A Relationship...Or Something Like It

by Greene, Caroline

  Then something even better happens. Megan comes over to my desk and says,

  “Guess who I ran into at lunch! Stuart Goldstone, Ben’s brother. I told him I was glad that they both could come to my party and mentioned that you were interested in Ben. I am sure the information will get passed on to him.”

  I think of the message I just left. If Ben does not call after that, then I will know there is no hope.

  There is still no call from Ben. I end up going to the birthday party with Marcus, and I get to know more of his friends and learn how he fits into their dynamic. He is very close to Todd’s son who is 6 and Todd’s identical 3-year-old twin daughters who all call him Uncle Marcus. I enjoy watching him interact with them, and I know he will be just as good with his own kids someday.

  I get home from the party and am reading, winding down to go to sleep and get ready for work the next day. Dad is on the phone talking to a business associate. After a while, he knocks on the door to my room.

  “Ben called while I was on the phone. Here is his number.”

  I grin and can’t help but say,

  “Yessss!”

  Dad just laughs at me. I dial Ben’s number, and we agree to meet for brunch the following Saturday. Marcus is on the call waiting just as I am hanging up with Ben, and he invites me to dinner Saturday night. Mom hears both exchanges and wonders aloud,

  “I don’t know if this is a good thing for you to do. What if you run into somebody Marcus knows, and this gets back to him?”

  I sigh with impatience.

  “Marcus and I never said that we couldn’t date other people. Plus, he knows I have friends who are guys.”

  I am excited for brunch, and nobody is going to put a damper on my mood.

  At work, I decide not to tell Megan about my plans with Ben and as she is in the Marcus camp, I want to see how brunch goes before making any announcements. She even remarks,

  “It’s too bad you didn’t bring Marcus to my birthday party. It would have been fun.”

  ‘Yes,’ I think. ‘But then I wouldn’t have been able to flirt with Ben, my inspiration for throwing the party in the first place.’

  The morning of the brunch finally arrives. I take a shower and subdue my hair into soft curls by setting it with hot rollers. I get dressed in a new outfit I had found on sale earlier this week and apply my make-up. We had agreed to go to an early lunch at a Chinese place he likes and instead of picking me up, he asks me to drive there and meet him. I am a little bewildered by that and then I think that he probably does not want any awkward moments with his leg. I think of my dad’s references to “the cripple” and mom’s negativity and worry over my upsetting Marcus and decide that it is for the best that he is not meeting my parents yet. He is already seated at a table when I walk into the restaurant. We have a pleasant meal and talk about our jobs. I tell him about growing up with a younger brother, and he tells lots of stories about growing up in the middle of five brothers.

  The waiter comes by with the bill all too quickly. He looks at it, does some math in his head, then turns to me.

  “You pay the tip.”

  In that moment, I gain a lot of clarity. Why do I want to spend my time with someone who does not even like me enough to make the extra effort to call me, pick me up at my house, or treat me to a meal? I decide that I deserve to be treated better than an afterthought, the way almost every guy, including and especially Kyle, ever has treated me. The only one who treats me like I am somebody special, I realize, is Marcus and all of a sudden I am very much looking forward to our dinner plans that night. I look over at Ben as we are walking to our cars.

  “Thank you,” I say politely and give him a quick hug.

  That night at dinner when Marcus tells me he loves me, I tell him I love him, too. He cooks me steak, a Cesar salad, a baked potato, crescent rolls, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. The mood is romantic as he has gone all out lighting candles and playing soft music. We go over to the couch where I let him go further with me than I have ever let anyone. I stroke his penis until he is breathless with excitement, and I have my first experience with oral sex. I know that eventually I will lose my virginity to him and if what I feel was not as obvious as the passion I had for Kyle, it is more secure, and I am confident that Marcus loves me and sees me in his future. ‘That is enough,’ I tell myself. It is nice to belong to each other, to not have to worry about blind dates and making a good impression, and I am content with what we have and our potential.

  Naturally, when I get the invitation for Diana and Colin’s wedding and it says “Abigail Wiseman and Guest,” I know that Marcus will be my plus one. I had told Diana all about him, and she is eager to meet him. He has already shared me with his family and closest friends, and it is time for me to do the same.

  The doorbell rings, and I walk downstairs.

  “Wow,” Marcus exclaims. “You look pretty!”

  I smile at him.

