The Next Door Boys

by Jolene B Perry

  I threw a pillow at him and folded my arms, refusing to look at him. He knew I was just messing around.

  “Can we please start the movie?” Megan asked.

  I gestured for her to proceed.

  “And there will be no remarks from Leigh or the rest of you,” she warned, pointing her finger first at me and then at the two boys. “This is one of the greatest love stories of all time, and besides, it's part of my schoolwork.” She flopped herself against the back of the couch and hit play.

  I walked to Julie's house, anxious to see her again. My sweater was barely warm enough to keep me from freezing. Fall had hit hard.

  “Come in!” I heard Julie's voice on the other side of the door as I walked up the steps.

  “Julie?” I asked. “Where are you?” The kitchen was deserted.

  “I'm in the living room.”

  I poked my head around.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I feel a little green.” She lifted her head off the side of the couch.

  “You look a little green.” I said. “Can I get you anything?”

  “I'm not sure what to get.”

  She slowly sat up, using her arms to support her as she moved. It hit me. I don't know why, something about the way she moved or the way she was sick. I didn't think, I just blurted it out, “You're pregnant.”

  “What?” She turned to look at me.

  “You're not pregnant?” I asked.

  Her eyes got wide. “I don't know. It hadn't occurred to me.”

  “Want me to walk up the street and get you a test?”

  She stood there staring at me for a moment. “Um… actually…” She got up slowly and shuffled to the bathroom. She rummaged around under the sink. “It was part of a gift from the bachelorette party, like two years ago. I wonder if these things expire. My older sister said, ‘when you need one, you need one now, and there's no hiding that face from the cashier.’ I'm realizing now that she's exactly right.”

  I smiled behind her.

  “Here's one!” She held it up.

  I took the box from her and checked all over the packaging. “I don't see a date anywhere. I think you're good.”

  She stood up and took the test from me. “Should I just do it now?”

  I shrugged.

  She held my arm. “Will you stay here with me?”

  “Do I have to watch you pee?” I laughed at her. Her excitement was contagious.

  She rolled her eyes and disappeared into the bathroom. I stood in the hallway. I was glad to enjoy this moment with her. I'd never have it. I didn't have any sisters. There would probably be no one I'd get to share this with. Maybe my brother's wife, if someone ever came along that was good enough for him.

  “Okay, I think this is it.” She came out of the bathroom, test in hand. “We're looking for a plus sign on the second thing here.”

  We stood there staring at that test for what felt like an hour, and then her smile slowly got bigger as she realized what I'd seen when I walked in. She was going to have a baby.

  “Leigh! I can't believe it!” She grabbed me in a big hug, and we held each other, enjoying the excitement of the moment. My heart was bursting with joy for her and Stuart. Just then I heard Stuart's key in the front door.

  “I'm going to sneak out the back,” I whispered and tiptoed out as quickly as I could. It was their moment to have. I couldn't hear the words, but I could hear the excitement in Stuart's voice and then silence. A joy as pure as that needed a moment of silence. I started down the stairs of the back porch and realized that I had tears on my face a moment too late.

  “Leigh! Are you okay?” Jaron asked. He'd just gotten home.

  I smiled up at him, “Yes, very. I'm sure they'd rather tell you themselves but Julie just found out she's having a baby!” I said it a little quietly but I couldn't hide my enthusiasm.

  Jaron smiled and looked at me evenly. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded. I felt the sadness in my chest, but the joy was greater. “It was neat to be there for that moment, you know?” I maintained my smile but I also had a tear to wipe away.

  He nodded and gave me a lung-crushing hug, lifting me off my feet. He set me down and kissed my forehead. “I think you have no idea how special you are.”

  “Whatever, Jaron.” I rolled my eyes at him and walked off to my apartment. “We'll see you later.” I said over my shoulder.

  “See you.”

