by Gars Méchant
"Oh," she said. "Is it okay..."
"Sure. Of course. Make yourself at home," I said and gestured at the table in the dining nook.
I got her a glass of ice and poured her a cola as she sat down. I didn't say much except for "here you go" when I handed her the glass, and then I joined her at the table. After she had finished almost half of the glass, I asked, "So, were you going to the mall to think about that guy who dropped you off about an hour ago?"
She just looked at her glass, clouds crossing her face. I tried to lighten things up by saying, "You'll have to excuse me. The doctors tell me that I was born with a...a subtlety deficiency."
"Oh, that's okay. Yeah, it's about him."
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.
"Yeah. Yes, I do,” she said with resolve. “So, it's like this: Jason is, like, a friend of mine. He asked me out today to go on, well, a picnic with him."
"That sounds nice," I said.
"Yeah, he said it was a 'late birthday and graduation present for the baby of the group.'"
"Happy birthday. How old are you?"
"Nineteen," she said.
"Congratulations," I said. "Sounds like a nice birthday present."
"Well, kinda. It was okay, but he wanted to, you know, do it with me out there on the hill," she said.
"Oh. Ohhhh. That kind of birthday present. Okay. So, did he try to…force the issue?" I asked.
"No, he was okay about it. I told him no and he brought me back," she explained.
"Sounds like he was a gentleman about it," I added.
"Yeah." She was quiet for a bit, just drinking her soda. "Yeah, I guess."
"Is that the only reason you were so upset with him?"
"Isn't that enough?" she asked me.
"Yeah, I guess it is. You consider him just a friend?"
"Yeah."
"Do you know him from school?"
"Yeah, he hangs out with my group. He asked me out a few times, so I decided to give him a chance."
"Are you going to have any problems with your friends because of today?"
"No, I don't think anyone will care."
"Well, that's good. How are you doing in your classes?"
"Pretty well. I've got mostly, like, A's, and a couple of B's."
"That's really good," I said, impressed. "Where are you going to college?"
"Thanks! Just finishing up my G.E. at the community college," she replied, looking around. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen the inside of one of these apartments."
"It's actually a condo."
"What's that?"
"Like an apartment, but I own it. It's what I could afford. It's not one of the bigger units in the development. It's just two bedrooms, two levels."
"Oh," she said. "Our house has three bedrooms."
"You live across the street, outside this complex, right?"
"Yes. It's nice. We each get our own room. And it's close to my old school, so we just walked."
"We?"
"Yeah, my brother and me. He's starting high-school in the fall."
"You two get along?"
"Yeah, he's okay."
"I imagine having separate rooms helps."
She smiled. "It helps a lot!"
We were both quiet for a bit, then before I could suggest it was time to get back to my gardening, she broke the silence by asking, "So, what do you do?"
"Besides gardening?"
"Yes! Do you work?"
"Yes, I work swing-shift security at a company nearby."
"What's a 'swing-shift?'"
"Oh, it's a five-to-one-AM shift."
"That doesn't sound like much fun."
"Actually, it's really nice having days off. You can go shopping when the stores aren't crowded. You get to see the daylight. You can go hiking. It's pretty cool. And you get a higher pay for it."
"Really?"
"Yeah. People don't want to work those hours, so you can get another fifteen-percent on your check."
"Oh, that's pretty cool."
"It's how I bought this condo. I doubt I could have afforded it otherwise."
"Do you do anything else?"
"I love to cook."
"Like, what do you love to cook? Do you bake, or like, fix dinners?"
I thought about it for a second and said, "Heck, it's not too early for supper," and I washed up right then and pulled out some ingredients from the refrigerator. A light supper it would be. I grabbed a mix from the Pantry closet and fixed a crust. Then as the oven heated up, I thinly sliced whole-milk mozzarella and tomatoes and stripped the stems off of some basil leaves, layering them on the crust as Amber watched.
"You look like you know what you're doing," she said.
"Thanks, but wait until you try it."
I baked it for about fifteen minutes while she peppered me with questions about my cooking, then I took it out of the oven and let it cool for a bit before slicing it. I offered her the first slice.
"It's delicious!" she announced.
"Thanks! It's a Margarita pizza. It's simple, but quite good."
"It's great!"
"Secret is in the mozzarella. Always use a whole-milk, not part-skim, cheese."
We shared the pizza over talk.
"What are you doing over the summer?" I asked her after finishing a slice.
"I'm finishing up classes in English and Statistics at the college right now, and swimming there too. Then I'm free for the summer!"
"Not working?"
"No, my parents don't want me to work."
"That's interesting, many parents do want their college-age kids to work if they aren't in school," I said.
"Yeah, my parents are afraid that I'll just get stuck in the first job I take. And they want me free for our annual family vacation."
"Actually, that might be the wisest thing I've ever heard," I said. "You have very smart parents."
I could tell by the time we were finished eating that she was feeling better about the day. And even though I was behind on my gardening, so was I.
