episode 22: I Guess We Are Dating

-David-

Twenty minutes later, I turned up the gravel road to my brother’s place, surprised to see a ‘Fresh Pies and Berries sold here’ sign. John had always hated those things, thinking they reeked of desperation, of pandering to tourists. Thinking about all of John’s opinions, and our inevitable arguments, made my stomach lurch.

"Jesus," said Takara, "is your brother some sort of monster? Your aura is all…" she waved her hands, "blechy." 

I turned to her. "You see auras?"

She laughed, "You’re so weird, David, you see fairy, and you’re like, ‘well that’s not so great.’ We put a glamour on your finger to hide it from your brother, and you’re like, ‘cool.’ But I talk about auras, and you’re giving me the ‘don’t talk nonsense’ stink eye."

"It’s all too strange. And auras are cheesy."

Takara shrugged, "I guess. But is this really going to be that bad here? We could leave."

"Too late now," I nodded my head, just as the screen door at the back of the house flew open and Kristen came rushing into the yard, hands buried in a tea towel, a smudge of flour on her left cheek.

"David!"

I got out of the car, and Kristen hugged me. I turned to see Takara looking on, bemused. It was probably not the reception that she’d expected, given how tense I was. Still, Kristen’s enthusiasm surprised me. Even for her, this was a bit exceptional.

"You must be Takara," Kristen rounded the car in less than a blink of an eye to give Takara a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "We’re so happy you could come. Let’s go inside. I have tea or beer, and I’m just baking some bread." She linked her arm through Takara’s, steering her towards the door. She turned her head, "Be a dear David, and take the bags to your room. It’s the one beside the bathroom. The two of you’ll have a lovely view of the fields from your bed." Takara’s look shifted from bemused to slightly alarmed as she was swept inside. I felt a certain satisfaction at her being disconcerted after she’d convinced me to stay with John. I’d been a bit taken aback by his easy welcome when I’d phoned.

"Don’t be ridiculous, David, it’s why we have a spare room, for guests, even you," he’d said. Didn’t even really ask much about why I was here. I mean, he probably figured it wasn't me being a good brother, and while I’d been relieved, I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I returned to the moment, when I heard a scrape of work-boot on gravel behind me and I turned to see John walking towards me from the barn. The two boys, Nathan, nine, and Evan, seven, were playing some variation of tag that seemed to involve attempts to stuff straw down each other’s shirts. John was ignoring their shrieks of laughter and accusation. He gave me an amused grin. Where we could both see Kristen getting Takara settled through the kitchen window.

"You look shell-shocked, little brother."

I shrugged, looking through the window. "I don’t think I’m the only one who’s shell-shocked."

"What did you expect? Kristen’s been beside herself with curiosity. I mean, really, when was the last time you showed up here with a woman? Alice? And that was three years ago and only after she insisted. And now you’re showing up with a new girl on what Kristen is assuming is a whim. I’m curious why you’re really here, though. Pretty sure I could call it, though, if I was a betting man."

I opened my mouth to explain, but he waved it off. "Whatever, I’m glad you’re here. We can talk about the other stuff later. It’s been years since anyone in her family got married, so Kristen’s looking forward to getting the inside scoop on your romantic life. It’s best we get that over with first."

I stared at my brother, a little speechless. Had he really changed so much, and I missed it?

Then Nathan dodged in front of John, suddenly hiding from Evan, the two boys oblivious to our conversation. John swooped down to scoop the boy under his right arm and turned to do the same to Evan with his left.

"For christsakes, will you two show some civility and greet your uncle?"

"Hi Uncle David," came the chorus, breathless with giggling. John dropped the boys and aimed a kick at Nathan’s butt, which he avoided handily, a grin plastered on his face. He stuck out his tongue at John. "Go clean-up for dinner. If you track straw into the house, your mother’ll kill all of us."

"Yes sir," said Evan, and they both bolted, shoving each other as they ran.

