Growing Up Neighbors

by Frances Hoelsema

  Ugh, how rotten of a friend can I be?

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  Deborah entered her last class for the year believing she was fully ready to take her final exam. About an hour and a half from now she will have completed her first year of college and would be a free bird until next fall when she started her online classes. Later today she had plans to pack up a few things so that when tomorrow morning came she’d be ready to go home.

  Feeling relieved when she handed in her test and that the class was over, she headed back to her dorm room for some lunch. Her roommate, Amber, wasn’t home so she took some time to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet. Deborah looked throughout the room and thought about all the good memories she had of the place and of her first year at college in general, especially the ones that included Amber. She was going to miss her roommate a lot. However, she was ready to get home and spend time with Felicia, whom she missed terribly.

  The next thing Deborah knew she fell asleep and didn’t wake up until her roommate walked in the dorm room a couple of hours later.

  “Hey, sleepy head,” Amber joked when she noticed Deborah had just woken up.

  “Hi. I didn’t know I was so tired,” Deborah explained.

  “It’s okay. Hey, did you need any help packing or did you get most of it done already?”

  “I haven’t even started yet because after I got home and ate a light lunch I fell asleep.”

  “Do you want help then?” Amber offered. “I’ve got some time to kill.”

  “That would be great! Thanks!”

  Deborah got out her suitcases and some boxes and then gave Amber some ways she could help. With both of them working as a team, they got most of Deborah’s things packed in under an hour. The hardest part would be to take everything to her car, which she wasn’t going to do until right before she left. There was no way she’d do it now and leave it out in the car overnight. Deborah felt safe at school, but she still didn’t trust all the students.

  “I think that’s all for now, Amber. Thanks a lot!” Deborah announced when the last of her things were packed away.

  “No problem! Hey, do you want to do something tonight, kind of a farewell type celebration of sorts?”

  “Sure. What did you have in mind?”

  Amber listed off some ideas she thought would be fun and they both settled on dinner and bowling. Bowling was something they did almost every Monday night so it only seemed right to do it one last time before they went their separate ways.

  When they both got home late and feeling exhausted after playing a couple of games, Deborah mentioned she was going to go straight to bed. Amber still had one more exam the next day so she stayed up for another half hour to study some more. Deborah, though in bed that whole half hour, never fell asleep until sometime after the lights were turned off. When she slept though, it was like a rock because the next thing she knew it was the next morning and Amber had already left for class.

  Deborah quickly ate a bowl of cereal, got dressed and started loading her car, thankful nothing was heavy enough to require more than one person to carry it. Carrying some boxes out, she smiled as she thought about how nice it was of Amber to help her pack, but then felt guilty how she wouldn’t be around to help Amber.

  Before taking the last box and leaving for good, Deborah noticed a note from her roommate that just explained how great it was to meet her and that she’ll miss her. Deborah got out a pen from Amber’s small desk and wrote a note back. She then turned off the lights, closed the door behind her and got in her car.

  The ride home would be at least five hours so Deborah made sure to buy her favorite mocha frappe for the trip. She also made sure to have plenty of good music available to play. Every mile she got closer to home, the more uneasy she began to feel, even though she had all her comfort items with her for the long ride.

  Thinking of home, Deborah knew that running into Nicholas would be a possibility, one that she didn’t want to risk happening, but was unsure of how to go about staying away from him for good.

  I’ll just have to take one day at a time, she thought. I’ll make sure not to talk about him and if he calls I won’t answer. Hopefully that gives him the hint I don’t want to see him.

  She also realized that she’d probably have to stay away from Alex because he and Nicholas were still best friends and still hung out from time to time. However, that didn’t bother Deborah too much because the two of them didn’t hang out a lot anyway.

  Deciding to think of happier things, she thought about her plans to meet up with Felicia tonight. She was very excited to see her. In Deborah’s opinion, this change in thought was a much needed refreshment to her mind and nerves.

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  Nicholas put his backpack, stuffed with a couple snacks and water bottles, into Alex’s backseat. The two of them were going on a little road trip about an hour south to the Indian River where they were going to rent kayaks. They had wanted to go kayaking for quite some time, but the different schedules and weather never cooperated until this Saturday. Today there was no chance of rain and the temperatures weren’t going to be unbearable.

  “I’m so glad that we are finally able to go kayaking!” Alex said excitedly as they headed down the highway.

  “Me too,” Nicholas agreed. “Do you know exactly how to get there?”

  “Sort of. I know there are signs when we get closer so I’m not too worried about it.”

  The two men conversed the whole ride down about nothing in particular. As they got closer they did in fact see some signs so they didn’t talk as much so Alex could pay attention on where to go. They found the place with no problem at all.

  It was actually a nice set up. The rental store was right across from where they could park and they could launch onto the river from the back of the store. All they had to do was go down two flights of stairs once they paid for their rental and someone would help them get onto the river.

  Both Nicholas and Alex took their backpacks and placed them into the kayaks before taking off. They had a couple of hours they could spend on the river, which by the size of it meant that they would have plenty of time to go everywhere they wanted to go.

