Chapter 5
In some ways, Katy grew to regret telling Eve about Brennon asking her out. For the next few days, Eve sent her pictures of possible outfit choices for the date, which hadn’t even been scheduled yet. Katy would often shoot back that Eve’s possible options looked rather desperate, ironically. Eve laughed it off, saying that it’s best to wear what fits you and your state of mind on the date. “You need to lure this guy in enough so you can actually hold on to this one.”
Katy had to remind herself of her childhood friendship with Eve at times to keep from hanging up the phone from her insults. Now, another Friday had rolled around. When Katy had gotten home, she was surprised again to see a car in the driveway that wasn’t usually there: Eve’s Honda Accord. Katy covered her face as if she were playing peek-a-boo and rushed toward the house. Before she knew it, Eve was yelling her name.
“Katy! Katy! I know you see me.”
Katy dashed into the house, but couldn’t close the door in time to keep Eve out. The tall, thin-figured woman slid inside quickly then laughed as Katy leaned over with disappointment.
“Eve, not today,” Katy said, putting her bag down and closing the door. “It’s been a long week for me. I don’t want to go over any more of your skankish outfits.”
“Katy, seriously?” Melanie said. “They're not skankish. It’s time for you to wear something a little more revealing. I know Brennon is this and that, but still, doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to see a little something. Are some of those outfits against your religion or something?”
“Eve,” Katy snapped. “Seriously, I’m not religious. I don’t know where you’re getting that from. I swear, I don’t. I have skirts.”
“Yeah, but they probably don’t come above your knees and show some leg,” Eve said. “It’s going to be okay, Katy. I can tell you’re worried, but you have to learn how to stop stressing. I’ll help you get it together, but that’s actually not why I’m here. I was out in the area and thought I would surprise you. Would you be open to going out to get a drink this evening? And don’t worry, Miss Goody Goody, we’ll be done before the bars start to get crowded and stuff.”
“Eve! I go to bars...that’s not new for me.” Katy rubbed her forehead.
“Yeah, yeah,” Eve said. “If you say so. Okay, I’m going to help you figure out what to wear.”
A bit frustrated, Katy shrugged her shoulders. She figured there was probably next to nothing she could do to get Eve to lay up on her “helping” hand. She suppressed her groans as she did her afternoon routine of coming home. “Okay, Eve, well I’ll go. Just let me get in from work like I normally do and relax.”
“Okay, okay,” Eve said.
Katy headed up the stairs, turning around and surprised to see Eve following her up the staircase as well. When Eve got back to Katy’s room, she looked around. “Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve been up here. Everything really does look the same.”
Katy looked around. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. I’m starting to think about moving out.”
“Oh, really?” Eve asked, clearly excited. She plopped down on the edge of Katy’s bed. “Well, that’s good to hear. I don’t know how you do it. There’s no way I could live with my parents as long as you have. Yeah, it’s okay to live with them while you’re finishing college, even for the sake of saving money.” Her head shook. “But to live with them just for the sake of doing so even when you don’t have to would just drive me crazy. I barely like answering the phone when my mother calls. I couldn’t imagine having to live with her even at this point. Thirty will be here before you know.”
Katy chuckled as she changed into clothes that would be more appropriate for a bar. “I want to relax for a while...maybe sit out back...before we go rushing out to a bar.” Katy paused, realizing exactly what was strange about this situation. She turned and looked at Eve with strange eyes. “Wait a minute… What are you doing here, Eve? Shouldn’t you be at work?” She glanced at the time on her phone. “It’s barely four o’clock. And you got here before I did. You didn’t get fired, did you?”
“Now, now, Katy,” Eve said. “You know I didn’t get fired. Actually, the boss was out of the office most of this afternoon. Well, let the truth be told, I saw his little mistress coming to the parking lot down from my window. I watched it all happen.” She looked away with a guilty grin. “Next thing I knew, he was gone and so was her car. Plus, I’d done enough work today anyway.”
“Yeah, you’re always doing enough work to leave,” Katy said, deciding to pick at her friend’s work life the way she picked at her love life. “Oh, Eve...the under-performing worker. You know, when it comes time to downsize, you’ll probably be the first to go.”
