by Cece Peters
“Nothing. That’s nothing,” I snapped at him as I snatched the envelope out of his hand. “It was just a going-away card I bought you. But I ended up giving you a different one, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember. But…well, can I see that one?” Matty asked as he reached out his hand. “It is addressed to me, after all,” he said with a smile, clearly thinking I was just joking around.
I turned away and stuffed the envelope back into the bottom of the shoebox before quickly scooping up the rest of the notes from the floor and putting the lid back on. I pushed the box towards the wall so that my body was blocking it from Matthew’s reach. “Matty, I’m asking you to drop it, okay?” And with that, I turned around and gave him a pleading look. “Please?”
Matty was clearly taken aback, but relented as he could see the seriousness in my face. If I were him, I would have been dying to open the letter, too. But I just could not bear for him to read it. Not now. Not ever.
“It’s okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said, sincerely. “Hey, let’s just forget it, all right? Besides, I’m getting hungry; aren’t you going to feed me?”
And with that, we both stood up and headed back downstairs to rummage through the leftovers in my fridge. I was still pretty full from lunch, so Matty finished the other half of my sandwich and I told him to help himself to the snacks in the pantry. The letter was quickly forgotten about as we fell back into catching up. I fed the dogs while Matty did up all the dishes we had used that day. As he was finishing drying the last of the glasses, his cell phone buzzed.
“Oh, that’s work,” he said, pulling his phone out of his back pocket. “I have it on a special ring tone so that I know when it’s them. Please excuse me a sec,” he said before answering his cell. “Matthew Boyd. Yes. Uh-uh, okay, I got it. Yeah, I will be there first thing in the morning. I’ll take a ride share there, but I would like to pick up a rental in the city. Can you arrange for one to be delivered to Miller Sports Foundation in Lincoln? I’ll text you the model I’m thinking of. Great, thanks, Suzanne. I’ll talk to you tomorrow after the meeting. Bye.”
“Ugh, I totally forgot I had to work while I was here,” Matthew sighed. “Fortunately, my assistant, Suzanne, keeps me on track. I hate meetings, especially ones where I have to schmooze. Tomorrow is all about kissing butt!”
“Well, glad that’s your job and not mine as I don’t possess very strong butt kissing skills,” I said with a laugh. “Hey, I know you have an early morning tomorrow, so how about I take you back to your hotel?”
“I really hate to leave, but I guess you’re right,” Matty said as he finished tidying up the kitchen. I was impressed; he had matured, after all. I wouldn’t need to get out my hand-held vacuum to clean up after him.
“So,” Matty said as we headed towards the front door, his hands full of the pictures I’d given him, “my meeting will last into the afternoon tomorrow. Could I take you to dinner tomorrow night? As you heard, I am getting a rental car. I’d love to take you out someplace really nice, Leah.”
“Oh, nice dinner? I’ll take it!” I said, smiling. I pulled out an empty manilla folder from my briefcase, which was by the door, so that Matty could put his pictures into it.
“Don’t give me any recommendations,” he said. “I’m going to figure out the details myself. I want to surprise you, show you that thirty-two-year-old Matthew can plan events better than sixteen-year-old Matty could.”
“Well, Lakeview isn’t too big, so it shouldn’t be much of a challenge,” I said with a reassuring smile. “Whatever you come up with will be fine by me. I’ll take any opportunity not to cook.”
We headed out to my car and got in, continuing to chat on the drive back to The Roosevelt. Soon enough we were pulling into the parking lot. Matty promised to text me when he was done with his meeting tomorrow to give me the time he would be picking me up at. “I’ll probably get to your place around six, but I’ll let you know for sure, okay? I want to give you plenty of time to get all dolled up for me.”
I burst out laughing. “Dolled up for you? Are you serious? I’m tempted to just wear jeans and a tank top now.”