  I didn't mind that Jaron saw my tears, but I also didn't want him to have the wrong idea. I'd already prayed about kids. I was okay with it. Anyone would get caught up in the excitement of a moment like that.

  eight

  My phone pulled me out of a catnap after classes. School was wearing me down more than I wanted to admit.

  “Hello, this is Leigh,” I answered, doing my best to sound awake.

  “Leigh, this is Janice. We spoke at the beginning of the year? I work in the costume department.”

  “Oh, right. What can I do for you?” I completely forgot I said I'd volunteer.

  “How are you with tulle?” She laughed.

  “Fine, you must be having issues?” I asked.

  “We're trying to help with the dance department, and the fabric is… well… a pain in the butt.”

  I chuckled. “I can come by Tuesday afternoon, if you'd like.”

  “I'll be here. Thanks, Leigh.”

  “No problem.” I set the phone down and slouched back down on my bed.

  Even though I felt bogged down with midterms, I looked forward to doing something that came easy to me.

  “Hey, Leigh!” Megan bounded down our stairs into our apartment.

  “What's up?”

  “We're going to do a big hike to celebrate the end of midterms on Saturday, are you in?”

  “Why not?” I smiled. It'd be fun to get out of town, even just for a hike. I'd already lost sleep to midterms and wasn't sure how much hiking I'd be up to, but the trip out with friends should be fun.

  I walked downstairs in the theater building to help with tulle, as promised.

  “Hey, Leigh. Come on down.” Janice waved me in from the bottom of the stairs.

  There were no windows, and the walls were white-painted brick. Dress forms and rows upon rows of costumes lined the walls. They were obviously getting ready for the dance performances. I saw the tulle skirt right away.

  “This isn't as bad as I thought—you just want long tutus, right?” I asked Janice.

  “Yes, but the stuff is a pain to work with.” She laughed a little.

  I'd made tons of them when I was in middle school. I had a system.

  “This is Becky and Liv from the dance department. They have to work in here for three hours as part of their requirement. They'll do whatever you need them to.” She smiled at them and started back to her office. “Let me know if you need anything, Leigh,” she said over her shoulder.

  “Okay.” I looked at the girls. “This'll only take a few minutes.” I hope.

  I showed the girls how to cut the massive lengths of fabric it would take to do each one. With helpers who didn't sew, my job was a lot easier. Sewing went fast.

  “Leigh?” Janice came out of her office to see six new skirts hanging up and me finishing the seventh.

  “Wow. The first one took me an hour.” She was looking at the row of skirts as if she was expecting them to fall apart on the rack.

  I laughed. “I sew a lot. This is easy stuff. Besides, I nodded to the two girls who had been pulling thread for the last two hours. “I had helpers.”

  “Well, you really saved us. Log your hours, take a theater practicum class next semester, and I'll add your hours in from this semester.”

  “Can you do that?” I asked. It seemed like a really easy way to get a few credits.

  “Of course I can do that.” She smiled. “It's my shop.”

  “Great.” I reached down to my bag. “Call me if you need anything else.”

  “They're doing a small product
ion of ‘A Christmas Carol’ on the weekend after finals, so I'll let you know.”

  “Are you doing it in the proper time period?” I asked.

  “Yeah.” She nodded.

  “Great. Call me when you start getting into it. It's a fun era to sew.”

  “Why don't you just plan on coming in after Thanksgiving, if that works for you?”

  “Okay.” I picked up my backpack. “I'll do that.”

  It felt really good to be able to help so much in just a couple of hours. I checked my watch. I was late. Jaron would be waiting—his class finished thirty minutes ago. I hated being stuck to his schedule. Maybe Mom and Dad would be willing to change things up soon and let me walk.

  nine

  The night before our big Saturday hike, I couldn't sleep. I didn't understand it. Midterms were over, finished. I bundled up in a pair of sweats and a large blanket and lay in my hammock. Brian's car pulled up at about 2:30.

  “You okay?” He asked as he climbed out and walked over.

  “Please, not you too.” I shook my head.

  “Sorry. Your brother worries about you a lot. Guess some of that rubs off on me.” He shook his keys in his hand a few times.

