3 Buried Leads

by Amanda M. Lee

  “She should stay there,” I heard him mutter.

  “Don’t say that in front of my family. They’ll lynch you.”

  Eliot looked at me out of the corner of his eye. I had a sneaking suspicion he was starting to rethink family dinner. It was too late for that, though.

  “Will Derrick be there?”

  My cousin Derrick, Lexie’s brother, was a sheriff’s deputy in Macomb County. He worked for Jake. We were close in age, which meant we usually fought like brother and sister. Between Lexie and I, Derrick was constantly being teased by his co-workers.

  “Probably.”

  “Will he have that television reporter with him?”

  Much to my disdain, Derrick had started dating a television reporter from Channel 4 about five weeks ago. I had thought he was doing it to irritate me at first, but they were still going strong. I still couldn’t stand her.

  “Probably,” I growled.

  Eliot smirked. “You still don’t like her?”

  “No.”

  “What’s your mom do?”

  “She’s a teacher.” Which was probably why she was always treating me like I was in the fifth grade.

  “And your dad?”

  “He’s a businessman, but he won’t be there. My parents are divorced.”

  Eliot seemed relieved by that little tidbit. I didn’t blame him. My mom was going to be bad enough. My dad would take one look at him and think he was a dirty hippie, though. That was a bridge we would have to cross at a later date. Thankfully, my dad traveled a lot.

  When we got to town, I directed Eliot to the family restaurant. When we exited his Range Rover, I could see that the nervousness had returned. “It’s going to be fine,” I promised. I was mostly certain of that. “We’re a lot harder on each other than we are on newcomers.”

  Eliot looked slightly placated.

  “Of course,” I continued. “You’re the first guy I’ve brought to family dinner since I was a teenager. So they’ll probably look at you like you’re a circus freak and expect you to perform on command.”

  Eliot groaned. “Did Jake come to these?”

  “Yeah,” I admitted reluctantly.

  “Were they nice to him?”

  “Yeah,” I said blithely. “Of course, he knew them because we grew up together.”

  “You’re not making me feel any better.”

  “You’ll be fine.” I waved off Eliot’s concerns. I had my own problems to worry about. The truth was, I was happy Eliot would be there because it might stop my mom from railing at me in front of everyone for missing two family dinners in a row.

  Eliot was still standing on his side of his truck. I could tell he was debating about getting in it and driving away – leaving me to deal with my family alone. I stalked to the other side of the vehicle, grabbed his hand, and started dragging him towards the front door.

  Eliot let himself be led. Given his impressive muscle mass, I couldn’t have actually made him move otherwise.

  When we entered the restaurant, I greeted Eva, one of the longtime waitresses, with a friendly nod.

  “It’s a good thing you’re hear,” she trilled. “If you had missed another dinner you probably would have been on the menu next week.”

  She was probably right.

  Eliot was gripping my hand hard. I thought his terror at meeting my family was actually pretty cute. He was a former Army Ranger, after all. He had faced down terrorists and crazed soldiers – but my family was causing him to quake in his stylish cowboy boots.

  I led Eliot to the family booth. I was relieved to see that my mom hadn’t arrived yet. The family booth is one of those long, rectangular tables made up of three eating surfaces – with gaps in between. Derrick was sitting at the far end. I slid into the booth next to him, making sure to leave room for Eliot on the end.

  Derrick looked surprised when he saw Eliot. “You brought reinforcements, I see.” He nodded at Eliot in greeting. I had no idea how well they knew each other. I did know, though, that Derrick would be telling Jake about this. That was an uncomfortable conversation in the making.

  “Don’t be a pain,” I admonished Derrick. “Where is everyone?” I looked around the table. Only two of my cousins were there – Mario and Justin. They were busy talking to each other, though, and not paying attention to anyone else.

  “Upstairs,” Derrick supplied. “In the apartment.”

  The second floor of the restaurant was actually a really nice two-bedroom apartment. Through the years, pretty much everyone in the family had lived in the apartment at one time or another. To my knowledge, it had been empty for the last six months.

