You've got Problems?

(My appologies that this took so long. Life's been really buisy lately. Enjoy.)

Chapter 6: Food and Findings


Lilly eyed her reflection in her bedroom mirror as she combed a small clump of her snowy white hair. There really wasn’t much need for her to do so, her hair had always been very straight and easily manageable. But then again, this was the first time someone was coming over just to see her. Satisfied with the final results of her efforts, Lilly turned away from her nightstand and casually walked over to the window. Just looking out of it was a trial on its own. First she had to move away the thick black curtains that covered the entire window, then lift the set of heavy blinds that took two hands to lift, finally the specialized tarp behind that. All the same, Lilly didn’t mind the effort as she gazed longingly out the glass. There was hardly any light left in the day, all that remained was a small purple hue that was rapidly fading away. It wouldn’t be too much longer now before Myer came.

Thinking of him, a small smile spread across Lilly’s unusually red lips. She knew full well that she didn’t really know him at all, but he seemed nice enough. And they were going to be neighbors from now on, the least she could do was find out what kind of person he was. The only thing that bothered her though, was how her parents were going to handle the situation. Despite being nearly seventeen, she had never had a boy over before. There was a very good reason for that, but Lilly chose not to think about why.

She had already told her mother about it last night. She had seemed a little surprised and shocked at first, but she had said that she didn’t mind. Her father, however, was a different story all together. The instant he had found out about Myer, an invisible wall kind of formed up around him. Lilly was afraid of what would happen when Myer finally showed up. Sighing heavily, she went back to fixing herself up. Looking at herself in the mirror, she wondered if she should put on any makeup for the occasion. But fearing that the light complexion of her skin would only make her look bad and her parents would be offended, she decided against it. Still, Lilly wanted to look a little good for the occasion, so she busied herself with painting her nails as she waited for Myer. All the while she hoped that it wouldn’t be too weird for him.


Myer brushed ran a hand through his hair as he looked himself over. His body was full of energy that just didn’t seem to go away. The entire day had seemed almost like a dream to him. Each class only seemed to last a minute, and he felt most of the time like he was the only person in the entire school. No one and nothing had bothered him all day. And now here he was, a guy who could barely even get a girl to give him the time of day, about to go on a date.

Myer felt his chest tighten at the thought of the word. Date was kind of strong, considering all he was really doing was meeting Lilly’s parents. But still, she had invited him to come over. That in itself was enough to make Myer believe that he could fly. He soon found himself nervously glancing at his clock about every five minutes when there was less than an hour to go before he was supposed to show up. The feelings of bliss faded with each new glance, replaced by a multitude of concerns.

His mind began to tease at him as if it were playing off of his fears. What if he did something wrong tonight? What if he gave Lilly’s parents the wrong impression of him? What if they didn’t even like him at all?

All of these questions and more ran over and over through his head. When he had just ten minutes to go, Myer’s heart was pounding inside his chest and beads of nervous sweat were rolling down his face. He finally managed to force enough courage up inside himself to walk out of his room. As he descended the stairs, Myer felt more like a man going off to the gallows rather than going to see a cute girl. This feeling of dread consumed him so much that he hardly noticed anything around him as he headed for the door.

“What the….are you going out?”

Myer froze in his tracks when he heard his dad’s voice. He turned his head slowly towards the living room, and felt like a total idiot when he saw his dad sprawled out on the couch.

“I….ah….” Myer played at the words, not knowing what would be the right thing to say.

His dad sat up. “It’s a simple yes or no question, with a yes or no answer. Are you going out?”

“Yes.” Once he said it, Myer wished that he hadn’t said anything. The inevitable question that he was petrified of came next.

“Where?”

Myer played with a lot of answers, and found that he couldn’t think up a single one that sounded right. “Not far.” He blurted out.

“I see.” His dad leaned closer. “Going to see someone?”

Myer hated the way his dad had said the question. It sounded more of a tease than an actual question. He wondered why his dad had to be so mean to him sometimes. Despite the way in which he was asked, he knew that his dad expected an answer. But he didn’t dare tell him about Lilly, not yet. For one, he didn’t really even know her. And second, he wasn’t ready to try and explain to him about how Lilly was completely different from anyone he had ever seen.

