Fantasy Man Pt. 08

"I'll try my best."

"Oh, all I want from you is to be you. You do that, and I think this will go great. I'm worried the problem might be me."

"What do you mean?"

She stared through the windshield, looking not at the trees but towards some distant place only in her mind. "I've made so many mistakes. You don't wind up in a relationship with a guy and six girlfriends without being a little bit broken. I was terrible to my mom for a long time. Since I was too young to remember, I... I hated her. And I don't know why, except that every part of me felt like I needed to fight back against her rules."

Corbin glanced at her, but said nothing. Sometimes, Jessica thought that was his best trait. He had a good handle on when she couldn't be comforted.

"She was strict. I've told you that. But sometimes it's more fundamental than that. Sometimes people just bounce off each other like the wrong ends of a pair of magnets. I thought that was us for so long, that we just weren't going to ever get along, but eventually, late in my teens, I started to realize Mom's strictness was her way of caring for me. To try and protect me, as weird as it sounds. She wasn't trying to push me away. I was doing that all on my own. But I still had that instinct."

She smiled and sniffed. "And still, I kept doing the wrong things, dated the wrong guys. Guys I knew she wouldn't like, guys I maybe knew deep in my heart weren't the right ones for me. She's never liked any of them and that's fair, that's totally fair. I think that's Lionel's greatest gift to me, as weird as it sounds. I knew how unhealthy that relationship was for me. I think parts of it were great. I love my ex-girlfriends and I think having them around taught me the kind of strong woman I want to be outside the bedroom."

"I get that," Corbin said. "They're an impressive bunch."

"Exactly. Even before him, all of them were successful. I mean, the twins are obviously about as young as me, but you can see where they're headed. Anyways, the point is, I learned a lot about who I was and what I wanted in that relationship. I've wanted to be a mother since I was sixteen and babysat an actual baby. But I saw Lionel and Isaac and all our girlfriends and I realized I didn't want some crazy relationship. I wanted normalcy. I wanted someone who tried as hard as Lionel did for Isaac, yes, but not the way he did it." Jessica turned her head towards Corbin. "I didn't know who I wanted to do it with until you. And I want so badly for my mom and dad and my brother to see that. To love you. To see that I've found everything I want in a relationship. Maybe things are still a little weird, us bringing in other women now and again, but... the core of it, it's healthy. It's beautiful in a way I've never had before."

He reached over, took her hand, and brought it to his lips. She stroked his cheek, and they drove on.

* * *

Norrell. With the city just miles away, Corbin sat up straighter, and mumbled, "I should have brought them a gift. Or what do you do in these situations?"

Now driving, Jessica felt a surge of glee she didn't suppress. Home. Had that word ever felt so good? "You are perfect. Don't make it weird."

"Don't make it weird. Right. Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Nakamura. I was at a sex party with your daughter a few weeks ago. I made a professor orgasm a few times blindfolded and tied to the bed. Last week I fucked a friend of ours in the ass while Jessica was on her knees eating her out."

"Yeaaah, maybe don't lead with that." She drew a deep breath. "Okay. Um, basic rules."

"Shoes off inside. Does that mean I take them off outside and then step inside?"

"No," Jessica said. "Good question. We have a mat inside the front and back doors. Take your shoes off there, then put them in the cubbies by the front door."

"Got it. Socks okay?"

"Yes. What else? No phones out at the table. We all break that one all the time so don't worry about it too much. Just... you know, don't take a phone call or something while we're eating."

Corbin nodded. "What about, ah, sleeping arrangements?"

Jessica winced. "That's another good question. They didn't want my old boyfriends sleeping with me when I brought them home. I'll try, but I really don't want to fight with them this trip. And they'll both have to work so we can fool around when they're not home. Just... not at night."

"Okay," Corbin said. "We can do this. It's just a week."

"It's going to suck!" Jessica said.

"It really will. I miss your snoring already."

She rolled her eyes. "Anyways. My mom hates a mess, so just be careful about leaving clothes all over, that sort of thing. Again, it's a rule all of us break, but try."

"Okay. Okay, none of that is too bad. Operation Brainwash, let's go."

Jessica, caught right at the cusp of saying something else, glanced at him and started cracking up. All the tension in the car popped, and she shook her head. "I'm in love with such a dork."

"Yeah you are," Corbin said brightly.