  “Why?”

  “Sally is moving up there.”

  My Aunt Sally was one of the free spirits in my family. She was on her second husband, after her first one turned out to be gay. Two of her kids were fully grown, but she had a 10-year-old daughter with her second husband.

  “Why is Sally moving up there?”

  “She’s leaving Steve.”

  Steve was Sally’s second husband. In her zest to make sure she didn’t marry another homosexual, she had married an overt redneck the second time around. I missed the gay guy. He was a lot more fun.

  “Why?” Personally, I never understood why she married Steve in the first place. I’m guessing her surprise pregnancy in her thirties had a lot to do with it. My grandfather had spent weeks lamenting the fact that a grown woman didn’t know how to use birth control.

  “Wouldn’t you leave him?” Derrick wasn’t fond of Steve either.

  “I never would have married him.”

  I took the time to explain the Sally and Steve information to Eliot. My family used to embarrass me when I was a teenager. Now I just find them funny. Eliot merely shook his head. “You have an interesting gene pool, don’t you?”

  “You have no idea,” Derrick answered for me. “Half the family should be committed and the other half should be locked up.”

  “Where do you fall in that scenario?” I asked him.

  “I’m the only normal one.”

  Right.

  Family members were slowly starting to descend from upstairs. My aunts Sally and Marnie were in deep conversation when they got to the table. “I’m going to go up there and paint tomorrow.”

  “Why are you going to paint? It looks fine.”

  “I don’t like the color.”

  They both pulled up short when they caught sight of Eliot. He didn’t exactly fit in. I could see a miasma of thoughts flitting through their minds. Marnie was the first to speak. “Who is this?”

  I introduced Eliot, who got to his feet to shake both their hands. Derrick was watching the scene with a mixture of bemusement and genuine curiosity. “I can’t wait until your mom sees him.”

  When Marnie realized whom Eliot was, and that he was the one who had been responsible for directing her daughter, Lexie, towards rehab, she warmed to him considerably.

  The bell above the front door dinged and I looked up to see my mom entering. She hadn’t seen me yet. I braced myself. Eliot had settled back in the booth next to me. “My mom is here.”

  Eliot looked up at the door, taking in my mom’s blonde hair and blue eyes, and smiled. “You look like her.”

  “I do not.”

  “You do, too.”

  “If you want to get into her pants, I wouldn’t keep saying that,” Derrick warned Eliot sternly.

  “Why?”

  “Let’s just say that’s not the way to her heart,” Derrick laughed. “It might be the way to her future ulcer, though.”

  Eliot regarded me for a second. “You guys should have your own reality show.”

  My mom froze when she got to the table and her eyes found Eliot. She met my gaze for a second and I plastered my patented fake smile on my face. “Hi, mom! This is Eliot.”

  I practically yelled the statement. I have no idea why. I guess I was nervous, too.

  “The pawnshop owner?”

  Eliot got
to his feet again and extended his hand to my mom. She took it stiffly. Even though I could tell she was freaked out by his looks, she was nothing if not polite. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “You, too.” If Eliot was nervous, he didn’t show it. He sat down next to me again, but his gaze never left my mom’s face.

  For her part, my mom was stoic. She slid into the booth and positioned herself at the middle table. “I’m glad you could come,” she said. “I assume you’re the reason my daughter missed the last two dinners. She was afraid to introduce you to us? Was that the reason?”

  “No ma’am,” Eliot said amiably. “This is our first date.”

  I couldn’t help but snicker to myself. Eliot was utilizing my own defense mechanism. He was poking the mommy bear with a stick to see if she would bite.

  To her credit, my mom didn’t take the bait. “I’m just glad she finally brought a man – even if he does have long hair. I was starting to think she was a lesbian.”

  Derrick barked out a laugh beside me. I elbowed him sharply. “Ow.” He rubbed his ribcage and shot me a dark look. “This is why she thinks you’re a lesbian. You hit when you should be using your words. A proper lady would use words instead of fists.”

