Page 23 of Outside Looking In

“I’m Franny and this is my brother Walt,” his niece said.

“Cheers. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Nathan shook both of their hands. He was at his most polite, something Liam didn’t think he was capable of. “A family dinner. How quaint.”

“Wait!” Franny yelped. Nathan stopped himself from sitting down.

“What is it?” Liam asked.

“That’s…that’s Mum’s chair.” She and her brother looked to Mark. Nathan held onto the chair, but did not sit.

“I can move elsewhere.”

“It’s…wait one moment.” Mark went into the kitchen. He came back out with a folding chair. “I keep these for extra company. They’re a bit rickety, but should get the job done. That’s, uh, where their mum used to sit.”

Nathan put his hand up and kept the mood jolly. “Not a problem. I get it.”

He sat in the folding chair, but Liam noticed that his hand lingered on Mariel’s old chair.

Nathan

“Nathan, do you need a drink?” Mark asked.

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!Nathan wanted to scream out. His body was a garbage heap of sore muscles from the day that would not end. They had stopped working in the fields at three today, but it felt like midnight. He didn’t take a nap. He just lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, willing the pain to stop.

On top of that, he was sitting across the table from his half-brother and half-sister but couldn’t say a word. There they were! His siblings! All Nathan wanted to do was look at them, but he didn’t want to seem like a creep. He did notice that Franny dyed her hair. The red roots were leeching out. If she let them grow out, with her porcelain skin, her rust-colored locks would absolutely glow.

Oh, and he was sitting next to the chair where his real-life mother used to sit. It was all a bit much. Every part of him cried out for a handle of whiskey, but he didn’t want to make a bad impression in front of everyone. Liam had already caught him grossly hungover.

“We’re having a beer. Do you want one?” Mark held up his bottle, then nodded his head behind him at the kitchen. “They’re in the fridge.”

Nathan’s eyes darted the other way, to the liquor cabinet. He caught Liam looking at him with a suspicious glint in his eye. He probably wondered how the hell Nathan knew where the liquor cabinet was. He was like a bloodhound when it came to libations.

“I’ll stick with water. I need to stay hydrated.” Nathan glanced at Liam, who’d been looking at him a lot tonight.He was onto me.Liam went into the kitchen to get a beer for himself.

“Nathan, would I be able to read your script? It sounds like an awesome idea,” Franny said.

“There is no script. We’re improvising all of it. I’ll be doing actual farm work and portraying Farmer Hoggett.”

“How can they have animals improvise?” Liam swung through the kitchen door and returned with his drink.

“I will be reacting off of them. It’s how the director works. Anything goes. I’m very excited because as an actor—”

“What’s the director’s name?” Liam asked.

“Jasper Cort. His work has been mainly experimental.” Nathan met him out one night and knew he’d be able to cover for him.

“You’re so inquisitive, Liam.”

“You raise a heap of questions, Nathan.”

They locked eyes for an extra moment.Game on.

Nathan dug into his chicken and vegetables. “I am famished.”

“Stop,” Liam said coldly.

“What?” Nathan asked with a mouth full of food.

“We pray first.”