After we cleaned up the kitchen and talked over sodas for a while, I noticed the time. It was almost six. "Are your parents expecting you home soon? I've kept you here quite a while."
"Not really," she said before she noticed the time. "Wait, is it really that late?"
"Yep," I said.
"Wow, yeah, they might be worried that I wasn't home for dinner. You don't mind..."
"Of course not," I said. "Besides, I have to clean up the garden mess before it gets too dark out."
She headed for the door, and when she got there she looked back at me.
"You know, this was, like, really fun. Could I come back again?"
"Good Lord, of course you can! It was really nice having you over, and I am very glad I met you!" I told her.
"Thanks," she said. "You too!"
And with that, she left with a smile and wave, and I got ready to put away my gardening tools.
Chapter 2
School Work
The next morning I managed to get up earlier than I was used to. And, quite frankly, in a much better mood than I had in quite some time. It looked like I might just have a new friend; one from outside of work and that lived nearby. That she was an attractive young woman was simply icing on top.
Of course, I was sure that nothing was going to happen. I was a good five years older than she was. Even so, it was going to be fun to have her around.
When I was young, I had an adult friend who was a neighbor. He acted like a mentor to me. I learned a lot of good stuff about life from him, and I figured I could do the same for Amber. That was, if she ever came back. If she didn't, I wouldn't be any worse off than I had been before, which was actually pretty dark when I consider it, so I won't go there.
Right after a shower and quick breakfast, I got back into gardening. I had already removed all of the old flowers, and finishing prep work for the soil didn't take long, meaning I was ready to plant fairly quickly.
I was using sage as a border for my plot to add a bit of color to the darker rosemary, which I was using as a ground cover. Purple basil was going in the back to add highlights. Planting itself was taking a bit longer than I had expected, but I didn't care since I had nothing better to do, and I lost track of time working in the earth.
I worked for an hour setting the plants in place, digging holes, and placing the pots in the holes before finally deciding that I needed more sage and basil. I quickly headed over to the local nursery and bought varieties other than what I had already, and decided to throw in a couple of other plants, and when I got home, I set them up in patterns that looked decorative. I was almost finished planting when I heard Amber walk up behind me and say, "Hello, again!"
I turned around and saw her standing there, smiling wide. I was right; her mouth was meant for smiling.
"Well, hello!" I replied. "Nice to see you!"
"How's the garden coming along?" she asked.
"Not bad. I'm just a few minutes from finishing the planting, then it's time for a bit of cleanup."
"Mind if I hang around?"
"Not at all," I assured her.
She watched me quietly put the last couple of sage plants in the ground before asking me, "What did you plant?"
"Oh, it's an herb garden. I've got rosemary, sage, basil, thyme, and just a few strawberry plants. However, if anyone from the Home Owners Association asks, they're strictly ornamental."
"Why's that?"
"We're not allowed to grow fruit or vegetables, strictly speaking."
"That's weird," she remarked.
"I agree." I finished up the planting and watering, and she graciously helped me put away the gardening tools. Once we were done, I invited her back inside.
"You know, it was really nice having someone over for dinner," I told her in all honesty. "It's been a while since there's been a good conversation over a meal in this place."
"Thanks!" she said, smiling brightly. "It was nice to have someone new to talk to."
"Oh, I totally agree on that point!" I told her sincerely. "So, how is everything going today?"
"Church was fine, after that and lunch, I decided to come over here," she told me.
"So, you and your family are religious?" I asked.
"Well, at least for part of one day per week," she said sheepishly. "Well, maybe one day per month. At least six per year, including holidays!"
"Oh, so, kinda-sorta-barely-maybe?"
She laughed a confirmation. "We don't even really talk about it any other time."
"Just to make sure, I'm not keeping you from any important family time, am I?"
"Oh, no!"
"Good! Do you have anything going on tomorrow?"
"Just swimming during the day."
"Sounds like fun. Are you looking forward to it?"
"Well, maybe a bit less than normal," she confirmed with a frown.
"Is Justin going to be there?"
"Jason, but yeah."
"Don't worry about it. If you don't bring it up, he probably won't either. And it's nobody's business but yours."
"True," she said.
"What do you like to do outside of that?"
"Well, I spend a lot of time hanging out with my friends," she said.
"What do you do with them?"
"We talk. Kind of like this."
"That's cool. What else do you do?"
"I like to play with my cat," she confided. "She loves laser pointers!"
She told me all about her cat, her brother, her parents, and so on until I fixed us a quick dinner of orange chicken and rice, then it was time for her to head home again.
It almost seemed strange how natural it felt when she gave me a big, long hug before leaving.
"Thanks," she said, looking into my eyes as she continued to hold me.
"For what?" I asked her.
"Just for listening."
"That's easy enough to do," I admitted. "And you're welcome back any time."
"Good! Thank you! Hrrrgh!" she said, giving me a big squeeze before letting go and heading for the door.
I watched her leave, and she twirled and waved at me before dancing back to her house.
The next several days it rained, and I didn't see her again until Thursday. I was outside, admiring my new herb garden and making sure the soil was just wet enough for the plants when she came up behind me once again and said, "Well, hello!"