  Most of the time Nicholas was in the lead, and at other times the two of them would ride side by side. They rowed down the river casually, enjoying the sport and the nature around them. There weren’t many houses around the river. Instead, it was mostly inhabited with various birds and woodland-type creatures. At one point the two of them saw a couple of deer, they spied a beaver working on a dam and they were pretty sure that they spotted more than one eagle gliding above them in the sky.

  Enjoying the beauty around him made Nicholas think about Deborah yet again. He knew that she loved kayaking and nature so this outing would have been right up her alley. When Alex pulled up alongside him again, he thought it would be a great time to ask questions about her, even though Alex may not like it.

  “So how’s Deborah doing? Is she enjoying Upton University?”

  “She’s not there anymore,” Alex muttered.

  When Nicholas heard that he was a little shocked, wondering where she went. “She’s not?”

  “No. She’s home now. She just got back yesterday.”

  “Really? I thought she had a couple of weeks left.”

  “Nope.” Not wanting to talk about Deborah, Alex tried to think of a different subject. Before he could though, Nicholas continued on.

  “So what are her plans now?”

  “I’m not quite sure,” Alex answered, annoyed. “You could always ask her yourself.”

  “I’d love to catch up with her and see how school went. Can you do me a favor and give her my new number and address?”

  “Sure. I’ll see her tonight at dinner with our dad.”

  “Great! Let her know she can contact me whenever she wants to.”

  “Okay. Hey, I think we should start heading back since we don’t have too much time left.” Alex mentioned after looking at h
is watch.

  “Sounds good. Do you want to race?”

  “You’re on!”

  The two of them quickly turned their kayaks around and raced back to the rental shop. Nicholas was so excited about getting in touch with Deborah that he beat Alex by at least a few yards.

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  Deborah and Robyn got in the car to start heading to their dad’s house. He wanted to have a celebratory dinner for Deborah completing her first year of college and coming home. Alex was going to meet the girls there so it was a great time for the two sisters to do some catching up. The whole way to their dad’s house they talked about all of Deborah’s experiences and then about how Robyn’s school year went.

  Once they arrived they noticed Alex and their dad were both ready to go, standing outside the house. Everyone hopped into their dad’s vehicle and he took them to a new restaurant that was getting good reviews. It was a good twenty-five minute ride there, but the place looked like it would live up to its reviews just from its outside appearance.

  The four of them got a booth and scanned the menu. Mr. Harrington let his children know that he was going to pay and that they could all get whatever they wanted. Deborah settled on an eight-ounce prime rib with a loaded baked potato, garden salad and yeast rolls that came served with the restaurant’s signature cinnamon butter spread.

  When the food had arrived, it was clearly seen that they’d get Mr. Harrington’s money’s worth. The portions were huge and the flavor did not disappoint. Deborah couldn’t remember the last time she had such a great tasting prime rib. Usually when she ordered something like that it wouldn’t be done the way she asked or it would be really dry or bland. This place had it cooked perfectly, the added au jus kept the prime rib moist and the flavoring was to savor. Getting full, Deborah ended up taking home a part of her prime rib, a portion of her loaded baked potato and two yeast rolls so that she could leave room for dessert.

  Normally the Harrington family never got dessert when they ate out, but seeing as the dessert was included in the price of the dinner, Mr. Harrington made sure that each of his kids had enough room to order it. There were not a lot of options to choose from, but it was still a good enough variety that any person could find something they would enjoy. Deborah got a piece of tiramisu cake that, once again, tasted amazing and came in a huge portion that could not be completely eaten. Deborah always liked coming home with extras because it was like she got to eat out twice instead of just the once.

  Dinner went very well overall. The food and service were great and the four Harringtons seemed to enjoy each other’s company. There was no bickering and they all had pleasant conversations. It wasn’t until the ride home when things took a different turn.

  Somehow Deborah’s dad and brother got on the subject of Nicholas and Deborah did her best to stay out of the conversation. The whole time they talked she silently wished they’d be done and move on to another topic. Deborah also tried to ignore what the two men were talking about by striking up a conversation with Robyn.

  However, then it happened: Alex went from talking to his dad about Nicholas to talking to Deborah about him.

  “So I told Nicholas today that you were home already, Debbie,” Alex informed her.

  “Yeah?” Deborah said casually. She didn’t want to say too much and hoped it would end at that.

  “He really wants to get in touch with you and catch up. Here, I’ll give you his new phone number and address.” Alex wrote down the information and stuck his hand in the backseat so Deborah could grab it.

  Deborah hesitated for a moment, not really caring about the information, but then took it so Alex wouldn’t get upset or think that something was wrong.

  “So when do you think you’re going to call him?” Alex wondered.

  “Oh, I don’t know. I’ll have to see.”

  “Well, don’t wait too long. For some reason beyond my understanding he’s really excited for you to contact him.”

  “Hey, be nice,” Mr. Harrington scolded kindly.

