She let Hector lead to whatever room he wanted to end up in, hand having slipped through his automatically before
they were even in the front door. She exhaled softly, feeling the comfort of the house closing around her again.
Thinking abstractly that she liked his hair shaggier the way it was becoming too.
"She wanted to warn me." She answered him simply, voice soft. Willing to go as deeply or as lightly into a discussion
about his family as he wanted at the moment. Hector didn't hide from her. She trusted that.
She also had no intention of 'fibbing' on Cassie but she didn't hide anything from Hector either. He'd already told her
most of what his sister had said long ago over a makeshift dinner in a Red Cross tent late one African night. That
she'd heard it from him first, and freely, meant more to her than she could say. "She wanted me to know that you and
your father don't get along. And that you don't get along with his wife either." She didn't use the term step-mother.
Cassie had also told her she didn't know what she was getting into with Hector but Andi didn't know how to repeat that
without sounding ominous. Because, to her, that's exactly how it had sounded. It was far to late for her to turn back
now though. She wasn't willing to lose him. If she ended up in over her head it would simply be because she had
agreed to follow Hector into the 'water' in the first place. "She also wanted to let me know that you were stubborn
when you thought you were right. I was, to say the least, shocked and appalled by this last revelation."
"Oh I bet." He said he said with a full laugh. "Musta had you fooled that I was a submissive push over....I know for fact
Jason and Cara thought I'm an absolute puppy dog."
Okay, maybe that was stretching the truth just a little bit, as far as Hector was concerned. "But she's right, me and my
father don't see eye to eye on a lot of things, and Vanessa takes his side on everything...but we'll have our best face
forward for the christening, which is hopefully the only time I'll have to see him."
"I'm not actually worried about you." She answered. Because it was true. It was his family. They, one would hope,
already knew what he was like and how things stood in the family dynamic. He wasn't the one that needed to be
worried about doing something unforgivable and wrecking things.
"When do you think the christening will be?" She asked hesitantly. Not sure whether she wanted it quick so she could
get it over with or would rather put it off as long as possible.
"Well, you're about the only one not worried about me, so thanks." He said, honestly. His father and him would keep
their distance, pose for pretty pictures and that was about it. Sad, but true. And nothing that Hector wanted to do
anything about.
"I'd think probably in a week or two. Doesn't take long to throw one of them together, and he's already far, far overdue
for it." He said. "Dee converted to Catholicism for one of her boyfriends at the time, and they like to christen soon
after birth. Kid's nine months old now."
She moved into his arms when they stopped, wrapping her own slim arms around his shoulders and snuggling in
close. Wishing he didn't have such a difficult time with his family. It had to hurt, even if it was only a dull, familiar hurt.
She loved her mother dearly but what she had with her father, so alike in personality, was special and very precious
to both of them. She couldn't imagine growing up without that. Much less knowing he'd been the one she blamed for
taking it away. She pressed a kiss to Hector's jaw.
"Tell me about your family?" She asked softly.
"Not much to tell." Hector said as they walked back into the air conditioned house. There was a breeze outside, but
even Hector, so removed from Louisiana most of the time, could feel the approaching humidity that always came with
late afternoon.
"Well, you met Cassie." He said. "She likes to think she can fix everything." But without a time machine, he didn't think
she'd ever be able to. "Her husband, Danny, isn't too much into us. He keeps to himself, not that I blame him. Then
there's Diane, Dee. I think her boyfriend's name is Rick, or that might be the last one. Anyway, s he's looking for Mr
Right, but settles for Mr Right Now. At least that's what she says. Pete's a college kid, this week. He parties more than
studies. Sarah and Beth....I think they're the normal ones."
She let Hector lead to whatever room he wanted to end up in, hand having slipped through his automatically before
they were even in the front door. More interested in intently listening to his description of his family. These were the
people she was going to be facing soon enough and any help at all was desperately needed. But it also told her how
he related to them to hear his view of what was important or prominent enough to mention.
"How far away does everyone live?" She asked. And then, wincing, she asked: "Do they call or usually just drop by?"
"Dad and Vanessa live a good five hours away, at least." Hector said. "Cassie, one hour, Pete...depends on the
college or where he's crashing, Dee, two hours. Sarah and Beth, about two, three hours." He said and then grinned.
