Next of Kin by Hannah Bonam-Young

Author:Hannah Bonam-Young [Bonam-Young, Hannah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2022-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-SEVEN

I love him. That’s all I can think right now. I love Warren.

I take his hand in mine. Damn further comments or judgments from my mother. She stands, outraged, and my father reaches up and slowly pulls her back down to her seat. She turns on him in a fury, and my parents share a conversation with glances back and forth.

My interpretation would be that my father is trying to make her see how close she is to losing her only daughter, and my mother stubbornly agrees to give in.

My mother licks her lips, eyes full of annoyance, and signs as she speaks. “I’m sorry, Chloe, Warren. I didn’t intend to ruin this lovely dinner. Let’s all sit.”

We lower into our chairs, still holding hands. Warren grips mine tighter and brings it to his lap, wrapping his other hand around the back and squeezing it between his two palms before letting go.

The four of us load our plates with more food in silence, pausing to pass dishes around.

My father strikes up a conversation with Warren about cars. I relinquish some pride and ask my mother about Abuela’s health. We all talk until we’ve had our dinner, ignoring the scene that just took place. Though I don’t forget what Warren said for a single moment. The way he had commanded the attention of the room, defending me from the same judgments he had made of me a few months ago.

After dinner, my mother asks to hold Willow. In her lap at first—at arm’s length—but then Willow does her impression of the world’s most perfect baby, giving nothing but big eyes and sweet smiles, and even my mom softens to her, pulling her to her chest.

My dad asks Warren to take a photo of the four of us to show Abuela and says they’ll get it framed. They leave shortly after I come down from getting Willow settled to bed, exchanging hugs in place of handshakes with Warren and Luke, who had reappeared while I was upstairs.

As I close the front door, I count the visit as a win overall. When I turn, Luke and Warren are in the hallway behind me, offering a group hug. After a long, slightly awkward minute of hugging, we all step back.

“Man, I’m sure glad we weren’t adopted.” Luke’s face lights up with teasing, and I can’t help but laugh. Warren shoves his shoulder but smirks as well. “What? I’m kidding. Your dad was cool. He talks a lot, though.”

We walk over to the living room as a unit. Warren lands next to me on the couch, our knees touching, as Luke sits across from us in the armchair.

“Yeah, well, my mom can sign but frequently complains about having to juggle three languages. I think he liked having someone to talk to. Thanks for hanging out with him.”

“What happened when I left? Things looked…intense.”

“Warren stood up for me, literally. Shut my mother up. It was great.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Warren chimes in, eyes falling to the ground between the three of us before raising slowly to find me.

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