by Violet Paige
“But it’s a bit crowded at home. I don’t know if I should take him. Meeting my parents is a big deal. They might scare him away.”
“Your parents aren’t going to do anything like that. It will be fun.” Nina’s smile was wide.
“You really think this will work?”
“You worry too much, London. Watch how Victoria does it. It’s going to work. He’ll win your parents over. They’ll fall in love with him and then you’re on to overnights.”
“Overnights?” I was nervous just hearing the word.
“Let’s just take it one week at a time.” Nina smiled. I was glad to have my friend back.
The phone call to my mother had been awkward. Explaining to her that I was coming home for the weekend with a boy that wasn’t my boyfriend was tricky. She was way too nosey.
“But, London, what kind of professor would assign a weekend trip? I don’t see how this is proper by any standards.” This was the same mother who made sure I was in an all girls dorm my first two years on campus.
“Mother, she didn’t assign the trip. It’s just how the project has evolved. He’s nice. You’ll like him. He’s pre-law.”
“Pre-law? Hmm…I’ll mention that to your father. All right, if you have to, then we’ll get the guestroom ready for him.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it. We’ll see you Friday night. Tell Daddy I said hi.”
“London, be careful on the drive. The roads are still slick at night.”
“Yes, Mother. I’ll be extra careful. Bye.”
I hung up the phone with my mother and sighed. Nothing about this weekend was going to be easy. My parents had always had high expectations for me. I knew they didn’t want me to pursue acting. My mother thought it was a total waste of my time, and my father thought I was neglecting more important brain cells. They both would have been much happier if I had gone into pre-med or law, like Beau.
Now, to plan B—getting Beau to go along with this concocted Nina idea. I only had a few minutes until class. I grabbed my backpack and headed out the door.
Professor Garcia was particularly wrapped up in today’s theory. She recounted her days in graduate school and how she selected a dissertation on gender communication styles. I was trying to be less critical of her; she was, after all, my new ally in class. Without her support, I wouldn’t be getting ready to ask Beau to go home with me for the weekend.
Every few minutes, I saw her taking us in at the top corner. Beau didn’t seem to notice the new attention. He had no idea we had our own London and Beau super fan. If only class would end so I could ask him about the hometown date.
“See everyone Thursday. We’ll really dissect gender styles then.” She walked away from the podium and unclipped her microphone.
Beau shot out of the seat and had escaped through the doors before I had a chance to utter the first word of my question. I gathered my notebook and chased him out of the building.
“Hey, Beau. Wait.”
He paused at the bike rack next to the Manning Hall steps.
“I just wanted to talk to you for a second about the hometown date. Did you watch the Love Match episode last night?”
“Not yet. I’ll get to it later.” He unlocked his bike from the rack.
“Cool. No problem, but the dates were all hometowns. Victoria went to each of the guys’ family homes.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that. I’ll see it sometime this week.” He grabbed the handlebars and shook the bike loose from its station.
“I didn’t know about the hometowns either, but I already talked to my mom and she said we can go to Asheville for the weekend. I mean, if you want to.”
He swung one leg over the seat.
“Beau? Did you hear me?” I was standing right next to him.
“Yeah. I heard you. I don’t know about that, London. The whole weekend?”
“We could just go up Saturday night if that’s better? I don’t want you to do it if you’re not into it. It’s the only thing I could come up with after I watched the episode.”
He kept his eyes on the handlebar. I couldn’t even get him to look at me. “No, it’s cool. We can go, I guess. I haven’t been to Asheville in a long time, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was curious to meet your parents.” He finally looked up and smiled.
“Awesome! I mean, good. That’s good you want to do the hometown date.” Could I get more tongue-tied in front of this boy? “I can pick you up Friday. You know, whenever.”
“See you.” He peddled off in the direction of the student union.
He had actually agreed to go. I smiled. Hometown weekend was starting to look more promising by the minute.