Eve playfully slapped Katy’s shoulder. “Don’t say that. You’re so negative...really. Here I am here to help you loosen up a bit so you can get a guy or something and you talk to me like that.”
Katy rolled her eyes then walked out of the room, heading for the staircase. Eve followed as she led her to the patio out back. There, they sat until rush hour traffic was sure to be over. When they stepped off of the front porch, Eve assumed they would be riding in her car. She was a bit surprised when she opened her car door and didn’t see Katy on the other side. She turned and looked, finding her friend over at her own car. “Katy, what are you doing?”
“I’m driving in my car,” Katy said, opening her door with a smile. “I already know how you are, Eve. You’re basically going to hold me hostage and I won’t be able to leave when I want to leave. You can ride with me.”
Eve squinted at her friend then sighed. She slammed her car door shut and walked like a let down little girl over to Katy’s car and hopped in. She looked over at Katy with disapproving eyes. “We’re spending more than fifteen minutes at this bar, Katy.”
Katy turned and grinned. “Hmm, hmm.”
Eve had just been about to say something when Katy revved the engine, causing Eve’s head to jerk back against the headrest. As Katy headed down into the city, following Eve’s directions since she decided she would allow her to choose the bar, she thought about Brennon. There were moment’s Eve would be rambling on and on about something and Katy would be zoning out, looking at the skyline in the distance and thinking about how just a couple of days ago, she met Brennon downtown to eat then they went on a walk by the river. All Katy could think about was how she had watched Brennon walk back up the block then disappear. She was truly amazed at how her perception of Brennon had changed at this point in her life. After all, while growing up, Brennon had simply always been Melanie’s older brother. Who would’ve ever though I would be contemplating a romantic relationship with Melanie's older, half-brother?
***
The Blue Lagoon was a favorite nightlife spot for local professionals. If you’re looking for a nice place to have some drinks, with music low enough to hear your own thoughts, and enjoy the company of other low-key professionals, the Blue Lagoon was the place for you. Having been put into a small, older warehouse then laid out with hardwood floors and funky artwork hanging around on the walls, the place had a hip, earthy feel to it. Eve and Katy took a seat in a booth halfway toward the back then ordered their drinks.
“So, what do you think of this place?” Eve asked, looking around. “I thought it would be the kind of place you would like. So?”
Katy glanced around. The view of downtown, which was about a mile away from the looks of it, was spectacular. She could even see Clark Memorial Bridge in the distance, crossing over the Ohio River like a landmark. The hills set in the backyard, looking down over the city like an overprotective mother. Katy smiled and nodded her head. “Okay, Eve. I like it, I like it. You did good...this time. I’m actually surprised you come to a place like this.”
“Yeah, I like it and...” Eve said, her words trailing off as she picked up on Katy’s comment. “Huh? You’re surprised I come to a place like this? Why is that?”
Katy snickered just as the waitress had been setting their drinks on the table. She smiled at the woman, telling her thank you then turned back to Eve. “I just didn’t,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “This place actually has some class and whatnot, Eve. It’s nice with the art and everything...even kind of elegant.”
“Actually has some class?” Eve asked. “I’m all about class, Katy. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Katy giggled, ready to move on with the conversation. “Oh, calm down, Eve. I’m just playing. Anyway, I wanted to ask you about something...well, tell you about a dream I had and I want to know what you think it means… If nothing else, I can help you feel important or something.”
Eve leaned back, squinting. She then smiled and anxiously leaned forward ready to hear about Katy’s dream. She listened intently, looking for metaphoric lessons. When Katy finished up by saying she’d woken up in her own bed after having fallen asleep on this Italian man’s chest, Eve leaned back with a joyous facial expression.
“Okay, okay,” Eve said. “This is a step in the right direction, believe it or not. So, you want to know what I think a dream like that means?”
Katy sighed. “Yeah, Eve. And God, I hope I don’t regret asking you.”
“No, I’m just the right person to ask something like that, Katy,” Eve said. “And you know that. Anyway, I think having a dream like that is saying that you have a missing void in your life...which is what I’ve been saying all this time. But, Katy, I don’t know what to think about the Fabian part… Did you go on a date or something with an Italian guy or something?”
