It's a Start

Dressing up was always fun.

I completed the look with a black hat and smiled at my appearance in the mirror. Connor’s birthday barbeque was starting in about ten minutes over at his and Leah’s house and I was excited to say the least. I’d be seeing Brian again and definitely Craig, so this party better go well.

I grabbed my bag off the bed and left my bedroom door open while walking down the hall in my sunglasses and grabbing my phone off the counter.

John
Missed Call

Canada was still on for the holiday at the end of the week and I couldn’t wait to see all of them. I sat in my car for a brief moment, telling him that I’d talk to him later since I was heading out.

The familiarity of my hometown came a lot quicker than I expected. I knew where places were now, but sometimes I still needed the GPS. Nothing wrong with that, right? I pulled up to their house about five minutes later and walked through the gate to their backyard. Leah did a great job with decorating for the small barbeque and I walked over to her, taking my sunglasses off.

“Hey,” I smiled warmly, hands clasped in front of me.

She looked up from setting the drinks in the large bucket and hugged me. “I’m glad you made it.”

I thanked her for the drink of fruit punch and watched her as she bent down to put more filled cups on the table. “Need any help?”

“Oh no.” She flicked her hair out of the way. “Go say hi to the guys.” She motioned behind her with an optimistic voice. They were standing together, Craig, Brian, and Connor, with beers in their hands and I nodded at her before walking over.

There were a handful of people at the party and I guessed that it was split even between Leah’s family and Connor’s. Maybe Craig and Brian’s parents were here.

“Hey, guys,” I greeted, turning their attention to me. They sent me their hellos and I walked in the middle of them to hug Connor. “Happy Birthday.”

He pressed his hand against my upper back. “Thank you.”

I hugged Brian next and smiled kindly at Craig. It would’ve been awkward had we not made up about the fight, but I was glad I could actually hug him without any grudges. He touched my lower back and I kissed his cheek as we pulled away. They let me join in on their conversation before Connor disappeared to help Leah in the kitchen of their house. I sipped on my drink, laughing a little at Craig and Brian being brothers, and panicked when a small child hugged my legs.

“Aunty!” The little boy cooed up to me. I stared down at him and back up at Craig and Brian with wide eyes.

A girl came over then, prying the little boy’s arms off me and apologizing while staring at me momentarily. “Nate, I told you to stay,” she scolded as she walked away toward a group of people that were looking over at me. Once my eyes met theirs, they looked away.

I just got here and I was crying.

Craig came to the rescue. “Hey, don’t cry. Come on.” He put his arm around my waist and gave Brian his drink before leading me inside the house and toward the bathroom. I was sniffling with red eyes by the time Craig closed the door on us. “I’m sorry about that.”

I shook my head, wiping under my eyes, and looked at him standing in front of the door. “Who is he?”

“My nephew,” he sighed.

“Brian’s?” I wondered aloud.

He shook his head and I didn’t let him say another word because it would only bring him down. I hugged him around the waist and tried not to get makeup or my tears on his clean shirt. He rubbed my back soothingly, just like I did when he was drunk the first night I was back. Maybe it was a habit of his that he hadn’t broken yet with me.

Leah knocked softly on the door. “Is everything okay?”

I breathed in and pulled away from Craig so we could get out of the small bathroom. Leah touched my arm and I thanked her with a smile. She had asked me to help out with taking the food in and I nodded with a promising beam. Leah kept me distracted from the small encounter for the next hour as we talked and ate our lunch. The taste of the grilled chicken made up for it because it was delicious.

We were sat under the built gazebo, similar to the one at my house, and Leah was sitting beside me with Connor on the other side of her and Craig and Brian across from us. Craig sent positive glances toward me just to keep me happy and for the majority of the lunch, I had a smile on my face.

Their parents were actually here and I got to re-meet them. I also got to meet their older brother’s girlfriend, but the little boy was nowhere to be found. He was most likely taking an afternoon nap. I could probably use one too when I got home.

