Out Of The Friend Zone

by Stephanie Nicole

  "Well, at least you're at peace with the divorce," Chandler joked. "So, let's call for that pizza before it gets too late to eat outside. I'm sure you and Barrett will want to go to sleep early, with all the work you've done today."

  "Know of a good place to order from?" Brynn asked.

  "Sure do. Pepperoni and cheese okay?" Chandler suggested, and Brynn nodded in agreement. Chandler took out his cell phone and ordered the pizza, asked for paper plates and napkins with the order, and gave them the address for delivery.

  "Well, I did stock the fridge before we moved anything in, so can I get you something to drink? We have Pepsi, lemonade, and water," Brynn offered.

  "A Pepsi sounds good," Chandler said, and took the bottle from Brynn when she held it out to him.

  "Smart man, good choice in drinks," Brynn approved, as she took her own Pepsi.

  Shortly after, the pizza showed up. Brynn and Chandler brought it out to the picnic table, along with more soda. Chandler called over to his yard, where Barrett and Willow were playing, and told them to come and eat.

  Barrett and Willow raced over to the deck, giggling the whole way. The two kids had already become fast friends. After talking about her teacher, Brynn realized that Barrett would be in the same class at school as Willow. They would also be playing on the same t-ball team.

  "Well, it looks like we'll be seeing a lot more of each other. It's nice to know I have at least one friend in our new town," Brynn said, as they were talking after dinner. The kids ran around in the backyard playing tag after they cleaned all the pizza off their plates.

  "Well, anything I can help out with...directions, best restaurants, best places to shop, just let me know," Chandler offered.

  "Thanks. I really appreciate it." Brynn toyed with a napkin. "I never realized how hard it was going to be to move. I knew we needed a clean break, but now that it's happened, it's a little unnerving!"

  "Well, I'm right next door, whenever you need anything," Chandler said, and looked at his watch. "Wow, it's getting late. We better head home and let you guys get to unpacking, or sleeping...whichever comes first."

  "Ugh, you mean the magic unpacking fairies haven't paid us a visit yet?" Brynn asked with a groan, as she turned and looked at all the boxes in her house. "This isn't ever going to end, is it? I don't even know what's in half those boxes. They've been in storage for so long...since my parents died."

  "I was wondering how you had so much stuff after a divorce. Most of the divorces I've seen leave people walking away with a lot less stuff," Chandler said, with a newfound understanding.

  "Yeah, I left most of the stuff behind. I didn't want anything that was his or anything that would remind me of him. Luckily, my parents had planned ahead for this day, and left me quite an inheritance when they died. My dad always used to tell me that Nico was no good, and that someday I would come to my senses and need money to get away from him. Boy, was he ever right," Brynn admitted. "But anyway, Nico is part of the past. It's time to move on with the future."

  "Funny, people tell me that all the time," Chandler said quietly, just soft enough that Brynn almost missed it.

  Before she could say anything, Chandler clapped his hands and stood up. "Well, we better get going. Let me know if you guys need anything." He called to Willow, and told her that it was time to go home for the night. Willow grumbled, then said goodbye to her new friend. Chandler smiled at Brynn.

  "Thanks for the pizza. It was nice meeting you both." Chandler grabbed Willow and swung her over his head, then disappeared into his back door.

  "Well, sport, looks like you have a new friend already," Brynn said.

  "Yup. She's so cool, it's almost like she's a boy," Barrett told his mom as they headed back inside.

  "Well, how about we unpack a few boxes, and get our beds ready, so we can sleep in them tonight, then save the rest of it to unpack tomorrow?" Brynn asked.

  Barrett groaned. "I'd better get a good allowance for all my help this week, Mom." "You will, don't worry. You're a pretty good kid, you know that?" Brynn asked, and ruffled his hair.

  Brynn watched Barrett as he walked up the stairs to his new bedroom. She was so proud of the way he was handling the divorce. He didn't cry or complain, and it seemed like it actually hadn't affected him much. It's not like he saw his father any less. Nico was never around as it was when they were living together. The sad part was that Nico hadn't even called to see Barrett since Brynn kicked him out.