Katy chuckled. “No… No I didn’t.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what to make of that part either. But that dream was certainly something I’ve never had before. I remember waking up confused and thinking, yeah, like you said, that it might be speaking to something else.”
Eve leaned in, purposely lowering her voice as people sat down at the next table over. “It’s saying that it’s time for you to stop this virgin business. Yeah, it’s admirable...in a way. I’m not saying you should go out and be a slam, but damn, Katy. You’re twenty-seven years-old. If you lost your virginity now, it’s not like you would burn in hell or anything.”
“Yeah, but I always imagined myself waiting until I got married,” Katy explained. “I don’t know why...and it’s not because of church. But, I guess I was just so stuck to that thought… But I am starting to rethink it.”
“Tired of being lonely?” Eve asked, sipping her drink. “That’s what it is. And that’s okay, Katy. I think you want to feel guilty or something, but you don’t have to. You have options to the point where you could even be picky if you wanted to be. And I personally don’t suggest waiting until you’re married to have sex.”
“Why is that, Eve?” Katy asked. It wasn’t that Eve’s answer would change her feelings, but it would be interesting to hear.
“Well,” Eve said, gathering her words. “I know some people are raised with a more conservative view of life and relationships and all that. And nothing’s wrong with it, but it’s not what I was taught. I was taught to try on your shoes before you wear them. Like some people won’t live with someone before they get married.”
Katy scoffed. “Yeah, I couldn’t imagine that. My parents...more-so my mom, probably...would freaking flip out if I just moved in with some guy before getting married.”
“Yeah, well,” Eve said. “My parents would flip if I married some guy I hadn’t lived with first. So, I say all that to say that if you’re that cautious about dating...such as yourself...and all that, then maybe you need to be trying on your shoes before you wear them so you can be sure you want to walk in them. Katy, just try finding a guy you like and all that...take it slow...then hop in the bed and see what happens. You don’t have to sleep around with ten guys or anything like that. Sleeping with a guy or two just to see what you like doesn’t make you a slut.”
Katy bit her bottom lip in thought. “I know, Eve,” she said. “But still… I guess I just feel like I could never jump into the dating game at this point in my life because I was never really in it to begin with.” She paused in thought. “Sometimes I really do think back to when I was a teenager and how I didn’t date…. And I don’t even know why.”
Eve waved her hand dismissively. “Well, I’ll help you break out of that and not be so scared.”
Eve went on about how to date – what guys nowadays look for in a woman, how to read a guy, and what warning signs to look for. Katy listened intently. For the first time, she didn’t block out Eve’s advice; rather, she soaked it up.
When Eve got up to head up to the bar to request another drink, Katy waited patiently. Thoughts about getting into the dating game rolled around in her mind; rather, whether she was ready to admit it to Eve or not, the thoughts about something serious starting with Brennon occupied her mind. As if dating wasn’t hard enough, the specifics of dating Melanie’s older half-brother made the proposition ten times more frightening.
As Eve was headed back over to the table, Katy noticed a guy checking her out from across the bar. He sat alone, in a corner, scrolling through his cell phone. For some reason, his eyes were glued to Katy as if she were the only woman in the room. Katy looked down at her drink, trying to not stare into the guy’s eyes. However, when she looked up once again, the guy stared at her once again.
Eve sat back down with a smile, ready to talk. She noticed Katy looked up and across the room. “What are you looking at, Katy?” she asked. She then turned her head in the direction where Katy had been looking. “Oh, I see,” she commented, turning back to her first drink and sipping it casually. “See what I mean, Katy. See how easy that was for you? A lot of girls can’t just be sitting here and having a guy show them attention like that.”
“Oh, calm down, Eve,” Katy said, looking away from the guy. “And don’t you go doing anything to get him to come over here.”
Eve chuckled. “You said that out on the patio that night with that Brennon guy. I’ve never done anything like that.”
Katy squinted at Eve with a face that said she’d just told a bold-faced lie. “I’m not even going to start with all the examples I could give where you’re trying to force someone on somebody else. Eve, do you forget how long I’ve known you?”
“Katy, look,” Eve said, frustrated, “if you’re talking about what’s-his-name from high school, damn it’s time to let that go.” She laughed.
