Other Side of the Wall

by Jennifer Peel

  It didn’t take too long to get dinner ready, and it wasn’t like Scott had a table to set. To be honest, I wasn’t sure why they would have a family gathering at his house. His mom even berated him. “Here you are, a Doctor and on T.V. and you have no furniture. We have to sit on camp chairs.”

  “We could eat at my place if you all want to. I have plenty of room at my table,” I offered.

  His mom’s eyes lit up. “Excellent.”

  I had a feeling she wanted to see my place.

  Scott joined me at his breakfast bar. “Are you sure? My family can be a little much,” he whispered.

  “Scott, I grew up in the south, this will be nothing.”

  “Thanks, Ava.”

  His mom spouted out instructions on what everyone should grab and we made the short trek to my house. When I let everyone in, his mom took a quick look around. “Now this is a home.” She looked between me and Scott. “Could you please help my son, maybe direct him to a furniture store.”

  “I would love to,” I said.

  I also had some other decorating ideas for his house, which included taking down all the pictures of Jenna. That sounded so terrible, but every time I was over there, I felt like she was ever present and that I could never live up to her. I was beginning to dislike her very much.

  Scott looked down at me. “It’s a date.”

  I wondered if he meant to say that. We never called our outings dates, but I wasn’t going to correct him.

  Scott followed me into the kitchen to retrieve dishes and silverware. He kept repeating his thanks. I kept telling him it wasn’t a big deal, in fact I was happy to do it. I liked his mom, she was a hoot. She would have made a fine southern momma if she had a different accent. She had the big hair and everything else going for her.

  I had a gray farm style table with bone colored high back chairs that sat eight, but this was the first time I came close to having a full table. Peter’s family never ate in our home; we always had to go to his mother’s house. That’s ok; so far I liked Scott’s family much better. His parents each took an end and I ended up between Scott and Nick. I didn’t mind being sandwiched in between those two men. Double the pleasure, double the fun, I thought.

  Nick was less reserved than his brother. He was a little loud, like his mom, and fun like her too. Nick was a plumber, like his Dad. They owned their own shop called Langston and Sons Plumbing. I teased Scott that maybe he didn’t get the memo on his chosen career path.

  “Nah, Scotty was always too busy with his nose in a book or studying something with his microscope,” Nick said.

  I looked at Scott. “Scotty?”

  He looked over at Nick like he should be quiet now, but Nick didn’t take the hint, or he deliberately ignored it.

  His mom jumped in and said how proud they all were of Scott. He was the first person in their family to graduate from college, and for him to receive his doctorate was just icing on the cake.

  She grinned at me. “You must be pretty smart too, to be a nurse and all.”

  “She’s not just a nurse – she has an advanced degree.” Scott said proudly.

  I was touched and caught off guard by his addition.

  “Well,” his mom said. “Smart and beautiful.”

  Nick caught my attention. “What do you think of dating younger men?”

  I chuckled. “How young?”

  He grinned impishly. “Like twenty seven.”

  I smiled. “Aren’t you twenty seven?”

  “You know… I am,” he said wickedly.

  Scott abruptly got up. “I need some more to drink. Ava, do you want some more water?”

  I looked up at him. He didn’t look happy. “Um, sure. Thank you.”

  As he walked past Nick, he unexpectedly smacked him in the back of the head. “Don’t even think about it.”

  Nick rubbed the back of his head, but he still had a smile on his face when he looked over to me and winked.

  Their mom pointed her finger in their direction. “Scotty, don’t hit your brother, and Nicky, you watch yourself.”

  She looked back to me. “Sorry, Ava. It’s like I raised wolves.”

  I just smiled.

  Scott finally joined me again as he brought me some more ice water. I thanked him, and he looked at me sincerely. “You’re welcome.”

