Henry shook his head. “Please, just listen.” He held up his hand. I sighed and finished cleaning up Claire. “I’m from England.”
“Hello? Remember me?” I pointed at myself. “Sherlock-Fucking-Holmes,” I said in an annoyed tone. “Chalk one up for me because I have this phenomenal skill of placing people in the proper geographical locations based on their accents alone.”
“Damn it, Elaina! Please, this is urgent and I need you to listen. We are all in trouble here! I’m trying to be honest so shut it for a few minutes.”
He won that one, but next time... “Okay, fine.” I started to bite my lip, trying to prevent another outburst with the utmost maturity, of course.
“I’ve been living in the States with Harold and Margaret, who are also undercover. I don’t have time to get into all that right now. It’s far too complicated. We will talk about that at a later point.”
I threw my hands up in the air. It never occurred to me that Harold and Margaret weren’t Henry’s parents. They always called him “my boy”. I never would have thought to question it because they seemed to have a very loving relationship. I would have never guessed that they weren’t a family.
I remember the first time I met them.
-March 2013-
Margaret had called Henry one weekend afternoon, while we were still lying in bed, recovering from yet another exhilarating sex marathon. She hadn’t heard from him in a while, and she was just checking on him.
She invited him over for dinner that night. He looked at me. I nodded, and he happily accepted her request. He asked if he could bring a date. She was beyond ecstatic since she had never met any of his girlfriends before.
“Just to forewarn you… She is a bit overzealous.” He sounded worried and unenthused.
“It’ll be fine.” I smiled at him as I got up and sauntered my naked butt to the shower. He leaped out of bed and chased right behind me.
After a round of some shower fun, we left the house and pulled up to their quaint home on the outskirts of town. It was cute and neat as a pin. Perfect landscaping, as well. My mother would have swooned over all the colorful flowers and the perfectly manicured bushes.
As soon as Henry shut off the truck, Margaret and Harold burst out of the house.
“My boy! How have you been?” Margaret embraced him in a crushing hug. Henry had about a foot or so on her and I would estimate near one hundred pounds, as well. She had the typical older mom wardrobe: collared shirt, and pants that looked like a flood was coming in. Her hair and her make-up were perfection, just like her landscaping.
Harold shook Henry’s hand instead of embracing him, and smiled with pride. He was the same height as Henry, but scrawny and thin as a rail. He was bald and had very telling eyes. His attire was much like an older dad matching his mom’s style: plaid button-down shirt, and khaki pants.
“Still having some circulation issues, I see,” Harold said.
Henry pulled his hand back and looked at it. “Yeah, the doctors are still baffled. You know me. I like to keep things interesting.” They shared a laugh.
“Well…aren’t you going to introduce us to this beautiful young lady?” Margaret was so excited to see me. She could have given a clapping seal a run for its money.
“Yes, sorry. This is my Elaina.” He wrapped his arm around my waist and smiled with great pride. It was so sweet and melted my heart.
“I’m Margaret, and this is Harold.” She came right over and hugged me. “This is so exciting! He has never brought a girl home!” I looked at Henry and he shrugged his shoulders.
Harold took both of my hands and held them for a moment. I smiled at him. “You are just stunning. Excellent choice, my boy! Haven’t seen him smile like that in a long time.”
“Well, you don’t know me yet. I can be quite surprising sometimes.” I smirked.
“Sounds like exactly what our Henry needs. A little less routine and a little more…dare I say, wild?” Margaret chuckled.
“Oh, Christ,” Henry mumbled. I looked at him and laughed. If she only knew…
“Well, anyway, please come in. Dinner is almost ready! I made your favorite!”
“Excellent!” Henry smiled appreciatively. Then he looked at me and apologized under his breath. I laughed. “Not funny, love.”
“Oh, yes, it is.” I have never met a more enthusiastic woman in my entire life. I wondered if she took too many Prozacs.
As soon as we walked into the house, which was lavishly decorated for such a cozy home, Margaret had us sit at the dining room table. Harold opened the first bottle of wine. “This is a spectacular year. Once I told Henry about this wine, he bought us several cases to keep us stocked up.”