Plus 1

by Erica Lee

  I put my arm around Todd and pulled him close. “Having you here with me makes it feel even more like home.”

  Before I had the chance to knock, my dad opened the door. He put his arms out and pulled me in close.

  “My baby girl,” he shouted into my ear. “How long has it been? Almost a year? You look so much older and more mature than the last time I saw you.”

  He pulled away and looked into my eyes, with tears forming in his own. “I’ve missed you so much honey. I’m sorry I didn’t get back to Pennsylvania for any holidays. I promise I’ll do better.”

  I almost spoke up and told him that he shouldn’t make promises he can’t keep, but I just leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek instead. I hated to see a grown man cry and I worried that if I called him out on being an absentee father, he might have a full on meltdown.

  My dad’s house was a modest size three bedroom with two bathrooms. One of the extra rooms was designated as my room and the few times I visited, he encouraged me to decorate it however I wanted. The other room was a guest room. My dad’s house was a lot like my mom’s in that he had framed pictures of us all over the place. I was always surprised to see how many he had. He honestly must have hung up every picture we’ve ever taken together. His refrigerator was covered with every article ever written about my social media platform.

  “So, what’s the plan?” My dad asked. “I am off the rest of the night and don’t go back in until tomorrow at 4:00pm.”

  If I was honest, I had absolutely no idea what my dad’s job was. All I knew was that he worked strange hours and used to travel all of the time when I was growing up.

  I looked at the clock and saw that it was 6:00. No wonder I felt so hungry. It was already 9:00 on the east coast.

  “I’m in desperate need of some food, but let me call Jenny quick to see what her plans are.”

  As I was walking away with my phone in hand, I heard Todd whisper something to my dad about my “girlfriend.”

  “Hey California girl,” Jenny answered on the other end of the phone. “Finally landed on the best coast?”

  “I have,” I said as a goofy grin spread across my face. “And I’m not going to disagree with you on that one you know. Perfect weather, beautiful scenery, pretty girls - it doesn’t get much better than that.”

  “Pretty girls, huh? See anything you like so far?” The flirtation in Jenny’s voice wasn’t lost on me and as usual it set my body on fire.

  “If you’re asking if I’ve found any girls that are prettier than you, the answer is obviously no.” And I wasn’t kidding. I was truly convinced that there weren’t any girls in this world prettier than Jenny.

  “My oh my Miss Montgomery. I would say that flattery won’t get you anywhere, but that’s a lie. It will get you everywhere.”

  “Everywhere, huh?” I could think of quite a few places I would like flattery to get me if I was channeling my inner 18 year old boy.

  “You’re bad,” Jenny joked. “But I think I’ll still keep you around. Speaking of, when do I get to see you?”

  “I’d love to say tonight, but I know you have to get up early for work tomorrow and I should spend time around here with my dad anyway. So how about tomorrow when you get off work?”

  “Sounds wonderful. How do you feel about dinner and clubbing in West Hollywood?”

  Just thinking about clubbing with Jenny was enough to get my heart racing. “I feel great about that. I should go for now, but text me with more details.”

  “I will,” Jenny promised. “And Rory?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m really excited to see you.”

  I felt like I could burst from happiness just from those simple words. “I’m really excited to see you too Wedding Jenny,” I tried to say as nonchalantly as possible.

  When I walked back to the kitchen where my dad and Todd were, they were both laughing and staring at me.

  “So,” my dad said while lifting an eyebrow. “Tell me about this Jenny girl.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Well, no matter what Todd tries to tell you, she’s not my girlfriend. We’re just friends.”

  My dad’s grin widened. “He told me you’d say that.”

  I shook my head at both of them. “That’s because it’s true.”

  “If you say so, then I believe you,” my dad conceded, but him and Todd continued to elbow each other like they were two teenage boys sharing an inside joke.

  I changed the subject by asking what we were having for dinner and my dad offered to make steak and potatoes on the grill. We spent the rest of the night laughing and catching up and luckily, avoiding the topic of Jenny.