The cake that Leah made came out when everyone was ready for dessert and I helped her as she carried it out of the house, holding the plates, plastic forks, and napkins. She did a really great job with decorating the cake, writing “Happy Birthday Connor!” in cursive and adding sprinkles in small spots. He was amazed with the masterpiece, grinning up at her while we all sang. I watched his arm go around her legs since he was sitting and she was standing beside him. Her arm draped over his shoulders and she kissed his cheek when the song was over.

Flashes went off and I managed to get a picture of the cake and them smiling beside one another during the party. Leah insisted on a picture of me with all the guys and I laughed while it was taken, both of my arms around Brian and Craig’s waists as Connor stood beside Brian, his hand touching my other shoulder. It was a pretty good picture, if you ask me. Leah and I also took one together, both of our arms wrapped around each other while our cheeks touched. She really was a great friend.

Everyone started leaving around seven thirty or so and I stuck around to help clean up. It was the least I could do for her. Leah had already done so much for me.

“Thank you for helping out today.” She smiled at me as we stood in the kitchen.

“No problem.” My hat was off now, sitting somewhere in the living room where the boys were.

“Today wasn’t so bad, was it?”

I turned around to her from putting the leftovers in the fridge. “Are you kidding me? You did a great job with everything.”

She blushed and thanked me for the compliment. I laughed and hugged her again. We walked into the living room and I grabbed my hat from the couch along with my bag and thanked Leah for inviting me with a hug. Connor thanked me for coming and I said goodnight to all the guys before walking outside to my car and driving home.

A happy sigh came out of my lips when I got home and leaned against the front door. Today wasn’t that bad. I drank a glass of water along with my pill and walked down the hall toward my room to change. Crawling into bed felt really good and about ten minutes later I passed out.

Warm water covered every inch of my skin as I took a shower the next night. Surprisingly, there was finally going to be someone on that small stage tonight and I almost laughed when I saw Nick.

Eric was there too, waving at me with a sneaky smile as he sat at a table by himself. I shook my head as I got out glasses and poured the drinks in while everyone’s eyes in the place were on Nick. There were actually teenagers here tonight and I never would’ve thought that we’d be serving drinks at a concert. Mindy came in later than me and hugged me around the waist, showing off her bright smile.

She had a good weekend; it was mostly spent in bed with Jasper and I made a disgusted face as she swooned over it.

“Shut up. When you’re married, you’re going to regret making that face at me.” She pushed my shoulder and I snickered as I moved away and served the person in front of me.

We talked while Nick sang on the stage ahead and from time to time I was focusing in on his words and falling in love with the music. He was pretty good, which shouldn’t be surprising because Eric had said they’d been in this business for a while.

Mindy gave me a panicked look when I told her about yesterday and the brief encounter. She covered her chest, almost looking like she could feel the heartache I felt when looking down at him. She opened the register while I was still talking and glanced at me to show that she was still listening. When that topic was over, she asked me about John and I shrugged, saying that we’d been talking lately.

“Are you still going to see him this weekend?” She asked with the towel in her hands.

I sipped the beer and set it back in its spot. The small crowd cheered when Nick finished the song and started up another. “I don’t know,” I sighed. “I’m having second thoughts about it.”

I was, really. I was actually having terrible thoughts about it.

“Like what?”

“The worst possible.” My eyes widened while I exaggerated.

She walked over and touched my arm. “Aw. Babe, do you want me to go with you?” She had a habit of calling her friends names.

I shook my head. “I don’t want to drag you all the way to Canada with me.”

She insisted, but I kept shaking my head. I was staying in a bus with them and I don’t think there was enough room for another person. I appreciated the gesture and her concern about me, but I didn’t want to bring her all the way to Canada. I wanted her to spend time with Jasper and not me. She was still insisting by the end of the night, “I’ll go if you’re worried about it.”