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Listening to her is impossible. Her words go in one ear and out the other while I stare at Christian’s face wondering what he is thinking and how much he must be judging me. Bubby’s not the kind of woman he would find in his family.
After her monologue on woodworking, silence falls again. The only noise comes from the sound of silverware scraping on the china and the occasional yowl from Pumpkin. My kitten has decided that she likes Christian and wants all of his attention. For a while, she tried to jump into his lap, he didn’t seem to mind, but Bubby wouldn’t allow it while we are eating. She’s acting very formal. Now, Pumpkin has to be content to rub on Christian’s ankles. Something she does excessively.
“Go on, Punk,” Bubby complains, leaning down and waving her frail hand at the cat.
Pumpkin ignores her, yowls, and hops up slightly to rub her chin on Christian’s knee.
With Bubby distracted, I mouth the words “I’m sorry” across the table. Christian shrugs. His lips pull up in amusement. “Not a problem,” he mouths back then leans over the table some. With his fork, he tries to spear one of the little round tomatoes on my plate. At first try, it rolls away.
When he tries again, Bubby’s fork slams into Christian’s surprising us both. I feel my breath go out in a whoosh. My grandmother has a deep frown on her face. Her expression is the most serious that I have ever seen.
“You have enough on your plate, Christian.” The tone of her voice is that of a disappointed mother. “You don’t need to take from Mandy. Mind your manners.”
I can’t catch my breath. I’m expecting him to explode. My grandmother just admonished my boss like he is a three-year-old.
Christian’s face is pale. His mouth hangs open then snaps shut. I can see a range of emotions pass behind his eyes. “I…ah…I didn’t mean any harm, Mrs. Burmmell.” A slight blush covers his cheeks. “I…ah…I didn’t think that Mandy wanted it.”
I nod my head. “It’s not a big deal, Bubby.”
She smiles at us both, dropping her fork as she sits back. One of her hands goes up to twist her fingers in her string of pearls. “It is a big deal. Don’t just take things because you can, Christian. You need to think about those around you.” She grunts quietly. “I would have expected your parents to have raised you better.”
He lets out a choked laugh. Bubby and I glance at each other, not sure what is going on. Christian keeps laughing, going from a strangled sound to a hearty chuckle. “That’s just it, Mrs. Burmmell,” he says the words between guffaws, “My parents didn’t raise me. The help did.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Bubby nods. “And they let you take anything that you wanted?”
Christian takes a few breaths. He sits back in his chair and rubs a hand over his face. “No, ma’am. They taught me right.” Blinking his eyes a bit, he spaces out. “I learned to be greedy later.”
I glance at both my grandmother and Christian. He doesn’t seem offended, but still, I’m not sure how he is feeling or what he is thinking about all this. I want Bubby to shut up. I want her to act like a normal grandmother and talk about knitting or something.
The silence stretches. I find my body shaking with nerves. All I want is for these two people to get along, but they come from such different worlds. I’m just kidding myself to think that Christian thinks of me romantically. After tonight, he will probably think I am a freak destined to be as batty as my grandmother.
To my absolute horror, Christian stands. He nods formally to both of us. Whatever emotion he was feeling earlier is gone from his face. “I need to be on my way, Mrs. Burmmell.” He sets his napkin down on the table. I get up to beg him to not go, but he waves a hand to stop me. “Don’t bother showing me to the door. I know where it is. Thank you again for dinner. Mandy, I will see you at the office on Monday.”
He’s out the door in seconds, with Pumpkin yowling her displeasure at his sudden departure. I feel the same way, but I don’t want to start crying in front of Bubby.
She takes a sip of water and clears her throat. “Poor boy doesn’t know who he is or what he is doing.” Bubby shakes her head slowly, sadly.
“What?”
She looks over at me like she’s just realized that I am there and gives me a smile. “Don’t worry, doll.” She reaches out a thin hand and pinches my cheek. “Love will help him figure it out.”
Her words startle me. “Bubby, Christian isn’t in love with me.”
She laughs slightly. “Of course, he is. How could you doubt it? He just doesn’t know it yet.”
