by Sherie Keys
"Thank you Mom, I love you," Brandy said and hurried out of the door.
A short while later, she was hugging Alice on the sidewalk in front of the train station.
Alice grinned at her. "God it's good to see you, I know you just left, but it feels like it's been ages! I can't believe I'm here."
Brandy grinned back at her. "I can't believe you're here. You're like a breath of fresh air from the real world. I feel like I might suffocate here. Seriously."
Alice hugged her again, and Brandy looked at her and asked her, "Are you hungry?"
Alice laughed and said, "Have you met me? I'm Puerto Rican. I'm always hungry."
The two of them headed off into the heart of Boston and went to Hanover Street for some excellent Italian in the Little Italy neighborhood. They stopped at Mike's Pastry shop and each of them picked out a cannoli, and once those were gone, they stopped in for some gelato as they strolled through the old borough and took in the sights and people.
Alice tilted her head and looked at the people who were walking around them. "You know, you can really tell the difference between the tourists and the locals here." They sat on a bench for a few minutes, guessing about people as they strolled by, and then they walked around the neighborhood and eventually went back to the car.
"My mother is making dinner for us. She'll have that ready at six, so we have until then to look around. Do you want to take the train over to some of the museums and check them out?"
Alice nodded. "I do. That sounds like fun."
They wound up at the MMA and as they were walking through it looking at all the masters’ works of art, Alice looked sidelong at Brandy and asked her, "So how are you really doing?"
Brandy shrugged. "I'm good, I guess. I'm not thrilled with where I am right now, but it's not bad. I'm close enough to central Boston that I can get here in a short amount of time, so I'm not completely removed from civilization, but it just feels like I'm so far from it when I'm at my parents’ house."
"Well, maybe you could move to Boston when you get on your feet. You don't have to come back to New York. You have other options," Alice said with a half-smile. "I'd prefer that you come back to New York, but that doesn't mean that you have to. What else is going on here?"
Brandy sighed and rubbed her hands over her arms. "Well, my mother's best friend has this son; his name is Riley. He and I grew up together and he's always kind of had this thing for me. Well, now that I'm back, he just seems to have jumped right in and he's so interested in getting together with me. I went out bowling with him last night and he was talking about buying a house and getting married." She groaned at the thought.
Alice stared at her. "You're kidding! Does he know about the baby?" she asked curiously.
"No, I haven't told him yet. His mother knows, though, so I'm surprised that she hasn't said anything to him about it yet."
Alice lowered one eyebrow and tilted her head. "How does his mother know?"
Brandy smiled and waved her hand. "Well, my mother told her two best friends, and his mother is one of those two best friends. I'm just hoping that his mother doesn't tell him. I feel like I should be the one to tell him when I’m ready.”
"Do you think he'll still want to marry you when he finds out your pregnant with another man's kid?" Alice asked suspiciously.
Brandy nodded and pushed her hands down into her pockets. "Yeah, I do think he'll still want to marry me. Another man's baby is not going to deter him from his present course which is set on me. In fact, I could see him turning it into a crusade to save me and make a family with me. He's a good guy, but there is just no chemistry on my side, just... zero. I've never liked him like that and he's always liked me like that. We're kind of in a weird spot."
Alice sighed. "I don't envy you any of the craziness, but I am glad that you had somewhere to go, and I'm glad that you're with your parents. At least they can help you with all the changes going on in your life. That's a huge benefit to you. Imagine those girls that have nowhere to go. Your situation could have been a lot worse."
Brandy agreed. "It's true, I really don't have it as bad as it could be. Still, it would be nice to be out of here."
Alice stopped and looked at her. "You haven't heard from what's-his-name, have you?"
Brandy hadn't thought about what's-his-name in at least half an hour, and it had been a peaceful half an hour, and now Alice wanted to talk about him.
"No, I haven't heard anything," she said. "I won't. He's gone. He's long gone with his wife, and I'm here in Boston with my parents and my baby."
A wistful look came into Brandy's eyes and Alice looked at her carefully. "You still haven't told him you're having his baby, have you?" she accused her friend.
"No," sighed Brandy in resignation. "I haven't. I will, I just had to get out of the city first. Everything kind of happened all at once and I had to handle it, and now I'm here and I'm trying to get settled. It's a crazy time for me and I am trying to get a hold on it and make it calm down before I add any more drama.. Besides, this kid isn't going anywhere for at least the next six months, so I have a little time to tell him before things get real."
Alice laughed a little. "Yeah, you do. You have some time. What have your parents said about the baby?" she asked with a hopeful smile.
Brandy smiled and rubbed her stomach. "My dad hasn't said much; he never does, but my mom is so happy and excited. She's ready for the next step in her own life, which is to be a grandma, so she doesn't care whether I'm married or not or whether the dad is around or not, although I know she would prefer I'd done this the traditional way like she did, marriage first and then babies. But she's not judging me at all, and it's nice to have the support and love from her. I'm really lucky with that."
