Eye of the Beholder

"I could bring you lunch today if you'd like. Just let me know and I'll swing by your job site." More smiley faces followed.

He sent her the address and told her, "I think you may be too good to be true. I believe the word my dad uses for girls like you is 'a keeper'."

He put a couple more smiley faces in then sent it to her.

"Okay. I'll have something delicious for you—and your brother!" it said. There was an emoji of a chicken and some vegetables, and that, too, made him smile.

"I can't wait," he typed. Then he added, "Just be careful with Joel. If you feed him, he may follow you home."

When Taylor read it, her heart really did hurt, but in the best way possible.

"Oh, okay," she wrote. "I guess I was hoping maybe his big brother might do that."

Hearts and smiley faces followed.

"You never know," he texted back then added, "See you around noon."

Taylor knew exactly what she wanted to make and set about getting it ready as soon as she got out of the shower.

"What's going on?" her mom asked.

"You remember the guy I told you about?" she asked her mom.

"Honey, you've done nothing but talk about him since the interview. How could I not remember?" her mom teased. "Are you making something for him? Can I help?"

She and her mom made a full meal that would feed both of the brothers and several other grown men. There was baked lemon chicken and rosemary potatoes with slices of onion and lemons over a bed of angel hair pasta for the main course. And while her mom worked on the main course, Taylor started on dessert—a carrot cake cheesecake.

Shortly before she left, she brewed up some strong coffee and put in a thermos along with some mugs. As she and her mom put it all together, it was quite literally a picnic basket complete with a checkered tablecloth.

Still a little too paranoid to wear what Justin had hinted around about, Taylor chose a very pretty, plain-white blouse and a pair of black pants. She wore a black cardigan sweater with it as it was fairly chilly.

Mostly she'd concentrated on her hair and makeup, and even her mom said, "Wow. You must really like this guy. You look very pretty, honey! I love your hair like that, by the way."

"Thanks, Mom, and yes, I...I kind of do."

"I'm very happy for you. Maybe we could meet him one of these days?"

She hadn't told her mom she'd been invited to dinner at his parents' house already, but she did say she'd mention it to him, even though she already had.

"Well, have fun!" her mom told her after helping her daughter load everything up.

Taylor wound through the maze of cars and trucks at the job site, then spotted Justin. She parked the car and got out and found him again. He was wearing a white helmet and when she got a full look at him her body had that same reaction yet again. She walked closer but waited for him to finish talking to someone before saying hello.

Just as he turned toward her, she saw Joel walk up to him then say, "Holy shit. Is that Taylor?"

The only thing that was really different was that she'd styled her hair and wore more makeup than either of them had seen before, but she did look different—and in a good way.

"Yes. Yes it is," she heard Justin say as he smiled at her then headed toward her.

Taylor was hoping and almost praying he would kiss her as they got closer to each other.

"Wow. You see. I told you you were beautiful," he said, still smiling at her.

He looked at his hands to make sure they were clean before putting one on each of her shoulders then leaning down and kissing her softly. Taylor feared her body might betray her and do what it had a little over twelve hours ago when their lips met.

"It's just the hair and makeup," she said quietly when their lips parted. "But thank you."

Joel was standing next to his brother and cleared his throat loudly.

"Oh. Sorry. This jerk...er...this guy is my brother Joel, whom I'm sure you remember."

"Of course," Taylor said with a big smile.

Joel didn't check his hands. He just put his arms around her and hugged her.

"Okay. Now I get it," he said with a smile of his own as he pulled away.

He saw Taylor's puzzled look then said, "My brother is kind of...gaga...for you."

"Well, the feeling is kind of mutual," Taylor said happily. "I brought lunch. Is anyone hungry?"

"Hungry? I passed 'hungry' two hours ago," Joel said. "Let's eat!"

Justin put his arm around Taylor as the three of them walked to her car and told her, "What my little brother means is, 'Thank you for making lunch and bringing it to us'."

He looked at Joel who did a shoulder shrug that said, "Okay. Sure. Whatever. Where's the food?"

When she opened the car door, the smell alone caused a stir.

"Oh, man. That smells delicious!" Joel said.

"Here. Let me get that for you," Justin said as he saw her trying to lift the huge basket out of the car. "It's the least I can do since you went to all this trouble. And it does smell great."

