The sitcom we were watching ended, and another episode started, but before the theme song even finished, Brandon said, “I mean... I don’t think my dad really wants to date anyone right now. He hasn’t dated anyone seriously at all since my mom, you know?”
“Right,” I said. As far as I knew, Elliott hadn’t dated recently. “I think he used to date a lot when he was younger, though. Is it possible he just wanted to try it out again?” I remembered a few conversations I’d overheard about Elliott being quite the lady’s man when he was younger, like in his forties and fifties. That’s young when you’re as old as he is.
Brandon was already shaking his head before I finished. “I doubt it. Why now, you know?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he sees how happy we are together, how happy Aaron and Cadence are, and he just decided to give it a whirl.”
“I doubt it. He’s been so busy lately. Coming back from the dead, raising a kid, helping my mom out.... Nah, I really don’t think now would be a good time for him to be dating. Not now that he’s helping my mom out so much with school and rehab. He calls her all the time, you know? All the time. So... I doubt he’d be dating.”
I finally put the puzzle pieces together. Brandon didn’t want to admit that his dad might be dating Aurora because that might mean that he couldn’t be interested in Amanda, Brandon’s mom. And somewhere, like every child who’s ever gone through their parents’ divorce, Brandon wanted his mom and dad to get back together. At least, I assume basically every kid has that dream. I would. Luckily for me, my parents never even fight over anything more significant than what to have for dinner, and that’s rare. “You’re probably right.” I smiled at him, letting him know I was okay with not talking about it anymore.
He didn’t seem to be done, though. The next commercial break, he said, “Aurora’s nice and all. But I don’t think my dad likes girls who are so tall. She’s... you know, super tall.”
“She is one of the tallest women I’ve ever seen,” I agreed. “Maybe the tallest.”
“And she’s so strong, you know? I think he prefers women he can protect.” He was nodding, trying to convince himself he was right.
“Definitely.” I had no idea, but I didn’t want to be contrary. He squeezed my hand a little tighter than normal, and we went back to the show.
By the time that episode was over, it was only 8:00, but part of me wanted to go back to my own apartment. I didn’t really have a valid excuse as to why I wanted to leave my boyfriend and go back to my empty rooms, but there was definitely a strain there at the moment that wasn’t going to go away until Brandon cleared this up with his dad.
Thankfully, that wouldn’t take long. Before I worked up a reason to walk out the door, it opened, and Elliott strolled in. I could tell by his expression he was not exactly happy to see me. His eyes were narrowed as he tossed his jacket on the old recliner across the room, and I figured my sister or Aaron must’ve said something to him.
“Hi, Dad,” Brandon said, his voice also betraying he had something on his mind. “What have you been up to?”
“Funny you should ask.” Elliott dropped into the chair, landing halfway on his jacket, pulling it down off of the back so it was laying over his shoulder. He swiped at it, but he was so annoyed, he just left it there. “I didn’t just come from there, but earlier, I was summoned to the bossman’s office.”
Part of me wanted to pretend like I didn’t know why that might be, but obviously, Aaron had spoken to him about me, about our shenanigans. My shenanigans. “I’m sorry,” I said, meaning it. “He wasn’t too mad at you, was he?”
“Who can tell?” He grabbed ahold of his jacket sleeve and yanked it out from behind him. “He says everything in the same tone.” In his best Aaron impersonation, he said, “In the future, I think it would probably be best if you didn’t partake in any of Cassidy’s schemes. Everything worked out for the best this time, but you never can tell what might happen.”
I held back a giggle because he sounded so much like Aaron. But Elliott wasn’t trying to be funny—he was trying to be mad. He’s just not very good at it, not when it comes to being mad at me, anyway. “I’m sorry,” I said again. “At least he didn’t yell at you.”
“This is true. But it’s never good to get called into his office. Mrs. Carminati makes that face, like she thinks you’re the most pathetic person in the world....”
I knew exactly what he was talking about, even though I’d never gotten called into Aaron’s office for my punishment. Still, Mrs. Carminati, Aaron and Cadence’s human secretary, has a way of sympathizing dramatically with her bottom lip. “Did she offer to bake you cookies? Sometimes, she offers people cookies when she thinks they’re really in trouble, or so I’ve heard.”
“No, she did not.” That seemed to be the worst of the situation to him, and he hung his head. I decided the next day I would bake him cookies, though I wasn’t sure I had any idea how to do that. “So... you kids just watchin’ the telvelinge then?”
Telvelinge is how Elliott says television sometimes when he’s laying his accent on really thick and trying to be silly. I guess he wasn’t mad anymore. “We were,” I said. Brandon still hadn’t said anything since he’d asked where his dad had been, and I wondered if he was planning on bringing up the situation with Aurora, or if he was just going to let it go.
“Where were you just now?” Brandon asked his dad. It came out a little more accusatory than it probably should have, and I sucked in a breath, hoping Elliott didn’t get defensive as he sometimes did when he thought he shouldn’t have to explain himself to a teenager.