Measuring Up: Surprise, Surprise

I am fairly certain when I went to sleep I was alone, but when I woke up there was a boy on top of me. He kissed my sore eye at least twice which greatly contributed to my waking. The late afternoon sunlight pouring in through my open widow didn’t help much either. I blinked away my dreams and focused in on reality.

“Wake up Auntie!” Geoff said.

He was sitting on my chest which was fortunately still beneath the comforter because I had gone to sleep without so much as a stitch on my body. Geoff’s enthusiasm was contagious and I smiled up at him, happy to see him. A little warning would have been nice before a visit but family is always welcome.

I glanced at my alarm clock to get an idea of the time, 5:15. I looked back Geoff and then noticed his mother was leaning against the doorframe looking at the two of us with a mother’s amusement. I groaned for effect and yawned.

“My God, it’s so early! What are you doing up at this time?” I said.

Geoff’s little face flushed full of amusement as he determined he knew something I did not.

“But Auntie, it’s almost time for dinner.” He squealed.

“It couldn’t be.” I said.

“It is. It is. Honest.” He replied.

“Oh no, it just couldn’t be.” I said.

“No it is, it is. You have to get up!” He said.

“Just five more minutes?” I pleaded.

“No, Grandma says you slept the whole day away. You have to get up now.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

Geoff’s head shook emphatically proving he was indeed quite sure.

“Get up. Get up. Daddy’s taking us to dinner!” He said.

I pinched his arm lightly and looked into his bright, glowing eyes.

“Oh, I don’t think that’s right.” I said.

“But it is! Daddy said we’re celebrating.”

“It’s not my birthday. Is it yours?”

“No.”

“Then what could we possibly be celebrating?”

“Mommy says you finally got a job.”

“Oh that.”

“You gotta get up.”

“Well then you better take you Mom downstairs so I can.”

“Grandma said I have to make sure you don’t go back to sleep.”

“If I promise to get up will you trust me?”

“I will.”

“I promise then.”

“Okay.” He said.

He wrapped his little arms around my neck and kissed my cheek once more. I squeezed him back and sent him on his way with his mother.

“Tell them I’ll be down in a few minutes.” I said to Jenny.

A fast shower with a quick glance in the mirror to see how red my butt remained, and then I threw on jeans and a tee accompanied by leather sandals. My hair twisted nicely into butterfly clip on my way down the stairs. I could hear my older brother complaining all the way. It was nothing new, he always got annoyed waiting on me, even when we were little.

“Steve! Nobody told me you were coming over.” I said.

I reached the bottom of the stairs, all smiles and wrapped my arms around him in a big hug. He always pulls away like I might give him cooties and I never tire of making him just a little uncomfortable.

“If you’d gotten out of bed someone might have told you.” Mom answered for him.

I bit my tongue to avoid another incident with Mom and Dad. The last thing I needed was to show my six year old nephew that auntie wasn’t too big to have her bottom paddled. Fortunately Stephen and Jenny changed the subject without harping on my late sleeping.

“We were just so excited when your Mom called with the news about your position with Quondam. It sounds fantastic and with such a large company there must be plenty of room for advancement.” Jenny said.

“Yes, I am so very proud of you. Seems like you finally are growing up and getting over your childish aversions.” Steve added.

“Thanks. I am pretty excited.” I replied.

I decided to ignore the maturity jabs in my brother’s backhanded compliment. He’s really a lot like Dad except he got Mom’s sarcastic tongue. Jenny of course was being purely honest and I could tell she was genuinely happy for me without the qualifications my family seemed to feel were necessary.

“Well I thought we would take you out to dinner in celebration. I know Mom and Dad thought this day would never come, but I always knew you had it in you.” Steve said.

“Mom and Dad have been pretty supportive these days, I know it took a lot longer than anyone thought it should and despite that, Mom and Dad never gave up encouraging me.” I replied.

Jenny blushed a little because she knew exactly what I meant by “encouraging”. Little Geoff was of course oblivious and that was the whole point. Stephen had his usual self-satisfied smirk on his face. He’s always thought of himself as better than me and the fact I still get my pants taken down by Dad only helps his interpretation.

“Are we all ready now?” Steve asked.

A round of nods indicated we were and so we piled into Dad’s van with Steve driving. Dad never lets me drive the van, not that I typically want to, but there have been times it would have been nice. I sat in the back with Geoff next to me and Jenny on the other side of him. Geoff was excited and I understandably so because other than a few special occasions each year, he doesn’t get to eat out.

“So, where are we going?” I asked.

