It had been about two hours since Margaret let them study again. Eric apologized until Dante got tired of saying it was nothing major, that, however, he should take advantage of all these energies and finish correcting that awful exam instead.
"Did you even read one of the essays I made for you this past two years?"
At his silence, Dan gave him a light blow in the arm and furiously wrote a list of steps to develop a decent essay. Geez, the guy had been sleeping in Literature the entire year. Dan wondered if it was possible for him to recover all the bad grades he should have accumulated. Well, they still have a couple more years in school, he should be fine.
"You need a B+ at least in the final exam if you don't want to stay to the summer course, Eric."
"Anything for the Medicine…" he sighed.
"And not only that. Rest assured that you will not see me until September if you don't pass that test."
Apparently, that was the perfect incentive. Eric completely forgot everything but study or reviewing the inorganic chemistry exercises that gradually ceased being a headache for Dante.
As soon as they decided they had racked their brains enough for one day, Eric received a text message. From the look on his face, he was debating on what to express first: laughter or anger.
"Is mom," he said in confused tone. "She wants us to help her prepare dinner. Did she go crazy? And why does she have to text me? We're right here!"
Dan pushed the glasses better over his nose, looking at the time on his own phone. It was after six. He stood up.
"Better not leave her waiting."
Eric looked up at him, puzzled.
"What're you talking about? You're a guest! You don't have-"
"Obviously," he interrupted, "your mother is testing me. She wants to see if, first, I can handle housework and second, if I offer my help even when I don't have to."
"Yes, but-"
"C'mon, we're done after all, right?"
There it was again, that beam that made him blush. Eric gave up and stood too. Dan turned around and before he could take a step forward, Eric passed both arms over his shoulders, gripping him tightly in a hug from behind. His breath tickled his ear.
"Just don't cut any finger off, okay?"
"You know," Dan remarked, as the shiver that ran down his spine faded, "I'm not that clumsy."
"I wouldn't say that," he whispered.
"Hmph. Not good for the first compliment you do to me."
Dante took his arms gently, setting them apart just enough to turn around without breaking the embrace and then put his own arms around Eric's waist, clinging to him.
"I don't know if that's true... I don't know..." The words died in his throat as his mind went blank. He felt the invisible bond attracting him to Eric, and before he knew it, they were at a bland distance of a few centimeters.
Suddenly, Eric's phone rang again. Both went startled, looked at each other and began to laugh. Dante pulled away, allowing Eric to respond to his mother. He wondered if the interruption was the result of his bad luck or some manifestation of kindness on the part of fate, because he knew that would have distracted him enough so there to be a real risk of losing a finger in the kitchen. When finished, Eric said nothing, simply ruffled his hair gently and left the room, Dan following.
It didn't take them long to finish making dinner, the division of labor was efficient. As he assumed from the start, Dan was assigned to the cumbersome task of preparing the almond sauce to accompany the chicken. It really was not his forte, but Eric did his best to help while his mother wasn't looking (especially when pouring the wine). Finally, hour and a half later they were five at the table, since Ana was cordially invited, as usual.
Short minutes later they started dinner, Dante was besieged by a multitude of questions, which he did his best to answer fully without leaking too much information. After all, his opponent was a skilled and experienced lawyer who did not mince her words. His parents job, the number of close relatives and even if he had any pets were the main topics. Dan watched Eric from the corner of his eye, wondering if the faded red color on his cheeks reflected anger or shame.
Family matters gave way to the academic ones. Margaret asked for his notes, his physical performance and the interest he put into his studies. However, Dan was confused when he noticed that the woman had left the most important to the final question.
"Tell me what are you thinking to do in the future?"
"I want to be a writer," he said, knowing what would be discussed below.
"You want? That's not very determined. Is something stopping you?"
"Oh, no, on the contrary. My parents support me one hundred percent. But it is uncertain the future you might have as a writer, especially if you are new, therefore I will perform as editor while developing my writing."
"So it would not be writing the plan B then?"
"Not at all; is recognition field. It's like what you do, right? A lawyer takes all the information that is available, either for or against his client. Of it depends the advantage to control the course of the trial, right? You cannot win a debate with no arguments. This is similar. There will be more benefits in collecting acquaintances and form business ties before launching myself to publish, don't you think?"
Margaret looked at him carefully, eyes narrowing slightly. "Hm... seems like you know right what you want," she said with a smile.
"But it's not important what you will, it's what you take advantage on getting closer to that goal. The end doesn't justify the means while seeking other's damage," Dan replied, arguing against what Margaret tried to imply.
"Hmm, I see. You know, Eric says he wants to be a doctor. What do you think of that?"
"Does it matter what I think about it?" Dan said as tactfully as he could.
Everyone at the table turned to him intently, without saying a word.
"Ah, don't misunderstand me. What I mean is that the views of third parties should not interfere in such important decisions. If I, hypothetically, of course, told Eric that medicine is not for him, maybe I get to persuade him and cause him to abandon his dreams, or if I press him to do it and he realizes it wasn't what he really wanted, he could force himself to pursue a career that doesn't make him happy. It's not that his future doesn't interest me, I don't judge because it interests me. The real responsibility lies in providing support over personal interests, doesn't it?"
Laura broke the silence.
"Eric, I didn't understand half of what he said, but your friend is cool."
It was the first time that Dan saw the true smile of Margaret, who giggled, doing her best to stifle a laugh behind the napkin. The others laughed too, while an indignant Laura asked if what she said was funny.
When she caught her breath, Margaret took a sip of the wine, posed the cup back on the table with extreme care and turned to her son.
"Eric, I hope you take good care of this guy, he's a very good person."
They both flushed, fighting back a smile.
The dessert was sweet and quiet. Dan could fully enjoy the strawberry jell-o with ice cream while Laura told him about her art project and Ana about the spelling contest approaching. Margaret finished with some amazing stories about the first cases she had taken, being the ones she most fondly remembered.
About an hour later, Dan and Eric left the house, Margaret watching them disappear up the street.
"You didn't have to come with me," Dan said, lightly hitting his arm with Eric's.
"What about your bad luck? If you fell down a sewer, it would be my fault."
Dan laughed and gave him a gentle nudge.
"Plus," continued the other, "I wanted to apologize for all the questioning. I shouldn't have invited you in first place."
"You're kidding? If it was really fun. Your mother is very interesting."
When they reached their destination, no one wanted to bid adieu. But they would meet the next day, after all. After recovering the backpack Eric had loaded all the way, Dan placed a small kiss on his cheek, crossed the garden gate and closed it behind him.
"Don't fall down a sewer, OK?" He said.
"I promise nothing."
Eric waited until the door closed and walked back home.