Page 35 of Hey Girl
“You have kind of a point,” she chuckles quietly, stutter gone. I give her hand a squeeze and resume our pace up the driveway.
“Besides, you’ve already met Jack,” I point out. “And for the front man of the band, he’s actually the most boring,” I muse with an uncomfortable shrug.
“What?” She tilts her head to regard me. “How do you say that about your friend?”
“Of course he’s my friend, but he’s all ‘Oh, the music,’ or ‘oh Mayzie’” I mock my buddy as I wobble my head dubiously.`
“So he’s passionate,” she lifts a shoulder.
“I’m just saying he never does anything crazy. Not since he met her, anyway. And besides, Mayzie’s cool. She’s easy to talk to.”
“Are you afraid I’ll settle you down, like Mayzie did Jack?” She looks up at me, a hint of worry in her eyes.
“Worried? No, I’m not worried. Hell you already have, Mouse. I mean we literally took a walk in the park the other day,” I remember back to the smooth walkway and the dainty flowers poking out of the grass. I was half expecting Bambi to peek out of a bush and blink at me. “And I had absolutely no urge or desireto strip down to my birthday suit and cannonball into the pond or swing around the lamp post.” We make our way up the front steps and ring the doorbell.
Rebecca
Okay,Jack and Mayzie are wonderful. First of all, Jack knows his way around a steak. Second of all, they’ve been so perfect navigating my shyness tonight. They’ve found ways to include me in the conversation without me having to speak or respond so much and it’s warming me up, little bit by bit. As we have a quiet dinner on a screened-in portion of their deck, they give friendly smiles as they speak but don’t sit and stare, waiting for a response.
“I think it’s great you came over tonight, Rebecca,” Mayzie smiles encouragingly at me and I appreciate her kindness.
“Thanks, Mayzie,” I murmur softly and give her a warm smile as I cut another bite of my steak.
“It was a compromise. I’m—we’re helping her meet her daily challenge, while also doing something lowkey and quiet.”
“Which makes it a challenge for you,” Jack jabs, pointing his fork at him.
“Very funny, Jack-a-Lack!” Chris sneers at him. “But yes, if you must know, I chose you two in particular to help keep me in line.”
“When he gets out of hand,”—Jack waves his utensils, wrists resting on the table—“you just treat him like a toddler or a golden retriever puppy and it reins him in.”
“What?!” Chris jumps to his feet, making me jolt. Jack sits back, unamused, and Mayzie takes a casual sip of her wine. “How dare you!” Chris swipes up the nearest object on the table to him which happens to be a dinner roll. “I hereby throw down this -,”
“Chris, I’ll buy you a pack of scratch ‘n’ sniff stickers if you sit back down,” Jack interrupts with a lazy expression.
Chris’s hairline relaxes as his eyes go hopeful and he halts his impending spiking of the dinner roll. “Really?” He schools his features back into theatrically pissed off. “I mean, no! You cannot win me over with infantile bribery! Your remark was insulting sir, and I demand you -,”
“Kumquat,” I say.
His mouth closes mid-rant, and he sits, looking at me as if awaiting further orders.
I can’t believe that slipped out so easily, and I quickly look to both Jack and Mayzie, gauging their reactions so that I know whether to duck under the table in mortification or not. Mayzie is still clutching her wine glass but her eyes are alight and appears to be holding back a laugh while Jack leans forward with warm look that suggests he’s … impressed?
“Wow,” he muses as he looks between Chris and me. “So, all this time, all it took was some code word to chill him out?”
“It’s a trick I learned from his mom,” I raise a shoulder and smile shyly down at my wine.
“She’s met your mom?” Jack’s gaze swings over to Chris in disbelief.
“Jack,” Chris tries to keep his voice level as he fidgets in his seat. “I would like it very much if you’d apologize for your hurtful comments.”
As Jack opens his mouth, I surprise myself yet again by speaking up. “Don’t worry about it, Jack. He called you boring on the way over here.”
This makes Jack’s mouth snap shut as he whips his head to face Chris again while this time, Mayzie’s small laugh bursts free.
“I didn’t mean boring,” Chris swipes up his wine glass and holds his arms out with a facetious wobble of his head.
“I’m the romantic one,” Jack proclaims with a firm tone, holding his hand out open-palmed, resting it on the table next to Mayzie, and she places hers inside it.