One of the Guys (23 page)

“What?
 
No date?”

Kate
shook her head.
“Nope.
Everybody’s busy.”
 
This was an assumption, really. She hadn’t
heard from anybody in awhile, so she didn’t really know what anybody was up to.

“What
about that nice guy from karaoke?
 
Didn’t
you go out with him?”

“I
went to a party at his friends’ house. It wasn’t a date or anything. Besides,
I’m tired. I want to go home and take these shoes off and get into my pajamas.”
 
Sometimes she felt like that was all she did
after work anymore. “Maybe I’ll pick up some Pei Wei on the way home or
something.”

“Well,
I hope you have a good night. Thank you for all of your hard work on this event.
I’d say it was a success!” Julia threw her arms around Kate.

They
said goodbye and Kate slid in behind the steering wheel. She rummaged around in
her purse for her cell phone and quickly dialed. The phone rang and rang; her
mom didn’t pick up, but the answering machine did. “Hey, Mom, it’s me. I was
going to stop at Pei Wei on the way home and get some caramel chicken for
dinner. Do you want an order?
 
Call me
back.”

She
drove to the restaurant and was surprised to find that even though it was busy,
the line moved quickly. Before her turn at the counter, she quickly dialed her
phone one more time.
Still no answer.
She decided to
order two dishes, just to be on the safe side.

On
the drive home, all Kate could think about was putting on her pajamas, finding
a
movie
on Netflix, and digging in to some good food. By
the time she turned down her street, her stomach was actually growling. She was
so focused on getting food into her belly, that when she pulled into the
driveway, she nearly drove right into the back of a truck that was parked in
her spot. She stepped on the brake just in time and peered over the steering
wheel. It was her dad’s truck. No wonder her mom hadn’t answered the phone.

Kate
gathered up her bag of food and her purse and headed towards the door. Unsure
of what to expect, she took a deep breath and headed inside. She stopped dead
in her tracks.

The
whole house was glowing with candlelight. Candles were spread out over every
surface. Kenny G was playing on the stereo. And in the middle of the living
room, her parents were slow-dancing.

“Uh.
Hi, Dad.
Hi, Mom.”

“Hi,
honey!” her dad said, holding out his arm to her. Kate crossed the room and her
parents folded her in their embrace while she stood, holding her bag of Chinese
food.

“Everything
okay, I take it?” she asked, stepping back.

“Everything
is wonderful!” her mother beamed, leaning in and resting her head against her
father’s chest.

“That’s
good,” Kate said, taking the food into the kitchen. She pulled a fork out of
the drawer and opened her container of chicken. She kicked off her shoes and
stood at the counter, eating and trying not to spill rice down the front of her
dress, while her parents continued to slow dance around the living room, murmuring
to each other and smiling. They were kind of cute, actually.

Kate
sighed and continued to shovel chicken, pineapples, and rice into her mouth,
only pausing to get a can of Diet Coke out of the fridge. When she closed the
refrigerator door, her parents were standing in the kitchen, arms wrapped
around each other, smiling gaily at her.

“Your
father’s moving back home!” her mother announced.

Even
though she knew that her parents’ separation would be short-lived and that
their reconciliation was inevitable, she still felt a sense of relief that
everything was going to be okay with them. And then…

“Wait.
What?”

“I’ve
decided to sell the property up north. I had no idea that your mother was so
unhappy up there. Living apart like this – this is no way to live. So I’m
moving back home.
Here.
Where we
can be together like we belong.”

“All
of us,” her mother added.

Kate put her fork down and swallowed her most recent
bite of food with some difficulty. “You’re moving back here?
 
When?”

“Your
mother and I are going to go pack up the house tomorrow. I’ve already spoken to
a realtor, and…”

As
her father explained how quick and easy the moving process would be, all Kate
could think about was the fact that she would be living at home with both of
her parents again. The only time she’d actually done so after college was when
she first graduated and was still looking for a job and an apartment. She moved
out as soon as she could so that she could be on her own. Of course, when her
parents decided that they were going to move north to play at being farmers,
she happily accepted their offer to stay in their old family home, which they had
decided to sit on, rather than sell.

“Isn’t
that great?” her mother asked, interrupting her thoughts.

She
nodded. “That’s great,” she said. “I’m glad you guys worked everything
out.”
 
She hurriedly scooped the last few
forkfuls of food into her mouth at once and smiled at her parents, her cheeks
bulging. She chewed quickly, hugged both of her parents, and then excused
herself to go to her room.

She
tugged off her cocktail dress and replaced it on the hanger. She hadn’t
intended on going anywhere tonight, but she also didn’t want to sit around and
watch her parents kiss and swoon like lovesick teenagers. She pulled on a pair
of jeans, a hooded sweatshirt, and flip-flops and headed back into the living
room. Her parents were back at it, dancing again. They were completely
oblivious as she grabbed her purse and slipped out the front door.

Kate
started driving without really having a destination in mind. She didn’t want to
bother Julia, knowing that she was probably already fast asleep. She hesitated
a few seconds, and then decided to give Lucy a call. The phone rang a few times
before Lucy’s voicemail picked up. Of course, Lucy and Jackson were probably
out celebrating Valentine’s Day.

Months
ago, Kate would have called up Max or Chris. Now, both of those guys were also
probably celebrating Valentine’s Day… with someone else. It wasn’t necessarily
that she wanted someone to be romantic with tonight – she just wanted someone
to hang out with.

Taking
a deep breath, she dialed Kevin’s number. As the phone continued to ring, she
realized that he, too, might have Valentine’s Day plans with someone. She was
about to hang up, when he finally answered in a sleepy, gravelly voice. “Hello?”

“Hey…
Kevin. It’s Kate.
Um…
Were you… sleeping?”

