Any Other Night by Anne Pfeffer

Author:Anne Pfeffer [Anne Pfeffer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 31

By now, even my parents have figured out I have a girlfriend.

“So tell us a little about this young lady!” Dad booms. He and Mom stand in the doorway to my bedroom. Mom’s purse is over her shoulder, and Dad’s wearing a jacket, holding his car keys.

I put on my most sarcastic voice. “Don’t let me keep you from your important plans.”

Dad counters with his determined-to-ignore-my-sarcasm face. “We have a few minutes before we have to leave.”

They barge on into my room, Dad sitting in my desk chair while Mom perches on the edge of the bed.

“Spill the beans,” Dad prompts.

“Well, I’m getting good grades because of her.” I just got A’s on a Spanish quiz and a history assignment.

“I like this girl already!” Dad says.

I figure this is my chance to ask them. “She’s gotten me really interested in English history. As a matter of fact, there’s this summer program.” I describe it, stressing the intellectual discoveries and historical insights that await me in Merry Olde England.

“Ryan, what a wonderful opportunity!” Mom claps her hands, while her bracelets clank together. She’s wearing leather pants.

Dad nails me with a look. “And this girl’s going to England, too?”

“Her name’s Emily.” I stare off into the distance.

“Okay, so you’re going to be… studying history… with Emily? In England?”

“Yes.”

I catch a knowing look in his eye.

“Alright, give us some information on this program, and we’ll think about it.” He’s onto me, but I can tell it’s a yes.

“And we’d like you to bring Emily around for dinner one night.”

“I’ll check our calendar and give you a date,” Mom says.

“No problem.” All right! England here we come. I wait for them to leave, but they just sit there.

“This is nice, having a chance to chat a little,” Mom says.

Spare me. I stare at my framed poster of The Godfather, my favorite movie of all time. It’s personally autographed by Francis Ford Coppola. He’s friends with Dad. Ryan, it says. A chip off the old block. You’ll be giving me a run for my money one day.

Yeah, right. I’ll probably be an unemployed derelict, lying around on my ass.

“Well, I guess we’d better go.” Mom and Dad stand up. Of course, they’ll be gone all evening, while we stay with Ro.

“Bye.” I turn my back on them, and after a minute they leave.

• • •

Mr. and Mrs. Wintraub have won four theater tickets at a raffle, and they’ve invited me and Emily along. I arrive in a sports jacket and tie and stand, chatting with them in their entry hall, while we wait for Emily. Eleanor smiles at me. “It’s good to see you again, Ryan.”

I’m looking forward to an evening with Mr. Wintraub about as much as I would boot camp, or maybe oral surgery. I’m just hoping to get through the evening without pissing him off.

Then, Emily comes down the stairs. I gawk at her. In this light, her eyes look intensely blue. Her dress has a low, round neckline, and her hair is up, showing off the back of her neck and her creamy, perfect shoulders.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.