"And you're sure that you don't want to shack up with this Riley guy?" Alice asked, teasing her friend a little.
Brandy made a face. "Well, not really, no. I mean, I don't want to be alone forever either, but I don't want to be with someone just for the sake of having someone around. If I hadn't been with what's-his-name, then I wouldn't know what real love feels like, and I might be more satisfied with Riley, but I have had love, and I know what it feels like, what passion and romance and excitement feels like, and that's not Riley at all.
“He's very safe and secure. Whoever he winds up with is going to be a lucky lady. He'll marry her and spend the rest of his life doting on her, spoiling her, and loving her. Riley would never cheat on her or hurt her, but he's just not the best one for me. To be honest, I think I'd rather end up alone than end up with the wrong guy, I mean, wouldn't you?"
Alice thought about it and slowly began to nod her head. "Yeah, I guess you're right. There is so much pressure in our society to wind up with someone, but when you get right down to it, if the only choices were to either be alone or be with someone you shouldn't be with, I guess I would want to be alone.
“It would suck to be with someone who wasn't right for you. You'd feel trapped all of the time and with no options. At least if you are alone, then you can leave your slippers and your coffee cup wherever the hell you want to leave them and no one is going to yell at you for it."
"See? Independence. That's what I'm thinking for myself, too. I can watch whatever I want to watch on television, I can eat breakfast cereal for dinner or pizza for breakfast if I want, I can take off out of town on a whim if I want, or sleep like a starfish in the bed and take up the whole thing. There are definite perks to being alone."
"Except you won't be totally alone, there will be a baby along for the ride as well."
"Then it will be more fun with the baby,” Brandy said, making her mind up to be glad about it.
Alice nodded. "That's right. It will be more fun, and you and that baby will have a great time no matter where you go and no matter what you do."
They smiled and hugged, and wandered through the museum, looking at all of the exhibitions and paintings, stopping for coffee and a late lunch in the cafe.
By
the time dinner rolled around, they had left the museum and were on their way back to the house. Mary and Oscar welcomed Alice into their home with wide-open arms and hearts, and told her that they were glad to have her there.
Alice was thrilled to be able to be there and to see where Brandy had grown up. She took a look at Brandy's room and the lifetime of memories that were displayed all over the walls and shelves.
"This is so cool! My mom didn't keep most of my stuff, and the moment I went off to college, she turned my room into a craft zone. I've never been allowed back into that room again,” she teased Brandy.
Brandy laughed. "That's not true!" She said that in defense of Alice's poor mother.
Alice shook her head. "Oh yes, it is true. It's also okay. That's not a house I want to go live in again. I've been there and done that, and I want to move forward with my life. Far forward."
Brandy leaned over and hugged her friend tightly. "It is so good to see you and have you here to visit with me. Thank you so much for coming up."
Alice grinned. "Sure! I'm glad to be here for you. I wanted to make sure you were okay, and check on you, I missed you. So, it's not hard at all to come here and visit with you for a weekend. Tell your parents that I'd like to make a reservation for that spare bedroom at least once a month, so I can come up here and see you and play with the baby, unless you have your own place by then, and then I will catch up with you wherever you are, and you can come back down to the city and see me anytime. Call first." She winked at Brandy.
Brandy smiled excitedly. "How are things going with Harry?"
At the mention of his name, Alice grew a little pink and a big smile spread over her face. "Things are going really well. I think we're going to be together for a long time."
Brandy looked at her in surprise. "Really? How long is a long time?"
Alice rolled her eyes and giggled. "Oh, you know, until he and I are having wheelchair races in the hallways at the old folks home."
Brandy laughed at her and smiled, shaking her head. "I hope that works out for you."
"The wheelchair races? Yeah, I hope that works out, too." Alice smiled in anticipation.
Brandy laughed at her. "That's not what I mean... I mean all of it! You goof." She hugged her friend and then stood up when she heard her mother calling up the stairs to her. "Come on, dinner's ready."
The two of them went down to dinner and enjoyed it, spending the evening talking to Brandy's parents and laughing about new experiences and old stories.
After dinner, they watched a movie together, and then the girls headed to bed. They were brushing their teeth together when Alice looked at Brandy and said, "You know, if you do wind up here after the baby is born, this would be a good place to raise a child."
"I know. I was raised as a child here."
Alice nodded and laughed. They went into their separate bedrooms and before long, they were both asleep.
The next morning Alice woke Brandy up with a squeal of excitement.
"Brandy! Wake up!" she said happily.
Brandy opened her eyes slowly and looked up at her friend who looked as though she might burst with excitement. "What? What is it?"