  The next day, my dad took us to a local flea market where we shopped and ate just about everything. Around 3:00, we headed home so my dad could get ready and go to work.

  “I’m working until midnight and then have to be back in at 8 tomorrow morning, so I probably won’t see you until tomorrow night,” my dad informed me as he was leaving the house. Before the door completely shut, he leaned his head back in and added, “How about I make reservations for us and your friends to go to dinner? There’s also someone that I’d like you to meet.”

  I nodded my head, taken back by my dad’s question. He slipped out the door and I stood there running his words back through my mind. Someone he wants me to meet? He had to be talking about a girlfriend because who else would he want me to meet? I wasn’t sure how to feel about this realization. Unlike my mom, who hadn’t dated at all since the divorce, I always figured my dad was dating people. Who else would he be spending all of his free time with when it clearly wasn’t his own daughter? Still, he had never dated anyone seriously enough to feel the need introduce them to me and I didn’t know how to feel about this being the case now. I guess I shouldn’t care. It’s not like I had some irrational dream of my parents getting back together. It also wouldn’t be weird seeing my dad happy with someone other than my mom because, honestly, I had never really seen my parents happy around each other. Sure there were a few vacations or holidays where they actually acted friendly towards each other, but even then I had never even seen them kiss or hold hands. Still, it felt strange to think about. Did she have kids? Had he met her kids? A lump formed in my stomach as I thought about him actually spending time with these kids. That’s when it hit me that this was what bothered me. I wanted my dad to be happy, but I didn’t want someone else’s kids to get the time and attention that I should have gotten from him. That might be selfish but I didn’t care.

  I tried to shake all of these thoughts from my head so I could get ready for my night out, but still texted Jenny to tell her that there was something I wanted to talk to her about. Immediately after, my phone started to ring and I saw it was her.

  “Is everything ok?” She asked before I even had the chance to say hello.

  “Yeah, it was just something that my dad said that I wanted to run past you. But I’d rather talk about it in person if that’s ok,” I admitted.

  “Of course,” Jenny agreed. “I hope it’s ok, but my best friend and her fiancé are actually going to go to dinner with us. They live in Santa Monica so it’s not a long trip and I’ve told her about you so she’s been begging to meet you.”

  “You’ve told her about me, huh?” I asked with a hint of flirtation in my voice, but I could feel my face turning red at the thought of Jenny telling her friend about me.

  “Of course. She knows all about the pretty girl from Pennsylvania with the cute little chin dimple,” Jenny admitted nonchalantly.

  I laughed and told her that I was excited to meet her friend, but had to get ready. The truth was that sometimes Jenny’s flirtation was too much for me and I had to take a step back and remind myself that it didn’t mean anything to either of us. Because it didn’t. It was just some simple flirting. Nothing more.

  Two hours later, we were standing in front of a cute little Italian restaurant, being introduced to all of Jenny’s friends. Ryan was even better looking in
person. He had shaggy blonde hair and tanned skin that screamed California boy. He was wearing khaki shorts with a red polo shirt and boat shoes. Jenny’s best friend, Allison, was tall with the build of a basketball player and her fiancé, Bret, was even taller. They both had blonde hair and firm bodies. They looked like the type of couple that went to the gym together everyday and whose dates revolve around physical activity such as rock climbing or hiking. Or maybe in California surfing was more likely.

  Jenny was wearing a pair of short jean shorts that hugged her curves perfectly and a low cut t-shirt. She had on big sunglasses and when she took them off the setting California sun made her eyes shimmer even more than usual. I stepped closer and gave her a big hug, holding on a little longer than usual. I couldn’t help but notice that Jenny wasn’t in any hurry to pull away either. When we finally backed up from each other, every other member of our group was staring at us and Todd had that look on his face that said “I know you’re totally in love with her.” I gave him a warning glance and his face went straight.

