Almost Easy

Brian gave Hollis some time to go home and get ready for dinner before picking her up. For reasons unbeknownst to him, he had butterflies in his stomach as he drove to her apartment to pick her up for the second try on a first date.

He knew that this time it was all right, he knew that this was allowed and that Zacky told them it was all right but he still felt jittery about the entire affair. Here he was, driving to pick up Hollis for a date when at the same time Zacky was lying in a hospital bed after a failed suicide attempt. No matter what, being with Hollis made him feel jittery and guilty at the same time. He pulled up in front of her apartment and honked his horn twice and she appeared in the doorway. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun and she was wearing knee high boots over her dark skinny jeans. Her top was a simple green blouse. If Brian had shown someone a picture of the woman he dropped off a few hours earlier and the woman who was climbing into his car now, no one would have believed they were the same person.

She leaned over and kissed him quickly on the cheek before fastening her seatbelt. "So I called the hospital right before you got here and they say that Zacky is doing wonderfully and he's sound asleep right now and he'll be good to go home in the morning" She said with a smile.

"You...already called to check on him?"

"Well of course. I couldn't very well come out with you unless I knew he was okay."

Someone who cares about Zacky as much as I do...she really is the total package.

"Well, I thought that it would be nice to go down to the pier and just grab something at a vendor and walk around for a little while, get to know each other better."

"That sounds perfect. I haven't been to the pier since before college."

"Are you serious?" He asked in semi-shock.

She shrugged, "Well that's what wanting to be a doctor will do to you I guess."

"Well, you're in for a treat then" He said with a smile as he pulled into the small parking lot at the base of the pier, putting a parking pass on the dashboard and climbing out of the car. They held hands as they walked down the pier, taking in the lights and colors around them. They arrived at the main food kiosk and ordered dinner which consisted of two hot dogs, onion rings, fries and two large Sprites. Brian insisted that he could carry everything on his own, leaving Hollis to walk behind him in near hysterics as he struggled with everything as they found an empty table to eat at.

"Stop laughing at me. I managed to carry it all didn't I?" He said, feeling proud of himself.

"Yeah, yeah, you're a manly man. Now give me my food" She said, reaching over the table, grabbing a hot dog from the tray and taking a huge bite out of it, Brian staring at her with wide eyes.

"What? I haven't eaten all day" She said with her mouth still full.

He just shook his head and took a bite of his own hot dog and passed her her soda and placed the fries and onion rings in the middle of the table so they could both reach them. It was only a matter of a minute or two before Hollis had finished her hot dog and was making quick work of the fries.

"Leave some for me Miss Piggy" Brian said jokingly, slapping her hand away as he finished his hot dog.

"Lay off Kermit. I'm hungry" She said laughing, moving to the onion rings.

"You're something else, you know that right?" He said as she drank her soda, having eaten her fill.

"I am?"

He nodded as they stood up, throwing away their trash and continued to walk down the pier hand in hand.

"You're nothing like the other girls I've dated. Most girls won't even eat a salad in front of me and you just out-ate me. I'm impressed. You're just...real."

"Well...thanks. I try to be as real as possible."

They walked along the pier, playing games and riding the ferris wheel. As they walked back towards the car, Hollis toting a giant stuffed giraffe that Brian had won her.

"Brian?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you...still feel guilty?"

They stopped walking for a second, and Brian attempted to organize his thoughts.

"Yes and no. Do I feel guilty right now because I'm having an amazing time and Zacky is in the hospital? Yes, I really do. But do I feel guilty that we are trying "us" again? Not at all."

"We...shouldn't have come out tonight. Zacky nearly killed himself and we're out here having fun while he lies alone in a hospital bed. He should be here having fun. He is the one who needs to have fun."

"Well how about this, we'll smuggle him some cotton candy tonight and then once he's out and feeling a better, we'll bring him and the three of us will eat and play games and ride rides until we're sick. Okay?"

She nodded, breaking into a huge smile as she ran towards the cotton candy man, buying a green cotton candy and hurrying back over to Brian. "Look! I didn't even know they made green cotton candy!" She said with the excited voice of a six year old.

"That's Zacky's favorite color, how did you know?" He asked as they walked quickly back to Brian's car to go see Zacky.

"Well, his room was green. And, his eyes are green." She said, climbing into the car.

She held the cotton candy in her lap as if it was going to attempt to run away. When they pulled into the hospital parking lot, she tucked the cotton candy into her purse, hiding it away so no one would take it.

It took a little arguing to get to see Zacky outside of visiting hours, but the nurse understood and let them back to see him. He was actually awake when they entered the room and he broke out in a big smile when they walked in. The nurse said they only have a half hour before they would have to leave and then left them alone.

"Hey buddy, how're you feeling?" Brian asked, patting him on the shoulder.

"Better. I'm ready to go home."

"Tomorrow morning Zacky, you'll be home tomorrow morning. But until then, we smuggled something in for you."

Hollis pulled the cotton candy out of her purse and took the plastic off before handing it to him.

"Thanks" He said with a smile before pulling off a huge chunk and shoving it in his mouth. "I didn't know they made green" He said with a full mouth.

"Neither did we" Hollis said, "But they do at the pier."

He made short work of the cotton candy, Hollis "destroyed the evidence" and they made some small talk until the nurse came back and told Hollis and Brian that they had to leave. They said goodbye to Zacky and made their way back to Hollis' so Brian could drop her off.

It wasn't long before they pulled in front of Hollis' apartment and Brian put the car in park, and hurried to the other side of the car and opened the door for her. She wrestled the giant stuffed animal out of the car and took his hand in hers. He walked her to the door and she opened the door, pushing it open, placing the giraffe inside and stepping inside herself.

"Good night. Thanks for an amazing time." She said with a big smile.

"The pleasure was all mine. I'll see you tomorrow morning to get Zacky? Or do you have patients?"

"I called the office after you dropped me off and told them I would be out of the office until further notice."

"You're amazing" He said, leaning forward and kissing her. "I'll see you in the morning"

She kissed him again and smiled, "See you tomorrow." She closed the door and Brian walked back to the car and drove back to his empty home with a smile on his face.