“Come on Eileen . . . sing with me, Karly!”
We were on the way to my parent’s house, and Zeus had been singing the whole time. He had downloaded at least six hours worth of road trip music and insisted on doing his best impressions of each singer—which wasn’t saying much since every time he opened his mouth he sounded like a dying cat. Among the songs already played were 500 Miles and Route 66. I had gladly blared the music, trying to drown out his screeching, but I didn’t know how much more I could take.
“Shoot. My phone is going to die. I knew I should’ve burned all of these onto discs,” he said as the song ended.
“That’s fine!” I shot my hand out and turned the sound system off. My grip on the steering wheel relaxed as sweet silence filled my ears.
“We’re about halfway there, right?” He drummed his fingers on the dash and started humming to himself.
“Yeah,” I said, searching for something to talk about so he would stop.
“So my parents,” I started, finally landing on a relevant topic, “they’re a little conservative.”
“Is that bad?” he laughed.
“Not really,” I said uncomfortably. “I wanted to warn you, that’s all.”
“Why would I need warning?”
“Because I worry they’ll pull you aside and try to have a talk with you about stuff—my dad especially.”
“Ah,” he said with understanding. “Don’t worry about it. They should make sure I’m treating you right. That’s their job, to make sure their little girl is taken care of.” He smiled at me, the full force of his affection slamming into me with that one look.
“Is there anything else I need to know about them?” he asked when I didn’t say anything else.
“Um, I’d call them Mr. and Mrs. Rawlins, or just Sir for my dad. They find that respectable. Also, I didn’t tell them you own a casino. You get to do that. If you have any educational background, pump that up. Pretty much, be polite as possible and pray they like you.” I laughed as I realized how harshly I was painting my parents.
“They really are nice people,” I reassured. “They’re definitely set in their ways, that’s all.”
“Don’t worry,” he said, taking one of my hands. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
We stopped at a gas station so I could take a little break. Zeus offered to drive, but I thought having something to do the whole time might calm my nerves. When I came back out to the car, he was standing in front of it, holding a cord. He looked like a kid in a candy store.
“What’s that?” I asked, laughing.
“It’s the car charger for my phone! I remembered I packed it in my suitcase!”
“Awesome . . .” I got back in the car and was soon being serenaded again.
“So, what’s the story that goes along with this pumpkin patch?” Zeus gently intertwined his fingers with mine, pulling me down the row of gourds at the local farm.
“What do you mean?” I laughed, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.
“You keep smiling to yourself and staring at everything way too long.” Mock seriousness crossed his face before being shut out by his enormous grin.
“It’s nothing,” I giggled, stopping to examine the produce in front of me. “I worked the haunted corn maze here one year. We scared lots of people—one girl so bad that she wet herself. I led her out of the maze, but she kept crying that I was going to take her somewhere to be scared again. I felt so bad! It feels even worse when I think back on it, because I still think that it was funny.”
Zeus pulled his hand from mine, horror etched into every inch of his expression.
“You scared people? For fun?!” His mocking tone was awarded a snort and my best exaggerated eye roll.
“Ha ha, very funny. Yes, I was a horrible person.”
“No—it’s not that—I can’t believe that anyone would hire sweet, innocent, loving Karly to scare the pants off of people. That was a risky investment right there.” Zeus’s laughter filled the air as heat filled my cheeks.
“Jerk!”
Swatting his arm—and almost tripping over the vines around me—I spotted the perfect pumpkins.
“Alright, calm down. I found the ones I want!”
Zeus finally calmed down to a chuckle in time to help me gather my purchases.
“Let’s get going, already. I’m ready to meet your folks!” His warm smile washed over me and my skin prickled in delight.
Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
We pulled into town with the two pumpkins we had picked up to surprise my mother. It felt nice to be home, which was odd after all of the times I wished I’d never see it again.
“See that little book store?” I asked, pointing out my window. “I worked there one summer. It was lots of fun spending all that time surrounded by books. On slow days, I would sit by the front window and paint.”
I smiled at the familiar hometown stores, remembering things that happened there.
“The grocery store we just passed,” I said again, “one of my friends worked there during high school. The power went out when I was there once, and she screamed like she was about to be murdered. At first I thought she was doing it to be funny. Turns out, she really was scared.” I giggled, remembering that night. The friend moved away after graduation and we didn’t talk any more. I hoped she was enjoying life, wherever she was.
“That’s where I went my first two years of college,” I said as we drove by the GBC campus. “The high school is down another street.”
I finally turned down a side road and could see my parent’s house. It looked the same as it always had; green grass, red-brick walls, white-trimmed roof and windows. The front door was white as well. It was a cute little house, comfortable for our family.
I pulled the car up to the curb and shut it off. Thankfully, Zeus had ceased his singing when we got into town so all was quiet.
“Ready?” I asked, nervously.
“I am.” He smiled.
We got out of the car and he grabbed our two bags out of the back while I got the pumpkins. The front door burst open as we walked up the sidewalk dividing the lawn in half, and my mother came running out. Her slacks and a long-sleeve, white blouse, were covered by a pink apron. She’d probably been baking in preparation for tomorrow’s feast.
“Karly! John, Karly’s home!” She gave me a bear hug when she reached me, despite the two large gourds I held.
“Hi, Mom,” I said, laughing.
“And who is this?” she said, turning to Zeus.
“Zeus Drakos, Mrs. Rawlins.” He put one bag on the ground and shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“And very nice to meet you!” My mother gave me a look much like the one she wore when reading a particularly good romance novel.
“Hey kiddo!” Dad stood in the doorway looking the same as usual—slightly graying, short, brown hair, jeans, and a work shirt. His typical appraising eyes made me feel like he had Zeus under a microscope. I walked up to him—my mother and Zeus behind me—and gave him an awkward hug.
“Hi Daddy,” I said, smiling.
“Zeus, is it?” Dad said, reaching out to shake hands as well, all the while studying Zeus’s face.
“Yes, sir.” Zeus appeared confident, but I was positive he would be having a private talk with my father later.
“Come on in, make yourself comfortable,” Dad said cooly.
“How was the drive?” asked Mom.
It really was nice to be home.
Chapter Seventeen