  I loved his sincerity. Nick was fun and all, but I could tell he didn’t have Scott’s sincerity, and I would take sincerity any day. The meal was great. It had all the perfect elements: good food, great conversation, and even better company. I kept looking at Scott. I had missed him this past weekend. I also kept having the urge to hold his hand or touch him. I just wish he would let me, or better yet, he would want to and initiate it on his own.

  I had made a cake the day before. Normally Scott would come over for dessert on Sunday and we would watch a movie. I made it just in case he happened to show up, but he hadn’t. I thought this was a good time to get rid of it. I didn’t need to be eating a whole cake by myself. It was a death by chocolate Bundt cake, and I had made homemade whip cream as a topping. I also had some fresh berries to top it off.

  Scott helped me dish out the dessert in the kitchen. While we were preparing each serving he apologized for his brother’s behavior.

  I waved off his concern. “It’s fine, he was just kidding around.”

  “I don’t think so, Ava.”

  I looked at him as he was placing some whip cream on a slice of cake. He just seemed so out of sorts. He had been that way on and off all evening.

  “Are you ok? I keep feeling like I’ve done something.”

  He slowly set the spoon full of whip cream down and looked my way. “Ava, all you’re guilty of is being who you are.”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “Yes.”

  My heart dropped. He was telling me he didn’t like me; maybe that was why he left. He was trying to figure out a way to say we couldn’t be friends anymore. I had been cutting the cake, so I set the knife down and turned around. I didn’t want to cry in front of him or his family. “Excuse me,” I said. I walked out to the hall that led to the upstairs. I was just about to go up the stairs when I felt myself being pulled into Scott’s arms.

  “I could really use that instruction manual for you now,” he whispered in my ear.

  “I don’t have one. If you don’t want to be around me anymore, just tell me.”

  He pulled me closer and it felt like heaven. I had so badly wanted to be held by him, to be close to him.

  “Ava, is that what you think?”

  “What else would explain your behavior?”

  “Would you believe jealousy?”

  I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t help, but pull back a bit so I could look him in the eye.

  He looked down at me and smiled sadly. “Ava, I know I don’t have any right to be, especially since I’m not sure if I’m ready to be romantically involved with you, but I find I want to be.”

  “Then maybe you’re ready.”

  “Jenna’s only been gone six months.”

  “And…”

  “And it’s complicated, Ava.”

  He let go of me, and we walked back to the kitchen. I didn’t know why it was so complicated. We were great together. We finished putting dessert together silently. I didn’t say much after we sat back down with his family. I just listened to them all go back and forth. The conversation mainly focused around sports. I take it Eric was a south-sider and he liked the White Sox and Nick was a definite north-sider and he was a Cub’s fan. I don’t know why it mattered this year, they both stunk. Scott and I had been lucky enough to see a Cub’s game at Wrigley where they actually won. Scott wasn’t a huge sports fan, but he enjoyed it once in a while. It was actually refreshing to be around a guy that didn’t feel the need to watch or talk about sports twenty-four-seven.

  That was my problem; there were so many refreshing things about Scott. I found myself wishing so many times that we had met each other before
Jenna and Peter. Why couldn’t he have walked into the urgent care?

  His family was overly complimentary about the dessert, especially his Mom. Scott stayed quiet, and we didn’t look at each other. I could tell his parents noticed, and they looked concerned. After dessert, his mom directed everyone back to Scott’s and said she would stay and help me with the dishes. I told her it wasn’t necessary, but she insisted.

  Everyone but Myrna said their goodbyes. Scott quickly escaped back to his side of the wall. That insurmountable wall was ever-present.

  Once everyone left, Myrna turned to me. “I hope you don’t mind me staying. I wanted to talk to you alone.”

  “Not at all,” I replied.

  We walked all the dishes back to the kitchen, and she started to fill my sink with dish soap. I told her I had a dishwasher, but she said doing dishes by hand was therapeutic. I got it.

  I stood next to her and rinsed and dried.

