Crossing kingdoms las ve.., p.4
Crossing Kingdoms--Las Vegas, page 4
“Dear Heavenly Father. Thank you for this food. Thank you for Mama for making it. Thank you that Dante could come for dinner and that he’s Beth’s friend. Not boyfriend,” she added quickly. That brought some snickers and a gasp. “Please bless the food to nourish and strengthen our bodies. And bless us to have good treats for Family Home Evening. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
Beth shot Lillian a disapproving look as the others dished up. Lillian didn’t notice as she was too enthralled with Dante.
“So, Dante, tell us about yourself. Are you from here originally? Do you have any siblings? What do your parents do for a living? What are your plans after high school?” Eric questioned him.
Dante had noticeably tensed and put down his fork. Kim put a hand on her husband’s arm to try and get him to back off.
Beth scolded her father, “Dad, don’t interrogate him!” Eric was about to defend himself when Dante spoke up.
“It’s ok,” he said, taking a deep breath, “there’s not much to tell. I was born here. I’m an only child. My mom is a single mom, and my dad is not a part of our lives.” He left out the fact that he has no idea who his dad is. “My mom is a personal assistant.” That wasn’t really a lie; he just wasn’t going to talk about what she assists with. His stomach turned at that thought. “And after graduation I plan to become a chef.”
Beth jumped in at that point and told them of his goal to create a charity that feeds kids, which seemed to impress her parents. Dinner carried on rather uneventfully, with general chatting about school, and Lillian telling Dante all about her interests and friends.
When dinner was done, Dante and Beth were nominated to do the dishes and clean up. Beth put the leftover food away while Dante started hand washing some of the pans, making sure to save a cloud of bubbly soap to blow at her, eliciting a small shriek and an unsuccessful attempt at revenge. Kitchen shenanigans were irresistible whenever they were together.
Working as a team to load the dishwasher brought their faces close a few times as they leaned in from either side. Their mischievous behavior was subdued by Beth’s tender smile and a charming wink from Dante. Sharing a towel to dry their hands allowed for gentle brushing of their fingers. Each bit of contact intensified the invisible yet palpable energy between them.
“Thank you very much for dinner,” Dante said to Kim and Eric when he and Beth finished the dishes. “It was really great. I should get going though.” He began to feel awkward without a purpose for being there and didn’t want to overstay his welcome.
“Mom! Can’t Dante stay for Family Home Evening?” Lillian asked. “Do you want to stay?” she turned on Dante with a charming smile.
“Uh, what’s Family Home Evening?” he asked, looking around. He remembered Lillian talking about it in her prayer and wondered what it was.
Kim answered, “We set aside one night a week, usually Mondays, to spend as a family. We do a variety of things – play games, work on family projects, give service. We usually sing a song or two, have a spiritual thought and always end with a treat. You are welcome to join us if you would like, and if your mom won’t mind.”
Beth was watching Dante’s reaction. He felt a bit awkward as he wasn’t used to family stuff and didn’t really care much for churchy or spiritual things. But he liked the idea of spending more time with Beth. Looking at her smile he could see she wanted him to stay.
“Sure, I’ll stay for a bit longer,” he said, intentionally not mentioning that his mom would have no idea he wasn’t home. They all went into the family room where there was a board on the wall with each family member’s name and different tasks.
Lillian got to pick the song. “I want Popcorn Popping,” she said and stood up to lead the music. “Everyone, get your goggles out! Ready ...?” The family proceeded to sing about the blossoms on apricot trees that look like popcorn treats.
Dante looked at Beth with raised eyebrows, remembering their conversation earlier at the school where she informed him Mormon’s don’t brainwash their kids to believe popcorn grows on apricot trees. Beth grinned and sang along, waving her finger and shaking her head at Dante for the actions of the song.
Ok, Dante thought after the song, that was different, but kind of cute, in a weird way.