As he looked about the room in a vain attempt to avoid the question, Myer noticed the digital clock on the DVD player just above the TV was reading 7:01. “Gotta go, be back later.” Myer slewed out as he dashed out the door. He nearly tripped over himself as he rushed across the lawn. After hardly using his legs for so long, they were not ready for the sudden strain that he placed them under. Somehow, he managed to keep himself from falling over and ruining his cloths.

Thankfully, his father didn’t try to chase after him, despite his curiosity. Myer paced up over to the house next door. He didn’t know why, but it gave him the impression of a haunted house. Maybe it was just because the house was very old, but a part of him knew that wasn’t the only reason. The lawn hadn’t been tended to in weeks and looked like a semi-jungle. There was hardly any kind of light coming out of the house, what little he could make out was barely visible through the windows. As he stepped onto the front porch, he noticed that the windows were unusually darker than normal. The panels seemed to have the same kind of tint that the old station wagon parked in the driveway had. Feeling a terrible amount of shakes running through his body, Myer nervously rang the door bell. Grabbing his hands behind his back while clearing his throat, Myer braced himself for anything that could happen.

That still wasn’t enough when the large oak door swung open. In the door way there loomed a man who was half a head taller than him. He had greasy jet black hair that was combed straight back, and he glared at Myer with a pair of deep brown eyes that just pierced right through him. The man wasn’t nearly as built as his father, but he carried himself in a way that made him seem a foot taller and twice a broad as he really was.

“So your Myer.” He stated in a low voice.

Shudders ran down his spine as those words worked over him. If the man had said it with any more intensity, Myer feared that he might have melted right there on the front porch. Weakly, Myer held out his hand. “Ye…yeah, that’s me. I live next door.”

Slowly, with a gesture that seemed insanely calculated, the intimidating man took his hand. His grip was solid, and he put considerable pressure on Myer as he shook his hand. Myer knew instantly that he was being sized up. “I’m Lilly’s father. Why are you here?” he said as he kept his grip on Myer’s hand solid.

Myer tried his very best to ignore the mounting pressure. “Um…Lilly invited me. She said she wanted you to meet me.”

Lilly’s father remained silent. His grip tightened. “Why are you here?” the voice came out in a low growl that really gave Myer the creeps. He had half a mind to pull his hand away from the man. Something inside of him told him that wouldn’t be a good idea though.

“Dad!”

Lilly’s father released Myer and looked over his shoulder. No sooner then he had done that, Myer saw Lilly push her way past him. Her grey eyes shinned with a lingering fear that something terrible had happened. She suddenly turned back to her father. “Daddy, what did you do?” she asked in a breaking voice.

“Just got to know him. Dinner’s in five minutes.” He said without so much as an eye blink at Myer as he retreated into the inner parts of the house. Both Lilly and Myer watched him go in silence. After he disappeared around a corner, she turned back to him.

She looked at him with pleading eyes. “Myer, I’m sorry about that. My dad….he’s very protective of me.”

“A little too much if you ask me.” Myer said as he rubbed his hand. There was a good chance that he would be feeling that aching throb in his fingers all night. Feeling the slight pain coursing through his hand, Myer felt anger beginning to boil up inside him.

“He just doesn’t know how to act.” Lilly said as she lead him inside. “I’ve never had a boy over before.”

That made it a little more understandable for Myer, but that still didn’t mean that he was fine with what he had just gone through. All the same, Lilly lead him through the house, giving him the nickel and dime tour. He could see there were still some boxes stacked in the corners and a few things left around that were wrapped in plastic bags. Clearly they were still not nearly settled in yet. The only place that seemed to be in order was the kitchen. Then Myer got another surprise.

Hunched over a steaming pot was a woman that looked about the same age as Lilly’s father. Myer went on a hunch that it was Lilly’s mother. But what he wasn’t prepared for was her looks. When she turned to greet him, Myer saw that she had straight brown hair that flowed down to her shoulder blades and a sparkling pair of almond colored eyes. Before she could say anything, Myer stared at Lilly’s parents first, then at her. He had expected that they would look a little different from other people. Hell, Lilly didn’t look anything like anyone he had ever seen. But standing there, seeing these two people that appeared to be no different from the average person that you saw walking the streets, Myer felt completely weird.

How a girl with pale skin, white hair, and grey eyes could have such normal looking parents seemed impossible to him. At first thought, Myer feared that Lilly had been adopted by these two. But as her mother walked over to inspect him, he saw the very same gentle curves around the cheeks that Lilly had.

“Well hello there.” She said in a very sweet voice. “You must be the boy Lilly was talking about. Myer right?”