“No, I am very serious, Leah,” Matty said with a deadpan look on his face. “I’m going to take you to the nicest place I can find. Make it a proper date.” At the mention of “date,” my heart sped up. Were we really going on a date-date? Not a “let’s catch up as friends dinner” …. but a real date?
“Well, you’re the boss of the evening, so I’m at the mercy of your direction,” I said. “I’ll prepare myself to be properly “dolled up” for you tomorrow evening.” Matty and I looked at each other, and he suddenly leaned forward and kissed me square on the mouth, just as he did the first time we kissed as sixth graders. We were a little more experienced now, though, so we avoided the loud smacking noise that had ended our first kiss.
“I can’t wait for our date, Leah. Sleep tight,” Matty said with a wink before getting out of the car and heading into the hotel lobby.
I sat for a few moments, stunned. Did that just happen? Was this all really happening? Was I not only back in touch with Matthew Boyd, but was he also showing a romantic interest in me? Did he really want me to get dolled up just for him? Were we going on a real, legitimate DATE?! Did he seriously just KISS ME ON THE MOUTH?!?
As I had been the previous evening when I got home from the reunion, I was again so wound up when I got back home that there was no way I could sleep; so I tried to distract myself by doing some work as I still needed to finish grading the essays my students had turned in the previous week. I had until the next afternoon to get them done, but I wanted to get as many completed before finishing the rest the next morning.
With my dogs snuggled at my feet and a sitcom rerun on low in the background, I managed to get through all but five essays before I finally felt drowsiness settle in. I packed up my briefcase for the following day and placed it back in its usual spot by the front door before taking the dogs out to run in the yard one final time. I then gave them fresh water and readied their breakfast bowls for the morning.
Finally, I headed upstairs to shower and get ready for bed. Coming out of the bathroom, I saw that the box of mementos that Matty and I had been looking through was still on my bed. Turning on the light on my nightstand, I went over to pick up the shoebox full of notes from the floor and placed it back in the bottom of the larger box. I then piled the rest of the contents on top, once again concealing the shoebox.
However, rather than put the box back in my closet, I instead took a stack of pictures out. I set the box on the floor, snuggled into bed, and started flipping through the photos.
Matty and me at my house, sitting next to each other on the sofa in front of the television. Matty and me at school, standing next to one another at the stadium, me in my cheerleading outfit and him in his football uniform. Matty and me at the country club, smiling at the camera from the pool. Matty and me out with friends, leaning against his car in the parking lot of the mall. And Matty and me getting ready to leave for a dance, him sliding my corsage on to my wrist. In every single picture, both of us were close together with big smiles on our faces. There were even a couple pictures of us hugging and looking at the camera, our cheeks pressed together and with cheesy grins on our faces.
Even though we were both now adults and had aged in the previous sixteen years, I noted that the way we smiled was still the same today as it was in those pictures. Matty wasn’t as lanky as he used to be, of course; and he wore his hair shorter than he once had. I had slimmed out a bit and had learned to better manage my frizzy mop. But the essence of each of us that I saw in the photos was the same. I was finally letting myself believe that Matty was back in my life; and not just back, but still essentially the same person I had said goodbye to all those years ago. I finally drifted to sleep with the stack of photos sprawled out next to me in bed.
I ended up sleeping in the next morning and didn’t get to campus until around Noon. I
’d quickly eaten a yogurt and some fruit before leaving the house; my stomach was doing somersaults in anticipation of my date with Matthew that evening, and I was too nervous to eat much.
My office was on the fifth and top floor of the English department building; it was pretty small but at least had a good-sized window, giving me a view of the campus below. After breezing through the final five essays that I needed to grade, which I would be handing back to my students in my one-twenty class, I was still left with an hour to kill.
I was completely preoccupied with thoughts of Matty and what the evening would bring. I knew what I wanted to happen that night, but I kept telling myself to not get my hopes up. I had gotten buffed and polished from head to toe before the reunion; so, my manicure, pedicure and hair removal were all still intact. And I had plenty of cocktail-style dresses and shoes to choose from at home, so there was no need to go shopping. I looked at the clock and wished I could will it to speed ahead to two-twenty, when my class would let out and I could head back to my house to start getting “dolled up” for Matty.