John watched them go. "Barbarians," he said fondly. Then, "I’ll give you a hand with your luggage." He peered into the car. "Jesus, it really was spur of the moment, wasn’t it?"

"Well," I began, then hesitated.

"I was right, wasn’t I? It’s those damn Napiers, again, does it? I heard a fair bit more about what happened at that breeding show. Sounded like a bit of a disaster."

"Yeah, but, you know, things have changed. We came down here for an interview on short notice. I wasn’t sure if it would be cool for me to just drop in. But Takara kind of insisted." I frowned. "She’s very emphatic."

My brother snorted. "I like her already. I’m not Mom, you know, you don’t need to give me a month’s notice — I’m not so nervous or delicate in my sensibilities. Just don’t expect me to have your childhood favourites lined up in the cupboard, either."

"Well, that’s a bit of a relief. Anyway, I’m not as fond of jello as I was as a child."

"Funny that. C’mon, let’s get you settled before we eat."

Kristen had put out a spread for us, which was very welcome after our time on the road. Takara had an implacable disdain for the service centres. "They’re everything that's wrong about road trips these days. They remove any possibility of discovery," she'd said. I'd accused her of watching too many road trip movies, but she'd just shrugged.

Over lunch, we concentrated on talking about the food and the latest about the farm, but as we were finishing, Kristen cut to the brass tacks. "So," asked my sister-in-law, "how long have you two been dating?"

The boys, at opposite ends of the table, exchanged glances. "May we be excused?" they looked to their father in a mute plea of support.

But it was Kristen who rolled her eyes and said, "Bring out the coffee and cups first and you can go."

The boys scrambled to do their mother's bidding, spared of the need to listen to a bunch of 'adult' nonsense about dating and, likely, a bunch of other, similarly boring crap. Takara looked as if she would have liked to join them.

I gave her a smile, one that enunciated an ‘I told you so,’ as clearly as I could. Honestly, I didn’t know what she was expecting, but based on my own experiences of living in urban Toronto, the most intrusive question anyone would ask would be whether there would be a need for one bed or two.

"A little over a week, I guess?" And it was her turn to shrug.

Her response was obviously less than satisfying to Kristen, who was frustrated at the lack of detail on the romantic front. No stories of how we'd met, no gush of enthusiasm. "Still, you both must be getting along pretty well, what with coming to meet the family and all."

"Well, I'm sure that David told you that we had to discuss some issues with the Napiers."

"Of course, of course," she responded, "but it seems a great distance to travel just to talk about that witchy stuff."

Takara raised an eyebrow at this. "You don't believe in magic?"

"Of course, I believe in it, dear. I just feel that God's plan is greater than any witch or spirit. I mean, I think it’s a sin and all, but people make mistakes, and as long as their heart is in the right place, God will accept them."

"How kind," said Takara drily.

"Oh, don't be like that” said Kristen, pouring coffee, "I'm not expecting us to agree on these things, it's just that I take them as seriously as," she paused, "as you take my evening prayers asking God to protect my loved ones."

Takara raised her coffee cup in salute, "Touché."

Kristen smiled, but John interjected, "So this really is about the damned Napiers," said John. "For your new series, I suppose. Though why you’d want to encourage that kind of behaviour, I’ll never know." Kristen gave John a sharp look, but didn’t add any comments.

"Look, John," I said, "I know that you’re not crazy about the subject matter, but somewhat reluctantly, I’ve accepted that all this wacky stuff is part of my life now."

"It doesn’t have to be."

"No, I’d just have to pass on an opportunity that I’ve been working towards for the better part of a decade. I know you think my career choice is stupid, but it’s my choice. I’m not about to give it up. Maybe if you could accept that a bit more, we wouldn’t end up yelling at each other over the phone so often."

"Pffft," said Kristen.

