by Sherie Keys
"Honey, wouldn't you like to go with him?" Mary asked her, pulling her from her nightmare reverie.
"What? What was that, Mom?”
Her mother, father, and Riley were all looking at her expectantly.
Mary laughed lightly and waved her hand dismissively. "That's my little daydreamer. Honey, Riley wants to take you bowling after dinner. I said I thought you'd like to do that. You would, wouldn't you? Why don't you go bowling with Riley after dinner. Okay?" Her mother smiled at her and nodded, practically making the date for her.
Brandy felt as if she couldn't turn it down. "That would be nice. Thanks, Riley."
At least it would get her out of the house. They finished dinner and chocolate cake, and then Riley helped her into her coat and took her to the bowling alley. She laughed when she saw it, and Riley looked at her in surprise.
"What's funny?" he asked as he saw her mirth.
"Well, I haven't seen the old place in so long. It's great to see it again. We have so many good memories at this place from high school. It's strange and familiar all at the same time, you know? Like going back in time, somehow. It doesn't look like it's changed at all." She smiled at the nostalgia that the old place brought to her, and Riley coughed.
"Well," he said defensively, "They did get new shoes for everyone to rent, and there is a whole new rack of balls in there, too."
She turned and stared at him for a minute. "Well that's good. I'm sorry if that came out wrong, I just meant that it was nice to see something familiar from my childhood that I enjoyed so much." She sighed and climbed out of his old truck and they walked in together.
She rented some of the new shoes he'd told her about and they got a lane.
Riley pulled his own shoes from his bowling bag, and then he hefted out a shiny green ball. He held it up to her proudly. "Just got this baby. I've just been breaking her in at the leagues on Wednesday nights. She's a good one."
He pulled a chamois cloth from his bag and began to polish his new bowling ball, and when it was shined up just a little more, he pulled his shoes on.
"So you're on the bowling leagues?" Brandy asked with a smile.
He nodded. "I am. I'm the captain of my team, and we've won the league every year since they made me captain. I'm one of the best bowlers around."
She smiled at him. "That's nice, Riley." She meant it. He beamed.
"So what else do you do?" she asked him, wondering what he'd been up to in his own life since she left.
"Oh, not much. I work at dad's shop, I'm on the bowling leagues, and get real wild now and then and go down to Dukes to sing karaoke when I want to have a night out on the town." He winked at her.
He was a far, far, cry from the metropolitan class and style that Kyle had. She couldn't see Riley changing his jeans for linen pants and sitting down to enjoy a symphony or a ballet, nor could she seem him strolling through the little streets on the island where she had gone with Kyle.
She sighed and reminded herself not to compare the two of them. They were vastly different people leading vastly different lives, and she was caught somewhere in between the two of them, trying to find her own way and some way for the baby that was coming.
"You sing karaoke?" she asked with a little laugh of surprise.
He shrugged. "Yeah, well, it's just once in a while, and it's only for fun. I like to sing some of the old music we used to listen to in high school. It's a lot better than the crap the kids today listen to."
He laughed then. "You know, my old man used to say the same thing about the music I played when I was in high school, but he had the Beatles, and you just can't ever get as good as that, so I guess everything is downhill from there."
Brandy laughed and nodded her head. "I guess not." She went up to the line and threw her ball and it sailed down the lane, knocking down two pins. Riley smiled at her.
"Well, that's alright. You'll make the next one,” he told her encouragingly.
She collected her ball for the second throw and knocked down six more pins. She shrugged when she came back to the desk.
"It's been a long time since I bowled; I'm surprised that I was able to even get the ones I did get. I thought it would be a gutter ball for sure." She laughed a little nervously.
Riley shook his head. "It's alright. Don't you worry. I'll go easy on you tonight." He winked at her and she felt her face flush a little bit. He got a strike with his ball on the first throw and then came back to her.
"Can I get you a beer?"
So he didn't know she was pregnant, she thought to herself. She had no idea how his mother hadn't told him yet, but she was grateful for the secrecy. "No, I'm alright Riley, but thanks. You go ahead and have one if you want it."
He ordered one and when he came back, she was up at the line, just about to toss her ball again.
"Wait! Wait a minute." He walked up to the line behind her. "You're holding it wrong." He came and stood directly behind her, pressing his body cautiously up against hers and she saw his breath catch as their bodies touched.
He reached his hand over hers and showed her how she was holding the ball incorrectly, and showed her how to fix it. "Here, just..." he breathed in her perfume, "just hold it here like this and then keep your wrist straight when you toss it."
She looked back over her shoulder at him and he raised his hand and rested it on her hip, his eyes locked on hers. "Just stand like this,” he said quietly as he moved her where he wanted her. "Then throw like I showed you."
She looked back at him once more and he became aware that his hands were still on her hips, and he coughed and let go of her, then walked back to the desk. She threw the ball and hit nine pins.
He nodded and the smile faded from his face as he watched her. "That's good, that's good, you'll get it on the next one."
The ball came back up and she pulled her arm back and let it fly down the lane. She missed the last pin, and he marked the score quietly as she came back to the desk.
"So why aren't you out with someone else tonight? Aren’t you seeing anyone?"
He shook his head and looked down at his shoes. "Nah. I was seeing Amy Gorman for a little while, but then she decided she wanted to have more than one man at a time, and I'm really kind of a one woman-one man kind of guy. Plus, it just wasn't right with her."
Brandy frowned. "Why not?" she asked curiously. "Amy's a nice girl, for the most part."
Riley shook his head, looking away from her and he smiled as if he knew something that she should know but which had somehow missed her completely.
He turned his eyes back to her and locked his dark brown eyes on her gray blue eyes. "It wouldn't work with her because she's not you."