Norrell was a sleepy city that could barely be called that. It was more of a sprawling town, with only a few major thoroughfares and a wide swath of small businesses in a gorgeous downtown area banked by decorative stone sidewalks and the occasional mural. Jessica explained most the city revolved around an initiative in the nineties to attract start-up tech firms, a smart investment that still paid off. A small local college provided much of the rest of the city's backbone.

They drove by the campus on their way through. Corbin peered out the window at the Hill, the not-so-cleverly titled actual hill along which the school's five dorms were located. "It seems so small compared to Agramonte."

"It is," Jessica said. "There are only about a thousand students or so. Good nursing program."

Her voice was thin and watery. When Corbin glanced over, her hands trembled on the steering wheel. "You okay?"

"No. But I will be."

A few minutes later, they turned onto a residential street lined by middle-class two-story homes. Jessica shivered and wiped at her eyes a couple times. Corbin reached over and placed his hand on her hip. She smiled at him distractedly and drew a deep breath.

They slowed as they neared a white house with dark clapboard shutters. The front lawn was impeccably maintained. A willow tree at the side of the property was ringed in decorative rocks, and a trio of hedges lined the small front porch. They pulled into the driveway in front of an attached garage.

Jessica took Corbin's hand and squeezed. "Operation Brainwash," she murmured.

"I'm in love with such a dork."

They left their things in the car for the moment, stepping out into the chilly, blustery day. Though Norrell lacked the snow Agramonte had, it felt colder here, especially with a steady breeze. Jessica took Corbin's arm when she came around the car and they headed for the front of the home.

The door opened before they got there, and a slim young man stepped out in a nightmarish mask, the pooling down around the neck, the eyes hollow, the lips torn, teeth gnashing.

"Jesus!" Corbin shouted, nearly stumbling backwards off the porch.

"What's up, dudes?" Andrew asked.

"Nothing," Jessica said. "You're looking a little pale."

Andrew snickered, and that set Jessica off. She embraced him, and squeezed him tight. Corbin grinned too, and Andrew peeled off the mask when Jessica finally let him go. He was a handsome young man, as delicately featured as his sister, with dark, inquisitive eyes and a long narrow chin.

"Hey, it's, ah, nice to meet you. Now that I need a new pair of pants."

Andrew grinned again, but lost it in a hurry. "You Corbin?"

"Um. Yes."

"How do I know?"

"Uh."

"You could be an impostor. Hand over your ID and your credit cards. Chop chop."

Jessica shook her head. "Don't fall for his tricks."

"I'll try not to," Corbin said. "Good to meet you."

"We'll see," Andrew said. Corbin didn't exactly think he was joking, either.

Inside, the house was homey, but as Jessica said, it was neat and orderly. The entry fed into an L-shaped conjoined living room and dining area. Beyond must have been the kitchen, but it was hooked around a corner. Down a hall to the left, Jessica explained, was a guest bedroom, laundry room, and the office.

"My bedroom now," Andrew said, sailing past them to the couch where he resumed playing a game.

The rich, citrusy scent in the air could only be the orange cake Corbin heard about on the drive. It made him realize how hungry he was as he unlaced his shoes and stuffed them into the cubby beside the door.

To Andrew, Jessica asked, "Where's-?"

A woman stepped into the dining room. Corbin had seen pictures of Kimberley Nakamura before, but they couldn't do the stories etched on the woman's face justice. Her face had character, hard lines made even harder by crow's feet at her eyes and a few early wrinkles. Her blonde hair was done in an elegant chiffon, the braids like a crown around her head, and Corbin could understand why she wore it that way. She bore herself like a queen.

Kimberley's weather-worn eyes softened, and she gasped, "My Jessica."

"Mom," Jessica croaked. They darted to one another. Kimberley wrapped her daughter up in a fierce hug, her tears an immediate river. Jessica was right there with her, crying into her mother's collar, shaking with the force of it.

* * *

Seated at the dining room table, Jessica clasped one of her mother's long-fingered hands in her own, marveling at the new lines she imagined she felt there. Her dad, Oliver, leaned against the kitchen's countertop, waiting for water to boil in their electric kettle. Corbin stood next to him, looking as awkward as Jessica would have felt in his shoes. She smiled at him, still fighting back tears, and patted the chair next to her. Corbin came and gave her arm a squeeze as he sat down.

"So, Corbin," Oliver said, "you're a freshman, right?"

"Yes, sir," Corbin said, and Jessica could hear the tension in him. "Just, ah, finishing up my first semester. I think I'm going to pull all As, except maybe in history." Catching Jessica's eye, he added, "We'll see about that one."