"Oh, it was no trouble," she told him even though they'd spent several hours getting it ready.

"Come on. We have a small, portable table right over there," Justin said as he nodded in the direction they needed to go.

When Taylor began laying it out, the look on Joel's face made her laugh.

"Someone really is hungry, huh?" she said with a laugh.

"Starving is more like it," he said as he reached for something.

Justin swatted his hand away and said, "Didn't Mom teach you anything growing up?"

Joel pulled his hand back and apologized then waited for Taylor to serve him.

"Wow. Real silverware, too," Joel said.

"It's just flatware, but it isn't plastic," she told him.

Joel had no idea what the difference was. He just said, "Now can I eat?"

Taylor laughed and said, "Yes. Now you may eat."

He cut off a large hunk of chicken and as soon as it hit his taste buds, Joel said, "Oh, my God! This is freakin' fantastic!"

"My brother says he really likes the chicken," Justin told her with a smile of his own.

"I'm glad. There's plenty here," she told him as she handed him a plate then made one for herself with less than a third of what she'd given them.

"So that's how you stay so skinny," Joel mindlessly said as he chewed on a huge bite of chicken and potato.

Justin gave him a look which Taylor saw. Normally, she'd have been very self-conscious, but even that didn't bother her.

Joel swallowed his food, then stopped smiling and said, "I'm sorry, Taylor. That didn't come out the way I meant it."

She smiled happily then told him, "No. No offense taken."

She smiled at Justin then said, "I am what I am, right?"

Joel was already wolfing down another huge bite and laughed with his mouth full.

"Hey, it's Popeye!" he said as he chewed.

"Um...I'd say I'm more Olive Oyl," Taylor said playing along and not minding the comparison to the real Stick Chick at all.

Justin finished a bite then said, "You really do look pretty, Taylor."

"Thank you," she said, unable to stop smiling.

She hadn't taken a bite yet, and she realized that even though she hadn't eaten since having a piece of toast for breakfast, she wasn't hungry. Watching the brothers eat and just being with Justin was more than enough.

"Taylor's coming over for dinner this weekend," Justin said.

"Oh, right. Yeah, that's great. Mom and Dad are gonna love you," he told her.

"My mom asked if you might like to have dinner with us sometime," she said to Justin as she realized not inviting Joel was rude.

"You, too, of course, Joel," she added.

"No, hold on. We want to make a good impression on your parents, right?" Justin said very seriously.

Taylor tried not to laugh as Joel, who had another very large mouthful of food said, "Hey! What the hell. I'm sitting right here, dude."

When Justin smiled at her, she had to cover her mouth as she couldn't help laughing.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to laugh," she told Joel.

"No. My brother's right. If you want to have any kind of chance they'll like him, you don't want me anywhere around."

"I don't think that's true," Taylor said with a sweet smile.

"No. It's true," Justin said immediately. "Trust me."

Joel already had yet another big bite in his mouth when Justin said, "He's like a human vacuum cleaner. Just watch him."

He stopped, held up a hand, then said, "On second thought...do not watch my brother eat. No one should have to ever see that."

"What?" Joel said loudly, a half-chewed hunk of chicken in his mouth.

By the time they needed to get back to work, Joel's impression of Taylor had completely changed. She hadn't gotten any more beautiful, but she was so pleasant and so friendly he found her to be a lot more attractive than he had before.

"I was really wrong about her, bro," he said after she left. "She's...she's all right."

"Yeah. She's very all right," Justin said.

"And she can cook! Man, can she cook!" Joel said, who'd wiped out two slices of carrot cheesecake after bashing nearly half of the main course himself. Taylor had never seen any human being eat so much food before in her life. Just watching him was entertaining in and of itself.

On Thursday Justin finally remembered to stop by and let his parents know he was bringing someone over to dinner on Sunday. Both of them just stood there and stared.

"You mean...a girl?" his mom said afraid to sound hopeful.

"Yeah. A girl," he replied.

"A girl you...like?" she asked, her mood lightening.

"Yes. Her name is Taylor, and I really like her a lot."

"David? Did you hear what our son just said?" she asked her husband.

"I did. I'm still not sure I heard him correctly, but I did hear him say something about dinner and a girl."

"Dad. You and Mom are gonna love her. She's really amazing."

