Just Say Yes

It was late Tuesday afternoon, two days after returning home from Vegas and Brian was currently waiting for Michelle to stop by and pick up the rest of her belongings that remained at his beach front home that they used to share. Michelle and Val had left Vegas early, and had gotten their brothers to help them move a lot of Michelle's larger pieces of furniture and big bags of clothes out of the place. There were still a few things here and there that she had left behind, she had left a message on his machine yesterday telling him to be home around 4PM cause she needed the rest of her things.

He had really hoped she had just taken everything on Sunday so he didn't have to do this awkward returning of the belongings thing but he figured she had planned this. Just to see him again. He took a minute to think it over then decided to go to the kitchen and grab a beer. He needed some alcohol in his blood get through this meeting with Michelle. Come to think of it, the past few years he couldn't remember a time when he was with Michelle and he didn't drink other than the night in Vegas that he finally ended things.

He downed his beer in about ten minutes, then his eyes drifted back towards the refrigerator. He was considering having another but the loud knocking on the front door interrupted. He sighed heavily and glanced his watch. 4:10PM. She was late, not that he really cared much, he just hoped she didn't stay too long.

He opened the door and saw Michelle standing there with her sunglasses perched on top of her head and bitter smile on her face.

“Brian, you look...” She paused glancing him up and down, he hadn't planned on going out anywhere so he was dressed down in a pair old torn up jeans, a plain grey t-shirt, a hoodie and his hair messily unstyled. “tired, are you sleeping okay without me?”

Brian turned around and rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I'm fine.” He called as he made his way to the living room. Michelle proceeded into the house closing the door behind her and followed Brian into the living room. In the middle of the room she saw two small boxes with some of her belongings in them, she moved the things on top to see what else was in there.

“Everything's there.” Brian said, he as leaned against the wall watching her. She glanced over at him with a questionable look on her face.

“Thanks.” She answered with a bitchy attitude, nothing new. She folded the top of one box so that it was closed tight and picked it up quite easily. She made her way towards the door then glanced back over at the remaining box then at Brian. She stopped just short of the door then spoke. “The least you could do after breaking up with me is carry the other box to my car.” She opened the door with the box still in her hands and went out to her car.

When he made it outside with the box in his arms, her trunk was open and she was leaning against the car one hand on her hip looking annoyed. “Took you long enough.”

“You're welcome.” He spat at her, and she rolled her eyes.

“As if I should thank you for anything. You wasted five years of my life.” She yelled, getting angry almost immediately.

He scoffed. “Michelle, just leave. I'm tired of fighting with you.” He turned his back and began walking back to the door.

“Yeah walk away, that's all you fucking do.” She yelled before slipping her sunglasses back over her eyes and hopped into her car.

Brian walked into the house and shut the door, he could hear her pull out of the driveway loudly and speed off down the street. Brian rubbed the back of his neck then decided he needed another beer, dealing Michelle was just stressful. He was so glad to be rid of that in his life, being on the road was hard enough but then coming home to someone who just causes more stress was too much for him to handle.

He grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down on one of the bar stools and just relaxed as he sipped the beverage. On the stool next to him there was the hoodie he was wearing Sunday afternoon when he saw Erin last, with his free hand he reached over and dug out the piece of paper with her phone number on it. He stood up and reached over for his cordless house phone then sat back down. He took a long swig of beer as he eyed her phone number, thinking. He placed the bottle down then dialed the number on his phone, he could feel knots in his stomach as he heard the other end ringing.

- - - - - - - - -

Tuesday evening Erin was at Lisa's, Erin had come over after her shift and brought pizza for their dinner. They had planned to have a girls night filled with cheesy movies, junk food and pampering themselves. Lisa lived in a small condominium townhouse one block away from Ben's school, and about a five minute drive from the diner. It had two bedrooms, one bathroom, a large kitchen, spacious living room and a community pool, it was perfect for Lisa and Ben. Erin wasn't sure she could live in a place so small after growing up in her grandmother's home but as of now she wasn't looking to move out.

Currently Erin was sitting on the decorative rug that was spread across the faux hard wood floor in the living room, her back was resting against Lisa's couch. Lisa was sitting behind her, combing her hair and separating it into two sections so she could french braid it, as some sitcom played on the TV in the background.

Lisa ran a brush through Erin's hair softly. “So has Brian called you?” Lisa had practically deafened her on the phone Sunday night, when she called Lisa after she had gotten off. Then proceeded to hurt her ear drums even more when she told Lisa, Zacky had left his number for her to call him.

“No,” Erin said, staring over at the TV across the room as she felt Lisa start braiding her hair. “have you called Zacky?”

