The Mighty Fall

Boyd

I haven’t had to meet the family of someone I’ve been dating for a long time, and even then, Maggie only had her mom, who was too high to comprehend anything. And my meeting with Henry doesn’t count. Whether he deserves the title of Sophie’s family is something she and I disagree on, but I’m not going to bring that up today. My last interaction with Caleb was a little strange, but I hope he didn’t pick up on that.

Apparently, Caleb’s schedule is insanely busy, and he only takes Tuesday mornings off. Today is the only day that will work since I have a gap week between my training and when my work placement begins in the new year. Sophie has a short lunch break, so Caleb and I both agreed to meet at this new-age, healthy eating joint that is close to her work. She was stressing over meeting at a restaurant where Caleb would complain about the food, or a café where I’d complain about the coffee. This is the compromise she came to.

Sophie and Caleb walk into the restaurant arm in arm, looking like the picture of sibling loyalty that has been forged over years of living with an emotionally abusive father. Sophie looks at Caleb with so much adoration, it’s obvious from fifteen feet away how much he means to her. It’s weird how they’ve maintained their bond after years apart, separated by thousands of miles; yet I live in the same house as my brother and next door to my sister, but we’re so distant. Watching Caleb and Sophie makes me determined to repair my sibling relationships—since the deterioration of our bond falls solely on my shoulders.

Caleb reaches out a hand when they approach. “Boyd. Nice to officially meet you.”

He’s already shown me more kindness and respect than Henry did, and he wanted me to come work for him.

“Likewise. Sophie has told me a lot about you.”

He glances down at his blushing sister. “Likewise,” he repeats.

We both laugh, and Sophie seems to take offence.

“Ha-ha. You’re both so funny,” she deadpans. “Let’s at least order, so I can stuff my face with something and tune you both out while you poke fun at me.” She steps forward to the order area, leaving Caleb and me behind.

“You didn’t happen to smuggle any coffee in, did you?” Caleb asks as we join Sophie.

I pause for a second, considering that possibility in the future. “No, it didn’t cross my mind. I’ll buy a few flasks for next time.”

Caleb claps me on the back. “Good man. I like your thinking. I guess we’ll just have to choke something down today.” He steps forward to place his order, and I follow right behind.

After we’ve all ordered, Caleb grabs our fares and walks toward a table in the corner. Finally, I have a second to stop Sophie for a proper hello. I grab her hand, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “Hi.”

She gifts me with an enthusiastic smile. “Hi. Thanks for doing this.”

“Soph, it’s not a hardship. You don’t need to thank me.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t want to. This just… it means a lot.”

Knowing how much she loves and respects her brother, the fact this is so important to her gives me a clue that I’m important to her, too. She’s repeated the same sentiment at least twenty times since she first asked me to have a proper introduction to Caleb, so I have no doubt that this is a big deal to her. Again, it makes me regret the state of my sibling relationships, because I can’t reciprocate and say it means the same to me.

She drags me to the table, not releasing my hand, and takes the chair to the right, so I’m left with the chair between the McNamara twins.

Caleb has already set out everyone’s food, which, judging by his turned-up nose, I’d say was more to inspect it than be hospitable. “Soph, remind me not to let you choose a place to eat again, yeah?”

“Oh, hush. We only have forty-five minutes left, and this was the fastest option. You don’t need five-star cuisine every day.”

Caleb scoffs, dropping his plastic fork. “No, I don’t, but I can’t afford to get food poisoning, either.”

“Then don’t eat.” Sophie reaches across and pulls Caleb’s quinoa bowl toward her. “I’ll take it for dinner.”

“You’re better off feeding that to Wilson.”

I watch as the twins bicker back and forth, neither one missing a beat, dishing out snarky retorts. It’s entertaining and makes this meeting a lot less stressful.

“So I hear Henry isn’t a big fan of yours,” Caleb states out of nowhere.

I choke on an errant grain of rice I inhaled instead of chewed. Once I clear my throat and swallow my food properly, I reply, “The feeling is mutual.” My eyes widen as I process what I said, and immediately try to backpedal. “Sorry, I know he’s your dad. I shouldn’t say that.”

Caleb chuckles, staring down at the paper napkin he’s shredding. “I haven’t called him Dad for a decade. If someone wants to be a father, they act like one. Safe to say, I agree with you.”

Relief? No… that’s not what I’m feeling. It’s sadness. Also, a little hatred toward Henry. I have no sympathy for a man who disowns his child for pursuing their dreams. Not that I would have had any sympathy to spare on account of his treatment of Sophie, anyway.

Sophie has gone silent, chewing her kale salad concoction. I reach my hand over to cover hers. She doesn’t look up to acknowledge me, which has me worried I’ve offended her. My feelings toward her father have never been a secret, though.

“So tell me about your life in France,” I prompt Caleb, trying to redirect our conversation.

He glances at Sophie, seeming to understand Henry isn’t a topic she wants to broach today. “That’s a better question for Sophie. My life in France was mostly spent inside a kitchen or at the culinary school. I didn’t explore as much of it as she did.”

That subject perks her mood back up. She spends a solid fifteen minutes discussing the sights and sounds of France, once again gushing over her love for the French Riviera. I’ve been to England several times, but I’ve never been to France. The expression on Sophie’s face makes me want to take her, though.

The rest of our brief meetup goes well. Caleb seems like a good guy. Passionate, clearly, in all things. His career, his sister, his hatred for his father. I get the impression Caleb doesn’t do anything halfway. Much like his twin.

Caleb is the first to take off, telling me he’ll see me again soon. I guess that means I have his seal of approval. That leaves me and Sophie alone, but we both have tight schedules today, too.

“Let me walk you back to the office?”

She freezes in the midst of searching for something in her purse. “Uhh… no, that’s okay.”

Does she not want me to because that’s something considered old-fashioned? Is she trying to save me the trouble? Does she not want to spend more time with me? None of the above.

I know exactly what her concern is. “You don’t want to be seen with me, do you?”

“Boyd.” Her shoulders drop and her arm falls out of her purse. “It’s not like that. I’m just—”

“It’s fine. I have to go anyway.” I huff past her toward the door. It’s stupid to be annoyed by it. One of the reasons I hesitated when she asked me out was because I didn’t want to cause more issues for her. But I thought that one day down the road, I’d come to matter enough, she wouldn’t be bogged down by Henry’s opinion. It doesn’t look like today is that day.

Sophie doesn’t attempt to stop me. She lets me go, and I walk away with the exact feeling I was trying to save myself from.