  “So, shall we head in?” Jenny asked, hip checking me as we walked in next to each other.

  Not long into dinner, I felt like we were surrounded by old friends. I learned that Allison and Jenny had been friends since high school and had also attended the same college, which is where Allison met Bret their freshman year. He had proposed about a year ago and they were doing a small wedding with close friends and family in Miami on new year’s eve.

  I told Allison how much I enjoyed Miami and a smile spread across her face as she looked between Jenny and I. “Jenny you should totally bring Rory as your plus one.” She looked over at me and added with a wink, “I can’t call it a date because Jenny is afraid of that word.”

  Jenny gave her friend an annoyed look and I couldn’t tell if she was mad about the date comment or the fact that she had suggested bringing me.

  I squeezed her leg in reassurance. “Don’t worry. You don’t have to take me. I know it’s not your thing.”

  Jenny’s face relaxed as she smiled over at me. “I honestly didn’t even know I was getting a plus one. I figured only people in serious relationships would.”

  Allison interrupted, “Of course you get a plus one. You’re my best friend and pretty much vice maid of honor after my sister.”

  I elbowed Jenny in the side. “So, you pretty much take over if the maid of honor can’t fulfill her duties?”

  “No. She actually has all of the maid of honor duties without the actual title. My little sister is pretty much useless, but would also murder me in my sleep if I didn’t make her my maid of honor,” Allison admitted.

  Jenny looked at me and lifted an eyebrow. “So, what do you say? Any interest in coming with me? It could be fun. Although, I feel like I should warn you that I will be busy fulfilling my vice MOH duties, so you might be spending a decent chunk of time alone.”

  I acted like I was considering the offer even though I knew there was nothing to think about. It was a weekend in Miami and a chance to spend more time with Jenny. Of course I was going to accept.

  “I’m not the type of girl to turn down a weekend in Miami. I’m in. And don’t worry about me. I’ll make friends. Incase you didn’t notice, I’m pretty charming.”

  “Oh I noticed,” Jenny said giving me a half smile.

  The rest of the dinner was spent talking about Ryan’s nonprofit and what plans he had for the kids. I noticed Todd was hanging on every word he was saying and thought I was going to have to remind him not to drool.

  After dinner, we said goodbye to Allison and Bret and headed to one of the bigger clubs in West Hollywood. That’s when the alcohol started flowing. As soon as we got in, Ryan bought shots for all of us. After that, I chugged down a very strong mixed drink, before ordering another round of shots. Normally I didn’t drink so much so quickly. I was the type of person who liked to have the “constant buzz.” The type that was just enough to let loose, but not enough to do anything stupid and I had a feeling that tonight was quickly headed toward stupid.

  After exploring the bar and having a few more drinks, we made our way onto the dance floor. With liquid courage pouring through me, I pulled Jenny close to me.

  I stood behind her with my hands on her hips, while she danced up against me. If I hadn’t been drunk to start, her dancing would have pushed me over the edge. She was intoxicating. Between the smell that graced my nose as her hair wisped in front of my face and the feel of her curves tight against my body, I felt like I had entered a whole other world; a world where it was only me and Jenny; a world where we could do and feel anything; a world where I wasn’t afraid to follow my heart.

  Before I could even begin to consider where these thoughts were coming from, I took Jenny’s arm and twisted her around so she was facing me. I continued to dance up close to her, resting my head on her forehead while our bodies moved together in perfect synchronization. I found myself staring down at her lips and wondering what would happen if I closed the distance between us.

  Jenny’s eyes fluttered from my eyes down to my own lips and I wondered if she was having the same thoughts. If she was, she probably wouldn’t mind if I moved in close and… suddenly I felt a finger on my lips. I looked up to see Jenny smiling at me and shaking her head playfully. I kissed the finger she had placed on my lips then used my hand to guide it back to her lips. I couldn’t tell whether the look on her face was due to lust or surprise, but I took her hand and intertwined her fingers with mine anyway. When she didn’t try to stop me, I decided to move in for the kiss again. As I moved in close, she closed her eyes and I noticed a lustful sigh leaving her lips. When my lips were just about an inch from hers, Jenny unwound her fingers from mine and gently pushed away from me.