Date Nine: Hometown Brotown
It was hard to keep my eyes on the road with Beau in the seat next to me. He kept changing the radio station halfway through the songs. The farther I drove us into the mountains, the harder it was to keep a station static-free.
“I think you need to give me the crash course in the James family before we get to your parents house. You never really talk about your family.” Beau gave up on finding music and turned the radio off.
“There isn’t much to tell. What do you want to know about them?”
“What do they do?”
“I haven’t mentioned anything to you about this already?” It seemed that in one of my tequila hazes I would have told Beau about my parents.
“No. You just said they were strict when you were growing up and you told me about the bargain they made with you about going to L.A. Is there something you’re not telling me? I’m getting nervous about the weekend now. Is your dad some kind of former spy like Jack Bauer or something?”
I laughed thinking of my dad doing anything threatening. “No, he’s not Jack Bauer—far from it. My parents own a winery.”
“A winery? That’s awesome. Why didn’t you tell me?”
I wasn’t sure what had kept me from telling Beau more about my life growing up. We did talk, but it was all about the present. Nothing else seemed to matter when I was wrapped in his arms. I definitely wasn’t thinking about my family or my childhood.
“It just didn’t come up.” I looked over at him. His forehead was scrunched up and I could tell I had annoyed him. “But that’s all about to change. You get to meet the James family in about five minutes.”
We drove past the town sign declaring we had entered the city limits of Asheville. Now, all we had to do was navigate the rows of coffee shops and wine bars and we would be close to the turn off to the family homestead. Beau’s eyes were glued to the scenery outside his window.
“What should I expect?”
“Well, my mom is the business manager and runs the marketing and finances for the winery. So, she’s pretty much a no-nonsense kind of woman. My dad was an attorney. I was too young to remember when he practiced law, but now he manages the property, the employees, and the grape production.”
I slowed the car as we reached the double iron gates. I rolled down the window and punched in my pass code.
“Mystic Vineyards?” Beau looked over the entangled M and V welded into the gate. “Wow.”
I waited for the gates to swing open fully then crept forward, taking us along the winding drive to my parents’ house and the family business. The sun was just starting to set on the rows of vines stretching out in front of us.
“Are there any grapes on them yet?” Beau asked as the gnarled branches crawled past us.
“No. It’s too early in the season. The vines are just starting to wake up after the winter.” He looked disappointed. “But there’s plenty of wine. We always have wine.”
He laughed.
We turned another corner before the house came into full view.
“Shit.” I didn’t mean to say it out loud.
“What’s wrong?”
In the driveway, parked next to the house, was a line of cars. We had company. “Oh, nothing. It will be fine. You’re going to get to meet more of my family than I thought.
”
“And the mysteries keep coming.” Beau opened the door and stepped out of the car.
I was on my way to the trunk of the car when I felt my body lifted in the air and tossed over a shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Gotcha, little sis.”
“Austin?”
My oldest brother ran a circle around my car while I bobbed up and down on his shoulder. If I kicked too much he might drop me.
“Seriously, put me down. I’m going to throw up, Austin.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He deposited me at the bumper. I reached out for the trunk to steady myself, but felt Beau grab me by the arm to keep me from stumbling.
“Hey, man, I’m Austin.” My prankster older brother reached out to shake Beau’s hand. “Welcome.”
“Thanks.” Beau shook his hand, and then turned to me. “Brother?”
I grinned sheepishly. “Well, about that. I was getting ready to tell you—” Before I could finish my sentence I was whipped up into the air again.
“London! You’re home! We haven’t seen you since Christmas.”
“Ok, you all have got to stop picking me up.” I pounded on my brother’s back. He set me down in time for me to see the other two on their way over to our sibling reunion.
Austin stood next to Beau. As the oldest, he often took charge. “Beau, this is Nash, Jackson, and Roman.”
Beau performed the customary handshake ritual with each of my brothers.
“I’m just so shocked to see all of you here. Nash is right; we haven’t all been together since Christmas.”
