Madeline and Michael to keep them still.
Xavier made the sign of the cross.
“For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful. And may we always be mindful of the needs of others, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.”
He finished and looked up, his gaze locking with mine for a split second before he broke away and took a sip of soda. In his eyes I could see so much understanding, a connection of faith between us, and in that moment I couldn’t have loved him more.
“So, Beth,” said Peter, “Xavier tells us you moved here with your brother and sister.”
“That’s right.” I nodded, feeling the food stick in my throat as I waited for the inevitable question: What about your parents? But it didn’t come.
“I’d love to meet them,” was all Bernie said. “Are they vegetarian as well?”
I smiled. “We all are.”
“That’s weird,” said Nicola.
Bernie shot her a furious stare, but Xavier only laughed.
“I think you’ll find there are a lot of vegetarians in the world, Nic,” he said.
“Are you Xavier’s girlfriend?” interrupted Michael, pushing his beans around on his plate and prodding them with his fork.
“Don’t play with your food,” Bernie said, but Michael wasn’t listening, he was looking at me waiting for answer.
I turned to Xavier, unsure what I should or shouldn’t say in front of his family.
“Aren’t I lucky?” Xavier said to his little brother.
“Oh, spare us,” Nicola started but Claire elbowed her into silence.
“I’m getting a girlfriend soon,” said Michael in a serious tone, and everyone laughed.
“You’ve got plenty of time for that, kiddo,” said his father. “No need to rush.”
“Well, I don’t want a boyfriend, Daddy,” said Madeline. “Boys are dirty, and they make a mess when they eat.”
“I’d imagine the six-year-old ones would.” Xavier chuckled. “But don’t worry, they get better at it.”
“Even if they do, I still don’t want one,” said Madeline crossly.
“I’m with you,” said Nicola.
“What are you talking about? You have a boyfriend,” Xavier said. “Although that’s the same as being single for you.”
“Shut up,” Nicola told him. “And I don’t have a boyfriend as of two hours ago.”
Nobody except me seemed particularly concerned to hear this.
“Oh, that’s very bad news!” I said. “Are you all right?”
Claire laughed. “She and Hamish break up at least once a week,” she explained. “They’re always back together by the weekend.”
Nicola pouted. “It’s over for good this time. And I’m fine, Beth, thanks for asking.” She glared around at the others.
“Nic’s going to be an old maid,” Michael said, giggling.
“What?” she snapped. “How do you even know what that means? You’re like, four years old.”
“Mommy said it,” Michael answered.
Bernie coughed, nearly choking on her food as Peter and Xavier laughed into their napkins.
“Thank you, Michael,” Bernie said. “What I meant was, you might like to reconsider the way you treat people if you want them to stick around. There’s no need to get so angry all the time.”
“I never get angry!” Nicola banged her glass down on the table, spilling some of its contents.
“You threw a tennis ball at Hamish’s head,” Claire said.
“He said my dress was too short!” Nicola cried.
“Your point being?” Xavier asked.
“He should have kept it to himself. He was totally out of line.”
“And for that he deserves to have his brains bashed out by a tennis ball.” Xavier nodded.
“Makes perfect sense.”
“I think it’s so nice to finally have a girl over for dinner,” Bernie said over the mounting argument. “We have Luke and Hamish here all the time, but it’s so special for Beth to be with us.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m very glad to be here.”
Claire’s cell phone rang, and she excused herself from the table to take the call. Seconds later she was back, her hand cupped over the mouthpiece.
“It’s Luke. He’s running late, but he should be here soon.” She paused. “It would be so much easier if he could just stay the night.”
“You know how your father and I feel about that,” said Bernie. “We’ve had this conversation before.”
Claire turned imploringly to her father, who pretended to be engrossed in his dinner.
“It’s not up to me,” he mumbled sheepishly.
“Isn’t it time to ease up on all that?” Xavier said to his mother. “They have set a date, you know.”
Bernie was adamant. “It’s not appropriate. Just think what example that would be setting.”