I spent the rest of Friday getting together with some of my old friends. It was great to catch up, and it was even better to drown my feelings in cold beers, food and laughter.
The day of the party, I sat in the driveway and looked at the house; I had come early to see if I could help with anything. I climbed out of the car, there was no more avoiding her, I would have to see her today whether I wanted to or not. I knocked on the front door and waited.
“Leah, Logan is here,” Mom called from the hallway as I stepped inside.
“That’s nice.” I heard her voice call from the kitchen. She didn’t sound too pleased to know I was there.
“Honey, why don’t you go help her, I think she is a little overwhelmed. She refuses to let us help her.”
I knew I was taking my life in my hands as I entered that kitchen. Before I said anything to her, I checked to make sure my mother wasn’t following me. Leah stood with her back to me, working on a tray of food. I noticed she didn’t have a knife in her hands, so I walked up and placed both my hands on either side of her small body, leaning onto the counter. “What do you need help with?” I whispered in her ear, practically grazing her neck with my lips I was so close to her.
“I don’t need help, especially from you.” She pushed my arm out of the way, moving to another part of the kitchen. She said nothing else, she didn’t look at me, she continued preparing the food as if I weren’t even there.
What did I expect? I knew I had hurt her but was else was I supposed to do. A girl like Leah, she deserved a relationship, but there couldn’t be anything between us no matter how badly we wanted it.
I ran to the stove as a pot boiled over and went to turn the burner down when her hand reached out and collided with mine, forcing her hand into the way of the hot liquid. She pulled her hand toward her as the hot liquid splashed on her skin. She grabbed a towel, quickly wiping the hot water off.
“Let me see that,” I said grabbing her arm.
“I told you to go,” she said glaring at me. “I’m fine.”
“Let me look at your hand,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Why? You aren’t a fucking doctor, Logan.” Her eyes shot daggers at me as she stood there looking at me, the towel wrapped around her hand. The doorbell rang, breaking the silence.
“You want to be helpful, answer the damn door,” she barked and turned to run her hand under cold water. I could already see a blister forming on her skin.
She had never been this harsh with me. Normally she was sucking up looking for approval not shoving me away. Although I had never fucked her and told her the next morning there couldn’t be anything between us either. The doorbell rang again. “Never mind, Logan, I will get the damn door.”
She threw the towel down and took a step but instead of letting her go I gripped her shoulders, turning her toward me. “I got the door,” I whispered, looking into her eyes. She looked exhausted and hurt, a look I had never wanted to see in her, especially because of me.
After the confrontation in the kitchen, I kept out of her way by answering the door and mingling with the guests. Occasionally, Leah would wander into the living room carrying trays of sandwiches and desserts. She would smile and greet everyone, stopping to talk about one thing or another, but she never held an extensive conversation. Every time I got into her line of sight or was addressed in a conversation that she was having; her whole demeanor would change, and she found a reason to excuse herself to go back to the kitchen.
I offered to help her once again, figuring there was no way she would turn down the help or be mean to me in front of a houseful of people. But instead of making it public, she leaned into me and whispered a threat into my ear that involved the knife she held and my male member, that I took as a serious warning.
So, I kept my distance, and she kept hers. She made sure people had lots to eat and that their drinks were filled. Meanwhile, I spent the afternoon mingling with people I hadn’t seen in years and watching her from across the room. The white dress she wore hugged all her curves I loved and had my hands all over only a few hours ago.
I watched as she brought out another plate of finger food and sat it on the table. She was just about to head back into the kitchen when Joe asked for people’s attention. She stopped beside me and turned to face her father.
“First, I want to thank every one of you for being here to help celebrate ten years married to this beautiful woman. Anna has filled my life with happiness and love. I would also like to thank our children. Leah, you did a fantastic job of putting this all together and we want to wish you all the best in your new venture.”
I frowned. Her new venture, where was she going? I raised my glass as Joe raised his to his daughter. She had said nothing to me, but then why would she. She owed me nothing.
“. . . and to Logan, it’s an absolute blessing to have you back here to celebrate this anniversary with us. We are both hoping you will come home a little more often to spend time with your mother and me. You have grown into a wonderful young man and we couldn’t be prouder of you.”
Yeah, you wouldn’t think that if you knew what I did with your daughter a couple nights ago or how I broke her heart yesterday morning, I thought to myself as I nodded and raised the glass in my hand to them.
As the day went on more people came and went. By seven that night, there were only a couple people left. Joe and my mother were in the living room, the music played low while she rested her head against his shoulder as they danced together.
Leah came into the room, grabbed a few more plates and carried them into the kitchen. Her sad, tear-filled eyes finally met mine before she turned and walked away. Instead of just standing there, I grabbed a few dishes as well and carried them into the kitchen after her.
As I came around the corner, she stood against the counter gazing down into the sink looking like she was in pain. “Where do you want these?” I asked quietly.
“Just leave them on the counter, Logan. I told you, there’s no need to help.” She pushed herself away from the counter and got busy wrapping up the rest of the food. She put some of it in the fridge and then took the plates and loaded them one by one in the dishwasher.
“They seem really happy.” I looked out into the living room where our parents were still dancing, there was no doubt about it, they were meant for one another. It had taken me this long to realize just how in love they were.
“Yes, they are. They are lucky to have found one another.” She turned and looked at them, smiling. It was the first smile I had seen on her face since Thursday night.