossed a piece up into the air and caught it in his mouth with ease. A wicked thought crossed my mind.

“Ten bucks says you can’t catch it from across the kitchen.”

Chris grinned widely and stretched his arms upwards with a bit of a dramatic flair. He was purposefully flexing his muscles before me. Not that I minded, of course.

“I hope you aren’t too attached to those ten bucks.”

I picked out a nicely sized piece of popcorn and positioned myself at the opposite end of the kitchen. He did the same and readied himself.

“You look pretty happy for someone about to lose their money.” Chris teased and winked at me before putting on a convincing poker face.

I took a second to aim. I didn’t want to toss it like an amateur, but I also didn’t want to make it too easy on him. I decided on my angle before carefully flinging it across the room, directly towards his mouth.

He opened wide and caught it gracefully, chewing the piece with a smug look on his face. I rolled my eyes and grabbed for my wallet, but his hand stopped me in my tracks. Our fingers connected for a moment and I pulled back in surprise.

“Instead of giving me money, why don’t you let me take you to dinner?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but a knock on the door distracted me from speaking. I pressed my lips together into a fine line and stepped over to the door. I opened it up and began to offer a polite greeting before I realized who it was that stood in front of me.

“Oh, Grace is going to pass out.”