Like you could make it through my muscle.
I wouldn’t know.
Sure you wouldn’t.
If you refer to your body one more time, I’m jumping up and screaming fire.
You wouldn’t.
Don’t tempt me.
I think I already am.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhh
Wow…a woman of many words.
You don’t want to know the words I’m thinking right now, Mr. Fireman. Why are you even sitting here?
I didn’t want to cause a scene by walking past you and having you trip me.
Oh, so you’re aware of how I feel about you?
Yes, uncomfortably aware.
What is that supposed to mean?
Has anyone ever told you that you hold a lot of rage for such a small person? What are you, five-two?
Five-three, and yes the extra inch does matter. I do not have rage, and if I’m angry toward someone, they obviously did something to frustrate me in the first place.
What? Breathe?
Close.
Whatever. You have issues. Stick with decaf, panda.
WHO TOLD YOU TO CALL ME PANDA?
Are you yelling with your pencil now?
WHO!
Kristin, of course.
…………
What, no response?
NO, I just have nothing good to say. Don’t call me that, ever. I would never tell her, but I don’t like being referred to as a panda. They’re fat and lazy.
You’re anything but that.
Gee thanks. I want my life back.
What?
You read me. I want my life back. My life before you started ruining it and being all Decemberish and swooping in punching things and running next to me and, you get the picture. I want it back. I’m taking it back. I’m ignoring you from now on!
Ok.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
I thought you were ignoring me.
I break the pencil in half and put it into his warm and surprisingly large hands. This guy is big. Not only is his height impressive, but the size of his shoulders and hands dwarf me. It’s quite intimidating, and attractive. At present, I don’t appreciate feeling either emotion.
“Everyone stand for the benediction.”
I can feel the heat of his body and lean closer just in time to see him wink at me. So I look away as if I touched a hot oven and scowl. He must think he’s so great, that all girls fall at his feet. Well, I’m not one of them. Being a successful Visual Merchandiser at Macy's is great for my confidence level. Kristin is the HR director and ended up hiring me to style the clothes. I also do other stores on the side. I don’t need his approval or anyone else’s. Nice pep talk, I feel better already. Those are always the best.
Looking around, I notice, to Preston’s amusement, that I’m the only one left standing. The private pep talk had gone on too long. I sit down then yelp as the pencil I had broken earlier is pointed directly up onto my leg. The jerk! I’ve never thought of physically hurting a person more in my life than in the past twenty-four hours that I’ve known Preston. Correction, the new and improved Preston.
As if it wasn’t bad enough, now I have little youth group girls turning around and giggling in our direction. Please take him! True entertainment would be to see him fight off a whole bunch of hormonal sixteen year olds. Oh shoot, did I actually say something about the calendar to him? I hope I didn’t. I wouldn’t want him thinking...
Church ended and I must admit it was the longest service I can remember. Kristin had to get the boys and Brad then she would meet me at the little café in church for bible study.
Running past Preston without saying goodbye, I find a seat in the café. Decaf isn’t an option, so I get a double caramel Macchiato. Note writing, and all around immaturity, can be draining, plus the cinnamon rolls look good. Grabbing my latte and roll, I scan the room for a seat and spot Brad and Kristin.
“Hey!” they shout, a little loud for being so close.
I still have food in my mouth so I wave then open my mouth for the boys to see chewed food. They laugh. Then I hear another type of laughter. Man laughter, or let’s just call it maughter.
My nemesis. Is he stalking me? And why am I kind of flattered? Mutinous emotions, I press the disturbing thoughts from my mind and try to behave maturely for a change.
“Amanda, you’ve met Preston, right?” Brad pushes him forward, obviously not reading my body language of “hate” well enough to understand that yes, I did, indeed, know Preston.
Preston is the first to interrupt the awkward silence. “I actually knew Amanda in high school. Isn’t that right, Amanda?”
The cinnamon roll is like glue to my tongue, so I nod my head and smile with my mouth closed.
Brad laughs. “Well isn’t that something? Wow, did you guys ever date or anything?”
And that’s when the food flew out of my mouth onto Brad’s nice Armani shirt. I gasp and quickly grab napkins, while Brad keeps telling me not to worry and to “remember, I do have two kids under the age of three”. But still, I feel awful. Well, that and just angry that Preston seems to be enjoying himself so much at my expense.
“So,” Brad says as he puts the napkin down. “I guess that’s a touchy subject, I’m just glad you guys know each other so well, especially for what I have to tell you next.”
I look at them with genuine happiness that maybe Kristin is pregnant again. Maybe they want me to babysit. Oh no, no babysitting! In anticipation, I look between the two of them waiting for their secret to be revealed.
Preston looks equally pleased and sticks his tongue out at me while we wait. I stick mine out, too, then am ratted out by one of Kristin’s kids, the little traitor. Preston laughs lifting his hand in a thumbs-up sign as if to say, “good job getting caught by a three year old, genius”. The temptation to slap the smile off his face nearly overwhelms me.
“We won a trip to Hawaii!” Kristin squeals with delight as Brad kisses her on the mouth.
