Maria’s last words seemed to drip with envy and bitterness.
Sydney didn’t know what to make of her words, far less her tone, so she just stated what came to mind.
“That’s so funny. I always thought the same about you.”
She saw Maria’s face soften a bit.
She let out a breath.
“I’m sorry Maria. I guess I’m just projecting my frustration over my parents badgering me about my life onto you.” She looked away. “It just confuses me so much. I know my parents are proud of my academic achievements—they always compare Adam to me, chastise him for not being as serious as me. And they’re always showing off my accomplishments to everybody—bragging about me being perpetually on the honor roll, how I started reading at three, that I’m a straight ‘A’ student, bound for Ivy League and greatness...but I always get the feeling that they would have preferred me to be pretty.” She looked back at Maria. “Isn’t that funny?”
“Sydney what are you talking about? Of course your parents absolutely adore you!”
Sydney sighed in frustration.
“Yes. I know it sounds weird, but like I said, I feel like my parents love Adam more than me; even though they’re disappointed in him being the way he is. But they’re not really hard on him. It’s like they just tell him to shape up because they’re supposed to.”
“Yeah but he’s also a guy. Come on Sydney, parents always go easier on boys. I should know, I have three brothers.”
Sydney shook her head.
“I know what you’re saying, but I feel like it’s more than that. Honestly, I’m not sure if it’s because he’s such a pretty boy, but they sure seem to love him as he is. That’s the difference. Like they don’t really care if he doesn’t ‘become something.’ Like it’s enough for them that he’s gorgeous; what else do I have to go on? Meanwhile
I
have to prove I’m worth something.”
Sydney turned and looked Maria dead on.
“Maria, is that how it really is? Do parents prefer pretty over smart?”
“Sydney...”
“I heard a conversation between them once. They were talking about me and my brother and who we took after and in what. My father was saying: ‘I don’t know where that boy got his wildness from. It’s like he has no sense of direction! No drive, not a care in the world...must be your side.’ He laughed and I heard what was probably mom slapping him on the shoulder. Then mom said: ‘He must get his looks from my side too because...well let’s just say no one from your side could have possibly won any beauty contest.’”
Sydney couldn’t help but chuckle at the memory.
“That made dad kind of mad because his voice changed, and he was like: ‘Well hey now, no need to be so hard on my kinfolk. We got the smarts at least.’ And mom said: ‘Yeah Sydney sure took after you guys. She’s lucky she’s got all that hair.’”
Sydney sighed.
“The last thing I heard as I snuck away was Dad’s playful voice saying: ‘And you have to admit, at least one handsome devil emerged from my group of Johnsons.’”
“Sydney, I’m sorry you feel that way,” Maria said, looking at her in pity, but Sydney didn’t need pity at the moment so she changed the subject.
“Do you think Nicholas would mind if I went back early?”
Maria shrugged, still watching her.
“I’m not sure—you would know better than me.”
“Yeah but, you’ve known a lot of guys—you might have a better idea.”
Maria’s face went from open pity to offended. She pulled her head back, eyes narrowed.
“I don’t know what the hell you mean by that.”
“Just that, you know, you have a lot of experience with them.”
Maria’s face pinched further.
Sydney finally decided to get a hold of herself. This was going all wrong—she was misplacing negative feelings again.
“Maria, I just mean this is my first relationship, and you’re so much better at reading people and knowing the usual social norms than I am. I don’t want to make any mistakes.”
“Believe it or not Sydney, people make mistakes. Every single day. And it’s not the end of the world,” she replied, getting up and grabbing her bag. “God, I can’t believe I was just feeling sorry for you.”
Sydney stopped her, grabbing her by the shoulders.
“Maria please—I’m sorry for lashing out at you. Look, I want you to come with me.”
Maria’s confused face indicated that she at least had her attention again.
“I want some company when I go over—I need additional moral support. Please.”
Maria sighed.
“What are you talking about now?”
“I’m meeting his mom, remember?”
Sydney inwardly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Maria’s face break out into a small grin. There was nothing like being a witness to potential drama to distract her.
“Are you serious?” she asked, her eyes sparkling. Then she laughed. “Time to meet the parents! This ought to be good.”
Sydney’s relief spread and wrapped her whole body in its comforting arms.
