My Heart's in Alabama

34 - Matt

Sal and Teddy are the first to visit and I could not be happier to have some company. I haven't done a single thing all day. My dad wouldn't let me. He's so freaked out about me being hurt, he's essentially put me on bed rest. I can't get up to go to the kitchen. I can't go into the living room to watch TV. I can't even go upstairs to my own room. Yeah, you heard that right. I'm banned from my room. He made me switch rooms with him because apparently going up and down the stairs is too much of a "strain." It's like he thinks I'm some little old granny with a broken hip or something. Being injured sucks.

"We come bearing gifts," Sal says as he walks into my dad's bedroom.

He lifts up a plastic bag with a Chellie's logo and drops it on the nightstand next to me. Teddy follows close behind carrying a pie and a carton of vanilla ice cream. My eyes light up at the sight of food.

And my friends too, of course.

"Is that Nana Peters' cherry pie?" I ask.

"Yep," Teddy says. "You better enjoy that. I spent two hours pitting those cherries for my Nana cause I know it's your favorite."

"Thanks, man. I appreciate it," I say and start digging through the bag of food Sal brought. "What do we got here?"

"Well," Sal says and takes out the boxes one by one. "Chili fries from my mom. Double bacon cheeseburger from my dad. Deep-fried mac and cheese balls from me, and onion rings from Ruthie."

"Ruthie?"

"Yeah, she felt bad and wanted to help out. I didn't have the heart to tell her you don't like onion rings."

"That's okay," I say. "Y'all'll eat 'em right?"

They both nod. I open up the boxes and spread them out on the night stand. Once I start digging in I notice Sal and Teddy are both standing there staring at me so I gesture to the chairs behind them. I push the food towards them a little bit so they know to sit and eat. There's no doubt in my mind I could eat this all myself, but they were nice enough to think of bringing it so I want to share. And I really don't want to stuff my face by myself.

"Take whatever you want," I say to them.

With my blessing, they both kind of shrug and start tearing into the food along with me.

"So, what's the verdict?" Sal asks.

"I'm done. Out for the season."

"Damn. Sorry, man. That sucks," Teddy says through a mouthful of coleslaw.

I tell them it's cool and brush it off, because honestly, I don't want to get into it with them. I know I won't be able to talk about it without getting upset and I'd rather they not see that side of me. So, I change the subject.

"Tell me again why Ruthie added the onion rings?"

"She thinks fries are overrated," Sal shrugs nonchalantly.

"No, I mean she barely knows me. Why would she care to get me something?"

"She feels guilty about what happened, you know, since she was dating Hayden and all."

"Wait, was dating Hayden?"

This is news to me. Last I knew Hayden and Ruthie were going to "work on it" and "rebuild trust." Now Sal's referring to their relationship in the past tense? Shoot.

"Yeah," Sal says as he tries to hide a smile. "Last night was the last straw for her. She dumped Hayden this morning. And..." he adds, his smile growing ear to ear. "I got a date with her next Saturday."

Unexpectedly, my stomach drops and I get this weird feeling in my chest. Almost like, disappointment? Hopelessness? Jealousy? I don't know. I guess it hits me. A month ago the three of us were all floating along in the same boat. But they've jumped ship. Teddy's got a girlfriend. Sal's got a date with Ruthie. I'm the only one left without a paddle.