I started wandering around my office and tidying up a bit, just to keep myself busy. Suddenly there was a knock on my door. “Come in,” I called out, as I shoved a pile of old papers into the trash.
“Well, hello Professor Andrews! Just thought I’d pop in to say ‘Hi’!” I turned around to see Douglas Jeffries smiling face.
“Doug!” I exclaimed with a smile. “How are you? Come on it? I haven’t seen you since the end of last semester.” I sat back down at my desk and gestured to the seat across from me.
Doug entered my office, closed the door behind him, and sat down. “I know, I went back home to visit family for a few weeks; it’s the longest vacation I’ve had in quite some time. I just got back. And none too soon as I have a pile of curriculum to sort through for my Introduction to Science Fiction course. Even though it doesn’t start for another two months.”
“I have to admit that science fiction isn’t exactly my thing,” I said making a cringy face, “but it was highly requested from the students. I think it will be a good addition to our offerings. And if it goes well, it could also mean you’ll get to teach science fiction writing.”
“Oh no,” Doug replied, shaking his head. “Not sure I’d be much good at teaching writing. I think I’m best at analyzing someone else’s work. Writing is your department; you are an amazing writer.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. You did great filling in for Mary in her Introduction to Creative Writing course last year when she was on maternity leave. You know more about writing than you give yourself credit for.” I gave Doug a genuine smile while absentmindedly shuffling a few papers around on my desk. I had managed to fill up my garbage can and rearrange one section of a bookshelf. I was done with trying to distract myself by tiding up. I was happy to chat with Doug to help pass the time.
Doug looked like a stereotypical English professor. He was tall and lanky, with hair that always needed a trim and wire rimmed glasses that he was constantly having to push back up on his nose. His standard uniform was a pair of dark jeans, white button-down shirt, solid dark color tie, and corduroy jacket with elbow patches, no less. While his appearance was a bit nerdy, he was smart and sweet, and was quite funny when you got to know him. I had tried setting him up with Krista, but after two dates, she said it wasn’t going to happen. “I think he’s more interested in you than me,” Krista had told me afterwards. “He talked about you non-stop both times we went out.”
“I’m sure it was just nerves,” I insisted. “He’s very shy when you first meet him. He was probably struggling to come up with something to talk about and knew I was at least a common denominator between the two of you.”
“Well, I tried bringing up all sorts of topics: movies, music, books, travel, food,” Krista said with a smirk, “but all of his answers revolved around you. ‘Leah introduced me to this artist and this author and this food’ and on and on and on. He seemed a bit obsessed with you, to be honest.”
“Oh, give me a break! We have worked together for over two years now. He’s never once hit on me or shown any interest other than that of a co-worker.” But Krista insisted several times over the following week that she was not interested in Doug; and he never called her to try for a third date, so apparently the feeling was mutual. And despite what I had told Krista, I had honestly sensed that Doug may have had a bit of crush on me. However, since he never acted on it, I felt it was harmless. And I honestly had no interest in him, only seeing him as a friend and colleague. Setting him up with Krista was also a way for me to attempt to divert his focus on to someone else.
Turning my attention back to the present, I asked Doug how his visit home had been. “Oh, it was good. I went to a family reunion and hung out with my parents and brothers. I basically just relaxed,” Doug said with a smile. “What have you been up to? How was the big ol’ college reunion?”
“It was good,” I said with a hesitation. I did not want to spill all the details of my reunion with Matty; I was still getting over the shock of him being back in my life. And I also did not know what lay ahead for us. I really wanted to keep it all to myself for the time being.
“You know how reunions are; lots of drinking and schmoozing!” I turned the conversation back to him, asking him a question about our upcoming department meeting the next day. I was always amazed at how many students crammed in extra courses during the summer; I would have loved to have the three months off.