"Your mom made homemade cinnamon rolls for us for breakfast," Alice said, barely concealing her absolute delight.
Brandy laughed. "Yeah, I told her that you like those."
"Well, come on! Get up! They're going to get cold!" Alice dragged Brandy out of bed insistently, and Brandy laughed at her as they headed down the stairs. They sat together at the kitchen table and ate rolls and drank coffee, loving being spoiled by Mary.
"What are you girls going to do today?" Brandy's mother asked them as she set another tray of freshly baked rolls on the table and laughed as Alice's eyes grew big.
"Oh, I thought I'd drive her around the neighborhood here before I take her back to the train station," Brandy said with a smile.
"It's too bad you came for such a short visit, Alice,” Mary told her. "Next time you come, make it a longer stay. We'd love to see you for more time, and I know it makes Brandy happy. She was just about to go nuts up here without any of her girlfriends." Her mother, as usual, confided too much information and Alice smiled and winked at Brandy.
"Thank you, Mary. I've enjoyed being here."
Mary nodded and hugged her.
"Well, you come back any time, my dear." She smiled and then she left them to themselves.
They talked a bit longer and finished their breakfast, and then the two of them got ready. Alice packed her bag, and they got into the car. Brandy drove Alice past Marge's massage parlor and parked across the street from it.
"So this is the dreaded dead end, is it?" Alice asked with a sad face as she looked at Marge's parlor.
"That's the one. I’ve got a job there waiting for me if I want it, I just have to go in and accept it. Pat, who is the clerk down at the grocery store, has said that she'll come in and be my first customer."
Alice's eyes glazed over as she stared at the parlor. "So you'll be hired here, and then Pat will come in. Then you'll marry Riley, and then he'll adopt your baby, and then he'll buy you a house. Then your clientele will grow and you'll have Sunday dinners with the grandparents at your mom and dad's house. In two years there will be another kid and you'll have a big enough clientele base that you can't justify leaving, and you'll have the kids to think about.... holy crap. Did I miss anything?" Alice asked in horror.
Brandy nodded, staring off at Marge's front door. "Yeah, you missed bowling leagues on Wednesday nights and karaoke twice a month."
Alice shook her head. "I get it. I totally get. I can absolutely understand why you want to get the hell out of here and go be on your own. This would drive me crazy. I can't believe it hasn't driven you crazy. I've only been here one day and I'm twitching."
Brandy raised her eyebrows and took a deep breath. "Oh, it's making me crazy. I'm twitching. Never doubt that. I'm definitely twitching. I can't stay here... I mean, I could. By some weird whim of fate, I have a whole built-in life just waiting for me here, but I just don't want it. I don't have a better alternative, but it just doesn't feel like the right life for me."
Alice nodded and took Brandy's hand in hers. "My friend, the answer will come along to you. I promise you that. I just hope it comes before you get married to Riley out of desperation."
Brandy smacked Alice's arm lightly and Alice laughed at her, and then they drove back into Boston and said a long and emotional goodbye to each other.
"I'll call you!" Brandy promised with a wave as Alice hurried into the station.
"You had better!" Alice called back, and then disappeared.
Brandy got back into her car and drove home. When she parked, she was surprised to see a strange car parked across the road.
She walked in through the back door and called out to her mother. "Mom, I'm home."
"Mom?" she called out once more.
Her mother called her from the living room. "We're in the front room, dear."
Brandy walked into the living room and stopped in her tracks. There, sitting on the sofa beside her mother was Riley, and on the other side by her father, who was sitting in his easy chair with a dark look on his face, was Kyle Jamison.
Chapter11
Brandy's jaw fell open when she saw Kyle sitting there and several things happened at once. He stood up the moment he saw her, his eyes wide and she saw a wave of relief wash over his face. Her father never took his eyes off Kyle, and her mother smiled tightly and said in a thin voice, "Well honey, you've had some visitors drop by while you were gone. This young man says he's a friend of yours from New York."
Mary looked as though she believed that as much as she believed Elvis was still alive. Oscar just watched him quietly. Riley stood up and watched Kyle and Brandy, and he shoved his hands down deep into his pockets and scowled fiercely.
Kyle drew in a deep breath when he saw her in the doorway and he walked quickly to her and took her in his arms, holding her close t
o him. She breathed him in, not realizing how much she missed the scent of him and the feel of him so close to her. He held her tightly and kissed her cheek near her ear.
"God I've missed you so much," he whispered to her as his arms closed more tightly around her and she felt nearly every part of his body pressed against hers. He leaned back and looked her up and down again. "Are you alright? Are you okay? I have been so worried about you." He shook his head and locked his green eyes on hers.
She breathed deep and forced herself to let him go. He felt her resistance and stepped away from her, turning to go back to the couch.
"She's fine. She's just fine here with us,” Riley stated firmly, still standing with his hands in his pockets.