The Awesome After-dinner Assessment
Carrying the last of the dinnerware, Devon watched as Ellie scooped up a glass and thrust it into the soapy water. "Whoa, babe. It's never good to wash angry," he cautioned, nodding at the runnels of water now scooting across the counter. "Why don't you cut the dishes some slack and let me do that while you tell me all about it." Gently, he moved Ellie aside, her hand still clutching the glass in a white-knuckled grip.
"Devon, do you think Sarah is pretty?"
"Umm...I guess if you like that type. Yeah, I can see someone saying she's attractive." Sensing a possible trap, Devon replied with a carefully neutral tone.
Ellie swatted him on the arm, a bit too hard to be considered playful. "Come on, you can tell me the truth."
Looking guardedly at his girlfriend to see just how truthful she wanted him to be, he acceded to her wishes. "Okay, if you were to ask any ten guys, they'd say she was a knockout ten out of ten times." Accurate, while still deflecting her from his personal opinion.
Meanwhile, Ellie had cast her gaze out the window. In a much softer voice, she asked, "Do you think that she might be too pretty to be with my brother?" There was the bitter aftertaste of shame in those words. She loved Chuck with all her heart and knew he was a great guy. Even so, something had been off at dinner. She could feel it.
"Ellie, that's harsh. Just because Sarah is really good looking, it doesn't automatically make her shallow. Maybe she can see the awesome guy that is our Chuckster. Besides, what other reason could she have. If Sarah's a gold-digger, then she is barking up the wrong family tree."
"What? You mean she wouldn't want a piece of all this?" Ellie swung her arms wide to take in their apartment. "I'm being silly aren't I? It's everything I've wanted for Chuck ever since he got kicked out of Stanford and Jill dumped him. Now he finds a great girl, and here I am, picking it apart, looking for some flaw."
"Don't be too hard on yourself, babe. He's your younger brother and you've been looking out for him for most of your life. You don't want him to just find a girl, you want him to find the right girl. Whether Sarah is all that or not, it's too early to tell." Drying his hands off, he turned to Ellie and pulled her into a hug. "Right now, I think we should be happy for him."
"I want to be happy for him, Devon. Believe me I do. But you saw him tonight. That strange toast and then the unbelievable magic trick with the tablecloth. I know my brother and that wasn't him." Ellie rested her head on his shoulder. "I guess I don't know what to think right now."
Devon's fingers played soothingly with a lock of her hair as he held her close. "Cut him some slack, Ellie. It's been what, 5 years? Chuck just needs a little time back in the saddle to get his bearings. I bet in a year, we'll be laughing at this conversation. Chuck and Sarah will be like the most boring and normal couple ever."
"You're probably right." Going up on her toes, Ellie gave Devon a kiss. Her gaze turned a little frosty. "So, you think Sarah is really good looking?"
