#11, Dinner Party

As we climbed into the car Rylie peeked over at me, and laughed. He was trying to hide it, but his whole body was shaking.

“What?” I scowled at him, knowing perfectly well what he was laughing at. My bright orange sweatshirt and terribly worn jeans were enough to make the humor-less laugh.

“Going hunting?” He said with a mock look of surprise. “I did not know that sort of thing interested you.”

“Shuuuut up!” I drew out the word shut for added emphasis, and rolled my eyes at him, then gave him an obvious head tilt and point in the general direction of our mother.

“I see.” He said between a smug smile and a quick nod, his eyes darted in the direction of his shoes, and I could see he wore a pair of Converse with the toe ripped out and a whole lot of writing on the soles. Apparently we had similar ideas.

We had a little language between the two of us made up of head tilts, nods, eyebrow raises, and other gestures. Sometimes I wondered if we could read each other’s minds, or if we were somehow more of twins than I thought, especially when we both had the same idea separately, as we did in this instance. Then I would look at Rylie and his care free nature, sandy blonde hair, and dashing looks, and realize the only thing we really had in common was genetics and the same birthday. But, despite our difference we got along beautifully, and, in this case he knew exactly what I meant.

I looked down at my outfit, and was a little ashamed. I had dressed like a slob purely to irritate my mother for making me come. I knew it was horrible of me, and I had a twinge of regret and guilt, but my frustration at having no choice in the matter fueled the fire, and reinforced my desire to make her regret making me go. I lifted my chin, and pretended not to realize my horrible outfit existed.

My mother looked over the back seat gave me the up and down with her eyes, pursed her lips and shook her head, then turned back around. My father reached over and grabbed her hand, and she instantly became happier. “Katie darling, would you like to go down to Idaho Falls with me this weekend and we could do a little shopping?” her voice was sugary sweet as she asked, but I caught the hint.

“Umm, sounds fun, but I have a meet.” I tried to sound disappointed, but everyone in the car knew how thrilled I was for a valid excuse not to spend the day clothing shopping with my mother. Don’t get me wrong, I like shopping as much as the next girl, but my taste and my mother’s vary significantly. She loves ruffled skirts, pinks, purples, soft fabrics, and anything that has beading, lace, etc. Not tacky clothing, but really feminine clothing. I, on the other hand prefer basic t-shirts and a great pair of jeans, a few structured jackets, and a skirt every now and then just to mix things up. Browns and blacks were my favorite colors to wear, and I rarely deviated too far from them. My hunting orange sweatshirt of the evening was probably the furthest I had ever come from neutrals.

When we made a turn off of the highway I looked around, there were big trees, and a freshly painted fence. The house was a two story stucco deal, painted an off white. The windows had shutters giving it a homey feel, and they were painted a lively green. The house looked warm and inviting. We pulled into the circular drive, and stopped behind a white jeep. The tires of the jeep were muddy, and the top was off despite the chilly weather. The back of the jeep was loaded with hunting gear.

I glanced over at Rylie and he was smiling. He had noticed the hunting gear too and I could see he hoped to find a comrade behind that big oak door.

The door opened and a tiny little woman came bounding out. She had curly brown hair and it bobbed and bounced every direction as she scurried toward us. “Hello, I am so glad you could come. And this must be your husband? Hi, I am Jill Prigmore.”

“Hello, call me Bobby” my father smiled warmly and took her hand in a friendly gesture. Almost as fast as she had been grabbing my father’s hand she was over to me, and had me locked in a big hug. “You must be Kate. Your mother told me all about you, and my aren’t you gorgeous? You look so much like your father.” She was hugging me so tightly I could barely breathe let alone answer her or give a reply, so I just stood there and let her hug away. Rylie was smirking and I knew he was thinking that nothing about me looked gorgeous at the moment. When she finally dropped her arms, I breathed in a huge breath of air, and let it out of my lungs slowly, exaggerating my need for oxygen. My mother shot me a look. Jill rushed past me and scooped Rylie into a hug next. He shot me a big toothy grin, and just let her hug away. He was used to attention from the female gender.

Jill had to have been in her late forties, but she looked no older than 35. She was full of youth and energy, and she had this huge, white smile that filled her whole face. Standing in the doorway taking in the whole scene was her husband, Ben. Ben looked his age. He was 51. He had graying hair and a receding hair line. He had smile lines around his eyes, and gray ear hair in abundance. He was heavier set, but not fat, however, next to his tiny, bobby wife he looked like he could have been a whale. “Hello, welcome, come on in.” He greeted us with a friendly smile, and a cheery voice. His voice made me think of Santa Claus, it was deep and friendly, and had a way of making you feel at ease.

When we entered their house I was impressed with how clean and organized it looked. I had pegged Jill for a more eccentric type with lots of collections and things taking up every spare counter. However, their home was tastefully decorated in a cabin themed, outdoorsy sort of way. Near the doorway there was a rod iron moose coat rack, and she invited us to hang up our sweaters and jackets. I had not worn one because the sweater was warm enough. The floor was a beautifully grained hard wood, and it was freshly polished. She led us through the entry down a long hall way that opened up into the kitchen.

In the kitchen were two tables. One table was situated in the dining area, and was set with beautiful china, linen napkins, silver napkin rings, beautiful cutlery, and crystal glasses. The other table, which I assumed was for children has paper plates and cups, plastic cutlery, and paper napkins with a Halloween print. Obviously leftover from the holiday the previous month.

“My nephews are in town and will be joining us for dinner, but my son, Eric, is out with friends. Rylie, you and Eric should get along just fine, from what I understand you enjoy hunting.”

“Yes I do.” Rylie puffed out his chest and smiled down at her. “So, if you do not mind me asking, how old is Eric?”

“Oh not at all, he is the same age as you and Kate, seventeen. In fact, I did not think you two would be coming tonight, Eric never likes these kinds of things. I am afraid we do not have room at the table, so I hope you do not mind eating with the kids.” She looked slightly embarrassed, but I barely noticed as I was too busy glaring down my mother. I was furious. She had made us come, and Jill, the cool mom, had let her son do what most seventeen year olds prefer doing, he was hanging out with his friends.

My mother looked directly at me and shrugged her shoulders as if to say, “How was I supposed to know.” I rolled my eyes and took my place at the kiddie table. I sat there and fumed.