An Illicit Pursuit by Liv Bennett

the
alarm clock that I’d set to eleven. My stomach doesn’t feel good,
so I skip breakfast, and busy myself with a relaxing bath and then
going through my clothes. I didn’t ask Adam about the type of dress
I’m expected to wear. But it’s a birthday party among family, so I
won’t be so out of place if I put on a sun dress. I pick a
knee-length, sky-blue, sheath dress, and flat pumps.
***
    I get into my car a little before twelve in
case there’s traffic and pull up at twelve thirty in the drive way
of a three-story house. Well, a mansion actually. I grab my guitar
case and the folder with notes and climb out. Adam meets me at the
patio, wearing a black, fitted shirt, through which I can see his
chest muscles flex, and black jeans.
    I bite my lip to stop a silly joke about
black and funeral coming. “Hope I’m not too early.”
    Shaking his head, he reaches for me and gives
me a kiss on the cheek. Although it’s a brief one, it feels long
enough to feel the intimacy of his lips on my skin and give me tiny
shivers. I hear girls giggling and turn toward the window where the
giggling sound is coming from to see two teenage girls, dark-haired
like Adam, flashing their braced teeth toward me.
    “My youngest sisters. They’re twins.” Adam
motions with his hand inside the house. I follow him in hesitantly,
too nervous to take in anything on my way.
    A hugely pregnant woman, who probably passed
nine months long ago, with the same piercing hazel eyes as Adam’s,
greets me. “Hello, I’m Adriana. Adam’s older sister. Welcome to our
home.”
    I introduce myself and shake her hand.
    “You spared us a big hassle. I’d hired a
harpist as a surprise for mom’s birthday and she canceled on us
yesterday. How unprofessional people can be, right? I’m glad that
you could find time for us. Adam told me you acted in a movie. I’m
looking forward to watching it.”
    “A small role, no big deal actually.” I shoot
Adam an angry look, and he laughs.
    “Yeah, the movie isn’t a big deal but her
voice is,” Adam chimes in. “She’ll blow your mind away.” Then he
turns to me. “Come on. Let me introduce you to my mother. She’s
over in the kitchen.”
    We move through the long hall. I spot a
piano, as we pass the living room and enter the kitchen. The smell
of spices and baking meat hits me hard, reminding me of the
breakfast I skipped. It’s a huge kitchen, crowded with various
sizes of pans, pots, and kitchen appliances both on the counters
and the island. But, the blonde lady in the middle of the kitchen
doesn’t blend into the mess. In fact her straight posture, the
vibrant energy that radiates from her face makes her stand out, as
if she’s the only object to look at.
    Adam gently taps the small of my back. “Mom,
this is Pat Stevens. Pat, this is my mother, Grace.”
    Startled by the intimacy of Adam’s discreet
touch, I move forward to shake his mother’s hand, but instead she
embraces me in her arms. She smells of lavender and vanilla, which
makes me stay a little longer in her arms than courtesy would
allow.
    Then, I am introduced to the teenage girls,
who laughed at me a minute ago. Nikki and Brendie. Identical twins
through and through; from their haircuts down to the clothes they
wear.
    “Nikki has a scar on the side of her
forehead,” Adam comes to my rescue, when I try to distinguish who
is who.
    “Shut up,” Nikki says, smiling and punches
Adam’s arm.
    “Boys, right?” I point out, with an
additional punch on Adam’s other arm. The girls break into
laughter, as if they haven’t heard a joke in years.
    We all go out to the backyard and find
Adriana’s husband, Joe, and her little daughter, Joanne, playing on
the slide. They’d set up an entire playground fully equipped with a
slide, swing, maze, and a small square with sand. And, it doesn’t
even cover half the space of the backyard. A large property with a
mansion in the midst of Beverly Hills doesn’t come cheap, I’d
guess.
    “I