Green and Gray

The night before The Maine were set to leave for their world tour, John invited me over to his parents' house for dinner. Needless to say, I was a wreck. Not just because I was meeting his family, but because he was leaving in the early morning.

I knew I had to be strong to watch him leave, but it didn't mean that sinking, lonely feeling hadn't set in yet. It set in a few days earlier when I realized just how long he would be gone and the fact that he would be missing my birthday. It was fine, though. I was fine. I had gone my whole life without him. I didn't need him to survive at all.

“Are you sure I look okay?” I asked John for what I'm sure he thought was the millionth time. I knew he was getting annoyed by my nervousness, but I couldn't help it. I'd met parents before, but never the one's of someone who meant so much to me.

“Sparrow, you look gorgeous just like the last time you asked me... ten minutes ago.” We were in his truck driving to the house he grew up in in Chandler. This meant I had about twenty minutes to sit and freak myself out.

I let out a breath, “I'm sorry. I'm just really nervous.”

He smiled, “I know you are, but it'll be fine – you'll be fine.” He gently laced his right hand with my left which relaxed me to some extent.

“Thank you.” I smiled softly to which he responded by lifting our laced hands and pressing his lips to my knuckles, “I just wish I wore different shoes; these new boots are killing me.” I lifted my leg which was graced with my new knee high Steve Madden boots.

He snorted and rolled his eyes, “You are completely ridiculous.”

“Don't mock me because I love fashion.” He chuckled and shook his head.

By the time we arrived in front of the house that he sometimes called home, I was nervous again. My stomach ached from the anxiety and it was getting harder for me to breathe. In my head, I kept repeating to myself “You can do this” over and over.

John looked back at me once we got to the door and as soon as he saw the terrified look on my face, he squeezed my hand, “You will be fine.” He said before he leaned down and kissed my forehead. My eyes instantly closed at the tenderness of his lips on my skin and before I knew it, we were standing in the foyer of the one story house his family resided in.

I could smell food being cooked in the kitchen and I could hear the TV on in the living room. “Mom! Dad!” John called out as he shut the door.

“In here!” Two different voices yelled back from two different parts of the house.

He shook his head with a laugh, “Come on, I'll introduce you to my mom first.” I smiled at him then let him lead me into the kitchen of the unfamiliar house.

John's mother was about the same height as me and had short blonde hair. She was thin and had a smile just like John's. She was standing at the stove, stirring a spoon in a big pot. Her eyes flickered up to us then back down to what she was cooking.

It must have dawned on her that her son wasn't alone because her head immediately shot back up in shock, “Oh!” She exclaimed, “Hello, Dear!” She said brightly before extracting the spoon and placing it on the granite countertop, “You must be Sparrow!” She smiled then advanced toward us. Her thin arms wrapped around me in a hug, “Wow, you sure are a pretty thing.” She said when she finally let me go.

“Thank you.” I responded shyly.

“Sparrow, this is my mother Jenny.” John said with a large smile, “Mom, this is my girlfriend Sparrow.”

Jenny's smile seemed to widen at the mention of me being his girlfriend, “Jay!” She suddenly called out, “Come in here and meet John's girlfriend!”

I heard what sounded like a recliner being put back into place and suddenly a man who looked like an older version of John walked into the kitchen.

“Hey, Son.” He said.

“Hey, Dad.” John then gestured to me, “I want you to meet Sparrow.”

His father's eyes drifted to me and he smiled, “Why hello, Sparrow. You must be the girl my son won't shut up about.”

I laughed, “Ah, I've trained him well.” I joked as I looked up at my boyfriend. He scrunched his face up at me while his parents laughed.

“I think you need to train him to be more of a gentleman.” Jay said, but I shook my head in response.

“He's been nothing short of a gentleman since I met him.”

“Well that's good to hear. Lord knows we raised him to be one.” His mother said.

After Jenny refused any help with dinner and Jay went back into the living room to continue watching whatever he was watching, which sounded like an episode of NCIS, John led me to the back of the house to his bedroom. Before he opened the door, he turned back to me with a wide smile. “Are you ready to see where the love of your life grew up?”

I feigned shock and suddenly grasped his forearm, “Ryan Gosling grew up in this house?!” He gave me a look that told me he didn't find my question amusing, “Sorry, go on.” I giggled.

“Anyways!” He began again, “This is where I was shaped into the man you love.”

I rolled my eyes with a smile and shoved his shoulder, “Shut up, you goof, and show me your room.” He laughed then laced his hand in mine and shoved open the door.

The room was plain in the sense that the walls were bare except for an old The Cars framed poster and one of a Tom Perry and The Heartbreakers tour. The full size bed in the corner was just on a bed frame with no headboard or footboard. It also only had tan sheets and no comforter or pillows. I assumed they were the ones that were on the bed in the place he was staying at with Kennedy and Garrett.

