Authors: Courtney Brewer
The next day Abigail trying to play the night before as coy as possible; she really wanted to believe that they could finally, after 23 years, have a cordial friendship. A lot of harsh words had been said between them and she just was ready for that to be finished. When Todd had gotten back home he seemed different like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and Abigail didn’t want to pry, but wanted to find out what was going on. When she saw Todd and
Travis sitting in the living room, one reading the paper and the other doing a crossword puzzle, she took her chance. She chuckled as she took a seat next to her brother. “You both look so domesticated and old.”
She noticed that
Travis was looking at her out of the corner of his eye, but when he caught her eye he looked away. “Did you come in here to just harp on us?” Todd asked; he shook his head as he looked back at the paper.
“No, but I was wondering how your business trip went yesterday. Since you didn’t come home, I just figured it went longer than expected.”
An eyebrow lifted when he put the paper down. “You really want to know about my trip to Tulsa? I thought maybe you had something else on your mind.”
Abigail shrugged. “Nothing in particular;” she looked at
Travis who wasn’t paying much attention to her.
“Oh;” Todd glanced back at his paper. “The trip was fine. I stayed over because I was tired.”
“That’s all?”
“Now I know something’s up;” he put the paper on the coffee table and stared at her. “You seem to have something you want to discuss with me; let me hear it out.”
“I just wondered if something was on your mind. You seem out of sorts and I’m worried about you.”
Todd looked over at
Travis and then back to Abigail. “I have something’s on my mind; it’s nothing to concern you with.” Abigail wasn’t certain she wanted to move on, but when he looked back at his paper she didn’t feel she had much choice. She kept looking at him and finally he glanced her way. “Abby, I appreciate the concern, but it’s nothing that I can’t deal with.” He paused for a second and then smiled at her. “I do have a request though; it concerns both of you.” Abigail looked over at Travis and he had put his crossword puzzle down. “Tonight I need some alone time with Carolyn; could you please allow me that time.”
“Sure…” she began, but then paused.
“What’s wrong?”
“Are you going tell her what’s bothering you, because I’m your sister and…”
“We will give you that time Todd.” Travis quickly interrupted her.
Abigail turned and glared at him; she didn’t know who he thought he was interrupting her when she was trying to get down to what was bothering Todd.
“Thank you;” Todd’s voice was quiet and Abigail heard the concern as he looked at her. “Abigail?”
“You don’t have to worry about me.”
“I will make sure she doesn’t butt in tonight.”
Abigail snickered. “I won’t do anything, but if you need to talk…you know where to find me.”
“Yes; you’re only a walk down the hall. I have to make a phone call.” He excused himself and when they were alone she turned to him and he laughed.
“What do you mean you will make sure that I don’t butt in? How can you do that when we will be doing something totally different?”
“Oh, but we won’t.” The look on his face was one of sheer amusement. “I think you need a night on the town and I plan on being the one to provide that.” He went back to working on his crossword puzzle. She couldn’t help but be a bit intrigued at the thought of going out with Travis. He was a great looking guy and she wondered what it would be like to enter a room with him. As her thoughts drifted to them dancing and then the romantic kiss at the end of the evening; she was brought to reality. She shook her head as a pen went flying towards her and hit her in the head. She looked up and Travis was laughing. “I had to do something to get your attention. You looked like you were off in another world.”
“No; I was just thinking about…” she looked away; “it’s not important.”
“Okay; so, what do you say? Tonight we could go to dinner and dancing; do you like Mexican?”
“I like Mexican, but…”
“Then it’s a date.” He picked up the pen that was on the floor and went back to ignoring her.
A date;
she didn’t know how she felt about that. She shrugged; she was sure it was just his bad choice of words. They were barely friends; IF they did go out it was because she didn’t want to do anything else. She wanted the atmosphere of dinner and dancing, but nothing else was on the menu.
***
Travis pulled into his driveway and saw that Josephine’s car wasn’t there. He didn’t want to assume she had left, because he would have expected her to call and tell him she had found a place. When he got into the house he did notice that it was spotless; usually the house was filled with her clutter. He saw that even the excess boxes that held her belongings were gone.
