I suppose it's nice enough to have Alexa home from college for the summer. It will probably be the last summer quite like this, because next year she'll graduate, and who knows what either of us will be doing a year from now.
And it's nice, because I like Alexa and everything. I mean, who wouldn't? She's 21, a wildly successful biology major about to start her senior year in college. Smart, friendly to virtually everyone she knows, not to mention nice to look at.
But whenever she's here, it seems like I hear more often than usual: "Gee, Lance, when Alexa was your age, wasn't she already . . .?" And the answer is almost always yes, no matter what the question is. Yes, Aunt Mary, Alexa had already decided on a major when she was 18. Yes, Uncle Bert, Alexa had already been accepted to an impressive university when she was my age. Yes, Alexa was already dating, quite a lot, actually.
I'm not sure how people can ask me these questions with a straight face and not see how substandard it makes me seem by comparison. Are they trying to make some kind of a statement? If so I wish they'd just make the damn statement and get it over with instead of trying to seem all warm and fuzzy.
I suppose I'm getting used to it, but a part of me won't mind when things get back to normal in September. And I'll be 19 in October, so by then maybe the age-18 questions will end.
"Hey Lance!" Alexa bounded down the stairs and found me on the couch reading a sci-fi novel.
"Hey Sis. Looking sharp tonight." Did I mention that she's nice to look at? She had on a black tank with lace in strategic places. I've always liked it, although when she wears it I sometimes find myself studying the holes in the lace more intently than I should. Underneath it she apparently had on a black bra, judging by the straps just visible over her shoulders. Her slim dark grey pants had pinstripes slightly paler than the fabric. But the most eyecatching part of her outfit was a bright red silk scarf loosely tied around her neck, with the ends dangling in front of her.
"Of course I'm looking sharp," she said. "It's not every day I introduce my boyfriend to my family, and I'm sure as hell not gonna do it in a sloppy T-shirt."
"Are you trying to tell me something?" I said, grabbing the hem of the T-shirt I had on.
"Nope, not a thing. Above all, be comfortable. The worse you look, the better Jason looks by comparison."
I thought it was a ludicrous statement, because nobody would be comparing me to Alexa's boyfriend. Sure, we'd all be silently judging him, mom and dad trying to figure out why he wasn't good enough for Alexa, but my wardrobe wouldn't be on anyone's mind.
"So where is this well-dressed Jason?" I asked. "I thought he was supposed to be here by 5:30."
She sighed. "He just texted that he ran into serious traffic. He probably won't be here until a quarter after 6."
"Ouch. That's not a good way to get on mom's good side, when she expects everyone sitting down to eat at 6 o'clock sharp."
"Yes, Lance, thanks for pointing out the obvious. I'm going to ask mom if she can wait until 6:30."
I said, "Good luck with that," and she huffed at me as she left for the kitchen.
* * *
The doorbell finally rang at 6:25, and Alexa bolted for the door. Jason was carrying a vase of fresh flowers, and he struggled to hold it as Alexa wrapped her arms around him before he made it through the doorway. As they untangled, she put the vase on a side table and walked him into the kitchen. "Mom, Dad, Lance, Madison: This is Jason."
Jason was much taller than Alexa, at least a couple of ticks over six feet, and he did look nice. He had on a long-sleeved white shirt under a button-up vest that had a subtle pattern of pale green and navy blue. It was the kind of thing that never even remotely occurred to me to wear. He had a neatly-trimmed beard, the same color blond as the rest of his wavy hair.
Mom chimed in immediately. "Jason, we're just about to sit down to eat. Come in and let Alexa get you something to drink." In a louder voice, she said to the rest of us, "Everyone, get yourselves set down." Jason could have no way of knowing, but Mom always said this same thing when she was stressed about dinner being late.
We all filtered into the dining room and sat in our usual places, mom and dad on the ends of the table, me and Madison on one side, and Alexa on the other side. Jason sat next to Alexa in the chair that was usually empty when it was just the five of us. Mom had Alexa and Madison on either side of her, and Dad had me and Jason. The boys at one end and the girls at the other.
There were a few pleasantries as we passed the meatloaf and potatoes around the table, and slowly but surely we began to find out more and more about Jason. He had just graduated in the spring, majored in phys ed, but was still looking for a "real" job. To pay the rent he was working as a lifeguard at a private pool.
I particularly enjoyed watching Mom and Dad's reactions to these tidbits. Dad was the silent type, limiting himself to raised eyebrows and a thoughtful stroke of the chin. Mom gave some vocalization almost every time we learned something: "Oh, really?" "My goodness!" Or a concerned grunt disguised as just plain "Oh." I could imagine them thinking: My precious daughter is dating a lifeguard? A lifeguard who, even if he succeeds wildly in achieving all his dreams, which is doubtful, will be an elementary school P.E. teacher? My precious daughter, who has her whole life ahead of her right after med school?
Thank god for Madison, because she broke the tension once in a while and took the focus off Jason. This is what 10-year-olds do. At one point she volunteered that her P.E. teacher was a moron and that Jason ought to work at her school.
Alexa didn't say much, but she kept playing with the ends of her scarf like she was nervous, even though she isn't the fidgety type. I couldn't understand why she would be nervous, until our plates were just about empty and she said, "Everyone, Jason and I have an announcement."
I don't know what Mom thought the announcement would be, but she said, "No, dear god, no," which I thought was rude.
