Free Spark by Posy Roberts

Lazy or Brainy Smurf at his seat. But at Kevin’s house, even with the meal being cooked outside over an open flame, Mrs. Magnus set a full, formal spread complete with crystal candlesticks, super fancy dishes, and silverware so heavy it had to be actual silver, all set on a large table nestled under a grandiose gazebo.
    “Please pass the tenderloin” and “The salt, when you’re finished, if you will” were about the only words spoken aside from the uncomfortable questions for Hugo. First they wanted to know the history behind his first name, which Kevin’s dad deemed unusual. He told them as much of the story of his great-grandfather as he could, which then led into the little bit he could remember about when and how the Thorsons came to America from Norway.
    “What do you plan to do once you graduate from high school, Hugo?” Mr. Magnus asked with a steely gaze over his tortoise-shell-framed glasses that didn’t quite go with his face—too trendy compared to the clothes and other accessories he wore. He looked like a stressed and much older Kevin with silvery-gray sprinkled throughout many shades of short blond hair. His intense gaze intimidated Hugo, but he had been warned about Mr. Magnus, so he pretended he was in class being put on the spot with challenging questions from a teacher.
    “I plan to go to college. I’m thinking the University of Minnesota.”
    “Which campus?”
    “Twin Cities.” He almost felt as if he should’ve finished with a sir .
    “And you hope to study…?” Mr. Magnus let hang.
    “Uhm,” Hugo started, knowing full well his dream wouldn’t ever measure up to anything Mr. Magnus would consider as a decent career. Worried, Hugo took a quick look at Kevin across the table from him and saw the small, encouraging smile on Kevin’s mouth as he opened it for another piece of marinated tenderloin. “I know it’s a long shot, but I’d like to be an actor and director. I’m thinking about a fine arts degree. “
    Mr. Magnus made a sliding sound deep in his throat that Hugo recognized as a noncommittal response steeped in heavy disapproval.
    “Lovely,” Mrs. Magnus said with a smile in her voice. “Do you perform in any theater productions at the high school or in the community?”
    “I’ve been in every school play or musical I’ve had the chance to be in, and my parents have taken me up to Rochester and Minneapolis for various drama camps in the summers.”
    “What’s been your favorite role?” she asked with obvious enthusiasm that wasn’t rubbing off on her husband, who sat beside Hugo seeming to put all his focus into cutting his meat with the gentle pressure of his fork.
    “Oh, I have a lot. I enjoyed playing J. Pierpont Finch in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying . No one really knows the musical very well.” Hugo nodded toward Kevin and said, “He started off in the mailroom and worked his way up to a corner office.” Kevin looked up and laughed, knowing just what Hugo was doing. “But I liked playing the talking tree in the sixth grade musical because I got to be on stage for nearly the entire play, and I had all the funny lines.”
    “I acted in college before I met Kevin’s father,” Mrs. Magnus shared with wistfulness in her voice. “I played Sandra Dee in Grease in the mid-seventies.”
    “I can see that.” Hugo nodded, easily able to envision her in the role. She still had shoulder-length blonde hair curled in loose, soft waves reminiscent of Kevin’s. “I’d love to play Danny Zuko at some point, but I know more and more high schools are refusing to produce the play because of the sexual innuendo and gang violence at the heart of the story. Great musical, though. Maybe in college.”
    “What do your parents do?” Mr. Magnus brought the drama conversation to a quick halt, not only with his question but also with the way he reached across the table for Mrs. Magnus’s hand and gently held it in his own.
    “My dad is at Hormel.