“Mom called us and mentioned you might be bringing a guy home this weekend. Couldn’t miss it.” Jackson punched Beau in the arm.
“Oh, no you misunderstood,” I stammered.
“London, come inside and get out of the chilly air. Boys, get her things out of the car.” My mother was standing on the front porch, smiling sternly.
I shrugged my shoulders at Beau. Clearly, I had not prepared him for the onslaught of the James boys. How could I? I had no idea they were going to be here, at least three of them. Roman was the youngest and a senior in high school. My older brothers: Austin, Nash, and Jackson were all grown up and living on their own.
“Hi. I’m Lydia James, but you can just call me Mrs. James.” I sighed as my mother introduced herself to Beau. She was always so formal.
“Thank you for letting me crash this weekend, Mrs. James. The vineyard is impressive.”
“Why thank you. London will have to give you a tour tomorrow. Now, everyone inside. Dinner’s on the table and we don’t want to make Dad wait for supper.” She herded the pack along the porch and into the front door.
I lagged behind, watching my brothers laughing about something. Beau was a step in front of me. I tugged on his jacket before he crossed the threshold.
“I’m sorry about all of this. I didn’t know they would be here.”
He laughed. “Don’t apologize. They’re your family. Although, maybe you could have mentioned the four brothers at some point.”
I looked at my boots. Why had I kept so much from him?
“Come on, I heard we can’t let your dad get hungry.” He slung his arm around my shoulder and we walked into the house.
“Dad!” I dislodged Beau’s arm and ran to hug my father as he descended the staircase.
“Hi, kitten. I heard you brought a friend home for the weekend.” My father looked over the top of my head to survey Beau.
“Dad, this is Beau Anderson. He’s my Comm 224 partner this semester, and he’s pre-law.” I emphasized the law part.
“Nice to meet you, sir.” Beau was probably getting tired of shaking hands by now.
“Welcome to our home, son. Let’s go eat. You’re probably hungry after that drive. I want to hear more about your law studies, Beau.” Oh, jeez. I knew this was going to happen. Beau was right—I should have prepared him.
“Mrs. James, dinner was delicious. Again, thank you for having me this weekend.” Beau had survived the firing squad over dinner.
“Beau, you are so welcome.” My mother stood from the table with two plates in her hand.
Beau jumped up and leaned across the table. “Here, let me help you with that.” He took the plates from my mother and disappeared into the kitchen.
My mother looked shocked. “Boys, did you see that? There are men who have manners in this world.”
My brothers rolled their eyes. “I’ll go help him, Mother.” I collected a few more plates and joined Beau in the kitchen, where he was rinsing plates and stacking them in the dishwasher.
“You know, you don’t actually have to impress my parents. But if you’re trying—it’s working.” I winked at him as he threw a dishtowel over his shoulder.
I liked seeing him in my parents’ kitchen. He seemed at ease and relaxed. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and kiss him right here in front of the pile of dirty dishes. The nearby room full of raucous brothers didn’t deter the feelings stirring under my skin.
“London? Where’d you go?” Beau waved a plate in front of my face.
“Right. Nowhere.” I smiled and grabbed the silverware. This weekend was supposed to be about luring him back to me, but so far, in only two hours, I had managed to fall even more head over heels for him.
“So, what does everyone do around here when the sun goes down?” Beau’s smile quickly transformed into a look of panic. “No, that’s not what I meant. I was just asking about nightly entertainment. Dammit. Not what I meant.”
I giggled. It was nice to see him squirm for a change. “I know what you meant. Do you want to try some of the wine?”
“Definitely.” He eased back into shoveling plates in the loading rack.
“A wine tasting it is. I’m going to leave you with kitchen detail and gather some wine for us. It will just take me a few minutes. Be right back.”
“Ok. I can handle it.” Beau turned to face the tower of pots and pans climbing out of the sink. That should keep him busy for a few minutes.
