“Sorry about the job. How’s school?” They are all staring at me again. What is wrong with that question? “I graduated two months ago.”
What? I missed my sister’s graduation.
“I sent you an invitation, but I know you have so much going on, so I didn’t think you would come.”
“I’m so sorry. I don’t check my mail very often. That’s my fault. I wouldn’t have skipped it. You must believe me?”
The doorbell rings, and my mother hurries to answer it herself. I know who it is. Laurel comes in with a blue box and hands it to Tina. One thing I know about her, she is obsessive about sweets. My sisters and Laurel start cracking jokes. It’s nice to see my sisters getting along with her. The doorbell rings again, and then I see Justin and Chris. Who invited them? I look over at Laurel, who gives me a wink.
Justin delivers Tina his box of pie, and she requests him to marry her. There she goes, always scaring the guests with marriage proposals. It’s weird having so many people sitting at my parents’ dinner table. Instead of being uncomfortable, I feel content with Laurel sitting next to me.
I reach for her hand under the table, and her eyes widen with a smile. I know right then that this is going to work. I need to stop being so scared of what can happen and just let it. Not everyone is out to hurt me. Laurel sure seems to care about me, and I need to stop pushing her away.
The conversations are everywhere with so many people here. My sister, Tina is trying her best at making small talk with Justin. Not quite sure how I feel about that. He’s a good guy, so I move on to the next one.
“He looked like a wild dog attacking a trash can,” Laurel is telling my parents.
“First of all, very funny. But I thought we weren’t going to talk about those videos?” My eyebrow heightens.
She eyes me. “No worse than me breaking a brand new phone cause your son thought it was funny to call in and hang up repeatedly.”
Oh, Okay. Game on, Laurel.“But who was the one who made me social media pages against my wishes?”
“All me. Don’t regret it either.”
My mom and dad notice the smile Laurel gives me and they seem pleased. They are finally getting a glimpse of me socializing and from now on will encourage it as much as possible.
After dinner, my mom asks me to stay behind while everyone else leaves.
“So, things look like they are going well, baby.”
“Yeah, I’ve got some things to figure out. But I’m happy. You’re pushing worked.”
“I only push because I know you were missing something. Having friends to lean on is important.”
“Thanks, mom. I gotta go, though.” I kiss her on the cheek and leave.
My friend, Leo, has agreed to meet up with me. He’s a buddy of mine from the Navy, but now is a police officer. As I walk into the bar, he’s sitting at the far end with a beer.
“Have a seat, man. It’s been a long time.”
The last time we sat in these spots was the day our contracts expired. We have talked since then, just not hung out, which I do miss. He can relate to a lot of the things I went through during my service because he was in the same unit.
“So, how have things been? Business is going good. What else?” Leo asks, taking a swig of his beer. “Anything new?”
It has been a while since I have talked to someone about my personal life, and to be honest, I feel a little weird about it. But my mom is right. I need to open up to people, and Leo is the perfect person to start with right now.
“Well, there’s this girl. She drives me insane, but I can’t stay away from her,” I say, rubbing my forehead.
“Okay, so I assume there’s a connection there. What’s wrong with that?”
There is so much wrong with it, that’s the damn problem. Maybe I just need someone to tell me I’m not crazy and understand the issues behind my feelings. I can’t be the only one that thinks getting together with Laurel is not a good idea. “She’s my next-door neighbor and my assistant.”
Leo’s laughter sets the tone for the rest of the conversation. “You don’t say? Well - I could see how that could pose a problem with a man like yourself.”
Wait a minute? What the hell does he mean, like me?
“You’re a special dude. Very professional. Not a bad thing. You’ve always been one not to mix business with pleasure. Am I right?”