He sighed; he couldn’t believe she had left without even a simple phone call. As the thought crossed his mind he spotted a note on his refrigerator.
My dearest
Travis-
I have decided to move back to Michigan. My parents never wanted me to move away anyhow. I thought that when we met 2 years ago it was fate, but I was just young and naïve and didn’t realize there’s no such thing. I stuck around back then for you, but now I will move away for the same reason. I didn’t realize how miserable I was making you. Sorry for the inconvenience that I have caused you. You will always be in my heart; even though I’m no longer in yours.
With love,
Josie
He stared at the letter. “Wow;” he mumbled under his breath. He folded the letter and put it into his pocket. “Abigail’s right; I am a jerk.” The one bright spot was that he could back home, but even that didn’t make him feel any better.
***
Abigail wished she would have had a better understanding of where she was going with
Travis. He said they would go out to a Mexican restaurant and then out dancing, but didn’t tell her much. There were plenty of Honky Tonks that would require dressing up. As she stood and looked in the mirror, she was definitely regretting the casual attire.
She looked through the rest of her clothes and finally settled on a black dress. It was casual enough that she wouldn’t look out of place in a Honky Tonk and dressy enough that she would fit in with the fancier crowd. She turned around and looked at her reflection. She was feeling better about the change.
She had heard Travis tell Todd that he had to go home and change and she also knew that he wanted to see if his ex had vacated the house.
She wondered if he had gotten back. When she opened the door she saw him headed towards her. His eyes shone as he looked over her. “I didn’t know what to wear; do I look alright?”
He chuckled half-heartedly. “You look better than alright. You look…” his eyes once again traced over her body.
It wasn’t like her to fish for compliments, but she found herself captivated by his expression. “I look…”
“Nice.”
She thought about the one word phrase and she laughed. “You need to work on your compliments, but thank you. You look nice too.” He had gone the more casual route with his polo and khakis, but he pulled the look off.
A tint of red fell over his face. “Thank you; I’ll work on the compliments. Are you ready to go?”
She placed a smile on her lips. “Yes; we better say goodbye to Todd.”
They went down the kitchen where Todd was making supper for him and Carolyn. He looked up and smiled. “You both look great.” He went back to his food. “You know when I said I needed the house to myself; I didn’t expect you to decide to go out together.
Abigail shrugged. “You said you wanted us to start getting along.”
He laughed. “Why Abigail Marie Johnson, since when have you ever decided to listen to me?”
“We’ll see how tonight goes. It may be my last time.” Abigail looked at
Travis and she hoped that he knew she was only kidding.
“You both have fun; stay out as late as you want to.” He winked at Abigail.
“Do you want to call us and give us a signal when it’s safe to make our return?”
Abigail knew that
Travis was kidding but Todd looked like he was considering it. “Let’s just say this, if you get back here and find the lights are all turned off, you should think of finding another place to crash.”
Abigail wanted a sign that he was only joking, but she didn’t see any. “Enjoy your night Todd.”
Travis quickly responded. “We’ll see you later.” She allowed him to take her arm and lead her out of the house.
When they
reached the car he opened her door. She faced him and didn’t get in. “Do you think he was being serious?”
“Probably;” his attitude was nonchalant.
“Where will we go if we don’t stay here?”
He shrugged. “Does it matter?”
“Honestly? Uh…yeah; if I can’t come back here tonight, I…”
“Abigail, let’s not worry about that until we absolutely have to. I won’t leave you out on the street.”
“Okay;” she reluctantly got in the car. She hoped she didn’t have to figure it out, but she didn’t know why Travis didn’t seem to care. She had to also remember to ask him how things went with his ex. The truth was he possibly didn’t need Todd’s hospitality. She pushed the thought away; if that was the case he wouldn’t have continued with the fake date. She was convinced of that.
Abigail and
Travis paced their order and then she looked around the bare restaurant. Outside of them, there were only 3 other couples. She was sure each of them was in love; it was apparent by their interactions. Travis had taken her to a restaurant that was 10 miles into the neighboring town of Willow. She had expected to go to a local Mexican restaurant, El Tortilla, had come to mind. So, she was really surprised. “Have you ever been here before?”
“No. How about you?”