Jessica tried to remain impassive at that. "I found out a few weeks ago he didn't go to college straight away so he could help his dad at the store he manages." She smiled at Corbin. "I thought that was something special."

"Oh, what kind of store does your father manage?" Kimberley asked.

"A Best Buy. Up in Oleander, South Dakota. And my mom's an assistant principal."

Oliver chuckled. "She must have been strict."

Jessica let go of her mother's hand and clapped hers together. "Jinx! I said the same thing!"

"She was," Corbin said. "But there was always work-mom and home-mom. She got home and the comfy jeans and sweats came on. And I wasn't exactly the most rebellious kid, so it wasn't too bad."

"Any brothers or sisters?" Kimberley asked as the kettle came to a boil and Oliver thumbed it off.

"No, ma'am. Just me."

"You don't need to call us sir or ma'am this week," Kimberley said. "Just Oliver or Kimberley is fine."

"But it is a step up from Dean," Andrew said as he came through the kitchen.

Kimberley chuckled. "Oh, yes. Dean." Ollie shook his head.

"Kimmy! Good to see you, babe!" Andrew said, deepening his voice and puffing out his chest and his shoulders. "O-man!"

"He did not say O-Man," Jessica said, but couldn't help cracking up at her brother's impression. Dean had been a bodybuilder type, and hit every cliché in his way down the stereotype tree. Blond, big muscles, and poor guy, but he was dumb as a post. Jessica never told anyone this, but he had a mean streak too born of steroids and a narcissistic ego. Another few weeks with him and she was sure he would have hit her or worse. Like all the rest of her boyfriends, her mother called it on that one and said he felt like he was always holding something back. She'd always been so right about so much, and maybe that was why Jessica resented her so much when she was younger.

Andrew opened up the fridge and dug out a soda. His mother said, "Andrew, offer Corbin one."

"Oh, I'm all right," Corbin said.

"Something harder?" Andrew asked, popping the top on his can.

"No, thank you, and that was bait, wasn't it?"

"Maaaaybe," Andrew said.

To Corbin's credit, Jessica thought he handled the question admirably. He said with a smile, "I do have a beer or a cocktail occasionally with Jess, but never when I'm driving."

"So that's probably a no to buying me beer then," Andrew said with a theatrical sigh.

Corbin chuckled, "Nah, just cocaine and meth, you know."

"Sweet!" Andrew said, and sauntered out of there.

Jessica shook her head as her father plunked down two cups of steaming hot tea for her and her mother on ceramic coasters. Her mother caught the look and her eyes crinkled. Jessica wished she saw her mother smile more often. It carved away the years from her face, years Jessica was damn sure she'd put there.

"I'm going to go ahead and guess what you're about to say. No, we don't think he's doing cocaine." Kimberley gave Corbin a long look. "Steroids, maybe."

Corbin blinked and leaned forward. "Wait, really? You think that? Yessss!"

"Oh no, his chest is going to be puffed out all week," Jessica groaned.

Corbin dug out his phone. "I know you have a rule about no phones at the dinner table, but I have to show you a picture of me before I met Jessica. She's really helped me come a long way. Her and a bunch of new friends."

"We make plenty of exceptions to the rule," Ollie said, settling in himself. Jessica gave him a grateful smile and he reached out to squeeze one of her hands before stealing his wife's tea for a sip.

Corbin showed them some pictures when he was shaggier and his gut was bigger. He hadn't thought to weigh in before he started dieting and exercising with the football and wrestling crews in the gym, but if Jessica had to guess, he'd lost maybe fifteen pounds, or at least changed it to muscle. He was still soft in the best possible way, but now it was like a veneer on top of his solidness. She loved the feel of him, being close, cuddling. She ached for it.

Her family marveled over that, and Kimberley said, "What a remarkable change. But I think you've had just as much of an effect on our Jessica, too, from what I understand."

"Oh, she was always this beautiful," Corbin said. "Nothing I'd ever change about her."

"Mom's right," Jessica murmured. "You helped me see a world of kindness when I was feeling pretty jaded and angry."

"Aw," Corbin said. To Ollie and Kimberley, "Hope you don't mind overly much, but I need to do this." He leaned over and gave Jessica a soft kiss, and she stroked his long hair out of his eyes and caressed his cheek.

Once they finished their tea, Kimberley rose to make the chicken noodle soup. "I'm not much of a cook," Corbin said, "but if there's anything I can do to help like chop vegetables or do dishes, I'd be glad to."

