Freeing Katie

Ch. 6 Dinner

KATIE POV

We walk into the kitchen, and I can’t stop smiling.  Watching his face freeze then seeing him second guess himself was priceless.  To be honest, I was kind of shocked hearing him call us friends, but I guess, in a way, we are.  And his apology was really sweet, so guess only time will tell if he’s serious about his pinky promise or not. 

My mom and his dad come back in from the backyard laughing, and I take a seat on top of the kitchen counter as Chase makes himself a drink.

“Everything good, kids?” my mom asks, mainly looking at me.  I just nod. 

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry, Ms. Roberts.  That wasn’t my best moment, and definitely not how I wanted you to see me.  It won’t happen again,” Chase states to my mom.  I look at his dad, who’s looking at his son with pride.  I can tell he loves Chase a lot.  He also gets bonus points for not beating his kid and making him work in the yard while drunk instead.  I found that hilarious.

“Thank you, Chase.  And now that’s water under the bridge.  Your dad tells me he’s switching jobs and will home more.  I bet you’re excited about that.”  My mom’s not one to hold grudges about little things, and Chase’s tense shoulders seem to relax.

“Yes ma’am.  He deserves the break from traveling,” he beams. 

I help mom cut up vegetables for kabobs as we entertain our guests.  Mom calls for Jason, but he’s probably on his game.  I call for him a minute later, and still no response.  Finally, I huff and clean my hands to go get him.

“Sounds like a job for a man,” Chase says with a cheeky grin, getting up to head to the stairs.  I just raise a brow as our parents chuckle.

“First door on the right, Chase,” mom navigates.

Five minutes later, they are still not down.  Mom and Daniel are tending to the grill, so I head on up to collect them.  I smile, hearing them both yell out profanities.  Once I get to the doorway, I lean and watch the two children stab the controllers as if their life depended on it.  Chase has the tip of his tongue sticking out while deep in focus on the game, and Jason is just glued to the TV.

“Some man, huh?”  Without looking away from the screen, he just laughs.  Neither of them say anything else, and I make a huff out of frustration.  “Jason, you need to come down to meet Chase’s dad.”

“Five more minutes,” he whines.

“Yea, five more minutes,” the big baby mimics.

I just roll my eyes, used to this scenario from my little brother.  Jason should know better, but I guess Chase has to find out the hard way.  I let out another sigh, and walk over to the dresser where the TV is propped on.  I see the outlet strip sticking out on the floor, just waiting to be touched.  I bend down and reach for the power switch. 

“You wouldn’t dare,” Chase grinds out, and I turn my head to see a scowl on his face, but he’s still looking at the screen and pushing buttons on the controller. 

A laugh bubbles out of me as I push the power button.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?”

“NOT AGAIN!”

I ignore their ideal threats as I hop down the stairs, brushing my hands together as if I actually did manual labor.

*

The weather was good enough for us to sit outside to eat.  Mr. Young was entertaining, making all of us laugh about stories of Chase or his own teenage/college years.  Jason even participated in the conversations about all his travels, which was weird because I don’t think I’ve seen him open up to an adult male in so long.

The conversation turned a little somber when mom asked about Chase’s mother.  I wish I would have remembered to tell her about that, but Mr. Young answered it with grace, even though he looked sad talking about it.

“And what about Katie and Jason’s father?” he asks. 

We all still, not really meaning to make it look as intense as we did.  Jason and I look to mom, and she smiles at us, then turns back to Chase’s dad.  “He’s not in the picture,” she says matter of fact, leaving no room for further questions among strangers.  My lips thin and I turn my gaze to my plate, then look over to Chase, who’s staring between me and my brother. 

Our parents continue their conversations, despite the awkward moment.  Jason has gone quiet too, and I nudge his shoulder.  “They brought pie with them.  You wanna go get it?”  He nods without looking at me, and my heart sinks, thinking he’s shutting me out, but when he gets up, he gives me a half smile before going back inside.  Chase looks like he wants to question our moment, but I shake my head with a tight smile. 

Everyone eats their dessert then we all headed inside before too many mosquitos came out.  Chase and I offered to help with cleaning up, but our parents said they had it handled.

We put a movie on and Jason is laying down with his head partially on my lap as I sit next to Chase on the couch.  Loud laughter has us both turning our heads towards the kitchen, and I turn the TV down slightly so we can eavesdrop. 

“Are…. Are our parents actually flirting with each other?”  I ask, almost horrified.

Chase shrugs his shoulders, not seeming as affected as I am, then turns towards me with a cocky grin.  “Wanna be my stepsister?”

“Gah, Chase!” I push his shoulder, laughing.  We shake our heads, but then I hear Mr. Young asking my mom to a museum.  A weird feeling settles in my stomach, not knowing how to take that.  “Hey Chase?”

“Hmm?”

“Your dad’s a good guy, right?”  I keep my voice low enough so Jason doesn’t hear me.  Thank god it’s one of the Marvel movies he’s so obsessed with.  Chase looks to me questioningly, but I’m dead serious.

“He’s great, actually.  I can’t say anything about his dating game- I mean, a museum?” he awkwardly laughs.  “But yea, I think he’s great.  Why?”

I relax into the couch.  “Just wondering.  Mom hasn’t dated in a long time.”  I turn my head and beam a cheesy smile, trying to deflect what I really feel from the inside. 

“You okay?” 

Guess I suck at deflecting.  “Yeah, sorry.  Just don’t know how I feel about her dating again..”  I turn to the TV again, wishing I never said anything, but he casually bumps my shoulder to look back at him.

“Nothing’s happened yet, but my dad will take a relationship seriously and wouldn’t purposely hurt anyone.”  I’m sure he means emotionally, but even so, his words help.  I lean my head over, just touching the tip of his shoulder as a silent thank you. 

By the time the bad guys are defeated by the heroes, the Young’s bid us goodnight and head home.   As we wrap up and send a sleepy Jason to bed, I look over to my mom and see that she genuinely had a good night- you can’t miss that glow.  Maybe her going on a date wouldn’t be too bad after all.