  “So, are you ready to do this? These are my closest friends who have known me the longest and have seen me at my best and my worst.”

  Marcus chuckles.

  “Yes, I cannot wait to be put on display.”

  We drive to the hall where the wedding is being held in comfortable silence, holding hands. He turns and looks at me.

  “So, hypothetically, who would you think you’d want in your wedding party?”

  I am content knowing that I finally made the right choice for myself and am planning a future with someone who has a common vision. He parks the car and gives me a gentle kiss, so as to not mess up my make-up.

  “Let’s go,” he says, and I follow him inside where my friends will become his friends as we start on combining and sharing our lives together.

  Epilogue

  Michigan, 2011

  My 8-year-old daughter Sydney and I are representing our family at the baby naming of Jennifer Katz’s second child. Marcus bowed out because he needed a day to catch up on paperwork for his job, Ross is simply not interested, and my parents are on a second honeymoon cruise. Marcus and I have seen both good times and bad times in the almost 13 years we have been married and in the almost 15 we have been together. My beloved grandma Fanny lost her battle with emphysema, and it was hard to watch her struggle in her last year as she died a slow, painful, ugly death. I got pregnant with our daughter Sydney Frances Horowitz one year later. In the Jewish tradition of using the first initials of loved ones who have passed, the first name was reserved for Marcus’s father Samuel who died long before we met, so I took the middle name for my beloved grandma who will always hold a special place in my heart. In that year, Sherman Katz, a close family friend who had been diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia the year before, was declining rapidly.

  In her grief, Jennifer rushed to marry her current boyfriend who she had only known a few months so she could have her father walk her down the aisle. She found out within a month that he was only after her family money. Jennifer came home from her job as a Social Worker early one day to find him in bed with another woman, and she divorced him immediately. One month later, Sherman died in his sleep.

  Grief stricken and heartbroken, Jennifer decided to use her Social Worker skills to join the Peace Corps to make a difference in an underdeveloped nation. While in the Peace Corps, she had a one night stand with another volunteer who turned out was married and did not want to get involved. A few weeks later, she discovered she was pregnant with her son Simon and decided to move to Arizona where Ruth had decided to retire. Ruth was more than happy to help Jennifer raise her son as well as Kevin, her younger brother, who fell in love with the climate and found a job there shortly thereafter.

  Due to email and the creation of Facebook, lines of long distance communication were made easier, and Jennifer and I got closer and rediscovered our childhood friendship. Simon’s and Sydney’s due dates were six weeks apart, and we emailed back and forth exchanging pregnancy stories, sharing ultrasound results, childbirth class experiences, etc. It was
exciting to share and experience this special time with an old friend who was going through the same thing. Jennifer delivered two weeks late, and I delivered four weeks early so as a result, Simon and Sydney were only six days apart. Jennifer and I continued to bond as we chatted online during sleepless nights and discussed issues concerning every new parent such as sleeping schedules, feeding methods, and developmental milestones.

  Jennifer went back to Social Work for the county when Simon was six weeks old, and Ruth agreed to babysit while she was working. There was one case in particular that touched her heart. A baby was born to a drug-addicted mother, and it was unknown whether or not the girl would have all of her cognitive abilities; thus, she was considered unadoptable and was going to be put in the foster care system. Instead, Jennifer adopted baby Klara as she did not want Simon growing up without siblings. Klara is six-months-old now, and she smiles a lot at her mother and her grandmother and seems to be thriving. Jennifer decided that she was strong enough to make the trip to her rabbi in Michigan, where Klara went through a Jewish conversion ceremony, and her Hebrew name was announced in synagogue. She is a beautiful baby with coffee-colored skin and dark brown eyes.

  That is why Sydney and I are here today. We attended the ceremony and now we are going to have a luncheon at a buffet restaurant that is a sentimental favorite with its antique décor and old train set that has tracks on top of the ceiling. Sydney and Simon hit it off right away, happy to have found someone close in age at this party with mostly boring adults. They sit together and talk at a table reserved for the kids, and I sit down to talk to Jennifer and Ruth. A woman walks in late and breathless.

  “I completely forgot the time, but I am here now!”

