Chapter 4
Katy zipped back to her classroom after taking the children down to the cafeteria. She had extra time after grading last night, so she prepared her lunch – a sandwich, soup, and a little salad. She grabbed it out of the teacher’s lounge then returned to her desk and plopped down in the chair. Normally she might scroll through her social media or text back and forth with a friend, but today she wanted silence. The children had been a bit rambunctious for the morning. On top of that, word started to spread that the administration was making some changes that could lead to teacher layoffs. Katy wanted to read through some emails and see if she could get a better understanding of what she was hearing.
Katy got halfway through reading an email sent from the Department of Education downtown on budget issues when her phone rang. She groaned, telling herself that if it was Eve, she would just call her back this evening. It wound up being a name she didn’t expect to see on her caller ID: Brennon. Her heart started thumping out of her chest, but she didn’t know why. She had been thinking about him last night and when she would get brave enough to follow up with maybe going to lunch. Once the call got to the second ring, Katy answered quickly. “Hello? Hello?”
“Hello, Katy, this is Brennon. How are you? Did I catch you at a bad time? I thought I remembered you saying you took your lunch around this time, so I figured I would call you now.”
“No, you’re fine,” Katy said. “I’m doing well, I guess. And you?”
“Uh, oh,” Brennon said. “I can hear it in your voice.”
“Here it in my voice?” Katy asked. “I’m not getting sick.”
“No, that you’re worried about something,” Brennon said. “I can hear it in your voice. I used to be a teacher, you know, so I know that voice.”
Katy smiled then quickly explained in a rough version what was going on. “So, yeah, now I’m opening up emails to see if anything has been sent out about what I’m hearing.”
“Hmm, I see,” Brennon said. “Well, I don’t want to take up all of your lunch break or anything like that. I was just calling to see if maybe you would be free this evening, when you get off of work. If you’re not doing anything, I’ll be in the downtown area and was thinking we could meet for that lunch, well late lunch or early dinner,” he chuckled, “and just chat for a little bit. If you’re busy, I understand.”
Katy smiled, setting her fork down. “No, I’m not busy,” she answered without even thinking. “This evening works for me, actually. I’ll probably be leaving the school today around four o’clock or something like that. Did you already have a place in mind?”
Katy’s day was certainly starting to look better.
***
Katy looked up at the high-rises lining either side of the street, spanning off into the distance. She pondered while walking from where she parked her car to Khan’s Deli, a little bistro Brennon said he liked going to in the heart of downtown, what it would’ve been like to grow up in the city. As 5 o’clock was quickly approaching, the streets swelled with traffic. Corporate America spilled out of glass revolving doors and made bee-lines for parking garages or public transit.
Katy approached the front of Khan’s hesitantly. She expected to see Brennon waiting for her out on the sidewalk. “He’s probably running a little late,” she mumbled to herself.
“No, I’m not,” a man’s voice said from behind.
Katy quickly turned around, startled a bit. Her frown immediately transformed into a smile when she saw it was Brennon. They greeted one another then headed into the restaurant, Brennon making sure to hold the door. He complimented Katy on her appearance then was eager to hear about her afternoon when they sat down at their table. Katy felt a bit stiff – as if she had to put on a certain impression. The fact of the matter was that she still felt strange sitting down to lunch, or early dinner, with Brennon. This is Melanie’s sister, she thought frantically. Melanie’s brother. On her way downtown from the school, she’d been trying to imagine how different members of the family would react if they were to find out she was maybe possibly probably interested in Brennon romantically. She’d only gotten halfway down the list by the time she parallel parked.
“So, how did you find this place?” Katy asked. “I’m surprised I don’t know about it. I usually have a habit of trying out different restaurants wherever I go when I travel. Then again, I do that out of town. Not here.” She giggled. “Isn’t that something?”
“Everybody is like that,” Brennon said. “They don’t see what’s in front of them because they’re looking elsewhere, sometimes for the very same thing.”
How prolific, Katy thought to herself as she smiled.
“But, I found this place when I was doing just that,” Brennon continued. “When I moved back here from, I decided I wanted to pretend this was like a new place for me. So, I took a day to explore downtown all over again. Plus, you know we didn’t grow up in the city, so it was kind of new for me, in a way, coming down here and walking around without going anywhere specifically. So, I found this place and have kept coming here when I come downtown.”
“Oh, wow,” Katy said.
Katy and Brennon talked endlessly. The planned topic of discussion (teaching) had fallen so far down the list that Katy had to make it a point to come back around to it. She discovered so much about Brennon she didn’t know. She listened to him open up about his mother, who Katy had never even heard of. Katy certainly found it interesting how different two siblings could come out. Katy started to connect some dots on the things she had heard about Brennon over the years. This guy is such an interesting man, she thought.
When they finished in Khan’s, rush hour traffic had died down. Downtown still buzzed with nightlife starting up. A resurgence in condo projects brought a new, bigger population downtown at night. As Brennon walked Katy up the street, making sure to stand on the outside so he would be closest to the street, they felt strangely comfortable. If Katy hadn’t been thinking, she could’ve easily leaned her head into Brennon’s chest as they walked.
“I got an idea,” Brennon said as they approached Katy’s car. “Do you mind a little walk, Katy?” He looked toward the west. “You ever walk over on the river?”
Katy looked to the west. “I’ve only been there once or twice...and I was a kid then. But sure, I’d be open for going.”
