Snow has started to fall, and in the dark night it catches the light of the headlights that shine ahead of our moving vehicle. Azrael has on his sweater that he placed on me earlier but I said he should wear as it got colder. It was good to do so, as the snow has brought on the cold.
Even though it's not even four, it's already dark. Most of the world outside is in nigritude and only lights here and there shine around the dark cold world. I'm guessing we're heading to the farm that Azrael's family is on, as the lights of what I think is Anchorage aren't near.
When we finally start to slow down, I see warm lights to the right of the road we're on, which is starting to turn white from the snow. I also see farm fences pass by the car as we pull up to the house, which is from what I can see pretty large. It's three stories from I can tell and spread out also.
After we park next to it, the three of us hop out and grab our luggage from the bag. It's cold, and the snow falling around seems to intensify by the second. Azrael only in a sweater and who hasn't put on his coat yet probably should be inside, I think, so I just grab both our bags and say, "Lead the way."
Azrael smiles as he and Luke walk in the front to the door of the house, though I notice that Azrael stands behind Luke. Luke pulls out his keys and unlocks the door before we go inside the to the comfort of shelter.
The house is warm, and immediately is comforting to stand inside of. Azrael also visibly eases his shoulder and his shivers also stop as well, only the red cheeks of his evidence of the cold. Though, his shoulders are still slightly tensed, and hasn't made a move to enter the house more.
Luke also notes this, and says, "I think Dad is out shopping for groceries."
Azrael's shoulders ease before his eyes glance at me and then back to Luke. Reaching out, he slips an arm under Luke's and walks further into the house whispering something into his ear. Luke listens then asks something back, and then Azrael says something that Luke slowly nods to.
Turning back to me, Luke's eyes glance at me before he turns and walks into the house. Azrael walks over to me though.
"Let's get settled in," he says, "we can go upstairs where I'll show you to your room."
"Okay," I say, as I know that there's something going on.
So, firstly, there's something going on between Azrael and his dad. That is, there's some issue there. So, for now, I'm guessing that the secret, or really now I should just say as the issue of Azrael's, is familial, and specifically, between the father.
If that's the case, it makes it possible for me to start to pull ideas what exactly the issue could be. Maybe it's an issue of, say, adolescent behavior and a falling out that occurred with that. In my mind, that's what seems to be the most likely candidate. Though it could be something else.
Walking up the stairs, we pull our luggage up and head to where Azrael leads us. I don't hear anybody upstairs on the second floor where we walk in a hallway, and I'm guessing everyone is downstairs in a living room maybe. The house itself seems very similar to my own home in Texas with an exposed wood interior and warm wood colors. Though the air inside the house is cold and somewhat chilly.
"Here," says Azrael as he pushes open a door to a room and flicks on a light, "this is your room you'll be staying in."
Walking inside, I see a bed and a dresser available for me to use. Also a standing mirror next to a window with curtains pulled closed in the room. The room has the same wood paneling and it calming to be in here.
"I'm across the hallway," says Azrael as he stands in the doorway as I walk around in the room, "where I'll be sleeping. The bathroom is down the hall that way."
He points in the direction we were heading in before we stopped, and I nod.
"Alright, I'll remember that."
"I'll leave you to settle in, and in a few minutes we can go downstairs so you can meet more of my...family," says Azrael,
"Okay."
Azrael turns to leave, but I say, "Azrael?"
He turns and raises his eyebrows, "Yes?"
"I think you should wear a thicker sweater, as I highly doubt that ones cutting it," I say.
"Oh," says Azrael as he looks down at his sweater, "you're right. I'll change. Do you need another one? I'll grab a coat for you to wear and I can grab a sweater as well."
"I could use one," I say as I hold up mine, "this one seems to be lacking in capacity to keep me warm."
"Alright," says Azrael and then walks over to his room.
Looking through my door and into his room, I see that his is roughly the same, but there's some more decoration in there. The bed has a red blanket and soft caramel colored pillows.
After pulling some of the clothes of mine out of my suitcase and into the dresser, I sit down on my bed and pull out my phone, to check my messages. Nothing new, but that's expected. Even if there was anything new though, I'd still be interested more in who's in the room across the hall, not what's cyber and not really based in real life.
Walking over to the window, I look outside, though there's the snow that's still intensifying. I also hear some of the wind howling, which must mean that the blizzard is starting up. I think back to how Azrael's father is still out there and should probably be home by now as it's a little dangerous.
But I don't have time to think that as I hear a knock from the direction of my door and see that Azrael has on another sweater and also has some bulky articles of clothing over his arm. I smile before standing up and walking over.
"Is that for me?" I ask as Azrael hands it to me.
"It is," says Azrael, "try it on to make sure it fits."
Setting down the jacket with the sweater that he handed me, I pull off my winter coat that I had on this whole time, and then pull the sweater on. As I pull them the sweater down over my face, I see Azrael staring at me before blushing and looking to the side and turning his head, suddenly fascinated by a spiral in one of the panels of wood. A smile pulls at my lips as I'm again reminded that I have the eye of Azrael on me, and that I have a chance of courting him. As he obviously is interested in my physical characteristics. Though, only that would be sad.
"I think it fits," I say as I smooth out the front of the sweater and Azrael turns around and sees me.
"That's good," says Azrael, still a touch of pink on his cheeks, "that winter coat I think might fit, and is hopefully enough for you."
"I think it will be," I reply, "shall we go downstairs?"
"That's a good idea," says Azrael, and after flicking off the lights we head downstairs.