  She rushes over to Jennifer and kisses her on the cheek and does the same to Ruth. It is Elizabeth, Kyle’s sister-in-law. I knew that she was planning on coming as I had read her message stating so on Jennifer’s Facebook wall. When she sits across from me, I get a sinking feeling, and I hope that she does not remember me. I distract myself by getting involved in a conversation with Gloria, a close friend of my parents who is sitting next to me. I chatter nervously with her about the upcoming holiday season and the sad fact that this popular restaurant where we are eating is going to be closing after the first of the year. Elizabeth interrupts.

  “This place is closing?”

  We confirm that this is the last season for this restaurant. She looks at me.

  “I am Elizabeth Buchman. I don’t think we have met.”

  She offers me her hand, and I shake it. She does not know who I am at all. Kyle and I can truthfully be summed up in his mind and those who are important to him as, “We didn’t have a relationship. We only went out on a few dates.” I certainly do not remember every woman that Ross has dated casually over several years.

  “I am Abigail, Abigail Horowitz.”

  I emphasize my last name, reminding myself of who I am now. I explain that I am an old family friend but something in me decides to say to Elizabeth,

  “We have met before, but it has been almost 20 years ago.”

  She looks at me curiously.

  “I thought you looked familiar.”

  I decide to get bold, knowing what I say will most likely be mentioned to Kyle later on.

  “I worked with your brother-in-law a long time ago. There is actually a funny story behind that.”

  The group is looking at me curiously, and Ruth is looking downright amused remembering everything that happened and is waiting eagerly about what I will say next.

  “Kyle and I dated a few times. Nothing serious. It wasn’t like we had a relationship or anything, but everybody from family members, our co-workers, and even Kyle himself made such a big deal over our 13 year age difference.”

  Elizabeth looks at me and nods, remembering.

  “Well,” I continue. “I guess it wasn’t such a big deal after all. I am currently married to Marcus Horowitz, one of his classmates who, coincidentally, happens to be ONE day older than Kyle.”

  I finish off with a grin, and Ruth is looking very amused. I look at Elizabeth.

  “Tell Kyle that Abigail Wiseman Horowitz, as in the Marcus Horowitz he graduated with, says hello!”

  At the end of the party, I help Jennifer load the gifts she received for Klara into the trunk of her car. We stay outside for a moment and lean against her car as she smokes a cigarette. She looks at me.

  “I’m sorry that I distanced myself from you all those years ago. I had such an attitude back then. I am glad to have my friend back.”

  I am surprised as I always saw it as me being the one to distance myself from Jennifer and the rest of her family due to the awkwardness of the aftermath of Kyle. I give Jennifer a hug and tell her,

  “I always thought it was more my fault than yours. I am at least partly, if not more, responsible for the distance between us. I went through a lot of issues the summer I was 21, and I pushed a lot of people away.”

  She looks at me inquiringly, and I tell her,

  “Let’s plan a girls’ evening sometime where we’ll get drunk, and I’ll tell you everything.”

  She grins.

  “That would be great!”

  We go back to the party, and I am attempting to collect my child who, from too much sugar, is running around wildly with Simon.

  “Sydney Frances Horowitz, you come here right now!”

  She giggles at me and continues to ignore me. Jennifer remarks,

  “Just like my child. I guess she doesn’t listen either!”

  My phone buzzes, and it’s a text from Marcus. He was finished with his paperwork and is letting me know that Todd’s parents are hosting a get together at their house. I think about the 15 years I have had with Marcus. He is a good father, and there is no doubt he loves me. Sometimes I wish I had given in at 21 and had passionate sex before settling down to marriage. I was so young, and I shouldn’t have worried so much about the future. Our lives can be a little bit boring and routine at times, but I think that all long-term relationships get that way after a while. We get bogged down in the routine of work, juggling childcare, family time, and social events but you love each other and remain committed through all of life’s stress. I look over at Elizabeth, thinking of what she will say to Kyle when she talks to him and am happy to be in the circumstances that I am in.

  I text Marcus back, and we make plans. I am content with my life now. What I have with Marcus is enough, at least for today and in this moment. I grab Sydney by the hand, smile at everyone, including Elizabeth, and let them know it was nice talking to everyone. I strap Sydney in her booster seat and drive to meet Marcus and to live in the present.

  About the Author

  Caroline Greene is the married mother of two. Although she is an accomplished editor, this is her first experience with writing a book. She and her twin daughters, her husband James, and their dog Corky live happily in the country and like taking long walks, going fishing, and swimming in their backyard lake.

  To learn more about the author, visit her Amazon Author Page.

  One Last Thing...

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