“You’ll find out when we get there.” Steve replied.

I stuck my tongue out at him. Geoff laughed as did Jenny. Mom slapped my hand and scowled at me. I rolled my eyes. She wagged a finger and shook her head. It was just like old times except for the fact Steve was driving instead of Dad.

The restaurant turned out to be a favorite of Steve and Jenny’s. Fancy Italian cuisine is not really my thing, but a free meal is a free meal. Then again I had an economics professor who insisted there is no such thing as a free lunch or in this case a free dinner. So far, I’ve yet to prove him wrong.

To say I was surprised then when a nice man looking to be in his late twenties joined us at the table, would be something of an overstatement. He obviously knew Steve and Jenny quite well, but his eyes were all over me from the second he approached.

“You must be Allison. I’ve heard so much about you.” He said.

A thousand responses ran through my head and not one of them would pass my parents without incurring some form of reproach later. I settled on a nod and a forced smile. Being setup on what was supposed to be a celebratory dinner for my new job, was bordering on insulting. Oh forget it, it wasn’t bordering at all, it was just plain bad taste and extremely insulting.

“I’m sure it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance but unfortunately I haven’t been told a thing about you.” I said.

The smile faded from his lips and his eyes grew a bit dull. He’d obviously gone to a bit of trouble to impress me. His hair was not just combed but styled neatly back on his head. His attire easily fit into the business casual category, but he wore it stiffly like one might a tuxedo. Everything about him screamed out how hard he was trying to make a good impression. I should have been flattered.

Steve shot me a look to kill, but I stared him down with one of my own. He had the good sense to let it go without words. Everyone was uncomfortable except for Geoff. He was oblivious to it all and just excited to have a crayon in his hand and a table setting to draw on. Watching him, made me wish I was six again.

To his credit, the young man didn’t turn and run but rather stood his ground. I might have like him in different circumstances, but being blindsided hadn’t left me in a receptive mood. For a half minute I wished I could let loose a little and handle the situation the way I might have back at camp. Of course nobody there was going to set me up on a date.

“I’m Mark.” He said.

He decided to sit down across from me although I’d bet it was a close toss on finding a bar stool instead.

“And so you are, someone might have had the courtesy to introduce you, but I guess that would be asking too much.” I said.

“I don’t want to intrude. I can leave if you’d prefer.” He offered.

“I wouldn’t want to be rude. Stay of course, be comfortable.”

He let out a nervous chuckle. It was endearing and pissed as I was at my brother and his wife, I couldn’t stay mad at Mark. He really hadn’t done anything wrong.

“So what awful thing did you do to end up here?” I asked.

“I’m not too sure, but I’ll be checking on that later.” He said.

“I’d be very interested to hear.”

“I’m sure you would.”

“Not to change the subject, but to change the subject…I hear congratulations are in order.” Mark said.

I paused a moment considering his awkward manner.

“Thanks. It’s been a long time coming as you’ve know doubt heard.”

“Yes, but these are hard times. You shouldn’t be ashamed.”

My still sore bottom says otherwise, but we probably shouldn’t get into that conversation.

“I’m not ashamed, just disappointed I couldn’t find work in a more glamorous field.”

“Administration is important. Companies would fall apart without them.”

“I suppose they might. May I ask what it is you do?”

“I’m a Web Consultant. Essentially that means I build and maintain websites.”

“Self employed?” Dad asked.

I rolled my eyes as the obvious insinuation in Dad’s tone. He sees little difference between the self employed and the unemployed. Apparently, in his view of the world, people who work for themselves are just people who are too lazy or too incompetent to work for others.

“Yes, Mr. Beaumont. I’ve been running my company since second year of college and I’ve managed to grow into a full time career.” Mark said.

“Mark designed my company’s web presence last year.” Steve added.

“Is it steady work?” Dad asked.

“Not at all. Everything comes in waves which is why I’ve had to hire extra help.”

“I can’t imagine you’d make much money doing that.” Dad said.

“You’d be surprised.” Mark said.

I liked the way he avoided a specific answer while implying he made lots.

“I think we can stop with the third degree.” I said.

“It’s quite alright.” Mark said.

“Maybe for you, but this was supposedly a celebration and it’s feeling anything but one at the moment.” I said.

“You’re right.” Jenny said.

It would be nice to think, my word alone would have sufficed but it was clear to me that it was Jenny’s word that made the difference. From there on the evening went pleasant enough and while I can’t say I’d ever have talked to Mark as a stranger, he wasn’t that bad of a guy. I even agreed to see him again. Hopefully, everyone is happy.