Who I Am With You (Imagination #10) - Staci Stallings Page 0,55

so long, somebody had to say something.

“Hey,” Taylor said, never really lifting her gaze. Whose horrible idea was this anyway? Not hers. That was for sure. Her heart was starting to physically hurt from pounding out the message that she was not welcome here. “Uh, sorry… Greg said… and then Clara…”

“That’s… It’s okay,” Wes said right over the top of her. He glanced into the kitchen where the noises said that Clara was already locating pots and pans. “I’m glad…”

“We don’t…” Taylor said, shrinking under the pressure. “I mean…”

“It’s cool. Really. I’m… I’m glad you… came.”

That was a lie. Taylor could tell, but she didn’t know how to refute it without sounding ungrateful for the modicum of hospitality he was trying to show by not throwing them out.

“I… Uh…” Taylor glanced into the kitchen but only managed to route the trajectory of her gaze to the carpet when it came back. “I should… go help Clara.”

“Okay. Yeah. But you don’t have to rush. Nels won’t be here ‘til at least seven, and Greg won’t be here ‘til around 8:30.”

The night began to stretch interminably in front of her, and those busses were starting to look better and better. Even the closed door with the hair tie would be better than this. Only then did she realize she could have just had Clara take her home. What was she thinking?

“Tay, is the mushroom soup in one of your bags? I don’t see it in here,” Clara called out.

“Wh…? Oh. Uh. Yeah. Probably.” And with that, she ducked and headed into the kitchen, ruing the insanity she called her life.

It took a full 30 minutes before Taylor came out of the fog of hating her life. They made something called King Ranch Casserole along with a salad and a vegetable medley that Clara had let Taylor chop all the vegetables for. All the chopping had helped. So had the light talk they’d had about perfection being overrated, the ironic difficulties of learning to be at peace, and the importance of being there for each other when life showed up with its worst face on.

By the time Nelson wandered in followed closely by Ryan, Taylor was feeling much better about all of it, which was a good thing because their arrival would have been impossible without the small shreds of peace she’d managed to acquire.

“Did I miss a memo?” Nelson asked, coming back to the kitchen after changing. His voice was filled with light and life, seeing Clara and Ryan first. However, when he caught sight of Taylor standing over the salad at the far end of the galley kitchen, all lightness left his face like it had swirled down a drain.

Clara seemed not to notice at all. “This is almost done. Do we want to wait for Greg?”

No one said anything for a long, long second.

“Uh, no,” Taylor finally said. “I think it’ll be another hour. We should probably go ahead.”

“K. Well, if you guys will set the table,” Clara said without finishing the request or command, Taylor wasn’t wholly sure which it was.

In no time, they were seated around the table. Nelson and Wes on the ends, Ryan and Clara on one side, and Taylor awkwardly on the other next to the wall. They said Grace at Clara’s suggestion, and Clara even managed to throw in a couple of words about tomorrow and asking God to be with them in the turmoil.

When they started eating, Taylor made sure to be as invisible as possible. The guys talked about school and class. Wes was starting more certification classes. There was something about diagnostic computer something-or-other and drive trains and axles, which Taylor knew nothing about. Thankfully, it fascinated the guys and they had an animated conversation about aligning tires and replacing suspension kits. It was all foreign to her, so she simply ate in silence.

She did notice Clara’s glances at her, but she couldn’t return them. That would be less than smart. She knew that much at least. The conversation swung from cars to practicing for the student center and dance lessons on Thursday.

“You guys should come,” Clara said enthusiastically. “I’m sure Paige and Lauren would love it.”

“Really,” Ryan said. “It’s a lot of fun, and it’s great exercise.”

“Lauren’s been pestering me about it ever since December,” Wes said. “So I’m sure we’ll be there. I don’t think I’ll have much of a choice.”

“I’m going to have to see. After we changed practice for the student center to Tuesdays this semester, I