better than the silent treatment I usually got.
“Can I help with anything?” I offered, feeling like I needed to say something.
“Oh yes, can you fill the glasses? There is water in the fridge and red wine on the bar in the dining room.”
I grabbed the pitcher of water and walked into the dining room. In the center was a long mahogany table that easily had to seat twelve guests. It was beautifully decorated with a fall centerpiece, which included pinecones, candles and small pumpkins. On the far side sat our four place settings consisting of fine china atop gold chargers, real silver, and crystal water and wine glasses. I poured the drinks, careful to place everything back in its perfect location, and returned to the kitchen.
Diana and Jake had all the dishes ready to go, and I helped them bring the feast to the table. There was more then enough food for an army, let alone four dinner guests, but I didn’t say anything except to compliment on how lovely everything smelled. Again, Issy’s mom beamed with pride and smiled.
“Isadora, we’re eating dear,” Diana called out to the living room. Issy came bouncing in and took the far seat, leaving me next to Jake, who was at the head of the table, and facing her mom. Jake reached over, covered my hand with his and shot me a breathtaking smile. I quickly looked down at my plate and put my trembling hands in my lap. My stomach was in full turmoil at this point. What was he doing? Issy’s mom said grace and then started serving the plates.
“Avery, Jake says that you are an engineering student. That is wonderful dear. I have been trying to get Issy to declare a major for a while now.” Diana’s voice was as sweet as honey, but I knew her words were meant to sting. I suddenly felt very protective of Issy as I hated when people were passive aggressive like that.
“Well, I think Issy’s theory on choosing a major is brilliant. If I wasn’t on scholarship, I’d totally do it her way.” I thought of Parker’s words and continued, “Originality is a gift after all, and Issy never ceases to amaze me.” I tried to match the sweetness in Diana’s voice, but wasn’t quite as good at it. Issy hit my leg under the table and tried to hold in her laughter. Diana quickly moved on to other subjects, mainly Jake’s internship at the stock company. Seeing his eyes light up as he talked about it reminded me of the hours we would spend in my bed just sharing our day together. I willed the tears to stay back and took a deep breath.
Issy was no help. She ate in total silence. In fact, I had only seen Issy this quiet when she was sleeping and even then, she made more noise.
“So Avery, are you also going to do an internship your junior year as well?” Diana voice continued to sound angelic.
“Um, no ma’am. I work at the engineering school now as part of the program I’m in. It’s been a great experience for me.” I was totally lying, but I didn’t feel like saying that I hated every second I was in there.
“I didn’t know you had a job,” Jake said, looking at me with a mix of surprise and admiration.
I wanted to say, Of course you didn’t. You didn’t take the time to know anything about me before you decided you needed space. Instead, I shot him a sweet smile. “Well, now you know.”
I could almost feel my life being sucked away as we finished our meal. Jake was watching my every move, while Diana continued to interrogate me on my plans for the future. Every minute felt excruciating, and I was starting to think that Issy actually hated me, otherwise she wouldn’t have forced me to sit through this.
I was hungry, but could hardly eat under all the scrutiny. Diana ate like royalty, finely cutting each piece and delicately placing it in her mouth, while Jake took every opportunity to secretly touch some part of me during the meal. Issy hung her head over her plate and just started shoveling food in as fast as possible. The tension between her and Diana was so intense that it seemed to suffocate any other thought in the room.
Finally, it was over and we excused ourselves. I realized after I cleared my plate that I had drunk the entire glass of wine I’d