  Deborah pushed the piece of paper into her purse and set it by her side. Robyn started talking about something else so all four of them conversed about that. Deborah was thankful that nothing else was said of Nicholas the whole ride back to her dad’s house.

  When Deborah and Robyn got back home, Deborah went to her bedroom and took a little bit of time to clean out her purse, focusing on the paper Alex gave her. She sat on her bed and stared at the information written on it, thinking about what she should do. On one hand she kind of wanted to see Nicholas again and she was flattered that he wanted to see her. However, on the other hand, she really didn’t want to go down that whole road again and just get hurt somehow in the end.

  Hearing Robyn come up the stairs and not wanting her to see what she was staring at, she quickly crumpled the paper up and threw it in the wastebasket.

  It’s for the best, she thought.

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  A few weeks had gone by and Nicholas still hadn’t heard from Deborah, which left him with mixed emotions. At first he thought that maybe Alex didn’t give her his number yet, but Alex assured him that he had the day they kayaked. To Nicholas, that meant one thing and one thing only: Deborah didn’t want to talk with him. Then again, he couldn’t think of a good reason why. He knew he was harsh at times, but thought that in the end they had left things on good terms. He then started to think that maybe she had a boyfriend or was too busy. Whatever the reason may be, with each day that went by that she didn’t contact him, he only felt worse about the situation and more anxious to finally catch up with her.

  Nicholas thought he’d try to call her once again, but when he looked at the clock, he realized he didn’t have time. In just under an hour he had to go meet a blind date at some local Italian restaurant. This would be the first blind date he would ever be on and never would have agreed to do it in the first place had one of his coworkers not begged him for weeks on end. Even though Nicholas wasn’t looking forward to the date, he decided to make the best of it because one never knew where they’d find true love. However, under the circumstances he was in, Nicholas was almost certain it wouldn’t happen for him tonight with this date.

  Nicholas quickly freshened up and then headed out the door so that he wouldn’t be late. When he got to the restaurant, he was on the lookout for a brunette with a runner’s body. She was going to have a pair of black pants and a white daisy in her hair to signal to Nicholas she was his date for the evening. About a minute before they were supposed to meet up, he caught a glimpse of her and so he went to go and introduce himself.

  The evening started off okay in his opinion. They didn’t have a problem finding things to talk about and she was pretty. However, after the meals were ordered and a lot of the general topics of conversation were brushed out of the way, Nicholas found his date rather boring and annoying. They didn’t have that much in common and his date seemed to be one of those kinds of people that could talk forever on end about themselves without caring about the other person or people they were with.

  Throughout the whole meal, Nicholas kept catching himself comparing the brunette to Deborah. He thought about how Deborah didn’t talk about only herself, but rather knew when to listen or when to speak up. He contemplated the things they had in common and wished they could be together right at that moment so that they’d be enjoying each other’s company while doing something they both liked. Nicholas also pondered the mannerisms that Deborah exhibited, which weren’t annoying like the girl he was eating with. In fact, for most of the evening he found himself thinking of Deborah way more than his own date right in front of him. At one particular point in the night, Nicholas started noticing couples all around who seemed to be happily in love and that made Nicholas miss Deborah and yearn for what they used to have.

  Oh, Debbie, I miss you and wish you were here.

  When the meals were gone, Nicholas had declined dessert because he wanted to get the night over with. He was glad w
hen his blind date did too. He paid the bill and the two of them walked out of the restaurant together. Before parting ways, Nicholas was polite enough to let the girl know that it was a pleasure to have met her. However, he said nothing of having a good time or doing it again, and neither did she.

  On his way home, Nicholas thought about giving Deborah a call, but then got a better idea. He picked up his phone and called Alex instead.

  “Hey, Alex, I’ve got a quick question for you.”

  “Sure. What is it?”

  “Do you happen to know when Debbie’s normally home?”

  Alex thought for a moment and then answered, “She’s usually home most of the time I think. She goes out some nights, but that’s about it.”

  “Okay. Will she be home tomorrow you think?”

  “I think so. Why?” Alex asked, confused.

  “I’m just curious. Thanks, man.”

  Nicholas hung up, excited for tomorrow. No more dinking around and trying to call Deborah or waiting for her to call him back. Instead, he was going to just go and visit Deborah in person while she was home. This way he’d get a hold of her for sure.

  12

  Nicholas didn’t get much sleep at all the previous night because he was way too excited to see Deborah. Having just eaten a piece of toast with homemade strawberry jam on it that his mom gave him, he went to the bathroom to splash water on his face and freshen up.

  After seeing Deborah he would have to go to work for a few hours, even though it was a Saturday, and then he had dinner plans with his brother, Robert, who wanted him to meet his new girlfriend. Just thinking of everything he had to do that day made Nicholas tired, but that wasn’t going to stop him from accomplishing his goal of reuniting with Deborah this morning.

  All dressed and ready to go, Nicholas headed out of his apartment door, almost forgetting some work supplies he would need later. Having grabbed what he needed, Nicholas again headed out his front door to get to his car.