exactly why I hadn’t asked her yet. It was also the exact same reason that my father was asking.
We both knew something strange was going on. Something was off.
“Johnson,” Anne blurted suddenly. When she said it, her breathing seemed short – as though she’d just run some type of marathon. Yet we were all standing perfectly still.
“Johnson? Hm. I do know a few Johnson’s, though they’re mostly based out of Colorado Springs.” Dad smiled at Anne warmly.
“I’m from – my family is all out east. I don’t think you’d know them.” Anne was trying to smile back at my father, I could tell. But her voice had gone wooden.
Dad raised an eyebrow, considering Anne’s words and, I feared more so, considering her odd behavior.
“I do know some incredible people out on the coast, but I fear you are correct. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting any East Coast Johnsons. Well, until now, of course!” Dad had a gift for smoothing over awkward conversations. It was almost as amazing as his gift for make conversations awkward to being with.
Impressively, Anne managed to stay graceful despite her obvious discomfort. She laughed lightly, although I could see that the happiness didn’t quite reach her eyes. I was sure that my father would notice that as well.
“I’m going to take Anne up to the rooftop. She’s not super familiar with Denver, so the view should be a pretty cool thing to see.” I slid my arm around her waist and began to slowly guide us towards the exit we had been so close to reaching before. I knew it was kind of a rude move, but I also knew that my father was well aware of the line he had decidedly crossed in asking Anne for more specific information about her family.
She was already guarded, and my father was nearly a perfect stranger to her. For that matter, so was I.
I was less than pleased with his intrusion.
“Well, you kids enjoy.” Dad took the obvious insult nobly, never losing his smile for a moment. The most obnoxious thing about that was the fact that I knew he wasn’t faking.
The man could watch a twenty-car pile-up happen right in front of him, and still remain completely calm. It was normally a trait that I admired in him. But not tonight.
The second that the elevator doors closed I smacked a hand to my forehead. “Anne, I’m sorry. My dad... I mean, he’s a writer. He loves learning new information about new people. He means well, I promise.”
Anne giggled and waved a hand in the air. “It’s just my last name, Penn. He didn’t ask for my blood type or anything.” Anne could hide everything except for her fear. It was in her eyes. It was always in her eyes.
“Okay then. So. Anne Johnson. Nice to meet you,” I held out a hand, and she shook it playfully.
“Nice to meet you as well, Penn Hardick.”
We stepped out of the elevator onto the smooth cement of the roof. There were tables and chairs set up randomly all around, half-finished drinks sparkling in the lantern lights.
“This is so pretty,” Anne breathed, taking in her surroundings with wonder-stricken eyes. The rays of lights from all across the skyline made her shiny hair glow like a halo, and I wanted to tell her that she – she – was the prettiest thing up here.
“It’s definitely not New York, but yeah. It’s worth seeing,” I pulled her gently by the hand to two abandoned chairs, and as we sat, the relief was clear on Anne’s face. “See? I got ya out of there in ten minutes flat. Wasn’t so bad, right?”
Anne smiled, her eyes locked on the view. “Your family seems super nice. It wasn’t bad at all.”
I swallowed and decided to take a chance. “What’s your family like?”
Her head whipped quickly towards me. “Why?”
Again. The alarm on her face. I understood that I’d asked something big, but I had no idea why. Asking any other human the same question had never earned me a look quite like the one I was currently being presented with.
“Um, cuz I like you? I want to know more about you?” I laughed a little, searching her face for the smallest hint that maybe she would find the humor as well.
She did not.
“I don’t have a family, Penn. My parents died when I was very young, then my grandparents raised me until they died too. I spent most of my childhood – the parts that