For What It's Worth

“Brooks love, books and bed linens are not the same thing,” I laughed, watching as he suddenly noticed the label on the box he was packing.

“But why does it matter? It’s all going to the same place,” he whined.

I could only shake my head at his TGS. That’s Typical Guy Syndrome. You know, the never-ending, never-improving pattern of things that guys believe to be socially acceptable. It’s like they have an internal manual. Example: Moving. Just shove everything into the nearest box and worry about it later. As long as the beer is opened first, everything else will get unpacked and sorted out eventually…that is after all the beer is gone and you’ve found the perfect spot for your pool table, dart board, flat screen tv…the list goes on.

Brooks stared at me, waiting for an answer.

“Because Brooks, when I get there, I won’t want to make my bed with books. I’ll want bed linens, and if the box is labeled, I’ll know where to find them,” I said, trying not to laugh too hard at the exhausted look on his face.

Apparently, that was the right thing to say, because Brooks took my freshly washed linens over to the “Linens” box and violently stuffed them in while glaring at me the entire time.

If I didn’t know Brooks as well as I do, I would have thought he was angry at me for being so neurotic. Well, in his opinion anyways. Any sensible girl knows the importance of a good labeling system. But as a smile danced at the corners of his lips, I knew Brooks was just giving me a hard time simply because he could.

“Don’t mess with the system Brooks!” I yelled, ducking as a pillow was launched from his side of the room. As I adjusted my glasses, I saw that he had slumped down in the far corner, a glum expression on his face.

“What’s your trouble love?” I asked, crossing the room to sit beside him.

“I need to be fed!” he declared.

“Ok,” I laughed slightly. “How about we finish packing these two boxes and I’ll treat you to lun-.”

I hadn’t even finished my sentence and he was already bustling about the room, picking up everything and anything he could find and shoving it into the nearest box. Another example of TGS. They are highly motivated by the prospect of food.

“Brooks, can we at least try to sort it?” I asked, shaking my head.

“Woman, I love you, but you’ve got a lot of stuff, most of which I don’t even know what the hell it is, and I’m hungry. Can we please just finish and go?” He was practically begging.

I found it hard to argue with that when he’d been helping me pack for a day and a half. We would probably be a lot further along if he hadn’t felt the need to raid my entire DVD collection just so he would know which ones were worth watching. But that was Brooks for you. He got distracted easily, and it was honestly too cute watching him try to decide if he should secretly watch the newest Harry Potter movie.

By the time I found my coat, he was already at the door, tapping his foot along to the beat of some song we’d heard earlier in the day. We decided to walk down the street to a sweet little café that I liked to study in on rainy days. It was quiet, but beautifully furnished with rustic pieces that reminded me of home. And they made the most delicious sandwiches a girl could ever ask for.

“Is this the sandwich place you’re obsessed with?” Brooks asked as we settled into our table.

“Yup,” I said with a smile as I noticed Brooks staring at me.

He blushed when our eyes met but tried to cover it up by studying the menu as if his life depended on it. I was a mess. My hair was pulled up into a sloppy bun, I was wearing my glasses and due to the fact that nearly everything I owned was either in a box or in the washer, I was wearing sweats and a hoodie. Seriously not cute. He was probably thinking about how awful I looked if anything.

“So, tell me about this girlfriend of yours,” I said, trying to ease the awkwardness our lunch date had taken on.

“Oh, you mean Krista?”

“Is she the one who likes horseback riding and long walks on the beach?” I teased.

“No that was Jen,” he replied with a small laugh.

“But wasn’t Jen like a month ago? Who’s Krista?” Goodness, he was on the move. But that was Brooks, always trying to find his perfect girl.

“Yeah, I broke up with Jen. It wasn’t that serious. Plus, she was kind of crazy…” he trailed off.

“I’m listening.”

“Well this one time, I didn’t call her back right away after a game because we lost and I was in a bad mood. So she called my house at eight minute intervals for half an hour. I’m sure it would have gone on longer if I hadn’t pulled my phone out of the wall. Bloody psycho.” I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You sure know how to pick ‘em Brooks!”

“Let’s just say that’s the last time I let my shrink set me up on a date,” he said with a wink.

“So what about this Krista then?” I said, twirling the straw in my drink. What? He’s my best friend. I’m allowed to be curious about his love life!

“She’s cute. But I only just met her so I don’t know how serious it is yet. I really like her though,” he said with a smile on his face. He was so sweet when he was crushing on a girl.

“Well I can’t wait to meet her then!” I said, trying my best to be supportive.

“I’m glad. I think you’ll like her. She’s sweet, just like you.”