"Only Cassie just drops by. The rest call, if they're going to. This was the grandparents on my mother's side, so this
place has memories for Cas too. Which is why she comes here when I'm not, or when I am."
She let out a quiet laugh, head full of visions of the entire clan dropping by at four in the morning just for the fun of it
melting away. Which was a relief. Waking up that way once had been enough for a while for her.
"Well, that's a relief." She admitted, looking up at him with a crooked smile, eyes starting to glint. "Meeting your family
in my nightclothes isn't exactly the first impression I was hoping to make."
"I don't know, making quite an impression on me." He said with a wink. "And you did just introduce yourself to the
neighborhood in your nightclothes, so it can't bother you that much."
He laughed. "Come on, we've got a little while of peace before the neighbors start getting curious, let's make us some
gumbo, means we can put off shopping then."
"You're still running around without your shirt on." She chortled. "I doubt anyone even noticed I was on the same
continent." But it made her stomach react pleasantly to hear that he'd noticed what she was wearing. She wasn't used
to dressing for a man. She was used to dressing practically and for comfort. And what she was wearing was
comfortable. But it was also - it made her feel feminine. Soft. Precious. It pleased her, even if she still felt a bit guilty
over both the money it must have cost and the fact that she was wearing silk when cotton would have done just as
well. But the fact that Hector found it attractive, or rather that he found her attractive in it - it was silly - but she wasn't
used to being noticed that way. And she liked it when it was Hector and in his dark eyes.
She followed him into the kitchen and scooted herself up onto a counter top, bare legs dangling.
"This all powerful gumpo of which you speak so often and so highly," her eyes were dancing, the light soft but finally
back in them again. "When exactly was the last time you inflicted it on someone else?"
"Two years ago I made it for my chalk when we were in Guatemala." Hector said, pulling out a large pot and a series
of what to her would be strange ingredients. "Cassie brought a gift to make me feel even guiltier about not calling
her...fresh shrimp and crawfish. They're in a pot out on the porch, next to the okra." He went to the porch and brought
in a large pot, which he dumped into a strainer next to her in the sink.
"This is okra, integral part." He said as he filled the first pot with the okra and started chopping vegetables. "Never let
it be said I can't cook. I can't cook many things, but I can cook."
Andi watched it all curiously. She didn't recognize half of what he was using and she really was curious about what
went into the one meal he'd talked to her about from almost the first day. It was almost like meeting a friend of his he'd
mentioned it consistently enough to her. And - she liked watching him work too. There was a smooth efficiency in his
movements, his long hands and fingers competent. She liked his hands... Her eyes shifted to his face. Thinking... he
looked - different here. In the kitchen. In this house. In the States. Not 'different' better or worse. Just - different.
"Tell me about your grandmother?" She asked. Remembering there was a piano somewhere in the house she still
hadn't seen. Actually there was quite a bit of house she hadn't seen yet but she was surprisingly content with that.
Sitting here watching him was much better. "How old were you when she decided to teach you to cook for yourself so
you wouldn't starve?"
"She was...probably the sanest one in our family." Hector said as he went to work making the roux, stirring until he
took it off the burner then went to work chopping the okra. "She didn't play games with people, she let people know on
sight if she'd get along with you or not, and she was rarely wrong. I don't know, she was just...there. We spent
summers and vacations here, then I started spending weekends here, and finally transferred here in my senior year
of high school. Dad and Vanessa were doing a bit of moving around then, trying to find a good place to settle down
and all." He shrugged.
"She was this little thing, with long long hands." He said, holding his up for emphasis. "Fingers pretty much as long as
mine, but she was half my size, so she was always carrying something in her hands when she wasn't playing, so no
one would notice. Case in point, the kitchen. Gumbo is a very hands on stew to make, so it was always being made.
She made it for us, for cousins, for neighbors, for fairs, always busy busy busy." He went back to chopping before
starting to dump it all into the sauce pan, then brought out the crawfish and put them in another pot already filled with
boiling water and put a lid on it.