  “Shut up.”

  “He has a point,” my mom chided me.

  Dinner had a more relaxed feel after that. We ordered. I opted for my grandpa’s famous vegetable soup and a BLT, while Eliot stuck to a burger and fries like Derrick. I don’t think he wanted to rock the boat.

  “This is really good,” Eliot said after we’d been eating in silence for a few minutes.

  “I’m glad to see you’re not a vegetarian,” my mom said.

  “Nope, not a vegetarian,” Eliot replied.

  “I wasn’t sure because of your tattoos.”

  “Why would his tattoos mean he was a vegetarian?” I asked irritably.

  “You know, that’s how people are these days.”

  “Avery has two tattoos and she’s not a vegetarian.” This time, Derrick managed to shift and avoid the blow I aimed at his mid-section.

  My mom was eying me incredulously. “You have tattoos?”

  “No,” I lied.

  “Yes she does,” Derrick said. “She’s got a turtle and some Lord of the Rings thing.”

  “You have a Lord of the Rings tattoo?” Eliot looked interested. “Where?”

  “On my shoulder blade,” I muttered.

  “Sounds hot,” he laughed.

  I could tell he was making fun of me, so I ignored him.

  Thankfully, the conversation at the table turned to Sally’s new living arrangements. “Why did you leave Steve?”

  My mom gave me a dirty look. She vacillates between the belief that you shouldn’t air your dirty laundry in public to garrulous gossip.

  “He’s obnoxious,” Sally answered.

  He was obnoxious when she married him. “So, what else is new?”

  “He told me he doesn’t think women should work.”

  “What should we do? Clean the house and pop out babies?” I was joking.

  “Yes,” Sally said seriously.

  “He’s a douche,” I supplied.

  “Avery! Don’t use language like that,” my mom snapped.

  I could feel Eliot shaking with silent laughter next me.

  “I’m going to need help moving tomorrow afternoon,” Sally announced.

  I noticed that everyone at the table had went unusually silent. No one wanted to help.

  “Do you have to work tomorrow?” My mom asked.

  “No,” I hedged. “But I rode with Eliot and he’s got to work tomorrow and he’s my ride home.” She couldn’t possibly argue with that.

  “I don’t have to work tomorrow,” Eliot answered.

  “You don’t want to drive back out here tomorrow, though, do you?” I was giving him an out. Why wasn’t he taking it?

  “I can just get a hotel room here.” His eyes were twinkling. He was doing this on purpose.

  “Or you could just stay in the apartment upstairs?” Sally offered warmly.

  “That sounds great,” Eliot enthused. “I would be happy to help.”

  He wasn’t so cute anymore.

  “Avery can come and stay at the house with me,” my mom interjected.

  Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. “I don’t want to leave Eliot alone in a strange environment. I better stay upstairs with him.”

  Eliot looked intrigued by the prospect. I was suddenly nervous again.

  My mom opened her mouth to argue but Marnie stepped in instead. “Oh, give it up, she’s an adult. If she wants to have sex she’s going to have sex. You’re not going to stop her.”

  I could feel my cheeks starting to burn with embarrassment. Everyone at the table was now staring at Eliot and me.

  “I bet you wished you were a lesbian about now?”

  I slammed my foot down on Derrick’s, which was resting next to mine underneath the table. “Shut up.”

  “What? I was just saying what everyone at this table was thinking.”

  He wasn’t wrong.

  Seven

  Throughout the rest of dinner, I felt decidedly uncomfortable. If Eliot was feeling the same thing, he hid it well. I had spent the night with Eliot before, and nothing had happened. Of course, I had hit him with a car one of those times – and forced him to sleep on the couch the other. I knew he would be a gentleman if I wanted him to be – but I wasn’t sure I wanted him to be one this time.

  I couldn’t really give too much thought to my predicament. My mom was giving me dirty looks from down the table, and they were starting to get to me. After dinner –which I stretched out by having a hot fudge sundae – my family began to disperse and leave the restaurant.