  “Are you going to tell him I was up all night?” I asked.

  “Oh no.” He raised his hands. “I don't want to be in the middle of this. If you're supposed to say something to him, say something. If not, don't.” He stood for a moment longer, watching me. “Night, Leigh.”

  “Night. Brian.” I paused. “Thanks.”

  A lot of people showed up for the hike. Brian showed up, even though I knew he'd had a rough midterm week and hadn't gotten home from work until the wee hours of the morning. Stuart and Jaron climbed out of his car. I couldn't believe the number of people in Evan's small car. I lost track after the fourth. Two more cars pulled up as I stood outside of Megan's car. There were a lot of people I didn't know, and I couldn't imagine that the number of seat belts was equal to the number of bodies.

  My legs felt heavy, and my small water bottle definitely weighed more than when I left the house. I was breathing hard after just a short distance. I didn't want Jaron to worry, so I slowly let myself slide into the back of the group. I stopped in a nice spot just off the trail with a great view of the canyon and the small strip of highway already far below.

  The sun wasn't out, and the breeze blew just enough to keep me from being comfortable. I pulled my coat tightly around me as I sat down. I knew that pushing myself wouldn't do me any favors. It was frustrating. I'd always been pretty strong. I still wasn't used to the limitations of my recovering body, feeling so weak and winded all the time. Jaron and I used to do a ton of hiking before his mission, and I never used to fall behind.

  I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned to see Evan walking toward me. I'd never been confronted with a situation like this. We were alone, I knew he liked me more than I wanted him to, and I had no idea what to say. He sat down next to me.

  “You okay?” His head cocked to the side, and he looked at me carefully.

  I put on my best brave smile. “Just a little tired today. No big deal.”

  “Yeah, midterms can be rough.”

  I had no idea what to say to him, so I continued to look at the valley below and the skyline in the distance.

  “It's pretty up here.” I knew without looking that Evan's eyes were on me.

  “Yep.” I nodded briefly, wishing I could scoot further from him without it being obvious. I started to stand—hiking the mountain sounded better than a private conversation with Evan. He reached out and took my hand, pulling me back toward him.

  “I kinda wanted to talk to you for a sec,” he said.

  “Okay.” Great. Now what?

  “You have to know I like you… a lot.”

  I had no words.

  “I guess I was hoping…” he looked as if he didn't know how to continue. The pause was long. “I was hoping that you could see yourself… with me.”

  “Umm…” I wasn't sure what to say. “Evan, you don't know anything about me.” How could he? I'd barely spoken with him one on one, and when we had, it had been about math.

  “That's not true.” He was more persistent than I expected. “You're sweet and beautiful, you have a strong testimony, an amazing voice, and I know you sew…”

  He sounded like he was reciting from some list of qualities he'd like in a wife, not things he knew specifically about me. He continued without any prompting from me. “I think you underestimate how much I like you.”

  “Evan…” I leaned back. “I'm just not looking for anyone right now.”

  “I'm not asking for everything, Leigh. Just a chance to take you out.”

  “I don't think that's a good idea.” I shook my head.

  “Why not?” He looked at me intently.

  I sighed, “Did you know I was supposed to be in school last year?”

  “No.”

  “I was home because I was too sick to come.” I paused. “I need to give my body a chance to recover, you know?”

  “Well, you know, I could wait for a while…” he looked at me with hopeful eyes.

  “Sorry, Evan.” My chest felt heavy. It sucked. I walked back to the trail and hoped my legs would carry me to the car. Really? Wait for a while? How crazy was he? I heard Evan slowly continue up the mountain. I started down the hill, but my body started to shake. I blinked back tears of frustration and then fear when I realized I was alone and wouldn't be able to make it back by myself. I sat down to help the dizziness and in the hope I wouldn't black out. I pulled my arms around me, shivered in the cold, and seriously debated as to whether or not I should call Jaron.