“Yeah; I’ve been here many times. I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t know that the food is good, the atmosphere is great, and the dancing is fun. Have you ever salsa danced before?”
Abigail looked out at the empty dance floor and shook her head. “No and I don’t think that I will be trying that anytime soon.”
“Are you kidding me? You are so getting out there tonight.”
“Do you really believe that I will go out there when there is no one else dancing?”
“You wouldn’t be alone; I would be out there too.”
Abigail laughed. “I understand that, but I’m still not convinced.”
“I’ll find a way to change your mind.” He took a drink of his water and snickered. “I can’t say that I can get you drunk, because you don’t drink; do you?”
Abigail smirked. “Now, how do you know that?”
“Just because you didn’t ask about me, doesn’t mean that I didn’t ask about you. What I don’t know is why.”
“Is that important?”
He shook his head. “Not really; just curious.”
“I guess that I never saw the appeal.”
“Hm…” he turned away from her and she wondered what he meant by that.
“What?”
“Nothing; I just think there’s more to the story.”
“Do you? Well, if you’re so smart why don’t you tell me?”
“It was your 21
st
birthday and you never had a drink before, because you were too proper to drink underage and too engrossed in your studies to get caught up in the partying. You went out with some friends and they thought it would be funny to get you drunk. Then I could picture a game of strip poker and you not doing so well. So, you wound up losing it all. That’s when you vowed to never take another drink. How well did I do?” Everything he said was all too close to the truth.
“Have you been getting all the dirt from Todd?”
“I’m just very intuitive. So, was I right? There was a game of strip poker?”
“You can lose the game of strip poker part.” Abigail laughed at the look of disappointment on his face. “It was my 21
st
birthday, I went out with some friends, got drunk, and ended up in a pretty compromising position. I was coherent enough to stop myself, but I did realize that alcohol and I don’t mix well together.”
“That’s good, because nothing good comes of it.”
“What about you? You don’t drink?”
“I used to, but it got out of hand in my life. I like being in control; so, I decided to change my life. I haven’t had a drink in over 3 years.”
“Good for you!” She paused while the waitress brought them their food. “Thank you;” the waitress nodded and left the table.
“I hope you like it.”
She took a bite of her food and gave him a thumb up sign. “Very good;” she took a few more bites before she continued. “I never did hear how things went at your house.”
“Oh; things went alright. She should be out of there soon.”
“Then maybe Todd will have his house back to himself by next week.”
“Yeah, maybe;” he went back to his food; he seemed uncomfortable about talking about it. She shrugged; it didn’t matter, the last thing she wanted was to break their easy connection. Now was not that time.
***
Travis
couldn’t bring himself to tell Abigail that Josephine had already left. It was confusing to him, but he didn’t want to go home; especially while Abigail was still there. As he was halfway through his meal he saw the restaurant musicians approach them. “We sing a song.” The one began as he poised his guitar.
“No, no; that’s quite alright.” He was finding it humorous that Abigail was objecting so passionately. “We’re not a couple; so you better go to a table that will appreciate it.”
“You not like music?”
Travis
was surprised he didn’t burst out laughing when they were asked the question. “It’s not that; I love music, but…”
She turned to
Travis as if she was begging for him to save her. “We would love to hear a song.” He handed the man some money and smiled at Abigail.
“Gracias Senor;” as they played a romantic love song Abigail stared at him.
“What did you do that for?” She whispered.
“Relax and enjoy the music. You don’t need to be so uptight; it’s only a 2 minute song.”
They faced the musicians as they continued to play the music. When it was finished the lead musician smiled. “Gracias Senora, Senor.”
Travis
nodded. “See, that wasn’t so hard; was it?”
“I suppose not.”
He took a drink and then started to chuckle. “I have never seen you squirm so much; with the exception of the time that I put those spiders in your sleeping bag.”
She looked up at him; her eyes were the size of saucers. “What do you mean?”
“The time you had some friends over for a sleepover; I think you were 11 years old at the time. I was staying over and I brought 7 of my friends with me. My spider friends, that is. It went off so perfectly; I dumped the spiders in your sleeping bag. Don’t you remember?”
