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Sure enough, there was a massive spread of food waiting when we arrived back at Louis' place. And there were a few more people. I was shocked when I laid eyes on a young man who looked almost exactly like Louis.
"Ashten, this is my little brother, Colum." His brother wrinkled his nose at him, clearly not liking the term little brother. And the title only fit in terms of birth order, because Colum was almost as tall as his father. "And this is his girlfriend, Marie."
I shook hands with both of them. Marie was a tiny little thing; she couldn't have been much taller than 4'10". But with her piercing green eyes and wide smile, I could tell she was a powerhouse and she didn't let her size stop her.
Louis introduced me to one more person, a girl who was much taller than him as well. "This is my sister, Nicola," he said. I shook hands with her, and she greeted me politely, but she seemed a little distant. Maybe that was just her personality. With her side swept pixie cut, deep brown eyes, and bronzed skin, she seemed accomplished, worldly.
When we sat down to eat, I felt a little overwhelmed, surrounded by six people whom I didn't know very well. They started dinner with everyone holding hands, saying a blessing on the meal, which was completely foreign to me. Louis must have sensed my apprehension, because he squeezed my hand under the table and then let go.
As soon as the prayer was over, a cacophony of voices was released as everyone attempted to speak at once:
"Dad, how's the new position?"
"Are you still dating that guy, Nicola?"
"Colum, what are you and Marie doing for the Fourth?"
"Louis, how do you like scraping the scum off rich people's pools for a living?"
Everyone froze and looked at me, probably waiting for some bitchy reaction. I looked at Louis and lightly said, "We're quite a handful, aren't we?"
It was as if everyone let out an inaudible sigh of relief.
He gave me the best little smile and answered everyone, "The Norwoods are a great family to work for. And hey, I get to swim every day."
Mr. Tomlinson spoke up. "Heard any more from medical schools out there?"
"I have an interview with Johns Hopkins soon," he said, taking a bite of potato salad.
"No offers yet?" His dad sounded concerned.
"Not yet, Dad. I'm working on it."
His mom chimed in, "Well, you're not going to be able to start this fall then, are you?"
"Nope."
"What are you going to do when your summer job is finished?" His father asked.
"I don't know yet!" He sounded a little irritated. His father was going to say something else, but Mrs. Tomlinson gave him a pointed look, warning him to keep his mouth shut.