  I didn't want to feel helpless anymore! I'd had enough. I wanted my healthy body back. I didn't want to be the sick girl. I didn't want to be the weak person sitting by herself at the bottom of the hill. I wanted to race Jaron to the top. No, better than that, I wanted to beat Jaron to the top. I heard footsteps behind me and wondered how much worse my day would get.

  “You okay?” Brian asked. “Evan said you were down here alone.”

  “Yeah, I'm a little tired.” I was feeling worse by the minute. I needed home. I was chilled but started to break out in the sweats that I'd get before passing out. I did not want to pass out. Passing out meant hospital and probably a lecture from Dr. Watts and who knows what from my mom. It definitely wouldn't help my case to stay in school.

  Brian looked at me more closely. “You don't look so good.”

  “Yeah, I bet not.” I looked around at the cold ground I was sitting on.

  “Can I help you back down?” He asked. He looked over his shoulder several times. “Should I call your brother? The hospital?” He was standing next to me looking very unsure about what he should do. He started to sit next to me but changed his mind. He didn't seem able to stand still.

  “I hate asking for help.”

  “You didn't ask, I offered.” He reached out his hand and pulled me up. He let me lean on him down the hill. I wasn't totally comfortable with Brian, but at least he wasn't Evan, asking to wait for me to heal so he could take me out. I blinked back more tears of frustration.

  “So, Evan, huh?” A hint of tease in his voice.

  “Apparently I was too nice to him.” I let out an exasperated sigh. “I guess I need to start being mean to boys so they'll leave me alone.”

  “Should I back away from your wrath?” he teased.

  I just shook my head. I held on to him tightly as my shaky legs slipped underneath me on the way down the hill. We were back to the cars in no time. I really thought I was going to pass out alongside the trail.

  “I'm exhausted. I had an especially long night last night. Do you mind if I sit with you?” he asked.

  I was too cold and shaky to argue. Almost anyone's warm car sounded pretty nice. “Just promise you won't tell me you're falling in love with me.”

  “I promise.” He laughed as we climbed into his car.

 
“You know you intimidate me,” I said when he sat down. I didn't look at him. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the headrest, hoping my body would start to cooperate since I was sitting still. I felt as if he deserved some explanation as to why I didn't talk as easily to him as everyone else seemed to.

  He laughed. “How?”

  “I don't know. You seem years older than Jaron, and you're just so grown up, and you've had all these experiences. It's like you lived a whole life before you got to where you are. You seem a lot older than us in a lot of ways.” I didn't move. I didn't open my eyes.

  “Oh.” There was surprise in his voice. “Well, I am a few years older than Jaron, but it doesn't feel like a lot to me. I sit at church and feel years behind everyone.”

  I tried to keep my breathing slow and even, trying to concentrate on the things around me. I felt as though I hadn't slept in a week, but I knew that even if I could lie down, I wouldn't be able to sleep. Nausea and dizziness took over.

  “Are you okay, Leigh?” There was real concern in his voice now. “I think we should get you home.” He started his car.

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “I need to be home.” I blinked away spots again. I put my hands against the cool glass and started to take turns putting them on my forehead.

  “You know, I've been in worse situations, but I'm a little scared here. Do I take you to a hospital? What should I do?”

  “Please, no hospitals. Just food and home.”

  “I'll call your brother. He was racing Megan to the top. You know, I think there might be something there.”

  “Jaron and Megan?” I nearly laughed. “They're just good friends, that's all. Besides, she's waiting for her missionary, remember?” Brian was good at distraction.

  “Well, you know what they say—all the best marriages start with great friendships.”

  “We'll see.” I felt worse by the minute, more dizziness, more floating. I really didn't want to scare Brian by passing out in the car. The cancer was gone. The chemo was over. My body should be behaving. If I got off schedule or overstressed, I couldn't sleep. I did the best I could, I'd have a few bad nights followed by a few shaky, drugged up days, and then I'd start the cycle over again. I rubbed my fingers over my forehead.