  Sally lingered, saying she would be back early the next morning because she wanted to paint the apartment before we started moving stuff up. “I figured I would come over here and paint first and you guys could go help load the truck while I’m doing that.”

  I couldn’t help but wonder if this whole “painting” thing wasn’t an elaborate ruse to get out of the heavy lifting associated with moving – but I didn’t say that out loud. I had other things on my mind, at this point anyway. Tomorrow might be a different story.

  After a few minutes, only Eliot and my mom were left. She was still giving me “the look.” You know the one. The one that says “I’m really disappointed in you and I know what you’re going to do tonight.” I ignored it.

  I said goodbye to my mom and led Eliot through the back of the restaurant. I didn’t turn around to see if she was still watching us.

  There are two ways to get into the apartment above the restaurant. One is a stairwell off of the kitchen. The other is a wood walkway outside that leads up to the sliding glass doors in the kitchen. No one ever uses the wooden staircase – mostly because there’s a question about whether or not you’ll plunge to your death if you do.

  When we got upstairs, Eliot looked around in surprise. “This is actually pretty nice,” he said.

  “It is,” I agreed.

  The apartment had two bedrooms – one at each end of the apartment. There was one bathroom at the far end, near the smaller of the two bedrooms, and a wide and expansive living room. The kitchen was adjacent to the living room; you just had to take a step up. It was kind of like the letter “L.”

  “Have you ever lived here?” Eliot asked.

  “Yeah, twice. Once when I was a kid and my parents were waiting for our house to be ready. That was only for a couple of weeks. Then I lived here with Derrick for the summer before we went to college. Neither one of us wanted to live at home and this was our next best option.”

  “Why didn’t you want to live at home?”

  “You’ve met my mom. Imagine what she was like when she still thought she had an inkling of control over me. It was ugly.”

  “Yeah,” Eliot chuckled. “She’s a little intense. Is she like this with everyone – or do I just rub her th
e wrong way?”

  “Don’t take it personally,” I admonished him, climbing up into the kitchen and sitting at the small rectangular table. It was the only furniture currently in the apartment. “She can’t help herself. She doesn’t see herself as being oppressive.”

  “Oppressive?” Eliot raised his eyebrows as he regarded me. “That’s an odd word to describe your mom.”

  I shrugged noncommittally. “She’s just a control freak. She doesn’t see it. There’s no way to change it.”

  “So how do you handle it?”

  “I purposely try to make her head implode,” I replied simply.

  “That doesn’t seem like it is much of an endeavor.”

  “Most of the time, it’s not.”

  Eliot eyed me speculatively for a few minutes and then turned back to the empty apartment. “Where are we going to sleep?”

  “I think there are some sleeping bags in the closet,” I offered.

  Eliot wandered over to the small closet beside the bathroom and opened the door. I could hear him chuckling to himself. I remained sitting until he walked back into the living room and held up two sleeping bags. One of them was Star Wars and the other was G.I. Joe. “I’m guessing the Star Wars one belonged to you, but who was the G.I. Joe fanatic?”

  “Derrick,” I said simply. “Our interests as kids were somewhat limited. We spent a lot of time in the woods with paintball guns – and our imaginations.”

  “You two were close?”

  “Yeah, we’re only nine months apart in age.”

  “Are you still close?”

  I shrugged. “As close as we can be. I can’t imagine it’s easy to have me as a cousin – especially when you work for the police.”

  “I guess,” Eliot said. “I think you two are kind of funny. You act more like brother and sister than anything else.”

  “We were essentially raised together,” I said.

  “Is he close with Lexie?”

  “No,” I shook my head. “If I’m embarrassing, Lexie is mortifying.”

  “I see that,” Eliot said.

  He started spreading the sleeping bags out on the floor, tossing two pillows he found in the closet on the floor next to them. He plopped down on the G.I. Joe one, pulling his boots off and placing them against the wall as he did.