Chet Watakeekul

I sat in the passenger seat of Vincent's car. We drove along a windy street that must have been beautiful when the leaves were still changing. As it was now, most of the leaves had fallen to the ground. There were green pine trees too. They would provide some permanent color in the winter. I loved the smell of pine trees.

"That's Alex's house," Vincent said as he pointed up ahead to a large, modern looking mansion that was mostly windows. The yard was perfectly landscaped. It was quiet and beautiful.

"I didn't realize he lived so close to you," I said.

"This is Trevon's house," he said as we continued up along the windy road. Trevon's house was even bigger and more traditional looking. There was a little stream that ran through his yard.

We continued along the road and went higher in elevation. We passed a few more mansions that all looked picture perfect. The last house on the road was the biggest yet. He pulled into the six car garage and pulled into the last space. There was only one other car in the garage. A red convertible.

"Whose car is that?" I asked.

"My grandma's," he said. "She should be the only one here until late tonight. She said she turned off the security cameras so my dad and mom won't be able to find out that we came here. Unless Priscilla or Theresa were to tell on us, but I'm confident they won't."

"Why are you so confident?"

"They are a couple themselves. They've been together over 20 years. They'll support me."

I put my hand on the door handle, but didn't open it yet. Vincent took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as his hands gripped his steering wheel.

"Are you always like this when you come home?" I asked.

"I'm usually worse," he said. He smiled at me. "I'm okay. Let's go." He opened the door so I followed him. We exited his garage and walked on the sidewalk beside the circular driveway. His house was beautiful. The biggest house I had ever seen live. The sun was beginning to set and it cast a beautiful reddish tint to his house and perfect yard. The fresh smell of the pines and other vegetation hit my senses. It was peaceful.

He took my hand as we walked up the wide steps side by side. There was a slight strain in his jaw and his hand grabbed mine tightly, desperately. He was nervous even though we were only meeting his grandma.

As soon as we stepped inside and shut the door, an old woman with beautiful white hair and a yellow dress came out to greet us. She completely ignored Vincent as she wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tightly surprisingly strong for someone who looked so frail.

"I'm so glad you are here," she said to me. And she kissed me on the cheek. I hadn't expected to feel so welcomed. I loved her.

"What about me grandma?" Vincent asked.

She released me to hug Vincent. "Of course I'm glad you are here too," she said.

Two women peeked out at us from the dining room. They smiled kindly at me and then retreated hand in hand.

"Come on," Grandma Kinsington said. She squeezed her way in between me and Vincent and took each of our hands in hers. "We're eating out back tonight."

The exterior of Vincent's house was huge and the inside seemed even more so. Everything was perfect. The decor was exactly what the house needed. There was a large, sparkly chandelier hovering over the grand staircase. I was afraid I would accidentally bump into one of these fancy looking vases that probably cost a fortune. Each painting on the wall was hand painted and framed in beautiful wooden frames.

Grandma led us through the hall to a sliding glass door. Vincent opened it and Grandma Kinsington stepped through first. The backyard was as beautifully landscaped as the front. And there was a perfect view of the city below us. Lights dotted below us as the sun set and the sky grew darker. There were lights turned on in the backyard. A beautiful wind chime blew in the gentle breeze. Its little bells rang musically in the night.

There was a round, wooden table surrounded with four chairs. Food was already on the table. Sliders, coleslaw, potatoes and strawberry lemonade.

"They made my favorite again," Vincent said with a slight smile on his face.

"I told them to," Grandma Kinsington said. "Who knows how much longer we'll be able to eat them together."

"What do you mean?" Vincent asked with a serious face.

"I mean, I'm not going to live forever," she said.

Vincent smiled. "Grandma, you'll probably outlive all of us." She smiled and patted his arm.

"Sliders is your favorite?" I asked Vincent.

"Were you expecting something fancier?" he asked.

I shrugged and smiled. "I just think it's cute is all."

"You are so adorable," Grandma Kinsington said to me. She wrapped her arms around mine and pulled me close to her. "You can sit next to me," she said.

"But, grandma..."

"No buts. You can either sit next to me which means he is across from you or you can sit on the other side of him."

Grandma Kinsington sat in the chair that would give her the best view of the city. She pulled me into the chair next to her. Vincent stood there a moment, unsure of what to do. I gave a slight motion he should sit on the other side of his grandma. He complied.

"I'm so glad Vinny finally brought someone home," Grandma Kinsington said as we began to eat.

I tried the sliders first and I understood why Vincent loved them. They were delicious.

"A large part of me feels at peace knowing both you," Grandma Kinsington said to Vincent, "and Aiden have those who love you. I'm so happy I got to meet Jasmine and you," she said to me.

"I'm happy I got to meet you too," I said to her. "I can tell by the way Vincent speaks of you that you are very special to him."