“I didn’t know if you were trying to rush home to your parents,” Brennon said, almost coming across as a joke. He chuckled.
Katy looked up at Brennon. “Oh, so you think you’re funny, huh?” she asked. “Ha! Rush home to my parents. No, I definitely wouldn’t say that.”
Katy followed Brennon’s lead as they zigzagged through the west side of downtown and made their way over to the river promenade. It ran against the back of the zoo, in the elevated space between the zoo property line and the river. Bikers zipped by; students lounged around on the lawn leading down to the river with notebooks and textbooks spread about. Katy looked over the scene as they crossed the bridge then looked up to Brennon.
“So, I wanted to ask you something,” Brennon said.
Katy looked around. “Yeah?”
Brennon smiled then looked back at the pathway ahead. “Well, I should say this first: I was kind of surprised to see you still live with your parents. I remember when we were talking and you brought up the idea of moving away if you were to get the right kind of opportunity.”
“Yeah, I know,” Katy said, unsure of what to say.
“Yeah, so I was going to ask you do you feel your connection with your family is holding you back?” Brennon asked.
Katy looked at Brennon then back at the promenade. “Hmm, I don’t know. I’ve never thought of that, to be honest. Well, let me ask you… What made you ask that?”
“Well, because,” Brennon said, “and please tell me if you think I’m out of place for saying this, I noticed the way you always seemed to be the family-oriented person. I mean, where are your brother and sister. I thought you had a brother and sister who were much older than you. I think I saw the brother a few times while you were growing up. But your older sister… I don’t know if I’ve even met her.”
“Hmm, I see what you mean,” Katy said. “Well, they weren't really around when I was growing up. You said it yourself… You’ve seen one a few times and have never seen the other one. Of course, I’ve seen them more than that...But...But it’s not like we’re close or know one another all that well. The oldest one...my sister...she basically moved out when I was like three or four. I don’t even remember her being there...and she didn’t come home much. When she did, it always seemed like she was here as little time as possible. I don’t think she’d been back in two years. My brother...well...he and Dad aren’t on the best of terms I guess you could say. I don’t even know what to say about that situation. I basically feel like an only child. I think about that sometimes, so you might have a point. I do think about what if one of them were to fall ill...it would all fall on me.”
Brennon nodded, clearly deep in thought. “Interesting...very interesting.”
“What? Why do you say that? I wanna know.” Katy was eager to hear Brennon’s point of view.
“I say that’s interesting because that’s the same thing I’m dealing with,” Brennon said. He looked into Katy’s eyes. “And I was thinking about it last night because everything I think about what if I can’t do this or that here, I might have to go somewhere else. My only sibling has issues...let’s say...so I know we can’t depend on him to do anything.”
Katy nodded. “I see, I see.”
Katy expanded her response to Brennon’s question and Brennon listened. He then talked about how he envied Katy because she had a real family, which is something he didn’t feel he had. “So many of my relatives live all over the country that we don’t really know one another all that well. We see each other at funerals, basically… And even then, it depends on whose funeral.” He chuckled then continued on.
Within twenty minutes or so, Brennon and Katy came to the end of the promenade. It let out at the south end of a large park that ran along the river, filling the space between the river’s banks and the parkway that winded with its turns. They stopped at large limestone boulders and looked out at downtown – the city where they’d both grown up, but really didn’t know much outside of television. When they had taken in enough of the scenic view, they headed back down the trail then back into the streets of downtown until they came to Katy’s car.
After saying a somewhat stiff goodbye, Katy turned around when Brennon said her name. “Katy, may I ask if you’re seeing anyone?”
Katy’s heart almost stopped; breathing became a bit difficult. She was so taken aback, but couldn’t pull her lips out of their smile. Having just opened her car door and about to hop inside, she paused. Traffic rushed by behind her; streetlights buzzed. She smiled. “Yes, I am.” She giggled nervously. “I am single.”
Brennon chuckled. “Well, I’d like to take you to dinner if you’d be interested.”
Katy blushed. She had yet to ever have a moment as strange as this one...but it was a moment she was glad happened. She let out a deep breath, realized she was twenty-seven years old and maybe could loosen up a little bit, and figured why the hell not. “Sure...that sounds nice.”
Katy and Brennon finished up their goodbyes then Katy climbed into her car. She looked in her mirrors as Brennon walked off, disappearing in the sidewalk of people before turning a corner. Katy looked at her own reflection in her mirror before pulling out of the parking spot and heading up the street toward the interstate.
As to be expected, thoughts consumed her. Excitement blended with guilt to make an interesting sentiment… And she wouldn’t know how it turned out until the end. Just as she’d gotten onto the interstate, her phone rang. Thinking it might be Brennon, she quickly reached over and dug through her purse, so much so that she accidentally swerved into the next lane. “Dammit,” she said, upon seeing it was Eve calling. “It’s you.”
“Well, hello to you, too,” Eve said. “You sound like I’m interrupting something. Are you laying in bed having just gone through the throws of passions next to some guy you met?”
“Eve!” Katy said as she rolled her eyes then laughed out loud. “I swear, maybe you should quit marketing and go be a romance author. You seem to come up with some good fiction.”
“You think so?” Eve said.
Katy rolled her eyes. “Anyway, you must have a camera following me.”
“If I did, I wouldn’t tell you,” Eve said. “I can’t have you knowing I secretly watch you.”
“Yeah, well, you’ll love to hear about this,” Katy said. “Guess who just asked me out after we had a little early dinner then went on a walk?”