I couldn’t be more thrilled, except what does it have to do with me and Preston? No! They are going to ask us to babysit! Kristin knows how I feel about babysitting. I saw a shrink for two weeks after that incident. Oh no, then the thought occurs. I’m going to be an awful mother, and this solidifies that statement. I’ll be stuck with them for a week, and then I’ll rule out children forever. But I want kids. Life is so unfair.
Preston gives Brad a high five. Since when did they become best friends
“I’m so happy for you guys. How great is that?”
“Sorry to interrupt, but Brad, how do you and Preston even know each other?”
Preston blushes for the first time I can remember, rendering me, yet again, speechless and confused.
Brad answers, noticing Preston’s sudden embarrassment “Well, the church has a series of meetings and counseling that each new member has to go through. It’s all kept private, so I couldn’t share it with Kristin. Preston was paired with me, and we hit it off. It might sound weird and maybe too feminine, but I’m glad to have a good guy friend.”
“Aw shucks, mate.” Preston replies, punching him playfully in the arm.
This is too much to swallow. I cannot handle them being best friends. Kristin is going to have to fix this. I look at her sternly and communicate with my eyes, via giving her the stare of death, “Fix this now!” And I think she heard me, because she nods her head and leans in as if to say something to the entire group.
“The reason we wanted to tell you both together is because we actually won two extra tickets.” She looks between us and winks. “Brad and I thought it would be fun to take two of our closest friends. Isn’t that great? Can you believe it? A free trip to Hawaii over Thanksgiving break! We leave the day after, on black Friday.”
Air. I need air. Where is air? Is it hot in here? Why am I seeing black spots? I blink my eyes several times before the rest of the room regains its natural state.
“Swell.” Sorry but that’s all I have in my repertoire of words to say at the moment. That, and a word that shouldn’t be repeated at church, which happens to start with the same letter.
“Guys, that is so generous of you, really.” Preston gives Brad a high five and Kristin a hug. “But who’s going to watch the kids while you’re gone?”
“Oh, Brad’s parents said they would love to! It’s all working out so perfectly!” Kristin beams.
“Isn’t it though?” I say through clenched teeth. “So, I guess we don’t have much time to prepare. Isn’t Thanksgiving next week?” I ask.
“Yes, we would’ve told you guys sooner, but we just found out this morning. We entered one of those trip sweepstakes you get in the mail never thinking we’d actually win. But, surprise!” Kristin laughs again and throws her hands up in the air in a “surprised” manner.
Looking at Preston, I issue a challenge. There is no way I’ll allow him to ruin a fantastic vacation. He’s staying home. What’s ironic is, he understands my unspoken challenge and grins. What I need is a game plan to get Mr. December to back out. Then I’ll have the most perfect vacation of all. Insert menacing laugh here.
Preston meets my challenge with one of his own. His cocky face turns defiant. He bites his lip and nods his head as if trying to communicate, “It’s on”. He doesn’t want me joining the trip either. Well you know what, Mr. I-can-have-any-girl-I-want? I’ll destroy you from the inside out.
My eyes squint harder and harder until Kristin has to clap her hands in front of me to break the trance. Of course, I jump and spill my latte. As I got up to leave, I saw Preston pointing both fingers from his eyes to mine as if to say, “I’m watching you”. If that’s not creepy, nothing is. All I need to do is get through work this week. Then, before Friday, I’ll plead my case to Preston, making him feel the need to stay home while I go vacation in Aloha land.
Chapter Four
I skipped Bible Study. It was wrong and I will accept punishment later. I had to escape, to get away and think, or more accurate, I left so I could plot. Preston does bring out the worst. However, I don’t seem to bring out the worst in him. Wondering why, I begin to think of ways to make this vacation fireman-less.
What I need is to go for a run, but I feel guilty leaving Mrs. Butterworth at home by herself. She gets lonely and cranky, then she isn’t the best guard cat. Therefore, I try to spoil her to keep her on her best behavior. My plan is this: go home, have a relaxing afternoon with my cat, feed her some tuna, then watch a movie. I feel better. The tightness in my chest has subsided, and I finally feel like I can breathe again.
I get home, put on my sweats, and wrap a sweater around Mrs. Butterworth. Her exposed skin leaves her quite cold during the wintertime. Most people wonder what I’m doing with a hairless cat, but the answer is simple. I have allergies so she was the only option. Once you get to know her, the whole hairless aspect fades into the background. Since she can’t stay warm by herself, she cuddles often and has a jet engine purr that sooths my racked nerves. She was actually a gift from my parents when I graduated college. Some kids get cars, others get cool trips or watches. I, however, got a cat. Perhaps it was some sort of hidden message of “well she’s never going to find anyone so we might as well get her a companion”. In which case, it would have been terribly depressing, but I like to think my parents just wanted me to not be so lonely. However, the prospect that my parents might have thought it about me makes me want to defend myself. I’ve been on plenty of dates. Just to prove it, I decide to pull out my journal and write out all the names of my past boyfriends.