Then Maria stopped smiling suddenly, her face serious again. Sydney’s heart sank.
“Do you think Eddie’s gonna be there?” she asked. “’Cause I really don’t want to see him right now.”
“Do you want me to call and find out?”
Maria gave her puppy eyes.
Sydney laughed.
“Seriously M, he’s probably not gonna be there. I hear he’s hardly ever home.”
Maria turned down her mouth and she blinked her widened eyes hard, twice.
Sydney laughed again.
“Okay Maria, one slime-check coming right up.”
***
Once Sydney had confirmed Eddie’s absence with Nicholas, they hopped into Maria’s car and Sydney directed her to the Dhalton residence.
When they arrived, Sydney identified herself on the outside intercom, and the gates swung wide. They followed the driveway to park the car, then went to the front door where they were met by Benjamin who escorted them in.
He informed them that he was going to fetch Mrs. Dhalton and Nicholas, as Mrs. Dhalton had requested to be informed immediately when they arrived.
Sydney felt her heart pulsing wildly in her chest, and she hoped Nicholas made it before his mother in order to provide her with some calmer energy.
She saw Nicholas hurrying toward them from the family room but saw Mrs. Dhalton floating down the last segment of stairs at the same time.
Nicholas reached first but Mrs. Dhalton was not far behind.
She smiled at Sydney and Maria, then introduced herself as Evelyn Dhalton.
“Wait a minute,” she said, “I recognize you two.” She turned to Nicholas. “I didn’t realize it was your girlfriend in those pictures in your room!”
Evelyn turned to Maria, extending her hand.
“Well, hello Sydney. Nice to meet you at last.”
One of Maria’s eyebrows raised as she looked down at the extended hand without touching it, while Sydney’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Maria caught herself and shook the tips of Evelyn’s fingers, but before she could say anything, Nicholas, who seemed to have lost his patience, said:
“Come on mom. Did you see the photos correctly? Did you miss that big old collage of me and my girlfriend? The one with the curly hair? This one here?” He waved his hand in Sydney’s direction and grabbed onto her arm. “How about the other photos with just me and her? Christ, Maria was in one or two photos with the four of us—why would you assume she’s the one?”
“Well, don’t get your boxers all in a bunch honey it was a simple mistake.” She chuckled, turning to Sydney. “I’m sorry dear, it must be age.” She smiled, but she didn’t offer her hand. “Shall we go in?”
Maria gave Sydney a look that almost made her burst out laughing. Nicholas caught Maria’s expression and appeared to be fighting the urge to laugh as well. He rolled his eyes at his mother who was oblivious to all the silent communication going on behind her.
“Well then,” Evelyn said dramatically as they settled in the parlor. “Tell me about yourself Sydney. Oh I’m so excited, I’ve never met any of Nicholas’s girlfriends before. Well, except for Amber of course, right dear?”
“Wrong mom.”
Sydney looked at Nicholas who was back to looking peeved, shaking his head.
Sydney wondered who Amber was.
“Well go on dear,” Evelyn said, staring straight at Sydney. The slight smile she wore did not match the look in her eyes.
“Well, I’m currently at the same college as Nicholas...”
“Yes I know that dear. What are you studying?”
“Well, I’m kind of prelaw. I’m double-majoring in Psychology and Communication.”
Evelyn suddenly looked alive.
“My daughter is studying Communication! She wants to be a journalist. Nicholas dear, have you seen Allison yet? She passed by yesterday with her boyfriend Jake. Oh my.” She waved her hand like a fan and smiled, then put the back of her hand to her forehead as her eyes closed for a moment. “He is so handsome: tall, golden hair, beautiful blue eyes...oh wait, you were there Nicholas, you saw him.” She laughed at herself then turned back to Sydney. “Anyway, you were saying dear?”
Sydney tried to ignore her; she knew exactly what she was doing. “Yes, I plan to go to law school.”
“A lawyer, now that’s just wonderful. And you dear?” She looked over at Maria.
“Oh, I’m an artist,” Maria said, brushing away her words in modesty.
Evelyn just stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
“Oh, I um, I draw, paint, I make things...”
“All that is well and good, but what do you plan to do with your life?”
Sydney felt bad that Maria was being put through this type of conversation again. She felt partly responsible for Maria’s discomfort, but Maria seemed to be handling it well.
