Page 63 of A Bossy Roommate
I place it into my mouth, feigning innocence and hoping to buy myself time to come up with a suitable response. Chewing, I busy myself by standing up and propping the new family sign on the mantel. These rum balls taste kind of…healthy, like they’ve forgotten the sweet stuff. Is there even any alcohol inside them? Feeling drunk might have calmed my nerves and stopped my cheeks from blushing.
“What’s so suspicious about the story?” I ask her, sliding the family sign down a bit, a bit more to the left, no, a bit more to the right again, no, back to where it was?—
“You are making me dizzy. Please sit back down. I will gladly tell you what is so suspicious about it. It is too vague. Neither you nor Carter mentioned why you visited the hotel in the first place. It is ridiculous that you kept running into each other and mostly,” she narrows her eyes on me, “why would you—all of a sudden—give up your life and move to a different state for him? Inlessthan a month?” Her eyes are fixed on me, big and expectant, imploring me to provide an answer that will unravel theultimatemystery.
I can’t help it. I laugh. I look back up to face her, and she smiles, watching me trying to pull myself together. “I told Carter the same thing.”
Eleanor laughs this time as she shakes her finger at me. “See, I knew it. I knew there was something up with that boy’s story.”
“We met in an ice cream shop here in New York City, late on a Sunday evening, and from there we went into a bar,” I explain, sitting back down. There’s no reason to double down on the other story since she clearly doesn’t believe it. “It was achance encounter just not as…clean as Carter made it sound.” Technically, I’m not lying. It may have only happened a week ago, but it’s still the truth.
“Now,thatsounds more believable,” Eleanor says with a chuckle. “I am sure my nephew thought I might balk at the idea of him dragging his wife from a cute ice cream parlor into some dingy bar. But the truth is, I could not care less where he met you. I am glad he did.”
She pats my knee with her bony hand, and I reach out to lay my hand over hers. “Carter thinks the world of you, Auntie,” I tell her. “I can tell that he loves you very much. He’s been talking about this visit all week. I’m happy that you’re here with us.”
“I’m happy Cartie found such a lovely woman to settle down with.” Eleanor smiles and squeezes my hand. “I know he’s consumed by work, work, work. I’m well aware of his relentless pursuit of becoming a partner at that firm. I am sure you know that he started from nothing—a young boy from a rough neighborhood—and tirelessly worked his way up the ladder, and now it is driving him mad that the CFO stands in his way. You see, coming from a background of limited means, he had to overcome immense challenges and work relentlessly to carve out his path, and his journey has been full of sacrifices and relentless perseverance.”
Carter had alluded to his humble upbringing, but hearing Auntie speak about it sheds a whole new light on his character and who he truly is.
“Oh, I am so proud of him,” she goes on. “The thought of not achieving his goal would devastate him, not only that, but it would shatter his aspiration, especially considering how close he is to attaining it. It is within his reach, just at his fingertips.” She gives my hand another squeeze. “I genuinely wish for him to succeed, but it’s refreshing to see something else finallycapturing his attention. Indeed, a woman who supports his goal is exactly what he needs. So. Where did you first kiss?”
I knew she would ask, though I had no idea she was going to pop the question so soon. But after the turn of events, I can’t possibly tell her the made-up story Carter and I had agreed on—you know, the one where he heroically handed over his jacket due to the low temperatures and leaned in for a kiss. “Quite honestly, I managed to coax him into kissing me. I told him I was the world’s best kisser.”
“Well, well, well, looks like curiosity didn’t just kill the cat, it caught the man too! That was the perfect way to lure him in.” Eleanor laughs and so do I. She grabs another rum ball. “What do you think about children?”
Again, she’s not afraid to cut to the chase and ask the tough questions. Carter had warned me that she wouldn’t be shy.
I grab another rum ball. Quickly, I place it into my mouth, thinking.
Carter had been incredibly clear on the subject, and I’m not about to feed Eleanor some line about “playing things by ear” or “maybe someday.” She has already proven to be of sharp mind, and while she does look frail, I doubt this would be something she couldn’t handle. Eleanor strikes me as a woman who could handle anything. I swallow the sweet goodness.
“Well, in general, I like children…” I start confidently and truthfully, watching her sip down her chocolate with some tea. “In fact, I like them a lot…”
“Carter was never much interested in children, even when he was one.” She interrupts, gently placing her teacup back on the coffee table. “He always says he doesn’t want kids, but don’t you worry, dearie, with the right woman, he will. No doubt. I remember one time when he was in his early twenties, a distant cousin had a baby, and when we went to visit them, he practically melted and showered it with endless affection.”
My shoulders drop, and I release a happy snort. Not only is the visual of bossy, tough Carter melting downright hilarious, but the idea of him softening for a tiny baby is incredibly heartwarming. It dawns on me that Eleanor is the perfect resource for getting to know Carter. After all, she had raised him. She knows him better than anyone. “What was he like as a kid?”
“Oh,très sérieux. Always so serious, but smart as a whip. He was never officially tested, but dearie, I was always sure that he was nothing short of a genius. He was always curious about everything, which made him a real pain to take on a museum tour. But it made him a good listener too, and mostly, a natural born problem solver. No challenge was too big for him to tackle. School was a breeze for him. College was a breeze for him. He graduated early. With honors.”
“Wow, really? That’samazing…I mean yes, I knew that.”
“Right. That boy has a wonderful mind. He was determined to make something of himself, and lo and behold, he was able to do just that. He didn’t have it easy growing up, having lost his parents early, I admit that. But he never needed much discipline from me—well, at least not when it came to working. His love life, on the other hand, is a whole other matter entirely.”
“I bet he left a few broken hearts in his wake.” I prop my chin on my hand, wondering how much of Carter’s life she’s willing to share.
“More than a few,” Eleanor confirms laughingly. “He is handsome and smart—must have been my good genes. You know what they say? The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” She chuckles. “Looks like my sense of humor didn’t make it through the gene pool though. He’s got everything else, but no jokes. Poor kid. I guess I’ll just have to settle for being the funny one in the family. Anyway, as soon as he entered high school,allof the girls had their eyes on him, but nothing came of it other than a couple of dates. Of course, he would know better abouthis love life than I would. Still, I always felt like he was looking for something specific. Soon I understood that the girl he would choose as a girlfriend was a girl he would choose as a wife.”
That’s the greenest flag if there ever was one.
I stop my jaw from dropping, reminding myself to stay in character and mostly, not read anything into her statement.
Also, I’m still stuck at her “all of the girls had their eyes on him” comment. “Sounds like he was a very popular kid, huh?”
“Only with the ladies. He didn’t have much by way of friends, as far as I can tell, except for a handful of true friends he kept in touch with all those years, to this day. I suspect he prefers it that way. But let’s not dwell on that. For now, let’s celebrate that he has you. I’m grateful that he does. I can tell he loves you.”
“Oh, you can?” I can’t help it. My heart does a little flip-flop and butterflies sprout wings in my stomach.
“Oh, absolutely, dearie. You can tell that a mile off. Without a doubt.”