I turned around to see her smiling at me.
"Well, now how are you doing?"
"I'm fine," she replied.
"I haven't seen you in a couple of days," I said. "Is everything going okay?"
"Yeah, it's been good."
"I have an hour before I have to get ready to go to work, so why not come in and tell me about it," I offered.
"Is that why you weren't home yesterday when I came by?" she asked as she followed me in.
"What time did you come by?"
"About four-fifteen."
"Yeah, I leave just around four. Did I miss anything important?"
"Not really," she explained.
"How was Justin this week?" I asked.
"Jason. He was okay, mostly."
"'Mostly?'"
"Well, yeah."
"Did he mention the picnic?"
"Nope, not a word."
"So, then, why 'mostly?'"
"Well, he wasn't talking to me," she said.
"As in 'I'm not talking to you!'?"
"No, more like he's depressed."
"He got rejected by you. He'll get over it. Where did you see him, anyway, swimming?"
"He's in my English class."
"Wait a second. Did he know you were taking that class before the beginning of the quarter? Is he taking that to be near you?"
"He did miss Monday. Yeah, maybe."
"Hmm. So how is the class going?"
"Not bad. I did pretty well on the test on Tuesday. I have an essay due on Monday, though."
"Is that going to be difficult?" I asked her.
"Probably," she said. "It's a thousand-word essay for English."
"That was one of the few classes I did well in. What's it about?"
"Romeo and Juliet," she replied.
"Oh. That one. Did you do the reading?"
"Yes, but it's a bit confusing..."
"It really can be. I was pretty good with my essay about that one. What's confusing you?"
"Well, my essay is about the theme," she said. "But what is it?"
"Ohhh, that." I looked at the clock. "Oops, I have to get ready for work, or I won't make it on time, and the answer to your question is long. However, if you want to come back tomorrow I'm sure we can work on it together and finish your essay."
"That would be wonderful!" she exclaimed excitedly.
"Do you have classes tomorrow?" I asked her.
"No, all of my classes are Monday through Thursday."
"Perfect. I love college schedules."
We both got up from the table, and as I walked her to the door, I suggested, "Why don't you come by around noon. We'll have lunch and then work on your essay. If we can't complete it tomorrow afternoon, we can get it done Saturday or Sunday."
"That's perfect!" she said again. She threw her arms around my neck and hugged me hard, and much closer than she had the previous time. "Thanks so much for helping me!"
"Oh, uh, sure," I stammered as she disentangled herself from me and giggled her way out and dancing her way home again.
As I dressed for work, I couldn't help but think that I was missing something obvious, but I kept rejecting that thought. Amber was the neighbor girl, a friend of mine. What could I be missing? Nothing, right? So I dismissed the nagging thoughts.
I spent my shift doing my assigned rounds, thinking about Romeo and Juliet and what Amber and I could write about it. After work, I stayed awake a little longer than I normally do skimming the text. I ended up sleeping later than I wanted to and barely having enough time to get groceri
es for our dinner before she arrived.
She showed up just as I was unloading my car. She greeted me warmly and helped me carry the groceries inside and put them away before we sat at the dining nook table and spread out her notes.
She looked me in the eye, smiled, and asked, "So, what's the theme?"
"Here's the bad news," I told her. "This isn't one of the easy ones. There isn't one unifying theme to Romeo and Juliet. There's no 'good triumphs over evil,' there's no 'love conquers all,' none of that. It's simply a tragic story about two young kids who end up killing themselves over each other because of miscommunication and their parents hatred of each other's families."
"That's dumb."
"Well, yeah. That's why I don't like seeing this particular play taught in basic Literature classes. It's difficult, and it doesn't really teach you anything. I think they teach it because it's popular, and the main characters are about your age."
"So what do I write about?"
"Well, there are a bunch of possible themes you could write about. You might write about Romeo's impetuousness and how it started the whole mess."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, he had a crush on Roseline, which impetuously made him go to that party, even though she made it pretty clear she wasn't interested in him. There he meets Juliet, and he transfers all of his affections for Roseline to her. Then just a couple of days later, he impetuously and secretly marries Juliet, a thirteen-year-old girl. You just know there's something wrong about this guy.
"Or you could go with the generation gap theme."
"Which one?"
"Well, Montague and Capulet have this 'ancient grudge' going on, but it's not Romeo's or Juliet's. They're being told what to do by the older generation, and they break into youthful rebellion by getting secretly married."
"I like that one more," she said. "Let's go with that one."
We got to work, and after a couple of hours of talking through ideas, writing and editing, and finally paring it down to an acceptable length of about seven hundred words, we were done, with enough time for me to fix an early dinner.
Amber watched quietly as I chopped up the vegetables for my chicken-and-dumplings, mixing the dough for the dumplings, and after they were appropriately and thoroughly cooked, served the steaming stew into two bowls.
She could keep up her end of the conversation over dinner, but it seemed like she was very tired from all the thinking and writing. She needed some wind-down time.