“I figure I’ll just ride the wave. Wherever life decides to take me, I’m there with my tools.”
“She’s very talented,” Sydney piped up. “She has so many skills...”
“It’s okay Sydney.” Maria started looking around. “Nicholas, is there somewhere I can wait? I don’t want to intrude upon you guys any longer. Besides, so much to admire, so little time!” Maria waved her hand, indicating various aspects of the house.
Sydney knew Maria was faking her wide smile.
“Yeah sure Maria, you can wait in the family room. Jeremy can set up the entertainment center for you.”
Nicholas called Jeremy and when he came down, Maria happily went with him, her eyes wide with delight.
Sydney smiled to herself—Nicholas must have known he would be the perfect remedy—Jeremy was young, over six feet, muscled, had a head full of dark hair, and smoldering brown eyes.
Nicholas whispered to Sydney:
“I’m not quite sure what Jeremy does exactly, but he’s always around.”
Then he took the discussion in another direction.
“So mom, anything else you want to ask Sydney?”
“Actually, I suppose I’ve had quite enough. Oh excuse my manners, did you want something to drink dear?” She turned to Sydney again.
Sydney shook her head.
“No thanks,” she replied with a smile she was sure mirrored Evelyn’s. Her whole body felt like the skin of a drum, so stretched and tight, she felt she would tear.
Nicholas led Sydney away from his mother and started heading toward the back of the house.
“You didn’t forget your swimsuit right? We’ll swim in the pool a bit—or the Jacuzzi if you want. I’ll have Benjamin make a virgin strawberry daiquiri for you, I know you like those.”
“Are you kidding me? Get Jeremy to make it. Shirtless.”
She smiled up at him.
His face contorted in mock hurt.
“How about me shirtless? ‘Cause that’s all you’re gonna get.”
It was Sydney’s turn to pout.
“That’s all?” she said, trying to sound provocative.
He glanced over at her and grinned.
“Not at all—I’ll show you what I can do with strawberries and ice cream.”
That was enough to stop Sydney’s heart. She felt like flames were being held to her cheeks.
Nicholas laughed.
“You started it,” he said.
“Nicholas we will do no such thing under your parents’ roof.”
He laughed again.
“Fine, we’ll stick to cars.”
Suddenly they heard a commotion from the family room.
“You son-of-a-bitch!” they heard Maria scream.
They rushed to the family room where a fuming Maria was staring at a dazed-looking male with dark hair holding his cheek.
Sydney examined him. It wasn’t Jeremy. This guy was shorter for starters.
“Maria?” Sydney went over to her friend. “What happened?”
“You see what happens when you let the riffraff in?” Sydney heard Evelyn say as she floated past Nicholas.
Nicholas ignored his mother and went to the stricken young man.
“Maria what happened?” he asked, although he was removing the guy’s hand from his cheek to see the damage. “Whoa, Brandon—that’s a beauty,” Sydney heard him say as he examined the red mark on the guy’s cheek.
Neither Maria nor Brandon responded. Maria just stood there, chest heaving, eyes blazing while Brandon avoided eye contact with her.
“Well guys?” Nicholas said. “Is someone gonna tell me what happened here?”
Sydney touched her friend’s arm, trying to remind her of her presence.
“Honey what happened?” she asked her quietly.
The way she was huffing and puffing, Sydney was almost afraid she would blow the house down. “I’ll tell you later Sydney,” Maria said finally. Then looking at each person in turn, she said: “Nicholas, I’m sorry for all of this, this commotion. Brandon, you’re lucky that’s all you got you...” She managed to hold her tongue, her eyes narrowed. Then she looked at Evelyn. “It was nice to meet you Mrs. Dhalton. Good night. I’m out of here.”
Maria stormed toward the door and exited.
“I knew I overstayed my welcome a bit, but damn!” Brandon joked. “Nicholas, don’t worry about it—I deserved that. I just hope she’s not out there waiting for me,” he said as he turned to leave.
“That was interesting,” Evelyn said.
Sydney started following Brandon out the door.
“Wait, where are you going?” Nicholas asked, grabbing a hold of her sleeve.
“I have to go talk to her,” Sydney said.
“What, now? She’s probably gone by now.”
Sydney thought about it.