Jacob offered a quick prayer, and it was Beth’s turn to share a spiritual thought. She was really nervous about what Dante would think. She read a scripture and talked about God’s love for all His children. She wanted Dante to realize that he is included in God’s love, but she didn’t want to be overly obvious about it.
Dante didn’t pay much attention to what she was saying as he was too caught up in how beautiful she looked. Her eyes sparkled and she seemed to almost glow. It was clear she really believed what she was saying and that it made her very happy. He realized he felt very comfortable, peaceful even; a new feeling for him. This day was full of new feelings.
Was it really just a few hours ago that she had kissed him? It seemed like a surreal dream, yet his mouth could still feel the warm softness of her vanilla lips. Heat was spreading into his face, and he tried to distract himself from replaying their kiss in his mind.
After the spiritual thought, their mom brought out a large tray with a jig saw puzzle on it, explaining it was one of her favorite activities. Setting a timer for fifteen minutes, they were all to work as fast as they could putting the puzzle together. There was a chart that showed other times they had done this, recording how many pieces they had connected in the set time. Tonight, they matched one hundred and thirty-two pieces, more than usual thanks to Dante’s help. Since they were so close to finishing the full one hundred and fifty pieces, they completed the puzzle together and then gathered in the kitchen for root beer floats – Dad’s treat.
They finished around eight o’clock and it was time for Dante to go. Thanking them again, he gathered his things to leave for the bus.
Kim declared, “You aren’t taking the bus home; we’ll drive you. Just give me five minutes.” Dante tried to think fast how to get out of this situation. He did not want them knowing where he lived; it was not a good area of town. “Nonsense,” Kim insisted when Dante tried to decline.
“Really, it’s ok,” he tried to convince her, but there was no way she was going to back down. He could see where Beth got her determination from.
“Go climb in the car. Beth, you go with him. I’ll be there in a minute,” Kim said. Dante reluctantly obeyed, and they went outside. Beth got into the front, and he sat in the back.
“Are you ok?” Beth asked, turning around to look at him. “Was that really weird for you tonight?”
“No, not really. I have never been around churchy stuff before, so I didn’t know what to expect. Your family is great,” he said, meanwhile trying to figure out how to not have them drive to his actual apartment. He thought about saying he needed to buy groceries, but he knew they would take him home from there too.
When Kim got in the car she asked, “Where to?”
Unable to bring himself to tell the truth about where he lived, he gave her directions to the apartment of one of his buddy’s. They pulled up outside a medium size blue concrete building and Dante thanked Kim again. “See you tomorrow, Beth,” he smiled at her.
Slowly walking to the front entrance, he fumbled in his bag as though searching for his keys. When he saw them drive away, he picked up his bag and turned in the opposite direction, heading to the bus stop that would take him home.
CHAPTER 5
The rest of the week was rather uneventful for Dante and Beth. A subtle awkwardness lingered between them, both unsure how to move forward. There hadn’t been many chances to talk privately; or perhaps they were avoiding really talking about what happened between them. What was there to say? She kissed him, he kissed her; they both seemed happy. The unknown was whether they would kiss again, and if so, when?
Laughing and joking around continued as usual in class. When they sat at their cooking station listening to the teacher or watching a demo, they gently rested their legs against each other. And of course, there was the cliché hands touching as they both reached for something, eyes meeting briefly. Dante would usually do something goofy and snatch the item right out of her hand. He loved making her laugh, lighting up her green eyes.
The following Monday, Beth told Dante, “Lil has been bugging me asking when you are coming over for dinner again. She asks everyday,” she added laughing. “I had a thought,” pausing as the teacher walked by handing out their next recipe.
Dante raised an eyebrow in question. “Uh oh. That could be dangerous!” he teased.
“Very funny,” Beth rolled her eyes at him. “Feel free to say no if you don’t want to. It’s totally ok,” she said quickly, trying to give him an out if he wanted it. “My youth group is doing a service activity on Wednesday. We are putting together hygiene kits and snack bags and delivering them to the homeless. Would you like to come for dinner before hand and then come help at the activity? Really, it’s ok if you don’t want to,” she added again nervously. “I’ll understand if you say no.”