Katy glanced back at the guy. He looked back and forth between his phone screen and Katy. When Katy had been looking away and toward a different area of the bar, she noticed Eve was now looking over at the guy. Next thing Katy knew, Eve raised her eyebrows suggestively then tilted her head toward Katy.
“Eve, see,” Katy snapped. “What are you doing, Eve? Seriously, what are you doing?”
The guy stood up and started zigzagging around the tables. Katy looked away, dreading the idea that this random guy might be coming over to their table. She looked over at Eve with scolding eyes. “See,” she whispered. “This is what I’m talking about, Eve. This is exactly what I’m talking about. There you go...stirring something up...just like you did when Brennon came out onto the patio. I knew I shouldn’t have gone anywhere with you.”
Eve chuckled under her breath. She looked away bashfully, as if she didn’t know what in the hell Katy was talking about. Before Katy could continue on with her grimacing, the guy had approached the table. Eve turned toward the guy and smiled. “Hey,” she said. She then turned to Katy and kicked her shin under the table.
Katy looked over at Eve with eyes that said she wanted to kill her. She then looked at the well-dressed guy and smiled. “Hey,” she said.
The 5’9”-guy smiled and nodded at Eve, but then turned to Katy. “I just thought I would come over here and say hi,” he commented.
“Oh,” Katy said, smiling nervously. “Well, hi.”
“Do you mind if I sit with you guys for a minute?” the guy asked.
Katy froze up; she didn’t know how to answer such a question. Her mind couldn’t help but to run wild with bad scenarios that could possibly result from letting this guy sit with them. They didn’t even know him after all.
“Um, well,” Katy said, at a loss for words.
“Absolutely,” Eve said, emphatically. “I don’t see why not. We have two extra chairs.”
Katy squinted at Eve then forced a smile while the guy thanked them. He zipped over to his table to get his drink then came back over to their table to join them. Katy kicked Eve’s shin repeatedly until Eve finally turned her legs out to the side rather than under the table. She looked over at her friend and told her to calm down and not be scared.
“Eve, what if he’s a serial killer or something?” Katy asked, whispering when the guy was halfway across the room.
“Oh, stop it, Katy,” Eve said then smiled at the guy and patted the chair. “Just get a life insurance policy or something if you’re that worried around it.”
Katy shook her head – rolled her eyes and sighed. “Eve, Eve, Eve. I swear I’m never going anywhere with you again.”
The guy sat down in the chair next to Katy and smiled at these two pretty ladies. He extended his arm to shake Eve’s hand. “I’m Rob,” he said, introducing himself.
Eve shook his hand then turned to Katy. “I’m Eve. And this is my friend Katy.”
Rob shook Katy’s hand, but more delicately than he’d done with Eve. “Hello, Katy. It’s really nice to meet you.” He smiled. “Again, I’m Rob. I really hope I’m not bothering either of you by coming and sitting with you.”
Katy was fumbling to say something, but Eve quickly cut in. “No, you’re not, Rob. Seriously. Me and Katy here are always up for a little company.”
“Oh, okay,” Rob said. He then turned to Katy, who clearly was the apple of his eye in the bar. “So, Katy...Eve...what brings the two of you out tonight?”
Eve purposely looked over at Katy, gesturing for her to answer the question. Katy cleared her throat, frowned, then smiled at Rob once again. “Well, we just decided to come out and get a drink,” she explained. “We were at my house, kind of bored and Eve hear likes to drink, so I figured I would come with her to make sure she doesn’t get out of control.” She showed Eve a sinister grin. “So, yeah, that’s what we’re doing here.”
Eve chuckled then shook her head. She decided she would go ahead and let Katy ride with her fabricated story. “Hhm,” she said.
“So, yeah,” Katy said, smiling. “And you, Rob? What brings you to the Blue Lagoon for the evening?”
Rob cleared his throat as he took a sip of his beer. “Well, actually, I got out of an important meeting late and decided that rather than deal with traffic to get home, I would just change and come here for a little while.”
Katy noticed the guy was wearing a blue plaid shirt and run-of-the-mill blue jeans. She smiled. “Oh, okay. Well, I can certainly understand that.”
Eve looked over at Katy. Clearly, she wasn’t trying to keep the conversation alive even though this guy obviously had a thing for her. Eve chimed in. “Well, isn’t that interesting?” she said. “Well, Rob, if you don’t mind me asking…. What is it that you do?”