  "It's just as well," she murmured to herself. "We're going to be okay, kiddo."

  Nico never wanted Barrett to begin with. When she learned she was pregnant, Nico hadn't been thrilled. . No matter what a good baby Barrett had been, Nico had always seen him as more of a hassle than a blessing. Brynn thought of Barrett as a gift from above, and she didn't know what she would do without him. She felt sorry for Nico, that he didn't realize how wonderful his own son was.

  Brynn knew one thing: she would never take Barrett for granted the way Nico did.

  Chapter 4

  Monday morning was Barrett's first day of school. With Chandler's permission, Brynn drove both him and Willow to school so that she could meet with the administrators to finalize Barrett's paperwork. She thought Willow might help Barrett make the transition smooth and easy, and Chandler agreed.

  Once they got inside, Barrett followed Willow as she led him to their classroom. Just before he walked into the room, he turned and gave a happy wave to his mother, who stood watching him. Brynn blew him a kiss, thoroughly embarrassing the boy. He shook his head and walked into the classroom. After he disappeared, Brynn went to the main office to finish his registration.

  After Brynn was finished at the school, she headed back to her new house to finish unpacking. She had done most of it that weekend, but there were still a few boxes left. She knew that she would want to do some work around the house after moving, so she had taken the whole week off from work. She had to paint Barrett's bedroom, along with a few other rooms, to make the house more like their own. All of the walls were currently white, and Brynn needed to add color. White was just too boring for her.

  By the time Barrett got home from school, his room was completely transformed. The walls were still white, but they had navy blue pinstripes running from the ceiling to floor, with a big New York Yankees symbol painted above his bed. Brynn worked hard to get it finished so that she could surprise him after his first day at school. He wandered around, looking at all the new decorations his mother had put up for him, smiling broadly.

  "This is so cool, Mom! Can I show Willow?" The child was giddy with the new changes.

  "Yeah, why don't you go get her? She can come over for cookies and milk too. Sound good?"

  "Only if they're chocolate chip! I'll be back." Barrett ran out of his room and slammed the back door as he left.

  A few minutes later, Brynn heard the door again. She went to the kitchen to get out some cookies and pour the milk while waiting for the kids to come down from Barrett's room. She listened as the kids ran up the stairs. There was a moment of silence, then a high-pitched squeal of approval from Willow. Brynn laughed quietly as she put the cookies on a plate.

  The kids ran into the kitchen after a little while, looking for the after school snack that was promised them. They sat at the breakfast bar while Brynn handed out the cookies and glasses of milk.

  "Mmm...chocolate chip! My favorite!" Willow said.

  "Mine too," Barrett said with a mouthful.

  "So, you never told me, how was your first day?" Brynn asked her son.

  "It was good," Barrett said, as he concentrated on his cookies.

  Ten minutes later, Brynn started to clean up from the snack and noticed the time. "You two better get ready for t-ball. We have to leave in half an hour. Willow, tell your babysitter that I'll drive you over there. If she has any questions, she can call your dad at work."

  Barrett and Willow both raced to get ready. After they had changed and gotten their gear together, Brynn packe
d them into her Isuzu and headed to the ball field. She parked and headed over to the field where the team would be practicing.

  Willow pointed out the coach, and Brynn went over to introduce herself and Barrett. The coach gave Barrett a jersey, and sent him out into the field to warm up with the rest of the team. Luckily, this town started their t-ball season later than their last town, and Barrett had only missed one week.

  After talking to the coach for a few minutes, Brynn sat on the bleachers and watched the kids throwing the ball around. She tucked her shoulder length brown hair behind her ears to keep it from blowing in her face, and put her hand to her forehead to shield her hazel eyes from the bright sunlight.

  "You know, they have this new invention called sunglasses...They work a lot better than a hand over the forehead," a deep voice said. Brynn looked over and saw Chandler walk up.