"So, when she decided I was old enough to cook for myself, and needed to have something to keep my troublesome
hands busy, she started teaching me. Telling me if a man can make gumbo, he can eat forever." He said. "I think I
was about....six. Yeah, six. Still in the leg cast, so I would sit on that stool over there with my little plaster covered leg
sticking straight out. Got plenty of food waste on that cast."
Andi listened intently, soaking in the information - and the nuances in it - as he talked. Unaware that most people that
knew Hector would have accused him of using up his entire month's usual allotment of words in the minute and a half
he'd told her about his grandmother. Andi was noticing instead that Hector didn't use measuring cups or spoons. And
thinking that it was strangely reassuring.
She caught one of the crawfish before it got dumped into the water and examined it with mixed horror and amusement
before giving it back to Hector to add with the others while he talked, drying her hands absently on a dish towel that
she draped over his bare shoulder afterward.
His grandmother sounded... formidable, she thought, brows drawing together mildly. Inwardly cringing at the thought
of what the woman would probably say about the tall, English woman that had invaded her house and her grandson's
life. And Andi also wondered how an outspoken woman like that had responded to what she must have been aware
was happening in her family all those years ago. With her grandson while he sat on a stool with a broken leg and a
broken heart... The right to have children visit was a strong ransom to hold against someone's tongue.
She wasn't asking about darkness and depth right now though. They deserved to be relaxed and smiling for a
change. But she still caught Hector's face in her long hands and leaned down to press a soft, lingering kiss to his
mouth. First kiss in the new house, she realized abstractly...
"I'd like to see pictures of you as a child" she whispered against his lips, eyes closed. Not right at this moment of
course, but - "She must have had troves of them."
"And they're all very skillfully hidden." Hector said. 'Skillfully hidden' meaning they were in a trunk in the attic. But that
was close enough, right? "I went through this short awkward stage...from the age of four until twenty one, and its
embarrassing enough that I know its documented." He said with a chuckle.
Cassie had a bunch, since that was her childhood too, but she could be convinced (bribed) to keep them out of sight.
He hoped!
He put some more vegetables in the pot, absently throwing them in and kissed her again. "Believe me, be glad that
you missed out on the acne, the growing pains, the braces...." He chuckled.
She grinned back at him.
"I might have missed those for you, but I went through this tall awkward stage myself." She teased, word playing off his
'short' time. "Taller than all the boys I knew in school and all arms and legs just waiting to bump into things. It was a
wonder anything breakable at all survived in my grandda's flat during those years." She actually smiled about the
memories though. As grandda had pointed out, you learned what was really important about you very quickly while
you were waiting to grow into your body. "Though I must say," she added as she leaned back down, "you came out
quite well on the other side of your 'stage'." Her lips were smiling when they met his again.
"Great advancements in cosmetics." He joked. "Covers up a variety of otherwise distracting and borderline
nauseating flaws. Or so I've heard." He kissed her again and then backed away. Unfortunately gumbo was a fairly
high maintenance meal in preparation as he checked on the crawfish. They weren't moving anymore so he drained
them and dumped them on a cutting board. "You sure you want to watch this part? I remember someone being
squeamish about crabs and stuff."
Andi grinned.
"I just admitted to your soon to be entire family that I've eaten bugs." She commented. She glanced down at the funny
little lobsters on the cutting board. "As long as they don't scream - " the joking words were out before she realized it
and her face blanched pale as her fingers closed on the counter's edge. She shut her eyes and swallowed against
the sick feeling in her chest and stomach. Against the darkness and she could almost smell - "Sorry," her lips moved
through the semblance of a weak smile and she tucked her hands into the sleeves of the shirt that she was wearing,
holding them close against her stomach. Realizing her mouth was dry she swallowed again and opened her eyes.
Gave him a real smile, weak as it was, this time. "Sorry," she apologized again. "What I meant to say was, as long as
they don't develop cute little faces, I should be fine."
"Hey." He said, laying the crawfish aside. No sense telling her the boiling water killed them nicely before the chopping.
She was freaked out over her own slip of tongue. "It’s okay." He said. "No cute faces, I promise." He said and took the
pot off the burner for the moment and moved the two steps back over to her and wrapped his arms around her.
He was an idiot to think that a mere change in location and scenery would make things 'all better.' This was why he
wasn't in any field relating to emotions or the like. He was bad at it.