Fall With Me

line, and she’s looking rather uncomfortable, or mad, or some combination of both.
    “Hello,” she says finally.
    They stand there and stare at each other.
    “Well, this is cozy,” I say, after the silence has stretched to almost a minute. “Is Mom here?”
              “She’s out shopping, but I expect she’ll be returning shortly. She knew you were coming.” Dad sets his glass down. “Perhaps we should all go out and get something to eat when she returns.”
    I try to keep my jaw from falling to the floor. “Okay,” I say. I look at Jill. “That sounds good. Do you feel up for it, Jill?”
    Finally, the tiniest of smiles touches the corners of her mouth. “Yes,” she says. “I do.”
     

Chapter 26: Jill
     
    It was the look that crossed Griffin’s father’s face when we stepped into his study. He knew who I was. Everyone has always said how much Dad and I looked like each other, and Carl’s reaction only made me more certain that he knows something about Dad’s accident.
    Griffin seems equally perplexed, though I’m not exactly sure why. After Carl invites us out to lunch, we go into the living room to wait for his mom to get home. And when she arrives, it’s clear that, looks-wise, anyway, it’s she who Griffin takes after.
    She’s tall, and has the same jet-black hair, which has been swept up on top of her head. Her eyes are a paler shade of blue than Griffin’s, but her nose is the same, and the mouth.
    “Darling!” she exclaims, dropping an armload of shopping bags. “I was hoping I’d be back before you got here. I just spoke with your brother; he’s stuck in meetings downtown and won’t be able to make it, but he told me to send his regards. And that he’ll try to catch up with you later.” She gives him a hug, the bangles on her wrist jangling. “How was the flight? How long are you here for? What plans do you have?”
    She lets go of him and he turns to me. “Mom, this is my girlfriend Jill. Jill, this is my mom.”
    I stand up and we shake hands. She appraises me, quickly, coolly, but apparently she deems me acceptable because she smiles.
    “It’s lovely to meet you,” she says.
    “I thought we could all go out and get something to eat,” Carl says, appearing in the doorway. “We can go have a nice lunch and get all caught up.”
    “Let me just go freshen up,” Griffin’s mom says. She gives him a kiss on the cheek and leaves the room in a flurry. Carl, Griffin, and I stand there, saying nothing.
    “Did you have a place in mind?” Griffin asks.
    “There’s a good steakhouse that just opened,” Carl says. He looks at me. “Do you eat meat, Jill?”
              “Yes.”
    “Then I think this is the perfect place.”
    Griffin’s mom comes back a few minutes later and we leave, Carl keeping his eye on me the whole time.
     
    Lunch is like a game of cat and mouse that only Carl and I are aware we’re playing. He asks me questions and I give him vague answers. Where did you grow up? What does your father do for work? How did you meet my son?
    Griffin and his mother seem oblivious, though occasionally I’ll catch Griffin looking at Carl in surprise.
    “So what is it that you do?” I ask after our salads are brought out.
    “I’m a businessman,” he replies, as vaguely as I responded to his questions.
    “Clearly a successful one,” I say.
    He pauses, his drink halfway to his lips, and he gives me a look as though he can’t tell if I’m being sarcastic or not.
    “So, I must’ve missed it, but tell me again,” Griffin’s mom says, “How did the two of you meet? Was it over in Thailand?”
              I defer to Griffin on this. Carl downs his drink and says nothing.
    “Well,” Griffin says. “My Thailand trip got cut short, actually. Another story for another time though.” He shoots a look at Carl, who has folded his hands in front of him and is looking off into the middle distance. “Jill and I met out in California, near the horse ranch she works at. The place I’ve been working at, too.”
    “Oh, darling, you got a job! You didn’t tell me that.”
    “Yeah, it’s actually a lot of fun. I’ve been having a good time.”
    His mom smiles and pats his arm. “You always did like being outside. A job and a girlfriend! How lovely.”
    Carl is mostly quiet for the rest of the meal. Whenever I look in his direction, though, he is looking right at me, and he doesn’t avert his gaze when I