Abigail’s jaw dropped. “Yes I remember; I was 10 and I couldn’t sleep for a week without having my dad check my bed. I did not know that that was you. We blamed it on the fact that the sleeping bags had been in the attic. I wondered why it was just in mine. I can’t believe that you did that. It’s one thing to pull my hair and tie my shoestrings together. I could have been bitten.”
“They weren’t poisonous.”
“That’s not the point.” He knew she was definitely upset. He could see her nostrils flare.
“I’m sorry Abigail; really I am.”
She looked like she didn’t hear him, but he knew she did. She took the last bite of her food as the waitress cleared it from the table. “Is there anything else you feel you need to tell me?”
“I just assumed that you knew that it was me. Otherwise, I would have never said anything.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you wouldn’t have.”
“Not because I would want to keep secrets, but because this evening had been going so well.” She gave a simple nod, but wouldn’t look at him. “Are you going to at least dance with me?”
She looked like she was considering it. “Do you promise no more spiders?”
He laughed. “I’ve grown up since then.”
“Okay; then I guess I will dance with you.”
He finally saw a smile as he stood up and grabbed her hand. A couple had gotten there first and they were doing some salsa dancing. “The salsa is supposed to be sexy and fun.” They started out by mirroring the steps of the other couple, and they then they got adventurous and attempted new steps. They were laughing as they were dancing around and looking as if they knew exactly what they were doing. When the music ended they were stunned to hear a few of the patrons clapping and they realized they were the entertainment. They smiled and politely bowed.
A slow song then began to grace the stereo. “That was fun.” She breathlessly spoke. She started to leave, but he reached out
for her arm. When she looked at him, he smiled. “I don’t think so.”
He pulled her close to him and he could feel the rapid breathing of her heart. “What are you so afraid of?”
“Stepping on your toes;” she snickered.
He laughed. “I have tough toes.” He wrapped his arms around her and they slowly swayed to the music. She began to look more relaxed and her arms went around his neck. His hand was placed firmly on her lower back. Almost in response to their moves her hand opened up and he felt her fingers massaging the nape of his neck. “See, this isn’t so bad.” He whispered in her ear. He heard a sign escape her lips. Too soon, in his book, the song ended. When they looked into each other’s eyes he saw a shift in her attitude. He continued to hold her; it was if neither wanted to let go.
He saw her bite her lower lip. When he was sure they both wanted the same thing he started to lower his lips to hers. However, as quick as the feelings came, it went. “We probably should go.” She interrupted the moment.
“Of course;” he mumbled. He put the money on their table and they left the restaurant. There were two reasons why he could think she would have stopped the kiss. Either he misread her actions, or it was just too fast for her. He found himself hoping that it was the second choice, because he was sure all signs pointed to her wanting him to kiss her.
***
Abigail found herself sick thinking of the moment on the dance floor. She wanted him to kiss her, but was frightened that he was only feeling something because of the atmosphere. She silently said a prayer that Todd was okay with them being home. She definitely needed to steer clear of
Travis.
As they drove down the road towards his house, she noticed the lights were off. She began to groan, but then she realized that Carolyn’s car wasn’t there. “That’s strange; Carolyn isn’t here.” She turned to
Travis. “I suppose we can go in.”
He parked in front and Abigail used her key to open the door. She felt around for a light and finally got it turned on. “Todd?”
Travis called out. There was no answer.
Abigail looked over at the table and saw a sticky note. She read:
Abby and
Travis –
We went out for dessert. I’ll explain later.
See you tomorrow!!
Love,
Todd
Abigail let out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad that explains it. I’m going to bed.”
“Yeah; me too.”
When she got to her room she looked at him and tried to smile. “See you tomorrow.”
He nodded. “See ya!”
She closed the door behind her and fell back against it. She needed a long, cold shower. Before she could move she heard a knock on the door. She stared at the door knob for a moment before opening the door. “Did you forget something?”
He nodded. “Yeah, this;” his mouth closed over hers and for a minute she was too stunned to react. She allowed a moan to escape her lips and her hands caressed the curls in the back of his hair. When they pulled away they stared at each other. “Goodnight.” She was standing there with her mouth hanging open. She backed into the room and shut the door. A smile slowly crossed her lips and she felt like a giddy schoolgirl. That was exactly how she wanted the night to end.