  He pointed to her and his grin grew wide. "Ah, and I see you even have a pair clipped to the neck of your shirt. Last I knew, you didn't have eyes on your neck," Chandler teased.

  Brynn rolled her eyes and laughed. She was always losing her sunglasses by putting them on her shirt and then forgetting them. She put them on. "You're right, they work a lot better when you use them like this," she joked back.

  "Thanks for bringing Willow to practice today," he said.

  "Oh, it's no problem. Actually, I was thinking about something. Do you think there's any way we can maybe work out a trade...I have to go into work early in the mornings, and I won't have time to drive Barrett to school, but I'll get home in enough time to pick him up from school. Do you think that when you bring Willow to school in the mornings you could bring Barrett too, and I'll pick them up in the afternoons?"

  "That sounds like a great idea." Chandler said. "And if you want, I can keep Willow at my house until you get home. There's no need for you to have a babysitter for her. She and Barrett will most likely go out and play after school anyway."

  "If you don't mind...I don't want to seem like I'm imposing on you," he replied.

  "Not at all. I need to be there for Barrett, so Willow being there won't make any difference," Brynn said.

  "Well, I've got to tell you...I'm really glad you moved next door. Free babysitter!" Chandler joked.

  "Ah, funny guy, huh? What a jokester!" she teased.

  "Actually, the funny thing is that I haven't really joked much since Brooklyn died. This is pretty rare for me lately, so take it while you can get it." Chandler said.

  Brynn wasn't sure why she said what she did next. For the next few days she would wonder what the hell got into her, and why she thought it was her business at all. But something about the way Chandler spoke to her - perhaps a glimpse of the man he had been when his wife was still alive - was enough to make her speak up.

  "Not that it's any of my business or anything, but just because your wife died doesn't mean that you have to," she said softly. From the corner of her eyes, she saw him stiffen and stare at her. "I know I'm out of line here, but you need to realize something. Brooklyn is gone, and she's never coming back. But you're still here, and you have a long life ahead of you. Do you really want to be miserable for the rest of your life?"

  Chandler was still staring at her. She felt her cheeks grow hot. His voice came in a low growl. "You know what, you're right, you are out of line. You don't know the first thing about losing the only person you were ever in love with. Besides, I've heard it all before, so don't go trying to spread your dime-store wisdom on me."

  Brynn should have let it go, but she couldn't. "You know, I may not know what it's like to have the love of my life die, but I know what it's like to lose. You think I never loved Nico?" She took a deep breath and was thankful for the sunglasses that hid her eyes. She didn't want him to see the tears in them. "You think it was easy for me to know that he cared so little for me that he cheated on me for years? I know all of that isn't the same as someone you love dying, but maybe it's worse."

  "I doubt it," he snapped.

  "Maybe, but...Willow can't see her mom because she died, and that's a lot easier for her to understand than for Barrett to know that his father is still alive, but doesn't want to see him." Brynn stopped and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for what I said, but you really can't dwell on the past. Maybe you're not ready to move on yet, but you need to realize that there will be a day when you are ready."

  "I'm the one who will know when that happens, if ever."

  Brynn nodded. "I'm not trying to be mean. I'm just trying to be a friend."

  There was a long moment of silence. Chandler finally sighed and buried his head in his hands. For a moment Brynn thought he might be crying, but then his voice came, steady and strong. "I know you're not trying to be mean. It's just that I keep hearing people say the same things over and over. I used to think they were telling me that stuff because I wasn't the same person as before, but when you said it, it kind of hit home, since you don't really know me and you didn't know how I was before Brooklyn's accident."

  "I guess I said it because I got a glimpse of the guy you might have been," she admitted. "The fun, teasing part of you...did that die along with her?"

  They both sat in silence, contemplating that. "Maybe it did," he finally admitted.

  "I hope not," she said sincerely, and looked at him.

  "I know you're going through a rough period, too. I'm not totally insensitive, just a little wrapped up in my own self-pity sometimes," he told her with a shy smile.

  "I understand that," she said.

