Chapter 12
1490words
This was, quite possibly, the first time they were there to see anyone other than Barry. And Sebastian hoped they wouldn’t run into him.
“Who are these people anyway?” Sebastian hadn’t bothered to ask earlier, because he decided he simply did not care.
“The Hendersons.”
Sebastian stopped in his tracks. “Why didn’t you mention that before?”
“You didn’t ask.” Waylon stopped, and jerked his head. “Come on.”
“I don’t want anything to do with the Hendersons.” And Sebastian didn’t think they’d want anything to do with him either. Those two brothers always sneered down at him, like he was trash. He’d heard they had a sister, but he never met her.
“Barry had a good talk with them. Told them how much you’ve changed.” Waylon held his finger up. “Now, don’t do anything to make them think otherwise!”
Reluctantly, Sebastian continued on until they reached the restaurant.
The lighting in the restaurant was dim. The Hendersons were already seated at a table that would fit six people. Two men and a girl sat on the side of the table, facing the back wall. Waylon sat in front of the man in the middle. Sebastian figured he’d be expected to sit in front of the girl. So he did.
Waylon and the brothers exchanged pleasantries before introducing Maple.
“This is our little sister, Maple.” Carter nodded towards the girl seated next to him. She gave them a quick glance up from a book in her hands. Then, immediately returned to it.
Sebastian found it strange. What kind of woman reads a book in a restaurant? Or at all, for that matter. He did feel oddly relieved about her disinterest in him though. Clearly she didn’t want to be here either.
Carter elbowed the girl. “Put that away!” he hissed.
Maple let out an annoyed sigh before slipping it into her purse. Sebastian caught the title of the book. Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story. He didn’t know whether to be amused or disturbed.
“A girl who reads, eh?” Waylon gave Maple a patronizing smile. As if he were thinking, how cute. A girl trying to read a novel.
“She doesn’t usually,” Walker jumped in. “This is a one-time thing.”
“The last boy we had her meet gave it to her,” Carter added.
“A boy gave it to her?” Waylon asked, flabbergasted.
Sebastian, too, was surprised. A girl reading a book was one thing. But a boy encouraging it?
“Of course, we’re turning that one down,” Walker said. “He was too… weird.”
“Sounds like it,” Waylon said. “Girls shouldn’t be reading books. They should be watching make-up tutorials and gossiping about celebrities.” Waylon leaned in towards Maple. “Who’s your favorite celebrity?”
Maple shrugged. “Don’t have one.”
“You don’t have one?!”
“They’re not even real people. They’re just computer animations. What’s the point of gossiping about AI-generated slop? I’d rather gossip about real people.” She paused. “Like politicians.”
Sebastian held back a snort. Maybe Maple wasn’t so bad.
“How about we decide on what we’re eating?” Carter asked quickly.
Sebastian looked for a tablet to place their order on. Then, remembered that Barry preferred to have staff do all the order-placing. He claimed it was to give people jobs, but Sebastian knew it was mostly to make the place stand out.
A dead-eyed waitress showed up to take their orders. She wore a floor-length black dress, with a shiny red trim. Much different than the depressing outfits the other servants wore, probably because guests actually saw the waitresses. All the other staff were just “servants” to Barry. The group told the waitress what they wanted, and she left. Barry soon took her place.
“Waylon!” Barry beamed. “I thought I heard you were here.”
“Barry!” Waylon shook his hand. “Good seeing you.”
Barry sat down in the empty seat across from Walker. “What brings you here?”
“Meeting a potential wife for Sebastian.”
“Ah, good plan,” Barry said. “That’ll look good for when you run for governor.”
“You’re going to run for governor?” Carter asked.
Waylon shot Barry a look. Most likely, Waylon still wanted to officially announce his run during some, huge social event. Now that Walker and Carter knew, word would likely spread before Waylon could surprise everyone with it.
During this interaction, Maple had slipped her book back out, and continued reading it under the table.
The waitress came back and passed out drinks. Barry asked her to bring him a beer. She left.
Barry and Waylon dragged the Henderson brothers into a conversation about all of the rooms the mansion had. Sebastian stared at his lemonade, contemplating his future. He really didn’t want to get married. The thought of being tied to some woman for the rest of his life filled him with anxiety. But he needed to do this. It would prove to everyone the conversion camp had worked. That he was normal.
Except that camp might not have worked at all. He’d spent most of his thoughts on Axel. They filled him with the kind of joy he should only be getting from women. And it terrified him.
Not for the first time, Sebastian wondered if his life would be easier in the Equal States of America. He heard he’d have to give up lemonade though. Apparently it contained too much sugar. He took a sip of his.
“Is that a book you’re reading?” Barry asked Maple.
“What else would I be reading?” Maple asked, eyes glued to a page.
“Fashion magazines. Celebrity gossip. Whatever preteen girls are into these days.”
Maple didn’t look up. “I’m 17.”
“You sure are interested in that book,” Waylon said to Maple. “What’s it about?”
“Nellie Bly. She pretended to be insane so she’d get locked up in an asylum. It’s a true story.”
Sebastian couldn’t help himself. “Why would she do something that stupid?”
“To see what conditions were like, and report on them. She was an investigative journalist.” Maple finally looked up from the book. “I wish I could do that.”
This girl sounded weirder than the boy who gave her the book. “You wish you could get locked up in an asylum to see what it’s like?”
Maple made a show of rolling her eyes. “No. Being an investigative journalist.”
Sebastian and Waylon stared at her. Carter and Walker had their hands over their faces.
Barry broke the silence. “That doesn’t sound like a book a young girl should be reading. Giving you all sorts of crazy ideas. A woman journalist. Next they’ll be wanting to be lawyers.”
Maple raised her chin defiantly. “As we should be. I’d rather be a lawyer than sit around a house all day raising children.”
Carter elbowed her again.
“You sure are a mouthy one.” Barry looked at the brothers. “You two need to learn how to get your sister under control. I’d never let my wife speak out like that.”
“We were going to when we get home,” Walker said, scowling at Maple.
“She’s not usually like this,” Carter insisted.
“I hope not, or Sebs is going to have his hands full.” Barry winked at Sebastian.
Sebastian tried imaging what it would be like to marry this girl. It probably wouldn’t be boring. Though, if she was so disinterested in him, maybe she wouldn’t care if they never had sex. Maybe Sebastian could even sneak off at times to be with a man. He’d heard of other gay men doing that. Yes, maybe this union wouldn’t be the worst in the world.
A wave of nausea overcame him. What was he thinking? He didn’t like men anymore. He couldn’t. He just needed to find a woman he liked. Surely one existed.
The waitress returned with a beer for Barry and everyone else’s entrees.
“About time,” Barry grumbled. “What am I paying you for?”
“I’m sorry, sir.” The woman’s voice was monotonous, and she left to help two men who had walked into the restaurant. One old, one young. Possibly father and son.
Maple glanced over in that direction, and sat up straight. A smile overcame her as her eyes landed on the younger man. “Jake…” She said the name in a dreamy sort of way, under her breath. Only Sebastian heard her. Maple finally put the book back in her purse. All her attention was focused on that man.
Barry also noticed the two men. “Oh good, the Williams are here. Waylon, you should meet them!” With that, Barry got up, and wandered over to the men.
Sebastian put his elbow on the table, and his cheek in his hand. This was going to be a long day.
