Chapter 18
Trevor
“Elsie, are you awake? We’re here.”
Elsie stretched then opened her eyes wide to see where they were. She saw a two-story white house with dark shutters, situated on a massive, snow-blanketed yard. This must’ve been the place. “What time is it?”
“A few minutes after nine. Are you awake?”
“I’m talking to you, aren’t I?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you’re awake. You need your game face on, not the sleepy one.”
She yawned, then rubbed her tired eyes. “Alright. I’m awake.”
“Okay. I’ll get your bag.” Trevor walked around the car, took Elsie’s overnight bag from the back and then opened the door for her.
“I’m really nervous about this now, Trevor,” Elsie said, bending forward, clutching her stomach.
“It’ll be okay. I’ll help you through it.”
Elsie breathed deeply, then twisted her body to finally step out of the car. As they walked to the front door together, her trepidation grew increasingly worse.
“Just breathe. My parents aren’t superhuman.”
“Sure about that? They produced you. They must have some kind of super powers.”
“I see your logic,” he quipped. With a bag in each hand, he instructed her to ring the doorbell. Not even a minute later, she could hear someone there.
“Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh…this is it. I shouldn’t have signed up for this.”
He cracked a smile. “Will you stop being so nervous?”
“You want me to stop being myself?” she whispered loudly.
“You’re not yourself. You’re Rachel, remember?” He laughed.
“And let me guess—the real Rachel is outgoing. Never nervous. Beautiful. Loves everybody…a real overachiever.”
“She was friendly. That’s all you need to know.”
“Are you saying I’m not friendly?”
“Shh…” Trevor said when the door started to open. When he saw his mother, he said, “Surprise!”
Surprise? Now, Elsie was really panicking. His mother had no idea he was coming! He forgot to share that tidbit with her. In fact, he made it seem like his parents were expecting them.
“Trevor, it’s so good to see you,” she said happily, throwing her arms around her son.
When the two separated, she rubbed her hands together while saying, “Ooh, and this must be Rachel.”
Yes. Fake Rachel at your service, Elsie thought to herself, but since it was showtime and Trevor was counting on her to pull this off, she said, “Yes, I’m Rachel.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rachel. I’m Lana, Trevor’s mom.” Lana reached to hug her, too.
“Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Lana. I mean, Myerson. Mrs. Myerson.”
“Just call me Lana, dear, or mama, whichever suits your fancy.”
I’m definitely going with Lana, Elsie thought.
They stepped inside, out of the cold and it was then that Elsie got a good look at Lana. She was about five and a half feet tall, a few inches shorter than her and had eyes just like Trevor’s. Now, she knew who’d blessed him with those splendid gifts.
Looking around, Elsie found the house to be exquisitely decorated with interesting antique pieces, including the living room set and the borders that framed the decorative mirrors. Everything looked fancy, well taken care of and carefully put together.
Lana hugged Trevor again and said, “I’m so glad you’re here, son.”
“Me too, Ma.”
“How long will you be staying?” she asked.
“Just for the weekend.”
“That’s plenty of time for me to get to know my future daughter-in-law.”
Elsie smiled tensely glancing over at Trevor. “Yes. I’m looking forward to getting to know you as well.”
“What’s all the commotion in here?” a voice as deep as Trevor’s asked.
Elsie looked up and saw a man who could be Trevor’s twin, except he had a blend of gray and black hair. They were the same height. Same complexion. The man had to be his father.
“Oh hey, hun,” Lana said to him. “Look who came by for a visit.”
Elsie could feel Trevor tense up as his father approached. He wasn’t all that fond of his father and from what Elsie already knew by Trevor’s own admission, he didn’t have a good relationship with him.
“Don’t you know how to call first?” he asked.
“Good to see you too, father,” he said in a tight-lipped kind of way because it actually wasn’t good to see him, but to keep things light in front of Elsie, he’d pretend for now.
“And who do we have here?” his father asked, stepping in front of Elsie.
Trevor said, “This is my fiancée, Rachel. Rachel, this is Dexter, my father.”
Dexter reached for Elsie’s hand while saying, “I see my boy got tastes like his daddy. We like that chocolate.” Dexter looked Elsie up and down before trying to bring her hand to his mouth for a kiss, but Trevor grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away from his father’s grasp.
Dexter grinned slyly and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Rachel.”
She didn’t return the same sentiment because she didn’t trust the man. She trusted Trevor and since Trevor had a problem with him, so did she.
“The apple doesn’t roll too far away from the tree, does it, boy?” Dexter asked Trevor after Lana showed Elsie upstairs to where she’d be sleeping.
“I’m nothing like you Dad if that’s what you’re implying.”
“Oh, but you are,” Dexter responded. “You’re getting married to a younger woman…somebody you can easily persuade and mold into what you want her to be. I get it. I did it myself.”
“Shut up, man,” Trevor said.
“And when you get her where you want her, you can go looking for some vanilla on the side.”
Trevor tried to contain his anger, but the man had disrespected his mother for far too long to the point that he didn’t even try to hide it any longer. Trevor cocked his fist back and landed a punch smack dab in his father’s face. “I’m tired of you disrespecting my mother! She deserves so much better than you!”
Lana and Elsie came running downstairs to see what the commotion was about. That’s when Elsie saw Dexter’s hand over his bloody nose while Trevor had just exited the front door.
“Unbelievable,” Lana said angrily. “After all these years, y’all still can’t set horses.”
Elsie went after Trevor, but by the time she could step out onto the porch, he was driving away. What…the…heck? Elsie threaded her fingers behind her head. Now, what was she going to do? Chill at his parent’s house, people she didn’t know after Trevor busted his father’s nose and took off like a robbery suspect?