I slipped out of the kitchen door and walked toward the barn that was adjacent to my house. My parents had converted the barn into a tasting room years ago and used it for corporate parties, wine launches, and the occasional wedding.
Quickly, I went to work setting up glasses, selecting my favorite wines, and lighting a few candles. Satisfied I had created the perfect wine tasting setting, I dimmed the lights and went to rescue Beau from the mountain of dishes he was plowing through.
“Hey, lil sis. Ready for some cards?” Austin was in the kitchen with Beau and I could tell I had interrupted a conversation.
“Oh, thanks, Austin, but I was going to let Beau taste some of the wines. Maybe after?”
“That’s too bad. I was going to show your boy here how we play.”
Uh-oh. Beau looked interested in the challenge. “Man, I know how to play. What game?”
“Texas hold ‘em?”
“I’m in.” Beau threw the dishtowel on the clean countertop and followed my brother into the hallway.
Ugh! The allure of male bonding had taken over. “Ok, don’t worry about me. We can try the wines later,” I called out, but they were already gone.
I moped all the way to the barn, and returned the glasses and the wines to their original spots. I blew out the last candle before I turned off the light. So far, my hometown date wasn’t going as I had planned.
“Good morning.” Beau was already at the kitchen table, sipping on a cup of coffee when I entered the sunny room.
“Good morning.” I smiled and walked to the cabinet in search of my favorite tea. My mother always kept the best stash of raspberry tea.
“London, you missed a good game last night. Beau here is quite the card player. I lost fifty bucks last night.” Austin looked pleased with himself despite his monetary loss.
My brothers had managed to rope Beau into their clan in just one night. They were definitely better at it than me.
“Sorry, I missed it. I’m in the middle o
f this amazing book, Marjorie Morningstar, and I—”
“Hey, Beau, do you want to shoot some hoops? We have a full court behind the barn. Bet you can’t get past my D.” Even my youngest brother, Roman, was part of the testosterone conspiracy.
“You have a court? Yes, I want to play.” I don’t think Beau had noticed that I sat in the empty seat next to him.
“Guys, I wanted to show Beau the vineyards.” Did that sound as whiny as I think it did?
“Oh, like he wants to go look at a bunch of baby grapes instead of play ball. Come on, London. You can take him sightseeing later.” Nash had chimed into the basketball discussion. I knew this battle was lost.
“Ok, I’ll just see you later, I guess.” I waited for Beau to turn down the hoops offer, but he looked excited.
“Cool.” He hopped up from the table. “Whose team am I on?” My army of brothers filed out of the kitchen, taking my date with them.
I sighed, a little too loudly. “Everything ok, kitten?” My father stood in the doorway to the kitchen. He was still in slippers and his long, plaid robe.
“Hi, Dad. Yes. It’s just the guys hijacked Beau and I thought I’d give him a tour of the winery this morning. It’s no big deal.”
My father poured a steeping cup of coffee and sat across me at the table. “Honey, now I know what your mother told me about the project and I heard what you said last night, but it’s all a bunch of BS. You care about that boy. It is as clear as day on your face.”
I wasn’t sure what surprised me more: my father’s perceptive abilities or the fact that he just said BS. “Dad, you’re reading too much into it.” I wasn’t ready for this conversation.
“Look, I’ve been there. I’ve been at this same exact crossroads you’re facing. College graduation is a scary time, but having someone there with you makes it a little easier to face. The world ahead of you must seem like a big black hole—the great unknown.”
“Are you talking about when you and Mother were in college?” It was hard to think about my father being afraid of anything, especially as a young man. He was always so certain.
“I am. I faced the biggest decision of my life when I was your age.” He took a sip of coffee and his eyes were warm and reassuring. “I could have moved out of the state and gone to an Ivy League school when I graduated. But that would have meant I was leaving our relationship up in the air. I knew when I graduated I didn’t want to start my life without your mother in it. I gave up a different career path to have this life with her. I’ve never looked backed—never regretted it once.”