"Well, she must be if you're bringing her here to meet us," his dad replied.

"I think so," Justin said.

He paused then said, "I uh, I took your advice."

"My advice?"

"Yeah. You know, about finding a girl who's beautiful—to me?"

"Ah, yes. Okay. So it worked then," his dad said.

"It did. Like a charm."

"What advice is this?" his mom asked.

"It's between Justin and me, Claire."

"Oh. Guy advice. Well, as long as you like her and are bringing her home. Oh, do you know what she likes?"

Justin wasn't really sure but promised to ask her then call.

"Well, I can't wait to meet her," his mom said. "I don't think you've brought a girl home since..."

She almost said 'Sarah' but stopped.

Seeing her discomfort, David jumped in.

"You're forgetting the homecoming thing his senior year," her husband reminded her.

"But that didn't count. She got so drunk I had to bring her here," Justin reminded them.

"I know. I'm just stating it for the record," his dad said with a smile. "I'm looking forward to meeting this new girl of yours, too."

"She's um...she's a little younger than me, okay?"

Knowing their son's reputation but being used to pretending it didn't exist, his mom carefully asked, "I see. And how much younger are we talking about?"

She expected an age so young it would make having her there untenable. When he told her she was a college graduate, his mom didn't ask for her specific age and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, that's very nice, honey. Nice and smart is a very good combination."

Justin laughed then said, "She's both of those things and a whole lot more."

"Sounds serious," his dad said.

"We only really met a little while ago, but I gotta tell you, she's...she's really captured my heart."

Neither of them had ever heard anything close to that from either of their boys. David looked at Claire who looked back and smiled.

"Uh, oh. Your mom's already expecting a grandchild," his dad said.

"I'm doing no such thing!" she said defensively even though that was exactly what she was thinking. Having boys in their mid-30s who'd really even hinted around about settling down caused her a certain amount of anxiety. She was 65 and her husband was 68, and they'd love nothing more than a grandchild—or two.

"It's okay, Mom. It's too early to tell, but she's the first girl I've ever even thought about like that. Other than you-know-who."

He looked right at his mom then told her, "But that doesn't mean we're getting married."

He paused, smiled, then said, "Anytime too soon."

Both of his parents laughed, his mom hugged him so hard it hurt, and his dad shook his hand and said, "I can't wait to meet this girl. You really have my curiosity peaked."

"All I can say, Dad, is she's...beautiful to me."

"Okay. That's all that matters, right?" his dad said as he walked him outside.

"We'll see you Sunday, then," David said as Justin got in his truck.

"You will," he said. "And tell Mom I won't forget to call her."

They waved as Justin backed out, and he couldn't wait to call Taylor and ask.

"I like pretty much anything except for liver and onions. Other than that..."

"We don't eat that at our house," he told her.

"Then anything is fine. Really," she assured him.

"My parents can't wait to meet you."

"I'm looking forward to it, too."

"Hey, I don't think I can wait until Sunday to see you again. Could we maybe get together tomorrow evening?"

"Yes. Of course. Just let me know when, okay?" she said happily.

"Taylor?" he said.

"Yes?"

"I...I really like you."

She smiled as that feeling washed over again before saying, "I really like you, too, Justin. A lot."

"I'll call you again this evening, okay?"

"I hope so," she said.

"Talk to you then, sweetie," he said in the gentlest voice Taylor had ever heard.

She was so surprised and so pleased hearing his first endearment, she couldn't speak. The phone went dead, and she sat there staring at it, unable to stop smiling. And there it went again. That wonderful, delicious feeling the sound of his voice caused radiated throughout her body.

She'd thought she was in love once during her sophomore year of college. However, it turned out the guy she'd fallen for was falling in and out of other girls' beds. That feeling, while it lasted, had been very nice. But Taylor had never felt anything like this before. It made her wonder if this was what the so-called heroin rush was like. If so, she finally understood how and why people got so badly hooked on the drug.

She smiled again and thought to herself how Justin Anderson was her drug of choice. When she thought of 'mainlining' him, it made her giggle for the first time in years, and yet she was so happy she didn't care.

Justin took her to see a movie the following evening and spent the afternoon with her on Saturday after working until around one o'clock. When he went to pick her up, they'd already agreed Taylor would introduce her to her parents, Joseph and Elizabeth Donovan.

