Chapter Nine
Xavier
I was looking forward to seeing Holly again. More than I thought I would. I didn’t always find it easy to talk to people. I wasn’t one of those people that felt comfortable with everyone, and I often found myself stuttering and unable to find my words. I’d always preferred to be around people that I knew rather than strangers. I was surprised at how easy it was to talk to Holly considering I hadn’t seen her in such a long time. Then again, she’d always been very accepting of people and had a way of making people feel comfortable at being themselves around her. It didn’t harm that she was so easy on the eye now too.
I made my way over the house and frowned when I saw that her car wasn’t there. For a brief moment, I panicked and thought that perhaps she’d decided to take her old job back. I wasn’t sure why it bothered me so much. Probably just because I wanted a bit more of a chance to hang out with her. I was interested to know more about this new Holly that had blossomed so drastically since the last time that I had seen her. As I was about to walk in, I saw Rick walking out. He waved at me.
“Hello. I heard your bike. I’m heading straight to the garage, actually.”
“Hi, Rick. Where’s Holly? I see her car isn’t here.”
“Oh, she’s just gone to the mall for the day. I told her that we could get along without her. I felt bad putting the poor girl to work right away like that. She’s such a hard worker, and I just want her to try to relax a bit more.”
“She’s a hard worker all right. She puts us all to shame. Ah, look—so ,she’s going to check out the new mall. I hate that place.”
Rick laughed. “You and me both. It doesn’t really matter how big they make those malls. It’s always the same sorts of shops over and over again. Not appealing to me at all. But I’m sure it will be nice for Holly to see something new.”
We made our way to the garage and looked around. We’d done a surprisingly good job with the paint for a group of people that weren’t painters. It actually didn’t need much more work other than some touching up. We immediately got started.
“Thanks again for coming on your day off, Xavier. I always feel so bad asking.”
“I don’t know why you feel bad. I’m the one that said I wanted to help. Anyway, if it was a problem, I’d let you know. Trust me; this is much more relaxing than work. I’d rather paint a wall than fight a fire for a few days.”
“That’s true. Well, I appreciate it regardless.”
We got to work, chatting the way we usually did. I now realized why it was always so easy to talk to Holly. She obviously got it from her father. I’d always found Rick one of the easiest people to speak to. He had a way of really listening to what I had to say. Most people now days just wanted to talk about themselves and spent very little time making the time for others. It was what made this so different. I knew why my mother had fallen for this man.
“So, Xavier, I hope you don’t mind me getting a little personal here, but I was thinking about you the other night.”
I turned to look at him. “Uh oh. That doesn’t sound too good.”
He laughed. “Nah, it’s nothing serious. But I was just wondering if you’ve met anyone? You’re a good-looking man, but I haven’t seen you with a girl in a long time.”
I chuckled. “Glad to know you think I’m good looking. But it’s not you that I want to think that way.”
He rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, I bet all the girls are after you. I mean, you’re the dream. You’re good looking; you’re good with your hands; you’re kind. You’re a fireman for goodness’ sake.”
“Well, girls are obviously fussy these days. No, no girlfriend at the moment. I just haven’t really found anyone I guess.”
“Have you been looking?”
“Not really.”
“They’re not going to come if you don’t go looking.”
“I know. Kenny keeps asking me to go out with him, but I’m just not really into the whole club scene anymore.”
“I suppose that’s not necessarily a bad thing. What about online dating? I hear that’s all the rage.”
I chuckled. “Is that what you’re trying?”
He looked horrified. “No.”
“Rick, you know I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to date again. I wouldn’t hold it against you or anything. I don’t expect you to be single forever, and I know Mom wouldn’t want you to either.”
“Yeah, I know. But listen, how have you managed to turn this around to be about me? Sneaky. So, no dating then?”
“Not at the moment. I’m obviously not opposed to it, so if you find someone, send her my way.”
“I’ll do that. Do you ever think about settling down? There’s a lot to be said for married life, you know. People knock it but if you find the right person, it really is something special.”
He sounded more like a father than a friend at the moment. Kenny just wanted me to get laid. Rick wanted me to get married. I shook my head.
“Settle down? No, I don’t think that’s really the right thing for me right now. Maybe one day but I’m definitely not ready.”
“Hmm, I thought the same thing until I met your mother. You’ll see. It will just happen when you least expect it. Love is a funny thing. I had two wonderful women in my life, both taken away from me. And yes, I do consider my first wife leaving me as a loss, because I did love her. So very much. Sometimes I get angry because of the loss, and the thought of being alone. Other times, I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to have such amazing women in my life. Most of the times, I’m grateful. There is no point in life without experiencing love. You’ll see you . . . you’ll find it. And when you do, you’ll know it.”
I smiled. “I’m not sure about that, but you’ll certainly be the first to find out.”
