One of the Guys (19 page)

“Don’t
think I didn’t see that, Bob. Katie, how are you going to ever get married if
you don’t date anybody?” Karen asked, dropping a couple oversized pats of
butter into the bowl of broccoli and placing it on the table.

“It’s
not 1952, Mom. I don’t have to run out and get married right this second.”

“But you’re not
even looking!”

Having
had enough of the dating discussion, her father excused himself to leave Kate
and her mother in the kitchen. He paused behind Kate’s chair to lean down and
whisper in her ear,

“Don’t rush. The right guy will come along when you
least expect it.”

The
words gave her
goosebumps
. Lucy had said the very
same thing.
And awhile back, so had Julia.
Everyone
was saying that. Maybe she really did just need to cool things for awhile.

“I
just want you to be happy,” Karen said, going to a cabinet and handing her a
stack of plates. Kate got to her feet and set the table.

“I
am
happy,” she insisted. She
retrieved silverware from the drawer and placed the forks and knives on the
table as her mother pulled the potatoes out of the oven and rested the hot
casserole dish on a folded-up dishtowel. Then she plated the pork chops and
announced that dinner was ready.

Kate
took her seat again and hoped that they could talk about other things over
dinner. As her mom split and buttered corn muffins for everyone, Kate spooned
scalloped potatoes on her plate. Then she eyed the huge pork chops and wondered
how she was supposed to eat all of this food. “This is the biggest pork chop
I’ve ever seen,” she remarked.

“That’s
dinner,” her dad replied.

Kate
lo
           
oked
at him quizzically as she speared a pork chop and put it on her plate. She cut it
into several pieces and then heaped some broccoli onto her plate as well.

“He’s
not kidding,” Karen said. “That’s dinner.”

Kate didn’t know what her parents were talking
about, but the pork chop was delicious.

She
quickly gobbled up a few bites and then helped herself to a big mouthful of
scalloped

potatoes
.
Her parents were looking at her and quietly eating.

Finally,
Bob broke the silence.
“The pig.”

Kate
paused, her fork in midair. She looked at her dad, and then at the breaded
piece of meat on the end of her fork.

“That
pork chop is Dinner.
The pig.”

Kate
gasped.

“We
shouldn’t have told her,” Karen said. “Now she won’t eat it.”

Both
parents waited for her reaction. Kate erupted into giggles, and then finally,
full laughter. Her parents joined in, as well. “Dinner’s pretty good, right?”
her father grinned.

“This
is Dinner?” she asked, looking at her fork. She shook her head, thinking back
to how worried she’d been about her parents’ pigs and what could have happened
if they wandered off the property and out onto the road. Dinner, the biggest of
the pigs, had just been happy to flop around in the mud puddle he’d found. Kate
of course, hadn’t been happy to land in the puddle with him.

“Dinner
is
pretty good,” she agreed, sticking
her fork in her mouth.

*

           
Later that night, after sitting on
the porch and having a few more beers with her dad, Kate found herself sitting
on the swing by herself, wrapped in a blanket. The woods around her parents’ little
house were extremely quiet. She could see why her parents liked it up here; she
just wasn’t sure that she could live here all the time.

She
fumbled under the blanket to reach the phone in her pocket. She slid it out and
peered at the bright screen. No phone calls, no text messages. It was unusual
for her not to hear from anybody when she traveled to visit her parents.

           
She imagined that Lucy and Jackson
were probably busy planning the first of many joint-family holiday
get-togethers. Max was probably with the blonde girl. Chris was…
Oh, who cares?

*

           
When Kate returned to her house the
day after Thanksgiving, she was struck by how quiet everything was. She was
used to Lucy hanging around the house during school holidays, grading papers
and working on lesson plans. Now Lucy and all of her stuff was all moved in to
her new house, and the house seemed empty.

           
Kate dropped her things off in the
bedroom and then carried the cooler of leftovers that her mom had packed into
the kitchen. She started putting the containers of turkey, mashed potatoes, and
gravy away when the phone rang.

           
“Hello?” she said, tucking the phone
into her shoulder.

           
“Oh, hey.
You’re
home. It’s Kevin.”

           
“Hey,” she replied. “I just got in. What’s
up?”

           
“I was thinking about seeing if the
guys wanted to go out tonight. I just didn’t know if anybody was doing anything.
What do you think?
 
You want to do
something?”

           
Kate finished putting the last of
the leftovers away and considered Kevin’s invitation. She didn’t really feel
like hanging out with Max or Chris. She also had to get up early the next day
for work. “I think I’m going to have to pass,” she said.

           
“Okay,” Kevin said.
“Just thought I’d ask.
Are you in for poker tomorrow
tonight?”

           
“Umm,” Kate chewed her lip. “Tomorrow’s
actually a really busy day, and I have an evening wedding that might run kind
of late.
Probably not.
Maybe next
weekend.”

           
She and Kevin chatted for a few more
minutes and then they said goodbye. Kate felt somewhat relieved that she
wouldn’t have to see Max or Chris for a few days.