“Are you trying to convince me not to come?” Dante asked with a grin.
“No. Not at all! I just didn’t want to be pushy,” she explained.
Dante laughed out loud at that, getting looks from the class. More quietly, he insinuated, staring deep into her eyes, “You didn’t seem to mind being pushy last week ...” She opened her mouth to respond but closed it again in embarrassment. Putting his hand on her shoulder he whispered, “Kidding. Really. It sounds fun.” Beth started to breathe again, feeling very excited. The next two days couldn’t pass fast enough, for either of them.
Wednesday morning Dante woke up in an amazingly good mood, looking forward to being with Beth that night. His mom came home earlier than usual and insisted on having one of their special breakfasts. Dante was torn knowing that would mean he’d miss cooking class with Beth, but after the evening he spent with her family, he felt an increased desire to spend more time with his mom. She was his only family.
Her parents had disowned her when they found out she had become an escort at nineteen. He was born a few years later, and although his mom had sent pictures to her parents when he was a baby, his grandparents didn’t even want to meet him. More than sixteen years later, he still had never spoken to them. It hadn’t bothered him before; he supposed he didn’t know what he was missing. Meeting Beth’s family opened his eyes. He knew he would never have what she does, but he wanted to make the most of what he had with his mom.
Dante’s mom, Ella, had noticed a positive change in him. At breakfast he told her a bit about Beth and that he was going to a youth service activity with her that night. Becoming emotional, Ella proudly admired her son, “How you turned out to be so good, my boy, I’ll never know. But I am very proud of you! I’m sure you already are, but be good to that girl of yours.”
“She’s not my girl, Mom,” Dante replied. “We are just friends.” I think, he added in his mind. He didn’t want to get into details with her about Beth. Knowing his mom did not like religion, he especially didn’t want to tell her Beth was Mormon. Ella had found many people of “faith” were very judgemental and rude to her once they found out what she did for work. Dante had worried about Beth too, but she very clearly showed him he was wrong. Maybe one day he would tell his mom, but he just wanted to enjoy breakfast together now.
When Dante didn’t come to class, Beth started to wonder if he had changed his mind about coming to the activity and that he didn’t want to tell her face to face. That train of thought got her frustrated, but she also scolded herself for jumping to conclusions. There could be many reasons he wasn’t in school, she reaffirmed. She joined with another group for the class assignment but was distracted at Dante’s absence.
As the day went on and she didn’t see him around school, she became worried something was wrong. Realizing she didn’t know how to contact him since they hadn’t exchanged numbers yet, disappointment festered within her as she had been really looking forward to hanging out with him that night. She tried to look him up on social media to see if she could contact him that way, but she couldn’t find him online. It was strange to her that he didn’t have any social media profiles. She decided if he wasn’t at school the next day, she would ask her mom to drive her to his apartment building afterschool to check on him.
Dante and Ella spent the whole morning together. She didn’t have to be at work until late that night – an after party for a poker tournament at one of the casinos – so she could sleep a bit later. They decided to go to a movie together at an old theatre that played classics for five dollars each. Ella loved classic romances. Gone With the Wind was her favorite and she was thrilled that it was playing. She loved the chivalry and how the men treated the women – much different from the world she lived in. Dante had grown up watching these films, with his mom always pointing out the gentlemanly gestures the men made. She hoped some of these traits would rub off on her son.
Sitting close together, she linked their arms and rested her head on his shoulder. He could hear her whisper parts of the movie she had memorized and hissed a victorious “yesss!” at the famous line where Rhett puts Scarlett in her place. Dante laughed and gently kissed the top of his mom’s head. She looked up at him with tears brimming her eyes, “I love you, my boy.” She always called him her boy, but this time seemed unusually tender.
Dante smiled, squeezing her arm, “Love you too, Mom.”
