“Uh, Dad, I’ll be leaving for a while. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone. I just wanted to let you know.”
“Fine, as long as you don’t miss work.”
“I’m off today.”
“Fine.”
“Dad. This is my...friend, Caleb.”
I glanced up at him and he was fighting a smile, the twinkling of amusement in his eyes giving him away. My dad barely glanced at him, looking right back at the television and scratching behind his ear.
“Uhuh.”
“Dad,” I said more pointedly.
He looked up again. I really regretted not letting Caleb wait outside. Dad was sitting on our couch in the den, his boxers and a white t-shirt, with white socks up to his mid calves, watching the Today Show of all things.
“Oh, yeah. Hi, Calvin, nice to meet you,” he muttered and returned to his show.
“Caleb, Dad.”“It’s fine, Maggie,” Caleb assured me with a squeeze of my fingers. “Nice to meet you, too, sir. I won’t keep her out too long.”
“Mmhmm. Fine.”
As we made our way out into the hall, I remembered when my father always used to joke about how when I finally started dating he’d be all mister-shotgun-on-the-porch about it. He sure gave Chad a hard time, though most of it was in jest. It’s like an alien took over his body or something. He’s not even my dad anymore. And the only reason the house is clean right now, is because I cleaned it before leaving for graduation yesterday. I couldn’t remember a time I’d been more embarrassed.
Caleb was apparently tapped into my thoughts again.
“Hey.” He bumped my shoulder as we walked. “Don’t sweat it. Your dad is apparently going through something. He’ll come around one day. You don’t ever have to be embarrassed with me, ever, about anything.”
“Caleb, I barely know you. Why do I feel so...fine with everything? This is all so strange.”
“I know and I’m not going to rush you to understand everything. But other people don’t get to decide who you are to me, not even your parents. Just know, you can’t ever say or do anything to make me not want you anymore.”
I sighed, wanting to sag in relief, because that’s exactly what I always wanted someone to tell me, that they wanted me for me, no matter what. “Thank you, Caleb.”
“You’re welcome,” he said sincerely. “Do you need to grab anything before we leave for Kyle’s?”
“Uh, my phone. It’s in my jacket pocket upstairs. Be right back.”
I ran up to get it and ran back down. He was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for me with a smile. He didn’t take my hand this time, just opened the door for me and we walked slowly, side by side, but not touching all six blocks to Kyle’s house.
I was thinking and listening. Listening and absorbing his feelings as he worked through what we were about to do. He was scared. Scared that I was not going to be able to accept what his family would tell me. Scared that I was gonna hate him, blame him and want nothing to do with him for taking my choices for a different life with someone else.
This confused me, because yesterday, he seemed so sure that I would take everything fine. Accept it and want it. Now he wasn’t so certain. I wondered what I had said or done since then to make him change his mind about me.
We reached Kyle’s front yard and I stopped, taking a deep breath. Caleb saw me and came back to stand in front of me.
“I’m a freak, aren’t I?” I asked.
“What? Why would you say that?”
“You said this doesn’t happen to humans.”
“I said it’s rare.”
“What if they don’t like me?” I spouted quickly and shot my gaze to the grass, my insecurity raring its ugly head.
“What’s not to like?” he said sweetly.
“What if they think your imprint made a mistake? What if they think I’m too naïve and young? What if they think that you’re definitely going to have your work cut out for you with me? I’m scared of walking through that door and hearing what they might say. I’m nobody, mediocre, I’m not special, I’m not rich, I’m boring, I’m shy and I’m only seventeen.”
“Maggie-”
“And I’m terrified that the more you get to know me, you’ll realize it, too.”
He put a tentative arm around my lower back and pulled my face up with a finger under my chin making me automatically lean towards him and his warmth. He smiled and it was gorgeous.
