The Life of Esther Jameson

Chapter Seven

May 11, 2014

Jackson and Kade don't seem to like each other that much. Wait, that was an understatement. Kade and Jackson were like a wolf and lion facing against each other in a duel to the death. Why? I don't know. I've never understood the logic of men. And Kade is so tall. Cora is shorter than me, so I don't know what I was expecting. I had pictured a guy my height with less of the "target lock" look. His hair was the most interesting - wait, what am I writing about?

I think I have an idea on what might make them get along a little bit better. We could all go out to see a movie and have lunch later. Maybe the boys will find some common ground or something and we'd all be able to hang out together without them plotting the other's demise.

"Thanks for coming over, Esther," Cora smiled as she let me into her house. The front door led into an open living room with a curved staircase to the left and a small living room on the right. The living room was very color-coordinated, it put Martha Stewart to shame. Behind the table there was a large rectangular window that looked out to a large area of grass framed by a square of concrete decorated with several rosebushes and trees.

"It's beautiful," I appreciatively said. I was admiring the clean scenery of their home when an amazing aroma invaded my nostrils. "Whoa, what am I smelling?"

"That's probably our lunch you're smelling," Cora laughed. I guess she noticed me sniffing around like a dog that picked up a the scent of a buried bone. One aroma became accompanied by many others; scents that I had never smelled before. She grabbed my hand and led me into an entryway leading into their kitchen where Kade stood frying multiple things at once on the stove. I looked at what he was wearing and let out a dying wheeze as if I was lying on my death bed. I was about to be on one from the intense glare on Kade's face.

"That's a cute apron you got there," I said sarcastically.

"Don't judge Hello Kitty," he retorted. I laughed, which sounded more like a cackling witch. After I regained my composure, I took another deep whiff of the essence that was coming from the vegetables and soups that he was concocting. Waterfalls of saliva filled my mouth and my stomach growled loudly.

"Sounds like something is hungry. I mean, someone," Kade teased. I rolled my eyes and ignored his comment, sitting down at the oval-shaped table in the second small dining room. Cora walked past me, disappearing into the hall that led to the staircase ushering into the upstairs.

"Dad?" she called as she scurried her way up. A few moments later she came back down with her arm hooked in that of an elderly man dressed in a black turtleneck with light brown slacks, black house slippers, and a gold watch on his right hand. He looked remarkably young for someone his age; his tortoiseshell glasses made him look even younger.

"Dad, this is my friend Esther Jameson." she told him. He instantly beamed at me with the sweetest smile I had ever seen.

"It is very nice to meet you. Cora talks much about you," he said in broken English. Suddenly he began talking to Cora in a language that I didn't understand. Kade soon joined in and all I could do was watch as they continued to speak in their foreign dialect which I assumed was their first language.

The level of awkwardness was so intense you could almost grab it out of the air.

'Dad walks in and sees a random girl sitting at his dining table, drooling waterfalls, ready to feast. Awkward much?' My conscience complained.

"Excuse me," I interrupted. In English, obviously.

"Lunch is ready," Kade announced like there was never an awkward moment. Cora set the table with plates and a bunch of little bowls that Kade filled with different foods.