This is the sixteenth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI, Part XII, Part XIII, Part XIV, and Part XV before continuing.
“You OK?” Owen asked when we were about halfway between St. Louis and campus. He was behind the wheel because I know how much men like to be in control and think women can’t do anything without them.
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You haven’t said a word since we left.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ignore you.”
“It’s not that. It’s just not like you. Also your reaction to getting a free car was kind of weird.”
“Weird how?”
“You didn’t seem all that excited about it.”
“I was just surprised.” I heard my voice go up half an octave and made an effort to sound more normal. “I said thank you.”
“I know. But you don’t seem excited about it. Did you even want a car?”
I hadn’t really thought about it. I knew there were people who had cars on campus, but it wasn’t always easy to find a place to keep them overnight. Also, campus was in the middle of a big city, so it’s not like I really needed a car. It was almost more of a hassle than anything else. I hadn’t thought about it that way until Owen asked me the question.
“I guess not,” I finally admitted.
Owen nodded, but didn’t say anything. He kept his eyes on the road in front of him and I couldn’t tell if he was mad at me or just being a safe driver.
“Do you think I’m a total bitch?”
“Why would I think that?”
“For not acting grateful enough that I got a car.”
“Not wanting a car doesn’t make you a bitch. And you did thank him.”
I had, but if everyone could tell I wasn’t excited about the car, it made me wonder if my new stepdad thought I wasn’t properly grateful. I made a mental note to send him a very enthusiastic thank-you note when all this was over.
“Having a car will make it easier to go down and visit my mom on breaks,” I said.
“Yeah, it’s not all bad.”
“And we could use it to go see your family.”
“We could.”
There was a pause as I considered how best to handle this noncommittal response. Eventually, I decided to just go for it. “Do you want me to meet your family?”
“Of course.”
“You just didn’t seem very enthusiastic about the idea.” I couldn’t help putting a slight emphasis on the word “enthusiastic” in the hopes he would catch the fact that I was using his own words against him.
“I had already been planning to ask my parents if you could come to dinner some night.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“So, you want me to meet them?”
“I wouldn’t be planning to ask them if I didn’t want them to meet you.”
“So, this is you being excited?”
“Yeah.”
His voice wasn’t quite deadpan, but it was close enough I couldn’t tell if he was joking. If he was serious, I was going to have a hard time reading him, and that would definitely make my job harder.
To be continued…