Page 17 of Yours, For Good

We stared at each other over the small table for two.

"I'm politically progressive," I confessed. "A snowflake, in the eyes of my family."

She leaned back and laughed. "That's not what I expected. A social justice warrior among the mega rich? They must love you."

Her words were full of sarcasm, and I chuckled. I knew myself; I tended toward stoicism most of the time. When I irritated my friends, they would call me cynical. There was something in this conversation, in making her laugh, that brought lightness to my mood.

It was the same with my chosen family. Perhaps I was loosening up, and doing well in offering some of it to Nora.

I lifted a shoulder. "I'd say my family and I found ways to remain civil."

"You didn't inherit your politics, then. How did you acquire them?"

"It was a mix of things. My grandmother and I used to go on walks when I was a child, and she passed on some of her wisdom to me. She didn't get to be the rebel I get to be, and I take pride in not only following her steps, but going further than she ever imagined."

I didn't reach for the medal and ring I had also inherited from her, hidden under my shirt. Their weight on my skin was enough to comfort me.

"Interesting," she said.

I sipped from my coffee. "It wasn't only my grandmother. As visionary as she was, she wasn't necessarily socially oriented. I was lucky enough to have a close friend show me the way many years back. Max was the first to have things click for him, and I learned a lot from him. We fed it to each other. Talked deep into the night about it. Though to be honest, that wasn't all about developing critical social awareness."

"You educated yourself but something else drove it, too?"

I nodded. "Neither Max or I have great relationships with our blood family, and us having an interest in social justice had everyone squirming in their seats."

She took a long sip of her drink as she inspected me. Whatever her thoughts, they remained hidden from me. People passed by us in search of their own table, and someone at the service station called out a name who had ordered to-go.

I gazed back at her, taking measured breaths so I would not do any squirming myself. This was as close as I could ever talk about my views of the world, without breadcrumbing for her that I was Mr. B. But if my presence here with her were to lead us somewhere; if it were to help her in any way, the least I could do was bargain for it with as much honesty as possible.

She put her mug on the table. "Are you still friends with Max?"

"Yeah. He and I are still close. We have a good, tight-knit group of friends."

Longing warmed up her eyes. I let a small smile curl my lips, and settled into the miracle that Nora was in front of me.

"You're not who I expected, Mister Pendleton."

Nora

What was I supposed to do with the knowledge that there were Pendletons that seemed measured but nice? As opposed to stiff and downright unlikeable, in any case. He even seemed open and approachable. Like he didn't want to wear any masks, and was willing to put his cards on the table.

He tsked. "Please. Call me Javier."

Across the small table, Javier gazed at me with clear, dark blue eyes. If I looked closely, openness aside, discomfort hid in the shadows. Somehow, the contrast made him look hotter.

I blinked away the astonishing thought. I may be past due for a quarterly one-night-stand— it might be bi-annual at this point— but this would not happen with Julia's uncle. It didn't matter that his dark brown hair was styled wonderfully, in an effortless sort of way; or that his wide shoulders were covered by a shirt that looked so soft I would pay to touch it. I shouldn't care that he moved with the casual aplomb of someone who didn't have a single worry in the world, or that even the way he brought his mug to his lips held a certain grace.

I hadn't known the man for longer than ten minutes, and he wasn't a random person I met at the university's coffee shop, or the bar right next to campus. He wasn't someone I could visit the dorms with before leaving in time to get to the JGH before curfew. Javier was a random Pendleton, and one I wasn't supposed to look at this way.

I cleared my throat. "I appreciate your understanding. Thanks for not making a big deal out of how bad I am at small talk."

"It's all good." He lifted a shoulder. "You rescued me, and it's not like I'm any better at casual conversation."

"You're not?"

"Not at all. I'm too serious, too nerdy, too… I don't know." He shrugged. "The only people I really talk to are my friends, and with them it's rarely about the weather, you know?"

I bit my lip. My task was to entertain Julia's uncle until she could come do it herself, not connect with this attractive white-presenting man with blue depths in his eyes.