‡ Promise 28: Dinner With A Demon ‡

-As told by Keith-

hursday evening, I get ready for dinner with the Harris family. Of course this will be a very awkward night, but I am determine to ease any suspicions that Lily's parents may have. It's understandable that her mother would find it strange, that all of a sudden her teenaged daughter is chatting with an man they believe to be in his mid thirties. And I bet we had looked pretty cozy there, sitting closely at the table in my yard, giving Mrs. Harris all sorts of alarming ideas.
It was only polite to accept her dinner invitation, despite Lily's discomfort of the idea, and assure my intentions with their daughter. Lily and I are strictly friends and maybe will remain so, for the rest of Lily's natural life. And besides, I wasn't lying, when I said I was interested in a home-cooked meal. I haven't had one, in two centuries, except for the meager meals I've tried to prepare for myself. And I hardly count that as food, let alone meals. I grab a bottle of my best wine and head next door.
"Mr. Rolmir." smiles Mrs. Harris, as she opens the front door, "I'm so glad you can make it." "Of course." I smile, stepping into the warm colored home, "I wouldn't miss it for the world. This is for you." I hand her the bottle of wine and her smile becomes brighter. "Oh, thank you." she nods, looking the bottle over, "I'm serving lamb tonight. Will that be okay?" "Lamb is fine." I nod, feeling like I'm stuck in a old black and white dialog, "I've been looking forward to a home-cooked meal, all week. Anything will do." She giggles and I realize that hers is close to Lily's giggle.
"Where is everyone?" I ask, looking for signs of the dark-haired girl. A tall and thin man, wearing dark thick glasses, walks from the living room. He gives me a glance over, trying to read me, and then sternly extends a hand. "Mr. Rolmir." he says, his voice filled with politeness, but his stone look betraying it, "I'm Dr. Frank Harris, Lily's father." "Nice to meet you, Doctor." I said, giving my left hand. He tried to nearly break it, in the handshake, and I had to fight everything to not show him my true demon strength in return.
"Lily's upstairs." grins Mrs. Harris, "She's excited to have a famous writer here for dinner, so she must be still crimping and curling." I knew Lily would die, if she knew what her mother was saying now, and I chuckle. "That must happen often," says Dr. Harris, coldly, "Girls getting themselves busy for you." Mrs. Harris gives her husband a look, but he doesn't see it, and he's waiting for my reply. "I wouldn't know." I shrug, "I'm too busy writing books, to notice." "I see." he says, not at all satisfied with that answer.
"Lily!" shrieks Mrs. Harris, causing both of us to jump, "Come on down! Mr. Rolmir is here!" I was sure my eardrum was broken, as I absentmindedly wiggled a finger in one ear. "Yow," frowns Dr. Harris, "You don't have to yell like that." "She's in the attic." frowns Mrs. Harris, "How else is she going to hear?" "I think the polar bears in Alaska heard." he teases. "Not funny." frowns Mrs. Harris, hitting her husband in the side. It was nice, seeing a couple who loved each other so much, even though both were worried for their daughter and suspicious of their neighbor. I wondered if my father and mother were ever this way, when they were alive.
"Come on." smiles Mrs. Harris, "I'll show you to the table, Mr. Rolmir." "Please," I said, following, "Call me Keith." "Only if you call me Cathrine." she winks. "It's a deal then." I smile and she giggles. Dr. Harris says nothing, still looking for dark signs within me, but finding none so far. Neither would ever know of my true form, unless they suddenly went mad. And although Cathrine is a little quirky, I doubt she'd ever lose her head in this lifetime.
Both parents are dressed formally; the husband dressed in a gray suit jacket and striped tie, the mother wearing her best evening fashion, a pink beaded dress and brown shawl. And when Lily finally entered the dinning room, wearing a long black satin dress and with a black sparkly sweater, I felt really under dressed. I was simply wearing a white striped shirt and tan khaki pants, dressed for a casual dinner. "I didn't get the memo on the dress code." I mumbled, but Lily heard. "No, this was mom's idea." she frowns, looking uncomfortable in her dress.
"Excuse me?" asks Dr. Harris, not able to hear what Lily and I were saying to each other. "Nothing," waves Lily, "I was just telling Mr. Rolmir about how dressing fancy was mom's idea." Cathrine looks up from the serving tray and blushes slightly. "It's a dinner party," she tries to explain, "I just thought..." "Oh," I said, trying to assure her, "I wasn't saying there was anything wrong. I just would've worn something more appropriate, if I knew." "Yeah." frowns Lily, waving her fork a little in the air, "Mr. Rolmir is too polite to think this is stupid. But, I'm not and I think dressing up for dinner is stupid."
"Lily." frowns her mother, bringing the wonderful dishes to the table, "Don't be rude, we have a guest here tonight." "Oh, darn." she says, in mock concern, "You mean I can't fart here tonight." I choke and Mrs. Harris turns pale. "Lily." says her father, in a stern voice, "That's enough." Lily looks like she wants to challenge it, but decides against it. "Whatever." she grumbles. "Teens." Dr. Harris directs towards me. And in some odd way, the way he said it, he seemed to be hinting a deeper meaning of the word for me. We began passing around the serving dishes, getting what we wanted, while Mr. and Mrs. Harris had small talk.