They were the first parents of a girl he'd met since the night of his senior prom. He wasn't nervous, per se, but he really had no idea what to expect. Taylor had assured him, just as he'd assured her, that they'd love him. Even so, he knew the age difference might give them real cause for concern. It never crossed his mind they might wonder why a guy like him was dating a girl like Taylor.

Her mother practically fawned all over him after being introduced, but her father was a little more circumspect. He was cordial, but after a a minute of polite chit chat, asked if he could talk to him alone.

"Justin, I trust my daughter's judgment, and she is, of course, a grown woman who can make her own choices. But she is my daughter so I want to make sure you have her best interests at heart. She'll be very unhappy I wanted to talk to you, but if I don't, it'll eat at me so...I will."

"No, please go ahead, sir. I appreciate that you care enough to take me aside. So, please go right ahead and ask me anything you like."

"Two things. Taylor tells us you're nearly 15 years older than her. I don't suppose that's a tremendously important issue, but it is a concern."

He stared right at Justin then said, "My biggest concern is how a guy like you—a guy who could and probably has...dated...many beautiful girls—is so interested in my daughter. Mind you, I think Taylor is beautiful, but let's be honest here. There's beautiful and then there's...beautiful. Tell me directly, Justin. How do you feel about Taylor? And please don't pull any punches."

Some guys might have been offended at being asked. Many of those might have even said so. Justin was not only not offended, he was grateful to share his feelings with her dad.

Justin had no idea Taylor had come to find them, and stopped just outside and listened.

"Sir, I have...dated...a lot of girls, and Taylor knows that. But she also knows that I've never met anyone—ever—who makes me feel the way she does. And I'll also tell you she's expressed the same concerns about what she feels is some big disparity in our looks. But Mr. Donovan? I think your daughter is perhaps the most beautiful girl I've even gone out with, and that beauty comes from every part of her being. If that sounds flowery or hokey or insincere, all I can do is tell you that's exactly how I feel about her."

He never took his eyes off of the younger man as he spoke, and by the time he finished speaking, Joseph Donovan was satisfied.

"I appreciate your candor, Justin. I've always been a good judge of character, and it'a obvious you really care about my little girl."

He stuck out his hand and said, "Thank you for letting me get that off my chest."

Justin shook and it then told him, "I'm probably going to be even tougher on any future boyfriend should I be fortunate enough to have a daughter one day myself."

Joseph smiled, slapped him on the shoulder then said, "Having a daughter changes you. It changes you for the better, and if you ever do have one, you'll understand."

They were standing just inside their home office, and when they came out, it was obvious Taylor had overheard their conversation.

"Hmmm. Looks like someone was eavesdropping," Joseph said with a smile.

"I have to admit I was a little concerned about you giving Justin the third degree, Dad," she said to him even as she smiled at Justin.

"Well, a dad has to do what a dad has to do, right?" he told her. "But having done it, I can tell you I like this young man. A lot. So...go have fun. Just not too much fun, okay?"

Her dad winked at her then shook Justin's hand again before walking them both out. On the way, his wife gave him another hug and also told her daughter to have a nice time.

"It was so good meeting you, Justin!" she told him with the biggest smile Taylor had ever seen.

"You, too, Elizabeth," he told her after being told to call her by her first name.

After he opened Taylor's door then sat down to start up the truck, she told him, "I heard what you told my dad."

"Oh. I hope it was all good," he said knowing it had been.

"Oh, yes. I was very good."

She smiled at him then quickly added, "Sweetheart."

He smiled back then leaned over and kissed her.

"Are you trying to make me fall in love with you or something?" he asked quietly.

She smiled happily then said, "Maybe" in a way that made him want to tell her he loved her. He knew it was way too soon, but then again, he'd never felt anything even close to this before, and whatever 'it' was, he thought it had to be at least something close to love.

It was maybe 65 degrees, not bad at all for that time of year in Pacific Northwest, and Justin asked Taylor if she'd like to go bike riding and she told him that sounded wonderful. There were several places that rented bikes in the area, and there were bicycle trails everywhere.

They spent a couple of hours tooling around Greenlake Park. They stopped here and there to look at whatever caught their interest and as soon as their bikes were on kickstands, they held hands or walked arm in arm. They'd look, talk, then invariably turn and kiss each other before getting back on the bikes.