Myer smiled weakly and nodded. “Yeah. I live next door.”

Lilly’s mother motioned towards the table. “Well please, sit down. I’ll have dinner ready soon. I’d like to talk to you a little more.”

“So would I.” Lilly’s father growled from across the kitchen.

“Now Ted.” Lilly’s mother scowled. “Don’t go scaring the poor boy like that. He’s probably nervous enough.”

Lilly looked more nervous than he did. Still, she grabbed his hand and lead him over to the dinner table. Myer would have felt ecstatic that she was holding his hand, but the dagger like glares that her father threw his way were all that he really paid attention to. He took a seat right across the round table from her father, and did his absolute best to not look at either him or Lilly for too long. They all sat in silence until Lilly’s mother began serving out dinner. It wasn’t much, just some spaghetti and meat balls. But after living off of fast food and microwave meals for nearly three years, it felt like a royal feast to Myer. He dug in readily and felt his mouth water at the delicious taste. Lilly and her mother also started eating. However, her dad had yet to touch his plate. Instead, he leaned towards Myer.

“So, Myer.” He said. “Since you’ve come into my house and I don’t even know you, why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?”

Myer looked up from the food almost wide eyed with a small string of spaghetti dangling from his mouth. His face went beat red with embarrassment as he quickly tried to swallow the food.

“Well…” he coughed, trying to force the food down as he thought about what to say. “There’s not really much I can say. You know I live next door. I….uh, I’m seventeen, a junior at Balmont high.”

“One of those cars in the driveway yours?” he asked.

“Yeah, the small one that looks like it belongs in the junk heap, it’s mine.” Myer answered. He wasn’t really sure what the purpose was of the question. Lilly and her mother were both silent, but he could see out of the corner of his eyes the worried looks they had.

“Then I guess you work to pay for the gas and upkeep.” He said.

There, that was it. Myer instantly knew that he had been caught in a well laid trap. He had a terrible feeling that the answer he gave Lilly’s father wasn’t going to be the right one. He doesn’t even know me. He thought as unease washed all over him. And he hates my guts already. Just because I’m here.

“No, actually. I don’t work.” He answered. “I need to focus on school first.” The look on her father’s face told Myer that he had somehow avoided the trap. Thankfully, Lilly’s mother intervened by asking him a series of questions about the town. Apparently, neither of her parents had ever lived outside a city. Myer thought about that as he did his best to answer her questions, and wondered what it would be like to undergo such a drastic change to ones life. More so, the question of why they had moved all the way out here picked away at the back of his mind. He wondered if it had something to do with Lilly’s looks, though he honestly felt that she would get the same kind of reaction anywhere she went.

For a time, Myer felt welcomed at the table, like he was eating with the family that he had lost so long ago. His good time ended when Lilly’s father spoke out of the blue. “Well Myer, what do your parents do?”

Myer felt his heart skip a beat at the question. And he surely knew that some of the blood in his face drained out. He swallowed from a badly dried throat. “Well, my dad is a construction foreman. He kind of works a lot, so I don’t really spend that much time with him.”

“What about your mother? What does she do? It would be nice to meet her too, since I guess that you get your good charm from her.” Lilly’s mother said with the sweetest smile one could imagine as she took a sip from her cup.

Myer looked straight at her, and felt a deep pit form in his stomach. He glanced sideways at Lilly, and saw the curiosity on her face too. Knowing that he was trapped, Myer didn’t dare to try and lie to either of them. Fighting with all his might to hold back tears of a rapidly surfacing old pain, Myer looked at the surface of the table. “Actually, my mother passed away three years ago.”

He heard a suppressed spitting sound. When he glanced up, he saw Lilly’s mother was in a state of completely shock. Her eyes were gaping wide as she frantically wiped away the milk that had spilled down her chin. “Oh my dear lord.” She whispered softly. “I am so sorry honey, I didn’t know…”

“It’s alright.” Myer replied in a cracked voice. “It was a long time ago. It doesn’t hurt so much now.” He looked over at Lilly. Sympathy was evident all over her face. It was the last thing that he wanted, but at the same time it felt somewhat comforting to have it from her. Lilly’s father remained silent, but Myer saw that the harshness of his face had dwindled considerably.