“Well, I work for Chase Bank,” Rob explained. “You know?” He gestured to the south. “At the tower. I work in their auditing department. Been doing it for about three years now since I came here.”
Katy nodded. Okay, this guy seems interesting, she thought. He could still be a serial killer, though. “Oh, okay. Well, that’s interesting. Where did you come from? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”
Rob chuckled. “Oh, no, you’re fine. Well, it’s kind of complicated, I guess. I actually graduated from college a few years ago, but wanted to travel a bit before I settled down. I was born and raised in Indiana, not too far outside of Chicago. Then I went to South America...spent a little time in Chile, Argentina. A while in Colombia… stuff like that.”
“Well, isn’t that interesting, Katy?” Eve said, trying to pull Katy to the forefront of the conversation. “Katy, you should tell him about some of your travel aspirations.”
I could really choke you, Katy thought while she looked over at Eve. She then forced a smile once again and turned to Rob. She was becoming more comfortable with him, but hated how Eve literally forced her into the situation. “Yeah, Rob,” she said. “I haven’t actually done it yet, but I did kind of want to travel somewhere.”
“Oh yeah?” Rob asked. “Like where? What do you think is holding you back? Traveling is the best thing you can do really….at least while you’re young.”
“She’s scared,” Eve interjected.
“No, it’s not that,” Katy said, not knowing what else to say. “It just hasn’t happened yet. But yeah, I used to want to go backpacking in Europe or something like that. You said you went to South America, right?” She paused in thought. “I can’t think of too many places down there I’ve ever wanted to go. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Amazon… Of course, I’m not going to go backpacking through it or anything like that.”
Rob chuckled. “Yeah, that would probably be best. Not exactly the kind of place that just the average person could go backpacking. Well, you should definitely make it happen. What are you waiting on?”
Katy shrugged, admitting to herself that this guy Rob was a bit inspirational. “Oh, I don’t know. At first I was so busy settling into my career and whatnot that I guess it just fell to the back burner.”
“Oh, I understand that,” Rob said. “If you don’t mind me asking, what do you do for a living?”
“I’m a teacher, actually,” Katy said. “Third grade.”
“Oh wow,” Rob said then chuckled. “Geesh, I thought I was brave. You’re the one who’s really brave.”
The three of them laughed together.
“I’m just saying,” Rob said. “I don’t know if I could be a teacher nowadays. The kids these days...the parents might even be worse.”
Katy sighed, nodding. “Yeah, you can say that again.”
“Tell me about some of the issues you deal with with the parents,” Rob said.
Katy loosened up and talked on about the struggles with being a third grade teacher. Her accounts pulled a few laughs out of Rob as he listened. The conversation then steered on elsewhere, from Katy talking about being a teacher to Rob talking about how unprofessional things have turned out to be working at a bank. “My office in on the fourth floor, but the bank has this massive atrium where I can look over the banister or balcony or whatever you want to call it and see what’s going on in the lobby. And… Well….”
“No,” Katy said surprised. “You can’t be serious. People come into the bank and act up?”
Rob nodded. “Like you wouldn’t believe. Homeless people. The kids after school. You wouldn’t believe some of the crap you’ll see working in a bank.”
“Has it ever been robbed?” Eve asked.
Rob shrugged. “Not while I’ve been there, but I heard they had one some months before I go there. I don’t have to worry about that kind of thing with where I am. Never really worked in the bank where the customers come in and stuff.”
“Well, that’s interesting,” Eve said. “Isn’t it, Katy?”
Eve would you stop with all that? Katy wanted to ask so badly. “Yeah, it is.”
There was a long pause where the conversation had fallen flat. Eve backed out in her seat and stood up. “I’ll be right back. Gotta go to the ladies room for a moment. You too can keep on talking while I’m gone.”
Rob nodded, helping Eve to push her chair back under the table. “Okay.”
Katy continued smiling at Rob while Eve headed back toward a dim hallway that led to the restroom at the very back of the bar. Just as Eve slipped out of sight, she looked at Katy and held up both thumbs. Katy scorned her friend with just a look. Eve zipped on down the hallway when Rob turned and looked.