She smiled at me. "He is special to me too," she said. I didn't understand how her son could be so different from her. She had accepted Vincent so fully knowing he wasn't biologically a Kinsington.

"Do you think you can learn how to make these?" I held up the slider in my hand as I addressed Vincent. He took a napkin and wiped the sauce from the corner of his grandma's mouth. His attractiveness shot up 1000%.

"You like these that much?" he asked me.

"Yes," I said. "Very much."

"Then I'll learn how to make them."

"Look at you two," Grandma Kinsington said. "You're so adorable." She patted both our cheeks before going back to her food.

She asked me about school and soccer and my family. She had many great praises of my dad. I knew why my dad and Vincent loved her so much. I only just met her and I already loved her.

When dinner was through, the two women I had seen earlier cleared the table and brought out slices of cheesecake with cherries on top. Vincent introduced them to me as Priscilla and Theresa, but I had already guessed that was who they were. They both paused around me and then together they threw their arms around me in a hug.

"I'm so happy Vincent brought you here," Priscilla said.

"I'm happy he found someone to love," Theresa said. And then just as quickly, they pulled away and retreated back into the house.

Grandma Kinsington picked up her little fork. I noticed she had goosebumps on her exposed forearms.

"Are you cold?" I asked her. It was a little chilly in the night, autumn air.

"A little," she said.

Vincent stood up. "I'll get you a blanket," he said. He went inside.

I began to rub her arm in an effort to keep her warm. Her skin was chill to the touch. She smiled at me. "You are the sweetest," she said.

"Am I?"

She nodded. Her arm was beginning to get a little warmer as I kept up my efforts. "How long do you intend to look after my Vinny?" she asked.

"Forever," I said.

"I will hold you to that," she said. "When I'm not around to protect him anymore, you must do it."

"Always," I said as I continued to rub her arms.

"Then I can breathe easy knowing he is taken care of."

Vincent came out with a white, quilted blanket, but paused when he saw me rubbing his grandma's arms. He smiled and mouthed, "I love you."

I couldn't help the large smile that came to my lips with that. He wrapped the blanket around Grandma Kinsington's shoulders. Now that she looked warmer, I could enjoy the cheesecake. And it was delicious like everything else had been. My dad was a great cook, but I couldn't imagine living every day eating food like this.

After dessert, we went inside. "Why don't you show him your room before you go?" Grandma Kinsington said. "I'm sure he's curious."

"I am a little," I said.

"Okay," he said.

Grandma Kinsington walked slowly into the living room. Her back was slightly hunched where it hadn't been earlier and I hadn't noticed it because it had been dark outside, but her skin tone was paler than it had been. She wrapped the blanket tighter around her shoulders as she sat down on the couch. Priscilla brought her a mug of something that was steaming. She immediately took a sip of it.

"You coming?" Vincent asked me from the stairs.

I followed him up the stairs and down a long hallway. He opened the last door. "This is my room," he said.

I didn't really have much expectation, but this didn't fit anything I was expecting. There was nothing personal on the walls or the dressers or shelves. Nothing that would say this was Vincent's room and not a guest room.

"This doesn't really feel like you," I said.

"My mom decorated it," he said. "I wasn't allowed to change anything really." He closed the door behind us, but didn't walk away from it. I could see the strain in his face.

"You don't like your room?"

He shrugged. "It never felt like mine. It always felt like I was just borrowing it until I turned 18." His fingers began to tremble slightly.

I reached out and took his hands in mine. "You don't have any good memories here?"

"Not really," he said. "Whenever Alex or Trevon came to play, we'd mostly stay in the backyard or the family room. This is where I would hide when I had my panic attacks. I don't like it in here. It feels confining. Like I'm trapped."

"Then let's go home," I said.

Relief flooded his face and he nodded. He led me back down the stairs as we walked hand in hand.

"We're going to leave now," he said to his grandma.

She got up slowly from the couch. She placed the steaming mug down on a coaster on the coffee table. The blanket fell down onto the couch. Her back was still slightly slouched and the color hadn't returned to her cheeks.

"Thank you for bringing your boyfriend," Grandma Kinsington said as she hugged Vincent. "Bring him again sometime when you can and when no one is home."

"I will," he told her.

She hugged me, but it wasn't as tight as the greeting she had given me earlier. "I'm glad I met you," she said. "Take care of him."

"I will," I said.

We didn't say anything else until we were driving back down the winding streets.

"I hope you had fun tonight and my bedroom thing didn't ruin it for you," Vincent said.

"Of course it didn't," I said. "I love your grandma." I paused before I said, "How is her health?"

"She's fine," he said. "She likes to pretend she's weak when guests come around."

I nodded, but I didn't think the hunched back and pale skin were pretend. It could have just been the fact that she had been sitting out in the cold so I didn't bring it up again.