Brandy stared at him. He smiled and walked to her, reaching his hands out to her waist and pulling her close to him as he gazed into her eyes. "There isn't anyone for me but you. Not really. No one would ever compare to you. I thought I might wind up with Donna Newman if you didn't ever come back. She likes me, always has, but she's not you either, and I thought well, maybe if I hit forty years old and no one else is around, and you aren't mine, then maybe I'd start thinking about Donna. Luckily, you came back and saved me."
He leaned close to her and smiled a little, parting his lips. "Just in the nick of time." He leaned in and kissed her mouth softly.
He tasted like beer, and she was going to pull away, but he held her closer to him and kissed her longer and deeper, finally letting her go and looking at her with complete satisfaction.
"Woo! You still got it, baby. You still got it." He pointed his finger at her and shook his head. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again. He walked over and picked up his ball, sending it sailing down the lane and crashing through every single pin.
Brandy tried her best to keep him at a distance that night, but every chance he could, he got close to her and either held her or tried to kiss her again. She was careful and tried to keep herself busy and away from him just enough that it wasn't convenient for him to get to h
er.
They had fun and closed out their night, and just before they walked out of the bowling alley, Riley cornered her by the door where it was quiet, and he pressed her up against the wall and looked deeply into her eyes.
"Do you want to go out for a drive? Or... maybe come over to my place?" He nodded toward the door he was keeping her from opening. "I got a nice apartment over by the high school. You could come see it." He smiled at her meaningfully. "I am saving up to buy a house, but I wanted to wait until I settle down to do that so I only have to do it once. It'd be nice to have a wife to help me pick it out."
Brandy's life flashed before her eyes again and she sighed and shook her head. "Well, maybe another night. I'm still tired from the move back up here and Mom’s waiting up for me, so I better go,” she said with a pseudo look of disappointment on her face.
He leaned close to her. "Your mom's not waiting up for you. Your mom is hoping that I can sweep you off of your feet and make you fall in love with me, just like I am." He leaned in again, pressing his lips to hers along with his body as he held her tightly.
There was absolutely no chemistry or fire for her, just the feel of his cool wet lips on hers and the taste of beer on his breath. His hands felt like they were glued to her in one spot, unable to move as he held her fast. He didn't really move his mouth over hers, he just sort of held his lips in one place and closed his eyes, and then let her go slowly when he felt it was time to let her go. She leaned back from him and he grinned again.
"See that? Look at that magic between us. Are you sure you don't want to go back to my place with me? We could really get things going, if you know what I mean." He gave her a deliberate and obvious wink, and she sighed.
"No, I really think I better head back to my mother's house."
He sighed and let her go, looking closely at her as she headed for the door. "So you're going to play hard to get, then? Well, I can do that. I've been waiting a long time for you, Brandy, I can wait just a little longer and win you over."
Brandy was disappointed to hear the sound of an accepted challenge in his voice. She had known him for as long as she could remember, and she knew that when he had a challenge made up in his mind or even if it was actually presented to him, he didn't give up on it until he got it. She'd have a hard time getting him to give up if he had made his mind up that getting her was a challenge and he had to succeed.
Riley took her home and she climbed out of his truck and raced to the front porch in the rain, waving at him from the door and then closing it quietly behind her. She sighed heavily and was just walking up the stairs when her mother emerged from the kitchen and looked at her expectantly.
"Well?" She smiled bright at Brandy. "How was the date? Did you have fun?"
Brandy nodded. "It was fine, Mom. Thanks." She yawned loudly. "I've got to get going to bed now. I'm really tired."
Her mother nodded at her and waved as she made her way up the stairs. "Goodnight, honey!" she called up after Brandy.
Brandy collapsed in her bed and groaned as she closed her eyes. The path of her life was becoming more and more plain to her, and it was clear that if she stayed for very long at all, she would wind up in a little humdrum life, just like her parents and Riley and his parents, and it just wasn't what she wanted at all.
It was an easy out, and it was something that she knew she could have at the flick of a switch; Riley would marry her in a minute, and very likely adopt her baby, raise it just like it was his, and buy her a house. He would get her talked into bowling leagues on Wednesdays, and believing that he was her own personal love god, when in fact kissing him was more like giving CPR to a dead fish.
Her alternatives were dim, and out her line of sight just then. She had no idea where she could go from where she was, she just knew that she had no way to go back to New York and she had no desire to stay in her parents' house, or in Riley's.
The next morning dawned brightly; the storm had passed in the night and the sun had found its way out. Brandy woke up and checked her phone and was delighted to see a text message from Alice on it.
“Missing you terribly. Hope you aren't busy today because I'm already on the train on my way to Boston.”
Brandy squealed with excitement and found the energy to get out of bed and get ready for her visitor. She helped her mother spruce up the guest room and her mother even grew excited at the prospect of meeting one of her friends.
"You know, I don't think anyone has used this room since your Aunt Rose came in from Florida three Christmases ago. Remember that?" Mary asked brightly as she fluffed pillows and smiled at Brandy.
Brandy nodded. "Yes, I remember. That was the year I tried to make your fruit salad and failed at it miserably."
Her mother laughed. "It wasn't that bad."
Brandy stopped in the middle of gathering up the old sheets from the bed. "Yes, Mom, it was that bad."
Mary laughed again and nodded subtly. "Well... perhaps it was a little... ah... yes. So what time is your friend coming in?" she asked, changing the subject quickly.
Brandy looked at her watch. "Oh! In about half an hour. I'm going to go down to the station and pick her up."
"Okay, honey. I'll have dinner ready at six tonight, in case you two want to spend some time downtown, okay?"
"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 ab
out 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.