Leading the way, Azrael and I walk through hallways and a room or so through the large farm house with the same wood paneling, though here and there are pictures in frames. Though not all the frames on the walls are filled with pictures but with cotton-lace doilies.
Ahead, I see a large room, a living room, that connects to a kitchen where Luke along with a few people are. There are two ladies and one other man besides Luke, and I'm guessing they're family. They stand around the kitchen counter, some of them sitting at chairs, as they talk and eat some food spread out.
"Oh, Azrael," says one of the ladies, though they both smile and come over, one older with blond hair while the other is younger with black hair.
The blond older lady reaches out to hug Azrael, who after half a second of hesitation lets her and also hugs her back. Maybe the issue is with who I'm guessing is the mother, though they don't exactly look alike.
"Hello, Mom," says Azrael, though I catch the somewhat choking tone.
"How have you been?" asks the mom as she lets him go and I also see how Azrael takes half a step away from her.
"I've been alright," says Azrael, and the other lady with black hair reaches out for a hug.
Azrael doesn't seem to be as resistant as getting a hug from this other lady, who seems to be around the age of Luke. Maybe two years younger. The other man who is at the counter also seems to be older than Azrael and around the age of early to mid-forties. The blond woman who I now know as the mom makes sense to be older.
"Oh, Azrael," says the black-haired lady as she pat his cheek, "you look better. Have you been changing habits?"
"I have," replies Azrael, smiling but keeping his distance away from most of everyone, "thanks to Hogarth here."
"Hello, Hogarth!" says the black-haired lady as she turns to me and offers an extended hand, "You the boyfriend of his?"
Azrael blushes scarlet-red and it reaches his ears which the mom and Luke along with the other guy at the counter notices.
"Uh, no," I reply, "I'm just his assistant."
"Oh," says the lady, though she still lingers her gaze on me, "I see."
"Well, I'm Shelly," says the mom.
"Nice to meet you Mrs. Durst," I say as she shakes my hand.
"I'm Clementine," says the black-haired lady.
"I'm Duke," says the blonde-hair man at the kitchen counter next to Luke.
"He's my man," says Clementine.
"Nice to meet everyone," I say to the people around.
"You too."
"We're eating some food," says Shelly as she gestures to the food spread out, "it's probably our dinner but it's rather early to have."
"What is it?" asks Azrael as he walks over to the counter, looking at it.
"It's just some food from Al Jayed," says Luke as he pulls a dish out from under the island and sets two out for Azrael and I.
"Ooh, I love that place," says Azrael, starting to scoop food onto his plate.
"What kind of restaurant is it?" I ask to nobody in particular.
"It's an Arabic restaurant in town that we like to get food from often," explains Azrael.
"I've never really had Arabic food," I admit.
"We only know it because we have that heritage," says Clementine as she picks up a piece of bread and splits it with Duke.
"You have an Arabic heritage?" I ask as I look at Azrael.
"I didn't tell you?" asks Azrael.
"No."
"Oh, sorry. I have one," says Azrael as he eats some bread with something on it.
"Our Arab grandparents used to teach us Arabic whenever we came over or we visited them," says Clementine, "I think I still remember most of them."
"Is it on the level of speaking conversation?" I ask curiously.
"I think so," says Clementine.
"Me too," says Luke.
"Azrael though is probably the best out of all of us though," says Clementine as she nods at Azrael, "he went to the Middle East a few times and came back smarter each time."
"I'd not say that much," says Azrael humbly.
"It is out heritage, but I'm sure it's more than that," says Clementine.
"I think it's more of the heritage," says Azrael simply.
"It's from our dad's side of the family," says Luke with a shrug.
I see Azrael's hand twitch at the mention of his father, and I can tell that most of everyone else notice it as well. As if on cue, the door to the house opens and I hear a voice call out in a mans voice saying he's home.
Shelly looks nervously at Azrael before excusing herself from the counter and walking to the hallway and meeting the person who arrived. I can hear some voices talking quietly and Luke, Duke, and Clementine all eat in silence while glancing at Azrael every few seconds.
Azrael has sunken back into his chair and his eating stops, his hungry appetite moments ago gone already. His hands rest flat against the counter-top and his elbows press to his ribcage. And it sounds like he's stopped inhaling breaths.
I'm just about to say something to Azrael, to ask if he's okay when footsteps come from the hallway and first Shelly enters before the father does.
He looks very similar to Azrael. I'm taller than everyone else in the room, while everyone besides Azrael seems to share their height. The father though might be a little taller than everyone in this family. His age is around that of Shelly, and he has black hair and the same pale skin tone, though his hair is greying a little. But instead of grey, his eyes are actually brown. I wonder if Azrael got his grey eyes from his mom, but she has blue eyes so I'm lost scratching my head about that.
The entrance of the father into the room however has Azrael frozen solid. His eyes though stare directly at his father, who carefully walks over to the island where everyone else is. Shelly tries to revert back to the meal she left but the other three look between Azrael and his dad. Nobody talks and only the munching noise of Shelly and Duke eating, Duke paying more attention to the scene while Shelly looking down at the table.
"So, uh," says Luke as he tries to start a conversation, "did you get some beer, Dad?"
"Y-yeah!" responds Azrael's Dad with a stutter, "I got a few bottles so that there's enough for everyone."
Azrael's father talking seems to make Azrael rigid even more.
The silence fills the space around the meal again, and it seems that maybe the meal will be that way for some bit. But Azrael's Dad clears his throat before slowly raising his eyes to Azrael and smiling slowly while trying not to come off as dangerous.
"Hi, Azrael. How are you?"