It Was You

Chapter 6

I couldn't help the excitement that went through me whenever I thought about Ben and I's date. Excitement and nervousness. I've never been on a date before, so this would be interesting. The good thing about living in Humboldt County, is it was a large county that was mostly forrest, but everything in town was walking distance, so when mom offered to drive us, I very quickly declined.

Ben was over at one o'clock on the dot and, for once, I was not ready on time. I forgot about my chemo and hooked it up a little later than usual. By the time he knocked on the door, it was done, but I still had to get ready. So, dad occupied him, which I'm sure didn't go very well.

I tried to get ready as quickly as possible, but I didn't think about what I was going to wear! All I had were boy shirts and jeans! "Here, wear this," my mom said, handing me a blouse and skirt. I gave her a sharp glare, so she took back the skirt and suggested I wear my skinny jeans.

I quickly got dressed, then went into the bathroom and did my hair and brushed my teeth. Of course mother came in with heaps of make-up and decided it would be a wise idea to put it all over my face. I didn't like it, so we took it off and she just added lip gloss and some skin toner.

It was alright, I guess.

By the time I finally got downstairs it was one-thirty. "I'm so sorry," I told Ben as he stood up from the chair across from dad. I could tell they were in the middle of a serious discussion, which I'm glad I stopped. "Don't worry about it, darling," he told me. "Obviously, it was worth the wait."

A small smile appeared on his lips as his eyes wandered all over me. I hated wearing blouses and make-up because I thought it never suited me. With the way Ben was looking at me, I momentarily forgot about that...until my mom had to go and say, "Awe, you are so cute! What do you guys have planned besides lunch?"

I shot a glare at her and said, "Nothing. At all. Come on, Ben." I knew how relentless my mother could be with her questions and I wanted to get Ben out of there before she could start and never end. "I'll have her home at a decent hour," Ben promised as we walked out the door.

"Anxious, love?" He asked as I walked us quickly towards the park. Realizing what I was doing, I stopped and started walking slower. I was anxious to get us out of that house, I hadn't realized I was still in escape mode. "Sorry," I told him, "I was just trying to avoid the rapid fire questions from my mother."

Ben just laughed and shook his head. "Just when I thought I couldn't like you more, you save me from the brutal mother questions," he said. I started to lightly laugh, then fully laugh when I saw he hadn't stopped. "Okay, okay," I laughed, "but I couldn't save you from the even more brutal father questions."

His laugh gradually stopped as he seemed to think on it more. "Actually," he said, "it was more of a talk. He was just telling me to keep an eye on your oxygen tank because you can forget to sometimes. Also, not to do any strenuous activities that might effect your breathing. Other than that, he gave me the typical 'take care of her', 'don't keep her out too late' shindig."

Well, that doesn't sound too awful and he seemed okay with it. When I turned to tell him something, I could see him eyeing my tank curiously. I stopped walking and held it up to him. "This gauge," I told him, "is like a gas tank. If it's in green, it's good. If it's in yellow, I'm okay for a few more hours. If it's in red...well, then I better hope I'm close to home."

He nodded, then said, "It's almost to yellow. You'll be okay the rest of the evening?" I put my tank down and started walking again as I said, "I'll be fine. I promise."

We walked the rest of the way to the park and just strolled through it in silence. I always find silence awkward and I was rattling my brain to find something to say, but nothing seemed right! He looked like he was trying to find something to say as well, which just made this entire thing so much worse!