“Yeah,
but that’s okay. What’s up?”

“It’s
not even ten o’clock yet!” Kate exclaimed.

“Well,
it’s not like I had any major plans this evening.”

“Me
either. Happy Valentine’s Day, by the way,” she said.

“Yeah,”
he yawned. “So what’s up?”

“Well,
I was going to ask if maybe you wanted to, um, hang out or do something, but,
um, since you’re sleeping and all…”

“No!
 
I’m up. I’ll get dressed. What do you want to
do?” he asked.

Kate
chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Uh… I don’t know. I didn’t really have a
plan. I just kind of got in my car and started driving. Everyone’s busy
tonight,” she added. Suddenly, she regretted saying that. She didn’t want Kevin
to think he was her last resort.
Even though…
Well, he
kind of was.

“Everyone
except me and you,” Kevin laughed. “How about I meet you at the Sand Bar in ten
minutes?”

“That
sounds good,” Kate asked. She was already only a few minutes away. “I’ll see
you then.”

Kate
hung up the phone and tossed it in her purse on the passenger’s seat, relieved
to have some sort of plan for Valentine’s Day. It would beat sitting at home
with her parents. When she arrived at the Sand Bar, it was obvious that any
couples celebrating the romantic holiday had chosen to go elsewhere. There were
people sitting at tables clustered around the portable heaters and there were
several patrons at the bar, but none of them looked to be particularly
lovey-dovey; it was just the typical Saturday night bar crowd.

She
ordered two beers at the bar and then sat down at an empty table. She put her
feet up on one of the empty chairs and sat waiting for Kevin. As she thought
about how she was spending her Valentine’s Day, she smiled. She wasn’t moping
around the house. And it was actually kind of nice to not have to worry about
getting dressed up to go out on a date, or to worry about buying a present or
making some kind of romantic gesture. She was happy to sit with her feet up,
bundled in a heavy sweatshirt, drinking a beer – even if it was a little chilly
out.

“Take
it easy,” Kevin said, coming up behind her. “I know what happened the last time
you had too many.”
 
He gestured to the
two beer bottles on the table.

“One’s
for you,” Kate said, rolling her eyes. “Thanks for coming out.”

“No
problem,” Kevin said, sitting down next to her. He struck the same pose,
putting his feet up on the empty chair across from him, and took a sip of his
beer. Kate peered at him. She found it funny that they were dressed alike –
jeans, hooded sweatshirt, flip-flops. He smiled at her, and she realized that
he still looked a little sleepy.

“Sorry
for waking you up,” she said.

“It’s
really no problem. I’m glad you called. I keep telling you not to be a stranger.
So, to what do I owe this unexpected invitation?”

“Well,
I wasn’t planning on doing anything tonight,” she said. “But I got home from
doing this thing for work, and… You know how I told you my parents were
separated?”
 
Kevin nodded. “Well, I got
home and apparently they’re back together.”

“That’s
great!” Kevin said.

“Kind
of.
They’re back together, and they’re moving back in.
With me.”

“Oh…”
Kevin said.

“I
mean, it’s their house anyway, so it’s not like I can do anything about it,
but…
 
It means that I’ll be living with
my parents again.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah.
Not too thrilled about that. I mean, I love my parents, and I’m glad they
worked everything out. I’m just not sure that I can handle living with them
again,” she admitted.

“Maybe
it won’t be so bad.”

“I
don’t know,” Kate sighed. “We’ll see.”

*

           
The next morning, Kate woke up with
a terrible headache. She rubbed her eyes and reviewed the night before. All she
had done was have a few beers with Kevin.
Three.
That
was it. They’d sat together at the Sand Bar until it got too cold and they were
both too sleepy, and she came home and went straight to bed. She didn’t think
it was much after midnight when she’d fallen asleep. So why did she feel so
awful?

           
She yawned, and her yawn turned into
a cough. She swallowed and her throat felt dry and scratchy. When she sat up,
she felt a little light-headed. On her nightstand, her cell phone rang. The
shrill tone made her head hurt even worse. “Hello?” she croaked.

           
“God, you sound terrible!” Lucy
cried.

           
“I feel terrible,” Kate groaned.

           
“Oh, no.
Are
you sick?”

           
“I don’t know,” Kate said, sinking
back down against her pillows. “My head hurts, my throat hurts, and…” she
sniffled. “And my nose is stuffy.”
 
She
felt very cold.

           
“Do you want me to bring you
anything?”

           
“No, I think I just want to go back
to bed. Thank you, though.”

           
“Okay. Well, let me know if you need
anything.”

           
Kate said goodbye to Lucy and then,
before she could fall back to sleep, she called Julia. As soon as she spoke,
Julia could tell something was wrong.
“You poor thing!”
Julia said. “You probably got yourself all run down from working on the
Valentine’s Day gala. You’ve just been go-go-go for weeks!”

           
“I just wanted to let you know that
I wouldn’t be in today, in case you were looking for me,” Kate said. “I really
think I just need to go back to sleep and then I’ll feel better.”

           
“No problem!” Julia said. “You just
get some rest and let me know if you need anything.”

           
Kate replaced her phone on the
nightstand and snuggled back down under the covers. She was asleep within
minutes.

           
When she woke up a few hours later,
her head was still pounding and her nose was completely stuffed up. Kate made
her way into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. She helped herself
to some Advil, some vitamin C, and some cold medicine that was probably expired.
She walked slowly into the kitchen and it dawned on her why the house was so
quiet – her parents had gone to start packing and moving things out of the
other house. At least she’d have the place to herself a little while longer. She
poured herself a glass of orange juice, gulped it down quickly, and then poured
herself a refill, which she took back into her bedroom.