Rob turned back to Katy. “Well, your friend Eve seems….interesting.”
Katy scoffed. “Yeah, well, that’s one way to put it.”
Rob picked up on Katy’s uneasiness, but there was something about her that made working his way to their table all worth it. He looked at the time. “Well, I had better go ahead and pay and get going.” He smiled at Katy. “I hope I didn’t scare you too much.”
Katy giggled, feeling a little bad about the situation because of how she might’ve come across. “Scare me? Rob, you didn’t scare me.” This guy actually turned out to be nice to talk to, Katy thought. Can hold a good conversation and is actually interesting.
“Hmm,” Rob said. He stood up, glanced back toward the hallway, then at Katy. “I’ll be right back.”
Katy nodded then watched as Rob headed over to the bar. She sat nervously, wondering what he was going to come back and say. In some ways, she solaced in the silence while Eve went to the bathroom.
“Thought too soon,” Katy mumbled to herself. Just then, Eve came walking out of the hallway with her head high and her eyes eyeing any man in the room who appeared to be single.
Eve came back over to the table after looking at Rob up at the bar. “So, what happened, Katy? You didn’t scare the guy off, did you? You know how you can be.”
“Eve, I’m going to choke you when we leave here,” Katy said. “I swear I am.”
“What, you don’t like him?” Eve asked. “He’s nice. He doesn't seem creepy or like a serial killer.” She giggled. “Heck, the serial killer could be you, really. What a perfect disguise. A school teacher who stays single is secretly cutting heads off and keeping them in a secret location at the back of her parent’s massive property. Sounds like a good move, though, Katy.”
Katy chuckled then she saw Rob headed back over to the table. “Yeah...and the story ends with this teacher cutting her childhood friend’s off and it being the first one found at the back, by the creek.”
Eve had just been about to come back with something sarcastic when Rob approached the table once again. The two women looked up at him.
“Well, it was nice to meet the two of you,” Rob said. He extended his arm to shake Eve’s hand then he looked at Katy, clearly directing his words at her. “It was certainly nice to talk to you and you really should try to get some of your traveling goals out of the way while you’re still in your twenties.”
Katy giggled and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“Here,” Rob said, handing Katy his card. “Here’s my card. If you’re interested, maybe we could go out to dinner sometimes.”
Katy, surprised and taken aback but a little excited, accepted the card and took a glance at it. “Well, thank you, Rob.”
“No, thank you for letting me come and sit with you guys,” Rob said. “And I went ahead and took care of the bill for you too. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Oh,” Katy said. “Well, thank you. I appreciate that.”
Eve followed up with her thank you. Rob said his goodbyes one again then headed for the door. Once he stepped out onto the street and disappeared, Eve leaned in with a big smile on her face. “See, wasn’t he nice? Serial killers don’t pay for your drinks.”
“Eve, let me just finish my drink so we can leave,” Katy said. “Thank God I drove my car.”
***
Despite how overbearing Eve could be, she truly was a good person to talk to. Even when Katy was nervous about something, or even scared, she came to her side with positive reinforcement. After leaving the Blue Lagoon, Eve insisted they walk around downtown a bit before heading home. It had only been 7:30 – the sun had barely been set for fifteen minutes as they zigzagged through the narrow streets, skyscrapers and condos hugging either side.
“So, since tonight seems to be all about me dating, Eve,” Katy asked, having walked the last block in silence with so much on her mid. “I want to ask you what you think about the Brennon situation.”
Eve’s ears perked up and she was anxious to give her point of view. “Okay, great. What do I think of it? In what way? I remember you telling me about how you two had a little late lunch, early dinner or whatever you wanna call it. I told you he seemed nice based on what I saw of him on the patio. You yourself said you’ve known the guy for most of your life, right?”
“Yeah,” Katy said. “But let me explain. Okay, so I’ve been thinking more and more about it. And there’s some issues I see that make me nervous to go on any kind of date with the guy.”
“Like what?” Eve asked. “Seriously….all jokes aside. What makes you scared or cautious, shall we say, to seriously date the guy?”
Katy sighed. “A lot of things, Eve. First of all, the age difference. He’s like thirty-seven or thirty-eight or something like that.”
