The Second Chance

Chapter 2

The car ride home was silent. Mostly because I didn't want to answer the questions they had. I just wanted to enjoy the moment. I had many emotions built up in me, surprised, joyful, worried, everything. I'd just scored and I couldn't believe it. I looked down at the note and back to my phone. "What was I supposed to say?". I look over at Katrina who's completely focused on her phone. "What do I text her. Do I call her?" I asked. She let out a small laugh and said, "I don't know. Just do what feels right. Don't fuck up.". Do what feels right. About an hour or so later we finally arrived home. The sun was out and the wind was calm today so I went to go change into my "sportswear" and went outside. The note was still in my pocket and I never let it go. I was still contemplating on the right words and the perfect date to take her out on. I still haven't figured it out so I didn't text her just yet. About after 3 hours, I went for a jog to the mailbox. My house to the mailbox took about 2 minutes to get there at a full sprint but my legs were weak and tired so I took it easy. I looked up and around. The sun was setting and it looked beautiful. I got to the mailbox after a few minutes and sat down for a moment to catch my breath. The sky was now pink-ish and it looked amazing. I look back down and reach into my pocket. I pulled out the note. I pulled it close to my heart like if she was there and stood there for a good minute or so. I looked back up and I knew what I wanted to tell her.

After I took a shower I climbed on my bed and laid there for a minute or two. I was ready. I started dialing the number and pushed the call button. It took about 10 seconds until she answered the phone. "Hello?" she said in a beautifully calming voice. It was soothing and soft like the voices in the movies. "Hey. It's me Bryan from the Cathedral. How've you been?". We talked a lot that night and she told me many things. She said her name was Jade Grey and she lived near the Cathedral so she went there every day with her parents or sometimes her sisters. "I was named after the Green Jade, the gemstone I think," she would say. We hit off pretty well and talked for about 2 hours until my parents called me for the Bible reunion. "I've been meaning to ask you. Would you like to go out sometime? You know, to get to know each other more," I said. "I'd love to!" she said in her softly spoken voice. She had that tone in her voice that made you want to do anything just to hear it one more time. "Tell me when and where," she said. "Next week at 8?". She responded with "Yeah sounds good, oh and don't tell me where we're going I want it to be a surprise. Like when I met you." I don't know if it was what she said or how she said it but she made me feel loved. Like if I was a part of her now and she was a part of me. I hung up and I walked to the living room. I looked down at my phone. I had a good feeling about tomorrow.

I woke up with sweat all over my face. "Jesus!" I said to myself. "It's hot in here." I removed the sheets covering me and pushed them aside. I turned around and reached for my phone to see what time it was. 4:58 a.m. it read in bold white letters. I got up and sure enough, everyone was still asleep. Except for Dad, he was getting ready for work. I never knew how he did it. Sometimes I'd sleep at 11 and wake up and 3 but he got up every day with less than 6 hours of sleep. I walked over to the kitchen where he was and took a seat beside him. His eyes widened a little, he was just as surprised as me that I was up at this hour. "What are you doing up at this hour?" he said questioningly. "Bad dream," I said to him. I got up and got a glass of water and sat back down. He got up shortly after and put his lunch in his bag. As he was headed out the door I turned towards him and asked him a question I still remember to this day. "Dad, how did you ask Mom out, you know like asked her out on a date and how did it go? Was it awkward?". "He looked at me directly in the eyes and said, "It's only awkward if you make it that way. When you ask her you will be nervous, hell, you'll probably piss your pants, but although there is no perfect way to ask someone out, you have to speak from the heart, not the mind. Especially with that big head of yours." I let out a nervous laugh and shifted my head down. "Good luck kiddo." he said as he shut the door behind him. Speak from the heart, not the mind. I went to bed thinking about what he said, about what I should do. For the first time in a long time, I didn't know what to do.