When the movie finished, Dante realized school would be done in an hour. Usually, his mom didn’t make him miss a whole day of school, but he wasn’t complaining. It was a great day spent together. Ella was going home to sleep, and Dante went to the school hoping to meet Beth. He knew she was probably wondering what happened to him.
Wishing they had exchanged numbers so he could have at least texted her saying he would meet her later, he committed to rectifying that right away. Dante waited for her on the path, under the tree, their tree, where they had kissed last week. He was enjoying the memory of that when he saw her walking down the path with some friends.
“Beth,” Dante called out and waved. She was very surprised to see him; her friends looked surprised too.
“Hi!” she said with a bit too much excitement. Her friends exchanged curious looks with raised eyebrows. Clearly, they didn’t know about what had happened between the two of them. “Guys, this is Dante,” she introduced them, touching his arm gently. “This is Jess and Kat,” she added for Dante.
The girls seemed shocked at the association between Beth and Dante and were rather speechless at what they were seeing. They knew Dante was Beth’s cooking partner in class, but they had no idea why he would be approaching her outside of school – and why Beth would be so happy to see him.
Dante said a quick hi to the girls and turned to Beth, “Sorry I missed class this morning. I spent the day with my mom.”
“Oh!” Beth didn’t hide her surprise at that news. Turning to her friends, she said, “I’ll see you guys later, k? I need to talk to Dante.”
Jess and Kat looked at each other wondering what was going on. Beth gave them a glare and they quickly said goodbye, glancing over their shoulders back at Beth and Dante as they walked down the path. As soon as they were out of earshot, Beth turned to Dante. “I thought you were backing out on tonight and didn’t want to tell me. But when I didn’t see you all day I wondered if something else was wrong.”
“I’m sorry,” Dante said. “I didn’t know how to get a hold of you to let you know. It was kind of a last-minute thing.” With a repressed grin, happy she was missing him, he added, “Thanks for worrying about me.”
Feeling slightly embarrassed, Beth defended herself saying, “I wasn’t worried. Just wondering.” Dante found her bluffing to be a sweet gesture. “Are you still wanting to come tonight?” she asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.
“Ya, if that’s ok with you,” he added just because he wanted to hear her say she wants him there.
“Yes. For sure! Let’s go so we don’t miss the bus,” she was clearly happy.
Beth’s friends were at the bus stop when they arrived and continued to display their surprise at the two still being together. Dante never caught the bus from that stop, so they didn’t understand why he was there now. Beth added to their shock exponentially when she informed the girls that Dante would be joining them all at the youth activity that night.
“Why?” Jess didn’t hold back her skepticism.
“Why not?” Beth countered, with a warning tone. Dante watched the exchange uncomfortably. “It’s always nice to have extra help at service projects, isn’t it Jess?” Beth was feeling defensive of Dante.
“Sure, ya. It’s great,” Jess conceded in confusion and decided to not push the issue any further, at least not right then. She would find a way to talk with Beth alone to uncover what was going on with her friend, well aware of Dante’s reputation as an ICK.
An awkward silence hung around them for the next few minutes until the bus arrived. Beth and Dante sat a few rows away from her friends, sitting close with their shoulders touching the whole time. “I’m sorry about Jess,” Beth offered. “She struggles to filter her opinions.”
Dante shrugged, “It’s ok. I know I’m not the type of guy you usually hang out with.” He gave her a grin to cover his uncertainty about why Beth was in fact wanting to spend time with him.
She smiled sweetly back at him, “Well, I’m glad you’re coming. They’ll just have to get used to you being around.” They looked quietly at each other for a few seconds and Beth broke through the intensity by opening her phone. “I want your number. I tried to find you on social media but couldn’t. What’s up with that?”
Dante typed his number into her contacts, and she sent him a quick text so he would have her number too. Then he told her, “I don’t do social media anymore. Too much drama. And too many people just harass me about my mom. It’s not worth it.” He got a grin on his face, “You know, I don’t give my number out to just anyone.”