  “Ava, do you mind me asking how you feel about my son?”

  “Which one?” I teased.

  She chuckled. “The brooding, quiet one.”

  “Him, yeah, I don’t really like him right now.”

  She looked at me kindly. She and Scott shared the same eyes.

  “I can’t blame you there, sweetheart.” I like the way she said sweetheart in her Chicago accent.

  I threw my wet hands up in the air. “I mean I get it, his wife died and he loves her. I’m sure you all did. From the sounds of it, she was perfect.”

  She started laughing. That caught me off guard. She touched my shoulder with her wet soapy hand as she tried to gain her composure. “Oh, sweetie, that is the biggest crock I ever heard. I hate to speak ill of the dead, but Jenna was nowhere close to perfect and we only put up with her for Scott’s sake, but there was no love lost between us.”

  That news was a shock to my system. I just looked at her. I didn’t even know what to say.

  She rinsed her soapy hands off. “Let’s go sit on the couch. I think you need a little

  Langston history lesson.”

  I obediently followed her. I was more than interested in what she had to say. She sat close to me on the couch and took my hands. She had long, red manicured nails to match her hair.

  “Alright sweetheart, let me set you straight. Scotty and Jenna hung out with the same group of friends growing up. I could always tell she had a thing for him, but he only liked her as a friend. She was one of those annoying, know-it-all types and there always seemed to be something wrong with her. She complained about everything, and I mean everything. Do you know those girls I’m talking about?”

  I shook my head, yes. I had known a few in my day.

  She squeezed my hands and continued. “I probably would have set her straight when she was younger had I known she was going to be my daughter-in-law, but I knew Scott didn’t like her that way, so I just let it roll off my back. Then Scotty left for Florida to go to school and I didn’t give her a second thought. We maybe saw her a couple of times over the years, when Scotty was in school, and again he showed no romantic interest in her.”

  I interrupted. “He told me that they didn’t start dating until their ten year reunion, but that only lasted a few months.”

  She shook her head in disgust. “Believe me, I wished they would have stayed broken up.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she changed my son. He’s always been thoughtful and on the more serious side, but he was also fun loving and she seemed to suck that out of him.”

  I thought about some of the times we had been together and I saw that fun loving side. I smiled. “I love that side of him.”

  She looked at me slyly. “I think you have helped him discover that side of himself again.”

  “Oh, I don’t know.”

  “Well I sure do know.”

  “So tell me why they broke up, I had a feeling there was a story there, but Scott wouldn’t say.”

  She laughed a little. “You may have noticed we are not the most politically correct people on the planet and while we make a good living, we’re blue collar and proud of it. You could say Jenna didn’t agree with our way of thinking, and she wasn’t afraid to express her opinions and I wasn’t afraid to express mine. There was a big blow up one night and she kind of gave Scotty an ultimatum and he chose his family.”

  “I guess I’m confused, how did they ever end up married?”

  She breathed a huge sigh. “Scotty has a big heart and he has always liked to rescue things. I can’t even tell you how many stray dogs and cats went through our house while he was growing up. Jenna was kind of like those strays. She played the victim well and Scotty was a great hero.”

  I sat back. “Oh.”

  “What’s wrong, Ava?”

  “Do you think that’s why he became friends with me? He thinks I need to be rescued. Because I don’t,” I said defiantly.

  She sat back, too, and smiled. “No, Ava, I think he doesn’t know what to do with you because you’re not the one that needs saving in this relationship.”

  I closed my eyes. “What do you think I should do?”

  She took my hand in hers again. “Believe me, sweetheart, I would love to tell you what to do, but I learned my lesson with Jenna. But, I would like to get to know you better, so what do you say you come down to my shop this week and you let me get my hands on your gorgeous hair.”

  “I’d love that.”

  “I have a feeling about you, Ava.”