There was a black Ikea-looking bookshelf next to a desk with an Apple Mac computer right by the door. Across from that was a walk-in closet and his own bathroom. From where I was standing, I could see that his closet still had a ton of clothes. Mostly because he would be back living with his parents a soon as he got home from tour. All in all, I wouldn't expect anything less from such a simple guy like John.

After looking the room over, I turned to John with a smile. He looked down at me with a grin, “What?” He questioned.

“You know I love you, right?” I swung our still grasped hands back and forth.

He nodded, “I love you, too, Ladybird.” His voice had softened with tenderness.

“You know a ladybird is a ladybug and not a real bird, right?”

He stopped all movement and stared at me, “Shiiit.” I laughed loudly at his reaction. He smirked as he tugged on my arm which sent me tumbling into his chest, “Whatever. You're a ladybug, now. It still fits because you always wear red lipstick and you have black hair.”

I smiled lovingly up at him, “You always have a solution for everything.”

He sucked in a breath through his teeth, “I am a pretty smart man.”

I snorted, “Don't flatter yourself too much.”

“Hey!” He exclaimed, offended. I merely smiled in return then leaned up and kissed him. “You can't just kiss me to get out of tricky situations.” He said as soon as we broke apart. I rose a challenging eyebrow at him then kissed him again. “Seriously. You're not getting away with that comment.” Another kiss, this time longer. “I mean it.” I put my all into the last one, wrapping my arms around his neck and getting close enough to him as possible. “What were we talking about, again?” He asked in a daze and I laughed.


As soon as dinner was served, I was introduced to his youngest brother, Shane. He was sixteen and looked a lot like his brother. I remembered John talking about another brother on multiple occasions, but I guessed he was off at college seeing as he was in his Sophomore year at ASU.

Just as we settled in and began eating, the interrogation started. They weren't that bad at all, but it was still nerve-wracking.

“So, Sparrow, Honey, how did you and my son meet?” Jenny asked then blew away the steam on her spoonful of chicken and dumplings soup.

“Uh, well, I saw him at Reggie's down in the art district of Tempe, but I didn't say anything to him. My friend and I walked down to the Starbucks on the corner and as I was looking for my wallet, John swooped in and paid for my drink.” I looked over at my boyfriend, who was smiling at me.

“I asked her out on a date as a way to pay me back since she would not stop trying to. She was so shocked when I handed that barista the money.”

I laughed, “Well, I didn't walk in there thinking “Oh, I bet that attractive guy from Reggie's is going to come in and pay for my coffee.”” Everyone laughed.

“That five actually came from Jared. I had spent all of my money on lunch.”

My jaw dropped and I laughed, “What?”

John nodded, “He's the reason why I had the guts to go up to you, too. He shoved the five in my hand and told me to “man up.””

Jay and Jenny laughed, “Looks like you have someone to thank for you kids' relationship.” Jay said and I nodded.

“I'm definitely calling him when I get home.”


Dinner went off without a hitch and I couldn't be happier. His family was lovely and I genuinely enjoyed their company. I knew why John was so fond of them; they were all good people.

“So,” I said on the ride home. We were listening to “Deja Entendu” by Brand New in a comfortable silence as I watched him navigate his way back to my apartment, “you really almost didn't walk up to me at Starbucks?”

He glanced over at me then back to the road, “Yeah. I was so nervous. I kept staring at you at lunch and everyone I was with noticed. They kept calling me a creep. I'm surprised you never saw me!”

I laughed at the irony, “I was staring at you practically the whole time I was sitting there! How did we both miss this?”

He laughed just like I had, “I have no idea.”

I smiled, “How did you know I was at Starbucks?”

A small smile spread across his face, “I saw you walk that direction through the window as we paid and everyone told me I lost me chance. So I just started walking that way and saw you walk into Starbucks. I stood outside for almost the whole time you were in line before Jared slapped the five in my hand and shoved me through the door. I was lucky I had two dollars in my pocket.”

The smile that was on my face would not go away, “You totally stalked me!” I yelled with a laugh.

He looked over at me with a smirk as he parked his truck in front of my apartment, “Maybe a little.”

I laughed and shook my head, “I'm glad you did.”

“I wasn't going to let fate take its course. We're meant to be and I wasn't about to wait for the next time I saw you because who knows when that would've been. I needed you in my life at that moment.” As he finished, I stared at him, searching his face for any sign that he was lying. I found none. I never realized just exactly how much he cared for me.

I leaned across the bench of his truck and kissed him, “I've said it before and I'll say it again: you are the sweetest guy I know, John O'Callaghan.” I said softly and tenderly as my hand rested on his cheek and I looked into his green eyes.

He smiled down at me, “I love you Sparrow L'Amour.”