"Well, thank you," Kimberley said. "If you'd like to peel and chop the carrots, that would be lovely."

Jessica smiled to herself. Keep that up, Corbin. She knew her parents had secretly liked the sir and ma'am too. Small points, maybe, but points earned nonetheless.

With Kimberley and Corbin figuring out a rhythm in the kitchen, it gave Jessica and her father a chance to catch up. They talked about the trip down, and when she mentioned she fell asleep for a good hour along the way, Ollie raised an eyebrow.

"You fell asleep in the car?"

"I know, I never do," Jessica said. "But Corbin... I feel safe with him."

"She says that now, but what I didn't tell her about was the detour through the corn field," Corbin said. He settled his knife down and came over to kiss her cheek. Ollie gave them a pleased smile at that.

He talked some about work. He was a building inspector for the city, and a new industrial park was giving him a daily migraine, but a nice pay raise helped balance things out.

"And Jessica told me you work for the electric company, right?" Corbin asked Kimberley.

"Yes," Kimberley said. "Going to be twenty years next year."

"Oh, congratulations. That's a hell of a long... heck of a long career."

Kimberley chuckled. "We aren't complete prudes, Corbin. So long as you're not vulgar, there's no harm in swearing around us."

"Shiiiiiiiiiiit," Andrew called from the other room.

Kimberley gave Corbin a long-suffering sigh and shook her head. "You could take him with you back to Agramonte if you like."

All in all, that night, Jessica thought Corbin did great. He was obviously tense, but he handled the questions her parents prepared for him as best as he could. Her mother could use her words like a scorpion wielded its stinger if she didn't like someone, but tonight she seemed to be making an effort to be pleasant, even cracking more jokes than Jessica had seen from her with any of her previous boyfriends. Was that because of Corbin, or was it because of the recent heart-to-heart conversations mother and daughter had been having? Jessica wasn't sure, but either way, it was a good foot in the door.

The chicken noodle soup made her cry again. It was a small thing, but so very much a beloved part of her childhood that she couldn't help herself. Corbin and Kimberley both came to her at that, and he stepped back, a little embarrassed, but Jessica's mom nodded at Jessica and together they rubbed her back as she let it out for the half-dozenth time that night.

Afterward, with the orange cake - which was really more of a roll, with a delicious cream cheese frosting in a swirl inside - having been nearly demolished between the five of them, they sat back to talk some more.

"What are your plans for the week?" Ollie asked Jessica.

"Tomorrow I want to hit the trails," Jessica said. "After today I need to move around. Maybe the antique mall if you guys aren't doing anything. And if Corbin wants to take us out to dinner, I was thinking Cathy's. Tomorrow or sometime this week, anyways."

"Oh, that would be nice," Kimberley said.

For Corbin's benefit, Jessica said, "My aunt Cathy. She owns a bar and grill. It's good food and not crazy expensive."

"Sounds great," Corbin said.

"Beyond that, Thanksgiving, obviously. Black Friday shopping?" Jessica asked Kimberley.

Kimberley blinked in disbelief. "You'll go?"

"Yes," Jessica said, grinning. "And I promise, no fits this time."

Ollie eyed Corbin. "You're some kind of miracle worker, aren't you?"

"Uh, no, this is all her."

* * *

With the household settled in for the night, Corbin was just changing into a pair of basketball shorts to sleep in when Jessica knocked and slipped into the room.

"Hey," he said as she came to him.

"Hey yourself," Jessica murmured, leaning up to give him a good, long kiss. She nestled into him and they sat on the edge of the bed. "Sorry we have to sleep apart."

"No, hey, I'm a guest here, I get it." He murmured into her ear, "But come Monday, when we're alone-"

Another knock on the door. Ollie said, "Just me."

Jessica whispered into Corbin's ear, "Hell yes," then louder, "Come on in."

Ollie nudged the door open. Jessica might have inherited her mother's lighter skin, but the rest of her slim, delicate features definitely came from her father. He was neither as beautiful or handsome as his children, but there was a quiet charm to him, emphasized especially when he sat back and watched the people around him. He'd changed out of his contacts and into a pair of thin rimmed glasses.

"Just wanted to check in and make sure you didn't need anything," he said, leaning against the frame.

"No sir... ah, Oliver, I'm all set."

"We left some travel toiletries in the bathroom, and I plugged in a nightlight in the hall to help you find your way. Mind the stairs if you head downstairs for a drink. The carpet, sometimes it's very easy to slip."