Significance (Completed)

Significance - Chapter Twelve

"This is so good, Rachel. Thank you," I said and then took another big bite of mashed potatoes.

The dining room was grand. The walls were a soft yellow with green floor tiles and a big oak table that could have easily sat ten. We all sat at one end together.

"Good, I'm glad you like it. It's one of Caleb's favorites."

"I can't believe how hungry I am," I mused.

"It's the echoling," Peter advised as he wiped his mouth with the white linen napkin and leaned back in his chair. "It drains you like I told you, but not only are you tired, but you're hungry. It also wouldn't hurt to drink some orange juice or take a vitamin when you get home."

"All that because a guy invaded my dream?"

"I'm afraid so. I'm sorry, Maggie, but unfortunately sometimes, we have to deal with these unpleasantries with our kind."

I nodded and sat back, stuffed. All I wanted to do right then was crawl back into bed with Caleb, but it was getting late and would be dark soon. I needed to get home if we were going to appease my father.

I looked at him and saw him watching me. When he saw he was caught, that dimple of his became more defined as his smile spread. He chuckled silently and I cracked a smile. But I didn't blush. Progress!

He leaned his elbows on the table. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

I thanked his parents again for dinner and everything else. Peter said he'd still be thinking about how to deal with the echoling and for me not to worry. He hugged me tight and then handed me off to Rachel who did the same.

"Be safe, dear."

I nodded and we walked to the bike slowly. As I was about to put my helmet on Caleb stopped me. "We can take my truck if you'd rather this time."

"Um...if you want to."

"You want to take the bike don't you?" he said smiling.

"Yeah," I admitted.

He laughed and helped me with my helmet. "You just keep getting better and better."

I shook my head at him as I slipped on his jacket and then climbed on behind him.

"You want to drive?" he asked suddenly.

"Uh...maybe, but not tonight. I don't want to add a timeline of pressure to my nerves if I'm going to be driving."

"Ok," he said amused, "next time."

We pulled out of the garage, then the gate and headed down the driveway to my house.

"So, if your uncle didn't teach you, how did you learn to play all those instruments?"

"Well, he wanted to teach me but I wanted to learn by myself. So I took piano lessons first, when I was six. Then my grandpa taught me to play guitar and the rest I just figured out on my own."

"Your grandpa. The one who looks so much like you?"

"Yeah, Grandpa Ray. He died four years ago."

"How?"

"Well...we aren't sure. Old age, I guess. Significants heal each other so we usually live a really long time. We never have to go to doctors or anything like that, except for babies. We just heal whatever's wrong without knowing it. But Grandpa Ray didn't wake up one morning. I mean, he was eighty five years old, but we usually live longer than that. We can see it coming, but him...it was just out of nowhere."