  "So, can we end this pity party now? The kids' practice is almost done."

  "You got it," Brynn said, and smiled. "I'm not usually one for pity parties anyway. There are so many ways to better spend time."

  The kids ran over soon after, and left with their respective parents. Barrett chatted non-stop as he rode home with his mother. He told her all about his first day at school, and how he really liked all the kids. He liked his new team too, so things seemed to be going well for the young boy.

  "So Cole, your big birthday party is coming up soon. Are you getting excited?" Brynn asked him.

  "Yeah, I can't wait. I get to invite a few of my old friends, and all of my new friends, right?"

  "You can invite whomever you want. It's your party," Brynn told him.

  "What about Dad?-If you want to, we can invite your dad. That's up to you."

  "Nah, he won't come."

  Brynn took a deep breath to mask the pain of that. It wasn't fair that such a young body already knew his father well enough to know that he wouldn't bother to come to his own son's birthday party.

  But then Barrett smiled broadly. "Can we ask Willow's dad to come?"

  "Absolutely. I'm sure he'll be there anyhow, since we're going to have it in our backyard," she said. "You sure you don't want to invite your dad?"

  "I'm sure. Can I have a couple of friends spend the night too?"

  "Of course! That's a great way to christen your new room, isn't it?"

  "You rock, Mom!"

  Almost two weeks later, Brynn was in her backyard decorating for Barrett's eighth birthday party. She had slept past her alarm that morning, and she was already way behind schedule. The kids were going to be showing up soon, so she was trying to hurry. As she was standing on the ladder trying to tack up the Happy Birthday banner, she started to lose her balance. She regained it, reached to tack it up again, and then lost her balance in a more serious way.

  Just before she tumbled, she felt a pair of strong hands grip her waist to steady her.

  Brynn looked down to see Chandler. "I was just coming over to ask if you needed any help, and it looks like I got her just in time!" Chandler told her.

  "Thanks. I didn't really want to spend my son's birthday in the emergency room!" Brynn said as she smiled at Chandler. "I just have to finish tacking this up and I'm done." She started to reach up to tack the banner, while Chandler reached up to support Brynn and keep her steady. She got it tacked up and started to climb back down the lad
der.

  "I appreciate the help. Thanks again," Brynn said, trying to hide her blush. She could still feel the way his large hands fit perfectly around her waist.

  "Anytime. Need any other help? The kids will be here soon."

  As if on cue, a bunch of little kids came running and screaming into the back yard, led by Barrett and Willow. "There's my answer," he laughed.

  "It's going to be a long day!" Brynn said, as she watched the kids run around. More and more kids filtered into the yard until all of the invited guests had shown up. They played around for a while, and when Brynn's best friend Nyla showed up, Brynn told the kids to sit in a big circle, so that Barrett could open his presents.

  Barrett loved the attention he was getting. Everyone watched as he opened all of the wrapped boxes to find whatever special item was inside. He was very polite and thanked each person after he opened each gift. When the gifts were all opened, Barrett started to stand up.

  "Hold on Cole, you have one more present. You didn't think your own mother would forget to buy you a birthday present, did you?" she asked. Brynn carefully took the large box that her friend had brought with her, and carried it over to Barrett. "Happy Birthday," she said, and moved away from him. She picked up the camera and took a picture as soon as he opened the box.

  Barrett stared into the box. His eyes grew wide. Then they filled with tears. He took a deep breath, trying to stay calm, but there was no use. The little boxer puppy in the box suddenly leapt up at him, licking his face, making the crowd release a collective "awww."

  "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh," Barrett gushed even as he reached for the puppy. "Is he mine, Mom?"

  "He sure is!"

  Barrett squealed with delight and wrapped his arms around the squirming puppy. "He's mine!" he hollered.

  "That means you get to feed him and walk him and take him out to potty. You get to name him too," Brynn said.

  Barrett was staring at the dog as if he had never seen anything so beautiful. All the kids were crowding around, wanting to touch the puppy.

  "Can I name him later? I need some time to think about it," Barrett finally said.