Doug and I continued chatting for a bit, but a glance at the clock made me realize that my class was about to start. “I had better get going, Doug; my students await. I’ll see you at tomorrow’s meeting.” I stood up and started gathering my papers.
“Wanna grab a cup of coffee after your class?” Doug asked with a hopeful smile on his face.
“Actually, I have to head home right after my class gets out. I have plans for tonight,” I said, praying I could leave it at that.
“Whoa, you got a hot date this evening?” Doug asked with a smile still on his face, but I thought it seemed a bit strained. So much for trying to keep things to myself
“Um,” I hesitated, not wanting to tell him. But then I decided that lying was silly; after all, I didn’t have anything to hide. “Actually, yes, I am meeting someone tonight.”
“Really?” Doug asked, the forced smile still on his lips but a noticeable shift in his eyes. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”
“Well, I haven’t been. It’s actually an old friend,” I finally admitted. “Crazy enough, he was at the reunion on Saturday. We were close as kids, and we’ve reconnected.” Still not wanting to admit that Doug might have feelings for me, I tried to ignore the look of disappointment on his face.
“We’re just catching up,” I added, wanting to, for Doug’s sake, downplay my reconnection with Matty. And that is all it was at that point; a reconnecting of two old friends. Who had kissed in the car the previous evening. And who had a date tonight.
“Well, that’s nice, Leah,” Doug said as he stood up. He paused before giving me a bright smile and heading towards the door. “I hope you have a great time. I look forward to hearing about it later.”
“Yes, thanks, Doug. You have a good night yourself, okay?” I asked with a bit of concern in my voice. I didn’t want to hurt Doug’s feelings, but I realized I likely just had. I was rarely the focus of anyone’s attention, so being in the position of having to let someone down was a new and uncomfortable feeling for me.
With a quick wave, Doug walked out of my office, shutting the door behind him. “Crap,” I said softly, dropping back down into my chair. I felt terrible thinking that I’d hurt Doug’s feelings. But I told myself that I was probably reading way more into his reaction than was there. I was reminded that he had acted the same way when we had to cut his Advanced German Literature class from the schedule last year due to lack of enrollment.
“Enough of that,” I said aloud to only myself. “Gotta get thi
s class over with so I can leave and get all dolled up.” I couldn’t help smiling every time I thought of Matthew saying that. And I had to admit that I was excited to get dressed up just for him, the same way I had once gotten ready for the school dances we had gone to together.
My hour-long class seemed to drag on endlessly. I handed the students back their essays and covered some bullet points of what everyone had done right along with a handful of things that most students needed to work on. Classes at Lakeview were small, with summer courses even more so; and they had a much more casual vibe to them. I couldn’t help glancing at the clock frequently as I awaited the moment when I’d be able to leave; I now remembered how it felt to be a student watching the hands of the clock tick slowly by, wishing class would be over.
I was so anxious to get home that once the time finally hit two-twenty, I abruptly stopped talking and practically yelled, “Class dismissed!” I grabbed my briefcase and left the room ahead of my students, which I never did; I always stayed back to answer questions or set up one-on-one meetings. But today I was not going to risk being delayed; I wanted to get back home and start getting ready to see Mathew.
I had just made it to my car and was about ready to start the engine when my cell phone rang. “LEE-AH” Matty said in his sing-song voice. “Whatcha doing?”
“Just finishing up my homework,” I replied jokingly, letting him know that I recognized his familiar greeting from our childhood. I also realized that this was the first time I’d ever spoken to Matty on the phone since as kids he’d never called. “Are you coming over tonight? I’ll leave my bedroom window open for you,” suddenly regretting that last part as it sounded way too forward.
Matty laughed on the other side of the line. “Well, of course I am coming over tonight. Don’t I always? But I think tonight I will try something different, like coming to your front door.”
