Be Our Guest

               Her eyes were wide as she observed the contents of my house. She looked genuinely awed, as if she had just seen the Taj Mahal and all its foreign glory.  I had to admit…the yellow glow emitted from the living room lamps reflected against her face beautifully. I had almost forgotten why I had brought her here when my mother entered the room. She stared at us in surprise, dropping the cup of coffee in her hands.

                “Ah, s**t!” she cried, stooping over to prevent the majority of the steaming liquid from staining the white carpet.

                “Mom, we need to talk,” I said, removing my Avenged Sevenfold jacket and hanging it on the coat rack beside the door. They were a good band, and I rather enjoyed their music. I remembered Elissa mentioning to her friends once that she like them, along with several other odd-named bands. So, I decided to give them a shot.

                “D****t, Devon! I’m kind of busy.”

                “Here, I’ll get it,” Elissa offered. Before either of us had time to protest, she was on her hands and knees using her shirt to rub out the stains. “Do you have a hot washrag?”

                “Um…Yeah.” I ran into the kitchen and soaked a rag in hot water. Placing my hand under it so it wouldn’t drip on the floor, I quickly retreated to the living room. Great. That’s definitely gonna leave a few scars! The spots where the scolding hot water had dripped onto my skin began to bubble up.

                “Thank you,” she muttered quietly, scrubbing ferociously at the stain.

                “You know you don’t have to do that, sweetheart,” my mother said gingerly. Elissa only smiled at her and said ‘I know.’

                “Mom, come with me,” I said, grabbing her arm and leading her into the kitchen.

                “Devon Adams Archer! Who the hell is that and why is she here?” Mom snapped.

                “She’s a girl from school. She’s…her family is at the hospital with her grandmother so she needed somewhere to stay. I offered her our home for at least the night,” I explained. I couldn’t tell her the truth, no matter how much I trusted or loved her. She would freak out.

                “Devon! Why would you do such a thing? I mean, do you even know this girl? She could be a criminal!”

                “Mom, chill. I know you’re upset, but hear me out. It’s not like you to turn down someone in need. Didn’t dad always say that’s what he loved most about you? Your kindness and warm heart?” I’ll admit, it was pretty cheap to use my dad as tactic, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

                She fell silent, just staring me over as if she was ready to strangle me and hug me at the same time. Finally, she gave an exasperated sigh and nodded her head. “Just for tonight.”

                “Thank you, mom!” I ran to her and kissed her on the cheek. “You rock!”

                “Yes, I know. Now, let’s go check on our guest. I hate that she has to clean it up all by herself.”

                When we returned to the living room, there was no visible trace of a stain…or Elissa.

                “Where’d she-”

                “I apologize.” I looked up and saw her leaning against the doorway. She held a pair of shoes in her hand and the wet, stained rag in the other. “There was a little bit of mud on the carpet so I took the shoes out and cleaned it up. I’m sorry.” She looked so sad and frightened, like a tiny mouse.

                “Oh, sweetheart, don’t apologize. You did an incredible job! Keep it up and I might have to hire you as my maid,” Mom said playfully. Elissa smiled coyly.

                I found myself blushing at the sight of her tender, modest smile. I bit my lip to keep the red at bay. She was so f*****g cute!

                Mom looked Elissa over, her smile vanishing quickly. “This won’t do. You’re filthy, you poor thing! Plus you’ll freeze to death!” Mom clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Follow me. I might have some old clothes that will fit you.”

                In shock at being caught on the spot, Elissa froze, watching the back of Mom’s head walk away. I placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded towards Mom. “Go on.”

                She just nodded and followed mother through the house like a lost puppy. It was adorable.

                Just then, there was a loud shriek. I turned my attention to the screaming Kate as she bolted downstairs. “Oh my gosh! Debbie! There’s a stranger!” I opened my arms and caught her as she jumped towards me. Her pink ballet skirt had ripped on a stud on my belt as she jumped up, causing her irritation to increase.

                “You jerk! Mom! Debbie ripped my pretty princess dress!”

                “Hush!” I heard mother call from the back room.

                I stuck my tounge out at her playfully. “Ha!”

                She growled. “Debbie, who’s that girl?”

                “She’s a friend from school.”

                “Is she your girlfriend?”

                God how I wish. “No.”

                “What’s her name?”

                “Elissa.”

                “Why’s she here?”

                “Because she is. Now can you stop with questions? You’re gonna make my head explode!” I said with a grin, twirling her around. She giggled and hugged my neck, desperate to not let go and fly across the room.

                “She’s weally pretty!” Katie-May chuckled.

                I sighed, thinking back to her perfect face. “Yeah…she is.” I couldn’t help but agree.

                Katie looked at me funny, snickered, then grew silent. I followed her peering eyes to the hallway.

                “Wow” was all I could say. She was beautiful.

                “Nice, huh?” Mom smiled, placing her hands on her hips in a proud fashion.

                Mom had pulled Elissa’s ivory hair into a loose bun and brushed her bangs aside, revealing all of her amazing face. The bright blue prom dress was two or three sizes too big, but was kept in place by a blue silk sash tied around her curvy waist. The dress was spaghetti strapped and short, revealing her breathtaking skin.

                Elissa kept her eyes cast down and her arms close to her chest.

                “Is that your old prom dress?” I asked Mom. She smiled and nodded.

                “Sure is! Doesn’t she look stunning! Now, show her around while I get dinner started. I can’t wait to cook for our guest! Katie, you can help!”

                Mother and Katie-May both skipped into the kitchen, massive smiles painted on their faces. I held out my arm and smiled. Elissa returned the affection by accepting the gesture.

                “Shall we begin the tour?”