Both John and I turned to look at her, but Kirsten just laughed. "Oh, please," Kristen said at our affronted stares, "You two would be lost without your fights, though I have to admit that I’d be a lot happier to see the two get over some of your, well, shit, if you’ll excuse my language."

Takara settled back in her chair, amused by my family drama. I felt a surge of irritation, until Kristen glanced over at Takara settling in, and said, "Oh don’t think you’re getting off this easy, I’ll be chatting more with you as soon as I’m done with these two blockhead brothers." Takara looked at me in alarm, having thought she’d dodged a bullet. "You two just have to accept that you’re as much alike as you are different. You may live different lives, but you’re both stubborn, opinionated and given to throwing yourselves into things without really thinking about the risks."

"I think plenty about risk," argued John.

"Sure, after you’ve already bought the farm - and no, I’m not complaining, but we wouldn’t have made a go here if it wasn’t for our friends, even Simmons, would we?"

John’s mouth tightened as if to protest, but then he relaxed and said, "Probably not."

"So, you might as well accept your brother is much the same, which is why he ended up scrambling to make a buck in that city, as much as we did here." She reached over and put her hand on John’s. "And I was happy to support you because, unlike most of my family, you worked to make it happen. Don’t you think David did?"

"Are you really going to make this into that kind of family moment?” growled John.

Kristen smiled, "No, dear." She looked at me, "So you’re both safe for the moment, if you behave."

"Thank you, Kristen," I said, and took a sip of my coffee.

"So," she smiled at Takara, "Are you a city girl, or did you end up there from someplace else?"

"I guess you’d say I was a city girl," said Takara. "My family lived in the countryside when I was a little girl, but," she paused, "we had to leave."

"Oh, dear," said Kristen, "Was it hard?"

Takara shrugged. "It was a long time ago. I remember playing in the woods with my mother, and in many ways, the city was the same. The same sort of risks and opportunities. You had to find your own way, but there was more than one way to fill your belly, more than one way to find a place to bed down at night." She smiled a bit at that last comment. "I mean, eventually my grandmother and I carved out a little niche for ourselves. But sometimes I miss that, I guess you could say, feral life. Though I doubt my grandmother does."

"That sounds very exciting, though I have to say it sounds a little precarious to me. I prefer a warm home to come to at night, to have my own place."

"It’s a matter of perspective. In the wild or in the city, there’s always a place for you, if you have the wits to find it."

"What about things like family, children?"

"Jesus, Kristen," I said.

"Oh relax, David, I’m just making conversation," she turned to Takara, "I’m sure that Takara knows that we’re curious about her."

"Sure," said Takara.

"But I am curious about how you’d deal with things like family."

"I’d follow my family’s tradition," said Takara, "I’d teach them to hunt," and she smiled.

There was a moment of silence at that. I don’t think sweet Kristen expected that response, but then, after a beat, John laughed, “Well, I’m glad that you’re not some vegan, Whole Foods socialist. We’ll have to get you out for duck season some time."

"That sounds like fun," smiled Takara.

"Well, you two can have fun. Maybe you and John can go ice fishing too, though why you’d want to sit in the middle of a swamp or on a hunk of ice, freezing your ass off, while you wait for some damn duck or fish to grace you with its presence, I’ll never know. I’d rather go to the market, thank you very much."

John and Takara exchanged glances.

"It’s about the moment," said Takara, "the anticipation, the planning, the moment of execution."

"Yeah," I snorted, "What I seem to remember is a bunch of guys sitting around drinking beers."

"I don’t remember you ever objecting to drinking a few beers," said Takara.

"In a chair, or bar stool, where I’m not freezing my ass off."

"You are such a" and she paused, looking around, realizing that the boys might be around.

"Oh, give it up, Takara," said John. "I’ve tried so many times. He’s not even a bad shot, though he’s a horrible angler. And all he does is complain about the butchering, and about getting blood on his pants." He rolled his eyes.

Takara laughed, "That does sound like David."

image by Artem Maltsev via Unsplash