Read Arranged for Free Online Page B

the back rooms. “You can have the guest room! I’ve left a pair of pajamas in the bottom drawer if you need some, and there’s extra toothbrushes in the bathroom.”
    Jen sees my confused look and smiles. “She likes having people over.”
    “She’s lonely,” Lee corrects.
    “Well that wouldn’t have anything to do with you sleeping around at school and never coming home now, would it playboy?” Jen snaps.
    “And it wouldn’t have anything to do with your fear of being too out in the open with her, would it?” Lee counters. Jen flushes up to her red-pixie-cut roots.
    “Whatever.”
    There’s an awkward quiet. My stomach chooses that exact moment to rumble hideously. Lee shakes his head and Jen snickers. I mumble an apology. Lee dumps orzo pasta into the now-boiling water. He pulls out a tomato and a block of mozzarella. He cuts a few slices, sprinkles them with balsamic vinegar, and slides the plate to me.
    “There. Eat before that monster in your stomach jumps out and kills us all.”
    “So how…how do you know how to cook?” I ask. Jen stuffs a tomato slice her mouth. I nibble on mozzarella. Lee flips the steak over.
    “When Mom died, Grace burned everything and Dad was too busy at work. I took it up, and it stuck.”
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t know –”
    “It’s fine.” He shakes his head and brings out a bag of peas from the freezer. I suddenly feel horrible. They didn’t have a mom growing up. I can’t imagine not having Mom – Dad would be a whole other person without her, and our lives would’ve been different. Sadder. Harder.
    Jen and I set the table. Grace laughs and tells stories and pours wine whenever our glasses empty. The world spins pleasantly, and I’m warm and careless. I’ve never gotten this drunk. It gets harder and harder to ignore Lee’s fingers when they accidentally brush mine passing food around.
    “I told the guy to keep walking, but he had no idea the camera was on him, and he just stood there in the bushes, peeing,” Grace stops to laugh. “So finally, one of the makeup guys chased him off, but the guy left his pants, so he was naked from the waist down and running away and – oh God, it was the funniest shoot I’ve ever been on. When Chole and I do shoots together now, we still hike up our pants during breaks and pretend to pee in front of the camera.
    Lee smiles and takes a sip of wine.
    “Well, since Lee cooked, I’ll clean,” Jen offers.
    “I’ll help,” I say. While Jen and I wash, Grace and Lee talk on the sofa. Their voices are too low to hear, but they’re definitely speaking Spanish, and they shoot looks at me every once in a while.
    “How did their mom die?” I whisper to Jen and pass her a dish. She pauses.
    “Car accident. She was American. Lived around here, actually.”
    “That’s horrible. But...is that why they speak without an accent?”
    Jen shrugs. “Yeah. They used to visit their Mom and Grandpa here. Plus they went to a fancy international school or something.”
    I think back to Grandpa’s letter. He said Lee came to the farmhouse for a few summers. Why don’t I remember that? I have fuzzy memories of playing with faceless, nameless friends our age there, but no specifics. If Lee was there, I can’t remember him.
    When the dishes are done, Grace and Jen show me the guestroom. It’s spacious, with a queen-sized bed, floral blankets, a dresser and a small TV.
    “The bathroom’s just down the hall.” Jen motions.
    “Awesome. Thank you so much for…everything, really. I’ve never –” I trial off. “ - never had this much fun before.”
    Grace hugs me lightly, a bird’s-wing embrace. “Sleep well. The car comes at four. I’ll wake you up.”
    “‘Night, braniac.” Jen salutes.
    “Where are you sleeping?”
    She flushes and looks at Grace retreating down the hall. “Um.”
    “Oh!” The realization hits me. “O-Oh, okay. Goodnight. And nice playing tonight. The music was great.”
    Jen smiles, relief coming