“Imprints don’t make mistakes, Maggie. All an imprint is, is our souls seeing what’s perfectly right for it in someone else. In here,” he palmed his chest “I saw something in you that I couldn’t live without. I chose you, inside of me, and you chose me. It’s not one sided, it only works when both people choose the other. You are perfect for me in every way. I don’t want to scare you with it all. I mean, you’re so young and you don’t know me. Yet. But...we will always be drawn together. We’ll always crave each other. We’ll always be in tune with each other, physically and mentally. There is nothing that can change or break that. And even if there was, I wouldn’t want to. Not for the world.” His hand moved to my cheek and he caressed it with his thumb. “I’ve seen you. You can’t fake or glimmer what’s inside your mind. And you are sweet and caring and absolutely lovable in that head of yours. I promise that my family will love you. In fact, I’m sure they already do. You’re one of us now and they can sense how I feel about you.”
“How you feel about me,” I repeated and nodded.
“Yes. They all know how it is. How we feel...about each other isn’t uncommon. It’s normal for you to feel so pulled and drawn to me even though you don’t know me, just like I am to you, but worse. It gets better and with all our connections and abilities we’ll grow to know each other very quickly.”
I couldn’t deny that and I definitely felt something for him. Especially right now with his arm around me, tentative, fighting with himself because he wants to touch me more but also wants to make sure I’m ok with it too. His concern for me was extremely endearing.
“This is all so strange,” I said breathlessly.
“Just wait,” he leaned in to whisper in my ear. “It’ll only get stranger.” He chuckled and the vibrations gave me goose bumps. “Come on.” He pulled back to look at me. “If you’re ready, let’s go on in so everyone will stop staring out the window.”
I didn’t dare turn to look, but I shifted my eyes that way and sure enough, there were more faces than I could count, all packed in and peeking out of the curtains. I felt my cheeks blaze red as I groaned and he chuckled again.
“Don’t worry about them. I promise. Look at me.” I did, but slowly. “They will love you. Don’t let them overwhelm you, all right? Everything will be fine. Ready?”
“No.” I did turn then. I looked at them. They were all smiling, watching us. A little girl waved frantically to me. I waved back and she jumped up and down and even though I couldn’t hear her, I could tell she was squealing. I took a deep breath and smiled. “Let’s go, but be prepared to answer about a million questions.”“I’m counting on it.”
We made our way to the door and before he could even reach the handle, the door was snatched open and I was enveloped in a hug by a large woman with gray and brown hair who smelled like Freesia. She swayed me side to side and all I could do was let her.
I heard Caleb behind me, along with a lot of other chatter. “Gran, come on. She’s freaked out enough as it is.”
“Oh, hush, Caleb. Let me have my fun.” She pulled back to look at me. “My, my, you are a pretty little thing, aren’t you?”
“Am I?” I asked lamely and everyone giggled and cackled.
“Well 'course you are! Look at those freckles. And these cheek bones,” she mused and ran a cool finger down one to accentuate.
“Thanks,” I said, doubly lame.
“Gran, please.” Caleb pulled my arm to make her release me and she did. I couldn’t help but latch onto his arm and try to keep my eyes up to look around the room with confidence instead of looking like a trapped rabbit. I didn’t want them to feel like they were bothering me. I could do this, but…there were at least twenty people in there. “All right, can you all give her some breathing room, please? Jeez, guys.”
“Why don’t you bring her in the living room, Caleb,” a pretty petite woman with brown hair that matched Caleb’s said. She was very well dressed in gray slacks and a white button blouse. She walked right up to me and smiled. “Hello, Maggie. I’m Caleb’s mother, Rachel, and you must call me that. None of that Mrs. Jacobson stuff.”
“Ok, nice to meet you.”
“No, sweetie, it’s nice to meet you.” She squinted and leaned closer. “What happened to your head?”
“I did that, Mom. Remember? I fell on her after she pulled me back,” Caleb explained and looked at me sideways, a little guiltily.
“Oh, yes, how stupid of me to have forgotten.” She hugged me tightly and I heard her voice straining to get her words out. “You saved my boy. It’s hard to think that if you hadn’t been there, my boy wouldn’t be here.”