Yours To Control

Chapter 7

The Voss family home was never quiet on dinner nights.

Soren knew this, he had known it his entire life yet every time he pulled into the driveway and heard the noise from outside he still needed a moment before he went in.

He sat in his car for that moment then he got out.

The front door opened before he could reach it.

"You're late," William said from the door like he had been waiting to say that for a long time.

"It's only four minutes."

"Grandma Rose has said it twice already."

Soren walked past him into the house, William walked beside him with his hands in his pocket. He looked like he was enjoying this at Soren's expense which happens most of the time.

"How bad is it," Soren said quietly.

"Mom made your favorite, that's either a good sign or she wants something."

"It's both."

"It's definitely both," William agreed.

The dining room was loud, bright, smelled like food and had the warmth of a house that had people in it who genuinely liked each other. Mia was already at the table with her phone face down which meant she had been told twice to put it away. Henrik was pouring out wine, Rose was sitting at the head of the table.

She looked up when Soren walked in.

"Four minutes," she said.

"It's traffic," Soren replied.

"You live fifteen minutes away."

"The traffic was bad."

Rose looked at him like she had lived long enough to know exactly what bad traffic meant and what it didn't mean but chose to let it go for now. Soren bent down and kissed her cheek, she patted his face with one hand and held on for a little longer than necessary.

"You look tired," she said.

"I'm fine grandma."

"You always say that."

"Because I'm always fine."

Rose made a sound and released his face, Soren straightened up and took his seat between William and Mia.

Joy came in from the kitchen carrying a dish that smelled extraordinary, set it on the table and looked at Soren with a smile she had that meant she was happy he was there and also had several things to say to him.

"My favorite," Soren said.

"I know," She sat down, "eat first then we'll talk."

William looked at Soren, soren looked at his plate.

Dinner was loud like always, William told a story about something that happened at work which had Mia crying with laughter by the end of it. Henrik asked Soren about the Harrington acquisition, they talked about it briefly until Joy put her hand on Henrik's arm and said not at the table. Henrik conceded immediately the way he always do with her.

Rose ate and said very little trying to save her energy.

Soren knew the signs, the wonders appeared at dessert.

"Petra looks beautiful in her engagement photos," Joy said, passing the bowl to William. "Have you seen them?"

"I saw them," Soren said.

"She's so happy," Joy smiled, "It's a wonderful thing seeing your children happy."

Soren kept quiet and picked up his spoon.

"She's twenty six," Joy added.

"I know how old Petra is Mama."

"Of course you do," Joy looked at him pleasantly. "I'm just saying she's twenty six."

"Mom," Mia said.

"I'm just trying to make a conversation."

"You're really not," William said into his dessert.

Joy ignored both of them, "I'm not pressuring anyone, I just think it would be nice to have someone else at the table, someone new." She looked at Soren, "you work so hard Ren, you deserve to come home to someone."

"I'm fine coming home to myself."

"A house that size," Rose said from the head of the table without looking up from her dessert, "is not a home, It's a storage space for one man's stubbornness."

William made a sound that was definitely a laugh disguised as a cough, Mia pressed her lips together.

"I'm serious," Rose continued, setting her spoon down as if she had been waiting for this moment . "I am not a young woman anymore, I have things I would like to see before I go."

"Grandma you're seventy nine," Mia said.

"Exactly, seventy nine not a hundred and two. I still have eyes and I would like to use them to see this one…" she pointed at Soren, "sitting at a table with someone who didn't come out of my daughter's womb."

"That's a very specific request," William said.

"I'm a very specific woman," Rose picked her spoon back, "I want a daughter in law or a…" she waved her hand "whoever, I don't care about the details, I care about the principle."

The table became quiet for a while.

Soren looked at his dessert. "I have heard you," he said.

"Do you?" Rose looked at him, "because I've been hearing you say I have heard you for three years and my eyesight is not improving.”

Henrik cleared his throat, Joy refilled her wine, Mia looked at her phone which she had been told not to look at. William looked at Soren with sympathy and entertainment.

"I'm working on it," Soren said.

Rose looked at him for a long moment then she picked up her spoon and went back to her dessert. "Good," she said, "work faster."

William leaned slightly toward Soren, "she's been practicing that one," he said quietly.

"I heard that Liam," Rose said without looking up.

William straightened immediately.

Soren left at nine thirty.

Joy held him at the door with both hands on his arms and looked at him with fondness the way she does when she thought nobody else was watching, like she was checking out her baby.

"Are you really okay honey?" she asked.

"I'm really okay Mom."

She looked at him again then she kissed his cheek and let him go, he walked to his car and drove home.

His mansion was as he left it, every light he had left on were still on, every surface still clear, no jacket thrown over a chair that wasn't his, no second coffee cup on the counter, no sound anywhere that he hadn't made himself.

He stood in the kitchen, loosened his tie and thought about nothing for a bit.

Then without intending to he thought about Juno at that table.

He thought about what Juno would have done with grandma, how he would have looked at her when she said the daughter in law line and then said something that made the whole table laugh including grandma herself because that's who he is. Soren pictured it, Juno leaning back in his chair with that sweet smile, William already liking him because everyone liked Juno immediately and…

Soren put his glass down.

He stood at the kitchen counter, looked out of the window to the dark garden beyond it.

“I'm not going to do that,” he said, “I'm not going to think about him.”

He picked up his glass, walked to his bedroom and couldn't help but think about him.