Thankfully for him, that was the end of that discussion. Lilly quickly switched the subject, and her folks immediately became immersed in the unrelated topic. Myer felt so grateful for what she did that he had to blink away a small bit of wetness in his eyes. How this girl could be so sweet to him when she didn’t even know him caused a strange tingle to flow through his chest. It wasn’t long before he joined in on the conversation and things at the table returned to a semblance of normalcy.

It wasn’t until close to an hour later that everything finally began to break down. It started with Lilly’s father yawning loudly and rubbing his eyes. He excused himself from the table and, to Myer’s surprise, asked him politely to go home. After he had stumbled out, Lilly’s mother assured Myer that he could stay for a little while longer. When he checked his watch, he saw that two hours had gone by. The night wasn’t that late, but still, he thought it a bit odd as he noticed how fluidly Lilly and her mother moved about the kitchen as they cleaned up. Neither of them acted like it was night. All the same, Myer rose from his chair.

“Well, thank you for the lovely evening. The food was really good, I haven’t had eating like that in a long time.” He said in the happiest voice he could manage.

Lilly put down the pot she was cleaning. “Hold on, I’ll walk you out.”

They stepped out on to the front porch without a word. Myer stared out into the darkness for a little while before he turned to her. The look she had given him earlier was back. “Myer, about your mother…”

“Please don’t.” he said, holding up a hand. “I really don’t want to talk about it. She’s gone, and nothing will change that.”

Lilly hung her head dejectedly, as if she had just lost a monumental argument. However, her composure quickly returned and she gave him a weak smile. “I hope it wasn’t too bad.”

Myer thought about the evening’s events, and decided to be honest with her. “Well, I really like your mother. She’s so nice. But honestly, your dad scares me.”

“He just doesn’t want anything to happen to me.” She said.

“Neither do I.” Myer told her. He only realized that he was raising his hand to her face when it was already half way up. Feeling horribly embarrassed by both his actions and what he had just said, Myer tucked his hand behind his back. “Well,” he said, trying to sound as if nothing had happened. “I’ve got to get back home. Dad’s probably wondering where I’m at.”

As he turned to leave, Lilly gently grasped his hand. Myer froze with near blind fright. “Thanks for coming by Myer. I hope we can do it again soon.” She said, looking him right at him.

She had eyes that were so strange, so captivating, so beautiful that Myer had to force himself to look away, least he lose all rational sense of thought. “Sure. I’ll see you soon.” He said, giving her hand a light squeeze before slipping away. As he walked back to his house, Myer was so flushed that he felt as if he were walking on air. No matter what his dad said, he knew that he wasn’t going to lose the smile on his face for a long time.

---

Lilly watched Myer slip back to his house in silence. She didn’t know why, but there was something about him that caused her to be drawn to him. She felt so terrible when he had mentioned that his mother was gone, but even more so when he refused to talk about it. Maybe sometime later he would be willing to open up to her. Until then, she was perfectly comfortable enjoying his company.

Myer was kind of a clumsy and nervous wreck, but that only made her like him even more. Feeling very relieved and nearly giggling with excitement, she went back to the kitchen. As she walked in, her mother gave her a look.

“Mommy, don’t do that.” She begged.

“What happened?” her mother asked.

“Nothing. I just said goodbye to him.”

Her mother raised an eyebrow for a moment. Thankfully, she went back to cleaning the dishes. “Well, hurry up and help me clean the dishes. We still have a lot to do.”

“Ok momma.” Lilly said as she went about drying off the cleaned plates.

“Did you tell him?” her mother said without so much as looking at her. Lilly felt her pulse race at the mere mention of the suggestion. Her mother didn’t even need to go into details, she knew perfectly well what she was talking about.

“No.”

Her mother sighed. “Lilly, I know it’s hard. But you can’t hide it from that boy forever. Sooner or later, he’s going to find out.”

“I’m not ready yet.” She nearly cried out. “I want him to get to know me first. If he finds out right now, it might scare him off.”

Her mother looked at her. A mutual sympathy that they shared was silently echoing between them. “Sweetie, I love you. But you have to tell him, before he finds out on his own.”

“I said I’m not ready yet!” Lilly shrieked, tossing the plate into the sink. “He’s the only boy that ever talked to me like a…a person. If I tell him right now, he won’t understand.”

“If he really is like what you say, then he’ll see you for who you are, not what you are.” Her mother said.

“Momma, you don’t know anything about what it’s like to be what I am.” She cried, fighting back tears. Before her mother could tell her anything else, she rushed out of the kitchen to her room.