After dealing with the offensive coat, Mrs. Kravchuk leads Tim up a short flight of stairs to the house’s main level. The place smells of church dinner: solid, stodgy food with no seasoning.
What the hell is he doing here? A first meeting with a partner’s family hasn’t had him so wrapped up in knots since he met his high school boyfriend’s parents. Mind you, that was twenty-five years ago; the families hadn’t known the two boys were anything other than friends. Tim’s heart had beat out a frantic tattoo then – just like it’s doing now.
As he walks into the living room, Darlene jumps to her feet. She’s wringing her hands and biting her lip.
His heart steadies at the sight of her. She’s the reason he’s here, standing in this oppressively tidy house. This perfect woman with a face like Bonnie Bedelia. Darlene makes him feel alive. She was so quiet when they’d first met that he hadn’t even noticed her. But over the last year, she’s come out of her shell. These days, he gets to see more of the personality she hides away. Her sharp wit and resiliency enchant him. She has an easy laugh … when she feels secure.
“Tim.” She strides across the room – getting bolder with each step – until she’s close enough to touch. When she stands on her tiptoes, he bends to meet her with a kiss.
Fear splashes across her face and she makes a point of turning to touch her lips to his cheek.
Dumbass. Of course she’s not going to kiss him in front of her ultra-religious brother and sister-in-law. He knew that. And yet here he is, making her uncomfortable. God, why is he such a jerk?
But then his heart melts as she offers him a small smile, mouthing, It’s okay. She reaches for his hand, allowing her fingers to make featherlight contact with his as she gestures towards the stern-faced man in the corner. “Tim, this is my brother, Gene.”
Behind him, Mrs. Kravchuk makes a throat-clearing sound. Tim suspects some gross breach of etiquette has been committed. This whole situation has him so far out of his comfort zone that he has no idea what it could be. The fault is his, though – he's sure of that.
The other man pulls himself out of his La-Z-Boy chair and steps up to Tim. Gene is taller than his sister but still several inches shorter than Tim. The siblings share a resemblance in bone structure if not in expressions or mannerisms.
Tim has to remind himself he’s the same age as this man who seems so grown up. They’re both a year younger than Darlene. What’s it like to be married with a minivan and a mortgage and a bungalow in the suburbs? They’re only forty-one, for f*ck’s sake.
Brows drawing together, the other man holds his hand out. “Gene Kravchuk.”
Tim takes Gene’s smooth hand in his own calloused one. “Good to meet you.” The man’s definitely trying to crush his hand. But Tim’s been a drummer for two and a half decades – he gives as good as he gets.
When Gene winces, Tim releases.
“You’ve met my wife already,” Gene says. He holds his hands loose at his sides, though Tim suspects he wants to flex his fingers after the childish handshake game. Tim shouldn’t have given in to that childish instinct – he really ought to have been the bigger man.
Tim smiles. “Indeed. Mrs. Kravchuk introduced herself at the door.”
“Mrs…" Gene chuckles. Is there cruelty in that laugh real or only in Tim’s mind? “We’re all adults here. Call her Val.” It sounds like an order.
The woman in question somehow purses her lips and frowns at the same time. “Tim brought wine.” She holds the bottle as though it might explode. “I’ll take it through to the kitchen. I suppose I can cook with it – or something.”
Sh*t. Darlene had told him they didn’t drink – but it had never occurred to him that meant completely. You were supposed to bring wine to a dinner party. The trip to the liquor store on his way over is why he was late. He’d wasted several minutes trying to guess what kind of wine would make the best first impression.
Mission accomplished, you complete tool. Once again, he wishes he could disappear.
When Darlene smiles at him, peace washes over him. He’d go through hell for her. He almost laughs aloud as it occurs to him it feels like that’s exactly what he’s doing right now.