“Yeah, we had phone sex last night.” Lisa said, as she had two hair ties clenched between her teeth.

Without thinking Erin whipped her head around to look at Lisa, she felt a sharp pains spread through out the left side of her scalp. She hissed in pain, then glanced up at Lisa who was smiling with the hair ties still between her teeth.

“Kidding, of course.” Erin glared then turned her head back the way it had been before and Lisa continued on. “Yeah I called him, we talked for a few hours.” Lisa answered remembering back to their lively conversation, she hadn't laughed so much in years.

“And?” Erin pried, everyone else pried in her life, why couldn't she do it to others? Not that Lisa really cared whether she did or not.

“And he's a sweet guy, he makes me laugh.” She answered honestly, removing one of the hair ties from between her teeth and wrapped it around the end of Erin's braid.

Erin scoffed, “You pry into my life all the time, now I get a chance to do it to you and you're all secretive about it.”

Lisa smiled to herself. “Careful, I do have a handful of your hair. I wouldn't want get it caught in anything.” Erin rolled her eyes and laughed as she heard the front door open.

“Mom I'm home.” A small male voice yelled, she could hear the squeaking of his shoes against the linoleum flooring and the loud thump his bag made when it hit the floor. Erin expected Ben to walk into the room smiling and cheerful like always, but instead he walked in slowly, with a frown and a red runny nose.

“Hey, sweetie.” Lisa looked over at her son who looked like he was ready to go to sleep. “How are you feeling?”

Ben plopped down on the couch next to them, pouting slightly. “I can't breathe through my nose, my throat is starting to hurt and I keep coughing.”

“That great huh?” Lisa tried to joke, but Ben wasn't having it. Lisa finished the braids in Erin's hair then proceeded to make Ben some chicken noodle soup while Erin measured out some children's cough and cold medicine for him. While the soup was being made he changed into his pajamas and Erin stood with Lisa in the kitchen waiting for the liquid on the stove to warm up.

“He seems pretty sick.” Erin said, glancing towards his closed bedroom door. “Poor guy.”

“I know, this morning he had a little bit of the sniffles but it wasn't this bad.” Lisa glanced back at her son's bedroom, concerned.

Erin shrugged. “Schools are known for spreading germs.” Erin could remember from high school if one or two kids were sick, it was only a matter of time for everyone else.

Lisa walked over to the cupboard that held the bowls, she pulled one out and walked back over to Erin and the soup. “Hey, I know we had this night planned but if you want to go home I'd understand.”

Erin watched Lisa pour the steaming soup into a bowl slowly. “You won't be mad?”

Lisa laughed and shook her head. “Of course not. It might be better if you do, I don't wanna keep him up with your crazy laughing.”

Erin gasped, and placed her hand on her chest, acting offended. “My laugh is not crazy!”

“You sound like a hyena!” Erin's mouth dropped, then she laughed softly. Lisa smiled sweetly at her as she grabbed a spoon to go with the bowl of soup.

“You're such a bitch” Erin said jokingly, slipping on her shoes that were sitting on the kitchen floor.

“You love me anyway.” Lisa yelled back as she headed towards Ben's bedroom with his dinner. Erin said goodbye to Ben before she left, and left to Lisa reading Ben his favorite book while he ate his chicken soup. Erin couldn't wait to be a mother one day, not anytime soon but eventually when she has her life together and finds someone she wants to do that with.

It took Erin around ten minutes to get home, she was walking since her grandma had the car today. By the time she stepped through the door, her legs felt like they were tree trunks and walked into the living and let herself fall on top of the plush beige couch. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, taking in the quiet and the comfort the pillows were giving her tired body.

“Erin?” She heard Jon say, Erin opened her eyes to look at him.

“Yeah?”

“Grandma said you had a call, she took a message. It's on the kitchen table.” Jon went back upstairs after relaying the information. Erin sighed again, getting up even though her body told her not to. She slowly walked into the kitchen and saw a white piece of paper by the cordless black phone. She took a seat on one of the chairs and brought the note closer...

Brian called! He left his number, call him back! He seemed really eager to talk to you. : )

714 – 840 - 3130

Erin chewed on her bottom lip, staring at the number scrawled across the piece of paper. 'Just do it, he called you.' She said to herself. She took a deep breath and picked up the phone, carefully dialing the number as to be sure that she wouldn't make a mistake and end up calling the wrong number. When she finished dialing she brought the phone cautiously to her ear, ready to hang up if her nerves got the best of her, hopefully he didn't have caller ID. She could hear it ringing, her heart started racing almost immediately.