           
She changed into a pair of
sweatpants and an old t-shirt, deciding that she would do some cleaning, and
maybe even get some Christmas decorations down out of the attic. She turned the
radio on and turned the volume up high.

           
Throughout the afternoon, she ran
the dishwasher, did a few loads of laundry, vacuumed, and cleaned both
bathrooms. When the dishwasher cycle was finished, she emptied it and then
thoroughly wiped down all of the countertops in the kitchen. She collapsed on
the couch, thinking that she should’ve poured herself a glass of wine when she
was in the kitchen.

           
She dozed off for a few minutes,
only to be awakened by the distant ringing of her cell phone. She stumbled into
her bedroom to grab the phone out of her purse, and plopped down on the bed. “Hello?”

           
“Kate?
 
It’s Julia.”

           
Kate immediately sat up and whirled
around, looking at the clock on her night stand. Had she forgotten an
appointment?
 
Was she supposed to be
doing something?
 
“Hello?”

           
“I’m sorry to be bugging you…” Julia
began.

           
“Is everything okay?”

           
“Everything is…
Fine.
I just…
 
Do you think you could meet me
somewhere?”

           
“Yeah, sure.
No problem. Where?
 
When?”

           
“How about Vintage
in, say, half an hour?”

           
Kate agreed and hung up the phone,
wondering why in the world her boss wanted to meet her at such short notice. She
hoped everything was okay. She hurried into the bathroom and scraped her hair
back into a neater ponytail. She did her makeup in a flash and then found
herself staring at the clothes hanging in her closet. She decided on a pair of
black leggings and a long, charcoal gray sweater. She added some earrings and
pulled on a pair of slouchy black boots. Pleased with how she looked, she
grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

           
When Kate arrived at Vintage, the
place was packed and the mood was very festive. Pine garlands and twinkle
lights were strung back and forth across the ceiling and red and green candles
dotted all of the little tables. She spotted Julia sitting at the corner of the
bar with a glass of red wine in front of her. She hurried over and Julia moved
her purse and coat from the bar stool next to her, so that she could sit down. “Is
everything okay?” Kate asked, loosening her scarf. She waved to the waiter and
pointed to Julia’s wine glass, indicating that she’d like one for herself.

           
Julia sighed. “I just needed to get
out of the house.”

           
“What’s the matter?”

           
“I know it’s terrible, but I had to
get out of there. And I didn’t know who else to call.”

           
“So you… called me?” Kate asked
,
reaching for the wine glass the bartender handed her.

           
“I invented a ‘work emergency.’”
Julia grinned.

           
Kate giggled. “You mean, so you would
have an excuse to get out of the house?
 
Why?
 
What’s going on?”

           
Julia shook her head. “It’s nothing,
really. Alex’s parents are in town for Thanksgiving and while they’re great people,
it is so frustrating to listen to them talk to Alex about his job. All these
years later, and they still think he should’ve gone into medicine like everyone
else in the family.”

           
“They don’t like that Alex is a
teacher?”

           
Julia shook her head. “And I really
think that they hate the fact that I’m kind of the sole breadwinner. I think
that bugs them.”

           
Kate exhaled. “That sucks.”

           
“And of course, they don’t like the
fact that we had Allie before we got married. Sometimes I wonder if they like
anything about us.”
 
Julia took a long
sip from her wine glass.

           
Kate looked at Julia with surprise. “I
didn’t know all that. I’m sorry.”

           
“Sorry to dump that on you,” Julia
said, screwing up the corner of her mouth as she chewed on the inside of her
cheek. “I just had to get away for a little while, and when I was trying to
decide where to go, I realized that I didn’t have anyone to call who might
understand. And it’s not just that – I realized that I didn’t have anyone to
call who might be free.”

           
Kate giggled. “Well, usually if I’m
not working, I’m free.”

           
“You are so lucky.”

           
“Me?”

           
“To be single.
To be unattached.
To be able to get up and go do
whatever you want without having to make up stories about work problems.
To not have to deal with your in-laws.”

           
“You’re the lucky one.
Married to a great guy.
With a sweet kid.”

           
Julia shrugged. “Sometimes I
wonder…”

           
“Oh, don’t say stuff like that!”
Kate said. “Don’t ruin the dream for the old single lady!”

           
Julia sighed. “Seriously,
though…
 
Thank you so much for coming out
here.”

           
“Not a problem,” Kate said. “I was
just thinking about opening a bottle of wine and taking a bath and watching a
movie or something. What an exciting Friday night, right?”

           
“Oh, God, that sounds so great.”

           
Kate laughed. “Great?
 
Sounds boring to me.”

           
Julia drained her wine glass. “Are
you kidding?
 
Do you have any idea how
long it’s been since I’ve been able to do something like that?
 
Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve
gone to a bar like this?”

           
Kate shook her head and gestured to the
bartender for another glass of wine for Julia. “Then we should do this more
often!” Kate said. “We always say we’re going to go out and we never do.”

           
“I know, I know.”
 
Julia smiled. “It would be really nice to go
out with a friend and not always have to talk about the in-laws, pre-school,
and who got who sick this week…”