  Chapter 7

  I wasn’t quite sure what she meant when she said she had a feeling about me, but I definitely thought a lot about what she told me over the next several days. I found I had plenty of time to think with a lot of free time on my hands. Scott wasn’t ignoring me, per se, but all of a sudden, he got really busy with work—or so he said. He called a couple of times, but they were brief conversations and mainly consisted of general niceties.

  I made an appointment with his mom for Friday after work. I needed some girl time, and I was in the mood to make some major changes - I was starting with my hair. Myrna’s shop was about five miles from my house, in an older, well-kept neighborhood and business district. It gave me a nostalgic-type feel. I liked it. When I walked in, Myrna was at the front desk, like she was waiting for me. She came around and gave me a huge hug. I wished she could rub off on her son.

  She introduced me to everyone. I felt like I had been transported into a chick-flick that took place in a beauty shop. Or more like Cheers where everyone knows your name, because it seemed like everyone knew my name and knew about me. They were all giving me those looks - you know those looks, the looks that said they knew juicy secrets about you. In a way, it was amusing.

  She sat me in her chair. “All right, sweetheart, what will it be?”

  I took one last look at my long golden brown hair in the mirror. “Let’s chop it off.” I pulled out a picture I found online that I liked.

  She smiled broadly. “Oh, yes. I love it”

  She didn’t waste time going to work. I tried not to freak out as I saw lots of hair falling all around. Myrna kept me from looking in the mirror; she said this called for a surprise reveal at the end. As she cut, we talked. Of course she asked how Scott was. I said I wouldn’t know, I hadn’t seen him all week. She didn’t look happy about that. I asked her about the rest of her family, and they all seemed to be doing well. Next she started asking personal things like did I like kids, how many did I want, did I still love my ex-husband, you know fun stuff like that. I told her I loved kids and I wanted lots. That seemed to make her very happy. I also told her I couldn’t stand my ex-husband. That made her smile.

  She looked at me squarely. “Do you think you could convince Deanna they should start a family? I don’t know what it is with kids these days, you all want to wait. You’re not getting any younger. Me and Jerry got married early and had our kids early, that’s the way it should be.” She patted me. “Not that you’re old, honey. And I know it’s not your fault you’re
not married, but these girls today.”

  I couldn’t help, but laugh at her.

  “I think you and my mom would get along really well. I think at the rate my brother and I are going, she’s ready to adopt grandchildren.”

  “You know,” she said, “Scotty always wanted lots of kids too, but Jenna believed the world was over populated already and it was selfish to have kids.”

  Huh?

  “Not me. I think when you have a child, it’s the promise of making the world a better place.”

  She quit cutting my hair and looked at me thoughtfully. “Ava, you’re a good girl.”

  I winked. “Sometimes.”

  “Oh, I like you.”

  I liked her too, and I loved what she did to my hair. It was a layered bob that barely skimmed my shoulder line, and she gave me bangs. It was so different, but I loved it. She suggested doing some subtle highlights as well. I agreed. I walked out of there with a new haircut, a manicure, a pedicure and a facial. I felt fabulous, at least physically. Emotionally I felt beat up, but his mom even helped with that. I agreed to have lunch with her the following week. I guess she was going to become my new best friend.

  On the way home I stopped and got Chinese take-out and rented a movie out of one of those kiosk things. Maybe it sounds vain, but every time I stopped at a red light, I would check myself out in the mirror. My hair was so different, but I really liked it. There was something so freeing about it.

  I got home and settled on my couch with a remote in one hand and a Chinese food container in the other. I pressed play. I was ready to have some vicarious romance since I wasn’t getting any in real life. A few minutes and bites in, my phone rang. I automatically got my hopes up that it was Scott, but they were quickly dashed - it was work. There was a terrible multi-vehicle accident on one of the highways, and there were multiple injuries; they were calling in all available staff. I immediately rushed back to the hospital. I knew, as a nurse, this is what I had been trained to do, but you could never quite prepare yourself for situations like these.