about it, though, because not a minute after I’d gotten off the phone, someone knocked on my door. Mike was the last person I expected to greet me. I couldn’t remember the last time he’d come to my house, but wouldn’t be surprised if I’d still had New Kids on the Block posters on my wall. Yeah, it had been that long.
“Did I wake you up?” he asked, scanning my outfit and bedhead hair.
I just shook my head, in no mood to explain my attire to him.
He raised his eyebrows when I didn’t answer but continued talking just the same. “So, Gram would like to know if you want to join us for dinner.”
“Why?”
“It’s Sunday.” He offered the words with a slight shrug as if that would explain everything.
Mike’s grandmother, Ginny, was the sweetest old lady in the world; when my grandmother passed, Ginny stepped in and treated me just as she treated the rest of her grandkids. Sunday was the day Mike came to visit her. When we were younger, I always joined the two of them for lunch, and even though Ginny had asked me repeatedly to come back, Mike had never voiced the same invitation. Until now.
“Unless you have plans with Kelly.”
I quickly weighed my options. A warm and delicious dinner with good company at Ginny’s or leftover Chinese here alone – again. It really wasn’t a hard choice.
“No. Neil and I… but…” I fumbled over my words, unsure of how much I should tell him, so I changed the subject instead. “Can you give me five minutes to change?”
Mike nodded, grinning, and I ran into my room to change.
The meal was, as always, scrumptious. I laughed the afternoon away, enjoying the familiar company, forgetting that it had been years since we’d all spent time together. It was almost nine before I stood to leave, hugging Ginny. I argued when she suggested Mike walk me home, but they ganged up on me, so I smiled and waited for him to say his goodbyes, and then I let him follow me out.
I wasn’t really surprised that my mom’s car wasn’t in the driveway, but I was disappointed just the same. Since Neil couldn’t talk on the phone, I was all on my own. Mike, seeing that no one was home, insisted on coming in. I really didn’t want to be alone so I didn’t fight him.
He kicked his shoes off next to the door, like my mom used to make us do when we were younger, and headed straight for my fridge. I fell into the chair sideways, watching as he pulled out a bottle of water and chugged half of it down. When he wiped his mouth with the back of his arm, and then smiled over at me with his goofy grin, I couldn’t help but smile back. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have sworn it was 1994 all over again and that we hadn’t actually missed any time together.
“Go ahead, make yourself at home,” I deadpanned.
“Don’t worry, I will.” He came into the living room and sat on the rug in front of my chair, facing away from me, just like he always did, leaning back a little. One big difference between this Mike and his eleven-year-old self was that his legs were a lot longer and he looked horrifically uncomfortable on the floor. It was weird how normal this felt after all the time apart and I was seconds away from reaching down and ruffling his hair like I used to. “God, this place looks exactly the same.”
I looked around the room, trying to remember if it really hadn’t changed. “You think so?”
He didn’t answer but instead, leaned forward, twisting around to look at me. “So, I have a confession.”
When he didn’t say anything else, I pushed myself up into a sitting position and tried to force the nerves away. I had no idea what was coming, but by the worried look on his face, it couldn’t be good.
After what felt like forever, he met my eyes and sighed. “I asked my gram if you could come over today.”
I arched an eyebrow.
“I know Kelly’s grounded – his mom is friends with mine and she called earlier today to see if he’d spent the night with me. I
“Did I wake you up?” he asked, scanning my outfit and bedhead hair.
I just shook my head, in no mood to explain my attire to him.
He raised his eyebrows when I didn’t answer but continued talking just the same. “So, Gram would like to know if you want to join us for dinner.”
“Why?”
“It’s Sunday.” He offered the words with a slight shrug as if that would explain everything.
Mike’s grandmother, Ginny, was the sweetest old lady in the world; when my grandmother passed, Ginny stepped in and treated me just as she treated the rest of her grandkids. Sunday was the day Mike came to visit her. When we were younger, I always joined the two of them for lunch, and even though Ginny had asked me repeatedly to come back, Mike had never voiced the same invitation. Until now.
“Unless you have plans with Kelly.”
I quickly weighed my options. A warm and delicious dinner with good company at Ginny’s or leftover Chinese here alone – again. It really wasn’t a hard choice.
“No. Neil and I… but…” I fumbled over my words, unsure of how much I should tell him, so I changed the subject instead. “Can you give me five minutes to change?”
Mike nodded, grinning, and I ran into my room to change.
The meal was, as always, scrumptious. I laughed the afternoon away, enjoying the familiar company, forgetting that it had been years since we’d all spent time together. It was almost nine before I stood to leave, hugging Ginny. I argued when she suggested Mike walk me home, but they ganged up on me, so I smiled and waited for him to say his goodbyes, and then I let him follow me out.
I wasn’t really surprised that my mom’s car wasn’t in the driveway, but I was disappointed just the same. Since Neil couldn’t talk on the phone, I was all on my own. Mike, seeing that no one was home, insisted on coming in. I really didn’t want to be alone so I didn’t fight him.
He kicked his shoes off next to the door, like my mom used to make us do when we were younger, and headed straight for my fridge. I fell into the chair sideways, watching as he pulled out a bottle of water and chugged half of it down. When he wiped his mouth with the back of his arm, and then smiled over at me with his goofy grin, I couldn’t help but smile back. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have sworn it was 1994 all over again and that we hadn’t actually missed any time together.
“Go ahead, make yourself at home,” I deadpanned.
“Don’t worry, I will.” He came into the living room and sat on the rug in front of my chair, facing away from me, just like he always did, leaning back a little. One big difference between this Mike and his eleven-year-old self was that his legs were a lot longer and he looked horrifically uncomfortable on the floor. It was weird how normal this felt after all the time apart and I was seconds away from reaching down and ruffling his hair like I used to. “God, this place looks exactly the same.”
I looked around the room, trying to remember if it really hadn’t changed. “You think so?”
He didn’t answer but instead, leaned forward, twisting around to look at me. “So, I have a confession.”
When he didn’t say anything else, I pushed myself up into a sitting position and tried to force the nerves away. I had no idea what was coming, but by the worried look on his face, it couldn’t be good.
After what felt like forever, he met my eyes and sighed. “I asked my gram if you could come over today.”
I arched an eyebrow.
“I know Kelly’s grounded – his mom is friends with mine and she called earlier today to see if he’d spent the night with me. I
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