I came to realize that Lily was hating this whole thing and that she hated the dress that she was in. She slumped in her chair and looked very uncomfortable with me here. And why wouldn't she be? Maybe I should have thought about this and had decline the invitation. "Enjoying the lamb?" asks Mrs. Harris, suddenly. "Yes," I said, realizing I had my fork hovering over it, for some seconds, "It's very good. You're a very good cook." "Oh, thank you." she smiles, "I wasn't sure if it was too dry or not. I don't normally cook and was afraid it was left in for too long." "It's fine." I assured, even though I knew I've had better.
"So," says Dr. Harris, "You're a famous writer, huh?" "Yes." I nod and then taking a sip of wine, "But I don't see myself as famous. That's just a title." "So," says the father, giving me a strong stare, "You don't care for the fame?" "No." I waved, "I can do without it. I write because of the money." Lily drops her fork and Cathrine giggles. "Really?" asks Dr. Harris, one brow up. "Yes," I nod, "I like nice things and so therefore I work hard to get them." "You're joking." breaths Lily, "He's joking." "No," I shrug, "I'm just being honest. Sure the fans love me and many find great joy in my art. But, I do it for the money, strictly. I know it seems shallow and it probably is."
"Well," chews Mrs. Harris, "That very honest of you." "Don't get me wrong," I say, after taking another sip, "I do work very hard and I never give my fans less than one-hundred percent. But I don't care for the image, the fame, the immortality in print. I don't do it for the simple joy I give to others, because lets face it, people don't have to read my books or movies to gain joy. There are other things to do. I just simply work hard for the money and the nice things." "I think I understand." says Dr. Harris, slowly, "But it must be lonely, when your only goal is making money. I'm sure you must look for some sort of romantic interests."
And here was the moment of truth. I know what his question really is, "Are you interested in my teenage daughter?" . And so I answer it truthfully. "Sir," I said, firmly looking him in the eye, "I have no time for anything romantic. Maybe someday, but no time soon. I'm too much of a hard-working demon." Lily shudders in her chair, but neither parent seem to notice. "'Hard-working demon'?" repeats Dr. Harris, thinking it over, "Wow. Reminds me of my young years, in medical school. I was a hard-working demon too and never had time for relationships either. So, I know exactly what you mean."
The doctor smiles brightly now, satisfied that he has nothing to worry about. Lily gives me a very sharp look, pleading for me to stop skating on the edge of truth. Mrs. Harris silently chews, not really paying any attention to the conversation anymore. The fears and suspicions are now put to rest and both parents consider me as an ordinary neighbor now. Not the thirty-odd-year man who may leer after their teenage daughter, as they had once feared. We continue to have small talk and finish dinner peacefully.
I am standing at the front door, hours later, carrying a piece of chocolate cake under a wrapped paper plate. "Goodnight, Keith." smiles Cathrine, as I open the door. "Goodnight." I grin, "And thanks again." I notice Lily, peaking at me from the the top of the stairs. "Goodnight, Miss Lily." I say, turning to leave. She gives a small, "Night." And the door closes behind me.
By the next afternoon, I go into my yard and very bright-eyed Lily hops up to the hedge. "Thanks." she smiles. "For what?" I ask, trying to figure out what good deed I had done. "For everything!" she says, waving her hand in a huge arc, "For showing up for dinner, for being nice, and for putting up with my crazy parents. And for suffering through that horrible food, I almost forgot that." "I don't know," I shrug, "The lamb wasn't that bad. And the cake was excellent. I had it for lunch and kind of want more." But Lily isn't interested in talking about cake.
"At first," she continues, "I didn't know why you would agree to the dinner. It just didn't make sense. But then I overheard my parents talking last night, about how they thought you were some perv trying to 'rob-the-cradle'. And then it made sense and so did my dad's crazy questions. You knew all along what the dinner meant and you showed up anyway!" "Of course." I nod, "Don't be silly. We're friends and I wanted to assure your parents not to worry. If they worry, then they would become protective.
"And if that happens, they would make it difficult for us to ever talk again. And that scenario doesn't sit well with me. So what's sitting through dinner?" Lily gives me a really funny look, causing the hair on my arms to stand up. "What?" I frown. "You know," she says, looking towards the ground and blushing, "I could really fall for someone like you." I now feel horrified, for the first time in my life. "Oh, boy." I mumble, the blood draining from my face. "I know, I know." she assures, "I'm only seventeen now. But in six months I'll be eighteen. I know, that still isn't right because you're thirty-something."
"No," I said, feeling myself blush, "I'm much older than that. And that makes it worse! Um, I do like you, Miss Lily. But I can never entertain anything like that. So, lets just be satisfied with friendship, okay?" "Yeah," she nods, still blushing, "I know. I was just saying..." "Besides," I nod, looking off towards the woods, "I'm sure there are plenty of boys, your age, that you can be interested in. Like the one who comes to see you." "T-Tommy!?" she chokes and then disgust flashes across her face.
"No good, huh?" I shrug. "That dork!?" she frowns, "He's just my friend! I wouldn't be caught dead with a dork like that! Besides, he like Jody and he's too much of a dork to tell her how he feels." "Hmm, I think you're trying to tell me that he's a dork?" I said, teasing her for the overuse of the word. "Shut up." Lily waves, blushing again. "Well," I sigh, folding my arms, "I believe you'll find the right guy someday, one that's not a centuries old demon... or a dork." "Whatever." she blushes. We stand there silently for a while...