Didn’t See That Coming
“I’m gonna shower,” I announced, kicking my shoes off and running for the bathroom door.
“Wait a sec! I called it first!” Lynn screamed in protest.
With a 3-4 stride lead on my cousin, there was no way she’d catch me as I dashed for the bathroom. Sure, she mentioned that she wanted to take a shower when we got back to the hotel, but she never actually called it. At least that’s what I remember.
“Too late,” I sang, as I slid across the tile floor, past the open door, and slamming it shut behind me.
I could hear her muttering underneath her breath about annoying cousins, something or another, and I smiled to myself.
My face was covered in grime from the day’s activities. Leave it to my uncle to take us on a whirlwind tour of some of the more obscure historical spots in Paris, coupled with architectural sightseeing. I typically would have appreciated the architecture, but I was way beyond the brink of information overload. At this point, I simply wanted to space-out, while staring at the pale blue sky.
We had been in Paris for almost a week, and I had barely seen Stephanie because of my family’s crazy itinerary. I’d seen her twice at breakfast, once around dinnertime, but it was always somewhat awkward, seeing how both of our families were always around when we saw each other.
I quickly showered and hopped around to get dressed. Hearing a knock on the room door, I opened the bathroom door and peered out, hoping to see Steph’s face. Wishful thinking I guess, because all I saw was my uncle talking to Lynn about something. Not bothering to listen, I closed the door and finished getting dressed.
“Hey, come on, get outta there!” Lynn cried. “You’ve been in there for half an hour! Boys aren’t supposed to take that long!”
“Half an hour isn’t long! Or would you rather I sit here and not come out for another half hour?” I teased.
“Hurry up! My dad told us to meet downstairs for dinner. We’re gonna be eating with your girlfriend’s family!”
“Wait, what?” I opened up the door and quickly jumped out, stumbling over my own feet in the process. “What did you say? Eating with who?”
“I told you, your girlfriend’s family. I guess we’re having dinner with Steph and her family,” she said, sounding smug, guessing that it might make me squirm.
“Oh…,” I replied, not quite sure how to take the news.
“Crap, crap, crap…,” I muttered to myself.
I liked Steph, I really did, but I had never been too fond of any large familial type of gathering. A family dinner, especially with another family, was akin to setting up a situation where I could potentially end up center stage. Having my exploits and antics exposed to the world was not exactly what I had in mind when I wanted to spend some time with Stephanie.
Wonderful. That’s all I needed. A family rodeo.