“Okay, so he’s twelve or thirteen years older than you, right?” Eve said then shrugged. “Okay, yeah, that is a bit much. But, it still doesn’t break my rule. You know? If you’re old enough to have given birth to me or young enough for me to have given birth to you...which I haven’t gotten to that age myself yet...then you’re off limits. So, yeah, twelve years is a bit much, but it’s not that bad, Katy. And the guy doesn’t even look that old. He could easily pass for being thirty if he wanted.”
“Okay, Eve,” Katy said. “Okay. Well, then there’s the family connection.”
They turned a corner, heading towards the park along the river – the very same park where Katy had gone on a walk with Brennon. She reminisced in the memory – an enjoyable memory that was laced with a bit of guilt because of Katy’s apprehension toward the idea of getting romantically involved with Melanie's older half-brother.
“Katy, you said he’s your father’s cousin’s older half-brother, right?” Eve said. “You two aren’t related, but I can see what you mean, though. So, tell me this… Are you scared that maybe your family would have a problem with it? Is that what scares you about that kind of situation?”
Katy sighed. “Well, yeah… Kind of. I can only imagine what my parents would say. My dad loves Brennon. They take part in some of the same committees and boards and stuff like that.”
“Yeah, I see what you mean, Katy,” Eve admitted. “But I don’t think you really should let that stop you. So, tell me this… Do you like Brennon in that way? Are you romantically attracted to him?”
Katy shrugged then smiled, not even realizing she was doing so. “I mean...yeah, I do.”
“What do you like about him, Katy?” Eve asked as they crossed the street at the Statehouse. “Spill.”
Katy sighed as she gathered her thoughts. With a smile on her face, she explained how she felt like she could talk to Brennon for hours. They had so much in common from the looks of it, and far beyond just the fact that they both were in the teaching profession, even though that fact was enough for them to build a strong bond.
“Katy, look at you,” Eve said, smiling. “You’re blushing when you just talk about Brennon. Did you even like him like that when you were a teenager?”
“Oh, shut up, Eve,” Katy snapped, looking away like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “Anyway, no not really. That’s what makes this feel so weird. When I was a teenager and would hang out with Melanie, Brennon was just her older brother. I didn’t see him like that. But what worries me is that if we were to get romantically, my family might think we had something going on back then and, well, you could see how people might see that.”
“Yeah, it does look a little fishy,” Eve said. “But you yourself said that wasn’t the case. Katy, I’ve known you for a long time, you know. And we’ve talked about other guys, but you’ve never seemed that excited about a guy the way you are now. I say to not even worry about all that. Follow your heart. And plus, is he bothered by it?”
“I guess not,” Katy said. “Well… He is the only who asked me on the dinner date.”
Eve shrugged as they entered the park. “Go for it and keep it a secret. That’s what I would do.”
Katy glanced over at Eve. “Keep it a secret? What do you mean?”
“I mean don’t tell anybody, Katy,” Eve explained. “At least until you’re sure it’s going to be worth whatever you think might or would or could happen. Let’s say the two of you go on a date and you say ‘okay, this isn’t going to work’ for whatever reason. Well, then, nobody has to know and everything can go on the same way it had been. You see what I’m saying?”
Katy looked out at the well-landscaped park as it spread away from the high rises and toward the river. “Yeah, I see what you mean,” she said. “But, still, something about that just doesn’t seem right.”
“Well, then plus,” Eve continued, “I think it’s better to have a secret relationship...at least based on what I’m hearing. Think about it, Katy.” She smiled and rubbed her shoulder against Katy’s. “It might even really be better to keep it all a secret. You might not know, but I do. I remember back in college I was dating this guy and I guess if people would’ve known we were dating there might’ve been some talk and stuff. Katy, let me tell you...it was so much fun having a secret thing going on. Nobody to but in and say what they think. Nobody to spread any kind of rumor. The two of you can enjoy one another without someone trying to butt in and change the direction of everything completely with what they think.”
Katy listened closely to what Eve was saying as they continued navigating through the park. They came to the river. There, they leaned against the banister and peered over the edge. Ducks waded downstream; a random turtle popped out of the water and up onto a floating log. Katy smiled then looked at Eve. “Yeah, a secret...at least in the beginning. We’ll keep it a secret.”