“Good. And I’m going to keep a look out for you.”
“Are you my wingman now?”
Rick beamed. “I like the sound of that.”
I turned back to the wall to continue with the touchups when I heard him sigh.
“What’s wrong?”
“Xavier, can I ask you something? Sorry, I don’t know why I’m getting so personal lately.”
For a brief second, I thought he was going to ask me if I had feelings for his daughter and I felt my heart race out of my chest. I didn’t like her in that way. I just thought she looked really beautiful. That was all. She’d grown up, and it was impossible not to notice. I had a million excuses in my head, but that wasn’t what he wanted to talk about at all.
“Why do you think your brothers haven’t kept a relationship with me? You’re the only one that makes time for me, and I just don’t understand. I’ve wracked my brain to think of what I could’ve possibly done to make them hate me, but nothing comes to mind. Nothing at all. Clearly, I’m missing something.”
I sighed. I was surprised it had taken him such a long time to ask me this question. It must’ve been on his mind a lot, but this was the first time we’d ever really spoken about it.
“You can be honest,” he said to me.
“That’s just how they are. They’re hard headed; you know that,” I said. I didn’t want him to know that my brothers had never thought of him as a father. He had always considered each of us his sons, and the truth would devastate him. They also hated that Rick was a pastor and felt like they were constantly being judged because they were not religious. It didn’t matter how many times I told them that this wasn’t the case, they just refused to believe me.
“So I didn’t do anything?”
“Of course not. If you did, then I wouldn’t be here. They’re just funny like that. They barely keep in touch with me,” I lied. “I guess they’re just not as big into family like you and I are. I wouldn’t worry about it. You’ll see, they’ll get over themselves and suddenly they’ll be such a big part of your life you’ll wish they weren’t. Trust me; they get annoying when you see too much of them.” I tried to make light of the situation, but I knew that it was still hard for Rick.
Thankfully, Rick didn’t say anything else about the matter, and we changed subjects, but I was sure that it was still on his mind. As we finished up in the garage, I saw Holly pulling up into the driveway. A strange look crossed her face as she saw me but she quickly replaced it with a smile.
“Ah, here’s my girl,” Rick said.
“How was shopping?” I asked. “Like the new mall?”
“It’s cool. Although, it’s pretty much like every other mall I've ever been to. I did bump into Andrea though, so that was good. Remember her?”
“Dark-haired girl? Yeah, I remember her. Nice, she must’ve been happy to see you. I remember that the two of you always got along well.” I remembered actually that Andrea was one of the few people that treated Holly well. I’d always liked her for that. I didn’t want to say that in front of her father, though. I tried not to let Rick know how much Holly was bullied when she was younger. He would’ve been distraught to know that such a thing was happening to his daughter. I was sure a part of him knew, but he probably had no idea how bad it had sometimes been for her.
“She was,” Holly said. She seemed distracted and wasn’t looking me in the eye. I wondered if she was also thinking about the bullying.
“Xavier do you want to stay for dinner?” Rick asked suddenly. “I’m sorry, I’m so rude, I realize I didn’t even feed you today. We were so busy talking, and I’d eaten just before you arrived, so it didn’t even cross my mind.”
I laughed. “You don’t have to feed me. That’s not why I come here. I can’t tonight, unfortunately. I have to pop into the station for some late meeting. As you can imagine, it’s the last thing I feel like doing tonight, but I better be there.”
“But I thought you had a few days off?”
“Yeah, I do. But doesn’t mean I get to avoid the meetings. It’s okay, though. Hopefully it’s nothing too long. You can never quite tell with these things.”
Instead of taking it for granted, Rick pulled a face. “You deserve a medal for the amount of work you put into the community. People do not realize just how much you boys do for us. Hey, you know what, I have an idea. Why don’t you take Holly out for dinner tomorrow night? She doesn’t really know many people here anymore, and I’m sure she’s sick of hanging out with her father.”
Holly laughed. “Wow, you make me sound like a lonely spinster. Also, I think you’re just sick of cooking for me.”
“Not at all. I just thought Rick could introduce you to some of his firefighter friends.”
Holly blushed. “Dad, are you trying to set me up already? I’ve only just arrived.”
“Well, the two of you aren’t getting any younger. I’m just saying.”
I looked at Holly and chuckled. “Don’t worry. Your dad was trying to get me to settle down too. He forgets that we’re immortal.”
“Yeah, Dad, Xavier and I are forever young.”
“So, want to go for dinner tomorrow?” I said to Holly as casually as I could. I wasn’t sure why but I had a feeling she was going to turn me down.
I was wrong. Holly smiled. “Sounds good to me. We can talk about how good it feels to be young.”
I laughed. “You’re on. Okay, old man, I’ll be around tomorrow to pick your young daughter up.”