When My Shift Ends | ?

twenty-six | first draft

When she turns to him, he's wearing a reassuring smile, one that almost completely settles the butterflies in her stomach. "My parents will love you. But if for some reason they don't, I still will. So don't worry, okay?"

She nods slowly, swallowing down the lump in her throat. "Okay."

He nods once, his smile of reassurance still on his lips as he pulls on the handle of his door, getting out of the car. Ellie is quick to follow after him and connect her hand with his as they approach the house. He reaches for the front door, giving her one last look and squeezing her hand for good measure before he's pushing it open.

"Mom, Dad, we're here!"

The sound of dishes clanking fills the foyer as they stand at the entrance, Cooper shutting the front door behind them. Ellie is sure that his hand has tightened arounds hers, and she wonders if maybe he's not as calm as he's claimed to be. She doesn't have another moment to overthink it as Cooper's parents step into the room, polite smiles adorning their faces.

"Hello, Ellie," Cooper's mom speaks first. "It's so lovely to finally meet you. We've heard so much about you."

"Mostly bad things," Cooper says, sending a playful wink in Ellie's direction.

She laughs, trying her best to keep the nervous blush from spreading onto her cheeks. "It's nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Clarke."

A tight smile sits on her lips, and it almost looks painful to wear. The petite woman looks to the man at her side briefly, who stands tall and broad in a dress shirt and dark slacks. "This is my husband, Richard."

"Hello, Mr. Clarke." Ellie takes a second to study his features, noticing that Cooper resembles his father much more than his mother. Her imagination takes over and soon she's wondering if this is what Cooper might have looked like when he was his father's age.

"Nice to meet you, Ellie," he says, his voice deep and intimidating, nothing like the Clarke boy's voice she's grown accustomed to.

A silence falls over the room after that, pushing someone to be the first to break it. Ellie looks nervously to Cooper, whose hand has grown clammy at this point, and he clears his throat, looking to his mom. "So. Dinner then?"

"Yes!" She says, clapping her hands once and making her way to the kitchen. "The dining room table is set, go take your seats. I'll bring out the meal."

Cooper wastes no time in taking off towards the dining room, eager to escape his dad's looming presence. Ellie forces her legs to keep up and soon they're both seated next to each other at the expensively decorated dining table. Just as she notices how far apart the chairs are, Cooper scoots his closer to her's, resting a hand on her knee and sending her another smile.

His dad takes a seat next, his steady gaze trained on the young couple as he places his napkin on his lap. Ellie tries to avoid his stare by looking around the house, noticing that everything looks strategically placed, as if they just pulled all their rooms directly out of a catalog.

"Spaghetti Bolognese!" Cooper's mom's voice booms as she approaches the room, a steaming pasta dish in her oven-mitt-clad hands. "I hope you guys are hungry because we've got a lot of food here."

"Smells good," his dad says blandly, reaching for the spoon to dish up his plate.

Cooper's mom stares back at him, an appalled look on her face before she's quick to wipe it off. "Honey. Maybe we should let our guest dish up first."

"Oh, no. That's all right. Go ahead," Ellie says, waving her hand in the air to dismiss the suggestion.

His dad looks between the two women, ultimately tossing the spoon back into the bowl and nudging it in Ellie's direction. At this point, an embarrassed blush is on her cheeks and there to stay for the remainder of the dinner. With that in mind, she reaches for the spoon and begins dishing up her own serving before handing it back to his dad.