  She leaned in close so I could hear her words. “Could we talk please?” The way she emphasized the word please made me feel like she was either upset or angry and I started cursing myself out as I followed her out of the bar.

  Once we were out on the sidewalk and away from the noise, Jenny stopped to look at me, crossing her arms. “What is going on with you Rory? I realize you’re drunk right now, but this isn’t like you. Does this have anything to do with what you said you wanted to talk to me about?”

  I tried to think of the right words to say, but before I could string a sentence together, I broke down into tears. Jenny immediately pulled me into a tight hug and rubbed my back.

  She whispered into my ear. “Hey, it’s ok. What’s going on? Tell me what’s wrong.”

  I wasn’t even sure what I was crying about until the words subconsciously spilled out of my mouth. “Today... When my dad was leaving for work…” I took a deep breath trying to will myself to stop crying so the words could come out. “He told me that there is someone he wants me to meet. He wants to bring this person to dinner with all of us tomorrow. It has to be a woman right? Like, he must be dating someone and it must be serious if he wants me to meet her. And the thing is, I don’t really care about that. My dad is a grown man with his own life. He can do what he wants. But then I started thinking. What if she has kids? What if he treats those kids like they’re his own? But like his own kids that he actually spends time with? Kids that he takes to the movies or to a football game. Kids that he calls up just to ask how their day is going. What if he actually spends holidays with these kids? What if he wakes them up Christmas morning and they make Christmas cookies and watch Christmas movies?”

  With that last sentence, the tears started streaming down my face again. Jenny rested her forehead against mine and gently ran her hand through my hair.

  “Hey, hey,” Jenny whispered soothingly. “Just try to breathe, ok? Everything is going to be ok.”

  Once I had calmed down, Jenny backed up and looked into my eyes while wiping away the stray tears that were still running down my cheeks.

  “Ok. Let me make sure I have this straight,” she said calmly. “Your dad told you that there is someone he wants you to meet and he is bringing this pe
rson to dinner tomorrow?”

  I nodded slowly and wiped my face with the back of my arm, finally willing the tears to stop.

  “Ok. Did he say anything else?”

  I shook my head no, still unable to form words at the moment.

  “Alright…” Jenny spoke slowly as though she was trying not to upset me anymore. “I agree. It does sound like he is dating someone. Now, I’m not trying to push aside your feelings, but I think you should wait to hear all of the details before jumping to conclusions. She might not have any kids. Heck, this ‘she’ we’re talking about, might not actually exist. It’s not worth getting yourself upset about now though because you might be getting upset about nothing. But, you know, if you find out there is an actual reason to be upset then I’ll be here for you. I mean it Ror. Now what do you say we get some food and water in your stomach?”

  I followed her down the street until we came to a small pizza shop where she ordered us each a slice of cheese pizza and a bottle of water. After I chugged my whole bottle, she tossed me hers.

  “Take it,” she said with a wink. “You need it more than me.”

  By the time we were done eating, I had sobered up a decent amount. I looked up at the clock and realized it was already 1:30am.

  “Shit,” I said while looking around and taking in my surroundings. “We left Todd and Ryan awhile ago. We need to get back to the bar before they start to get worried.”

  To be honest, I had completely forgotten about Todd and Ryan. Once I started dancing with Jenny, I forgot anyone else in the world existed. As we walked back to the bar, I silently scolded myself for being such a terrible best friend.

  I looked around for Todd once we were back inside the bar, but Jenny spotted them first.

  She nudged me in the side and pointed across the bar. “Yeah, I don’t think they were too worried about us.”

  I followed the direction of her finger with my eyes and found Ryan and Todd across the bar having a full on sloppy make out session. Jenny and I laughed as we made our way over to them.