Rule Breaker

Abbey laughed as Maria explained something that her grand kids had done the previous day. Abbey smiled as she listened to his mom talk about the family scene. She only knew Maria from Zacky's family. She had met his father a few times when he would come by and see his wife, and she had briefly met his nephew and niece, but really meeting and knowing family members, she had only met Maria. She knew he had a brother and a sister, Maria had talked about them before. She wondered if Zacky would ever introduce her to the rest of his family. She knew that was a big step in relationships. When you took them to meet your family, that's when things were serious. At least that's what she had grown up with.

She knew there would come a time when she needed to introduce Zacky to her family. She bit down on her bottom lip just thinking about it. Her family were very old fashioned and traditional. They lived in Kentucky, and believed in working hard to get what you wanted. Her family had brought her up to be respectful and hard working. Her parents didn't like her moving across the country. Every time she spoke to her parents, they begged her to come back home.

She knew they would be quick to judge Zacky. They would take one look at him, with all of his piercings and tattoos and just assume he was some drug dealer, or bad influence on her. They wouldn't give him a chance. That's just how closed minded her parents were. Though, after they talked to him and got to know him, they would love him. They were just hard asses on the outside, but softies on the inside.

She breathed in deeply, as she took a client and placed them in her seat. Thankfully, it would still be some time before she had to take him home to meet her folks. She didn't plan on doing that until she was completely sure that they would be together for a long time. She grabbed a bottle of water from the shelf and began damping her clients hair. She combed through it, and questioned them on what they wanted. They just wanted layers. Something simple and easy to maintain. She quickly began slicing the clients hair, still thinking about her parents and what they would think about Zacky.

"Hey Abbey." Kendra said.

Abbey turned around and looked at her friend who was wearing a smile on her face.

"Yeah?"

"Are you and Zack busy this afternoon?"

"I'm not sure." Abbey said, slightly confused, "Why?"

"Just wanted to know if you guys possibly wanted to go out. . . Okay, so I have a date with this guy tonight. . . but I don't know if I feel exactly comfortable going just with the two of us. I was just wondering if you two maybe wanted to come out so we could double date." Kendra rambled.

Abbey laughed, "You're nervous?"

"Extremely."

"Let me call Zack in a bit and ask him. Okay?"

"Okay."

Zack was feeding the dog when the house phone began ringing. He hadn't been up very long. He had decided to sleep in today. He jogged over to the phone and picked it up. He was expecting to hear one of the guys voices, but was surprised when Abbey's sweet melody greeted him.

"Hey baby." He said.

"Hi, how are you this morning?"

"I'm okay. What are you doing?"

"Taking a break for lunch. Kendra has a favor to ask of us." Abbey said.

He chuckled, "I guess I owe her. What is it?"

"She has a date tonight, but she wants it to be a double date. . . She was wondering if maybe we--"

"Sure. When and where?"

"I don't know yet, but I'll let you know when I get home."

"Okay. See you then."

Abbey returned to work, and Kendra told her what time and where they would be having the date tonight. Abbey asked her about this guy, and was shocked to find out it was someone from Kendra's past. An ex boyfriend from high school who had just moved back to town.

"So, if you've already dated him then why are you so nervous?" She asked.

"Because," Kendra sighed, "I don't want him to ask about our break up as soon as we see each other. I'd like a little time to just have a good moment or two. I know if you guys are there then he isn't going to ask." Kendra explained and then smiled, "I think he and I can really get serious again if we just put the crap behind us. I just want an hour with him where we don't talk about the break up."

"Did something major happen?"

Kendra nodded her head, "I got pregnant in high school, but lost the baby. Chad couldn't handle it, so he ended up moving away to go to college in Washington. . . Every time we talk, it's always about what happened. He blames himself, and I need to convince him not to. We were in a car wreck. He was driving. . ."

Abbey's mouth was dropped open. She had no clue that this tragic event had happened to her friend. Kendra had never mentioned anything about this before. She continued explaining that both of them were hurt badly, and she had lost the baby. He had went away to college because he couldn't live with the guilt. She said when they got together, he would always go into talking about the accident, and Kendra wanted to show him they could still have a good time and not bring it up.

"He shouldn't blame himself." Abbey said.

"I know." Kendra sighed, "I'm going to tell him that later tonight, but I just need to show him we can have a good time. Then when we're talking tonight, I can bring that up."

Abbey nodded her head, "Zack and I will be there."

"Thanks."

Abbey was looking forward to tonight. After hearing Kendra's story she was determined to help her friend out. Chad seemed like a nice guy from what she could tell. He nor Kendra needed to feel guilty about what had happened. She really hoped they got together. He seemed to be the key to Kendra's happiness.