How to Be a Gentleman

Step 3.

            “Come on, Eden!” Ross groaned as he pounded on the front door of a small and suburban home. He and Sage were both huddled underneath a gray hoodie to protect themselves from the rain. “It’s pouring out here!”

            As if it were on cue, a white bolt of lighting struck in the background. Thunder came shortly after, causing Sage to jump and pull her body closer to Ross’s. There was no space between them anymore. Sage didn’t seem to notice and she had both of her eyes squeezed shut. Ross, on the other hand, looked very uncomfortable and patted her back awkwardly before continuing his pounding on Eden’s door.

            “Of course, your highness,” Eden muttered from inside the house. There was the sound of the deadbolt being turned, and the heavy door swung open.

Ross quickly got out from underneath the gray jacket and rushed inside, pushing past Eden and leaving a wet spot on the side of her leather jacket. She glared at him as he did this, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she nodded towards Sage, inviting her into the house. Sage grinned and balled the jacket up in her hands as she went inside.

Ross had already begun to make himself at home. He had kicked off his wet Converse sneakers by the door, leaving dirt on the tan carpet of her living room. Sage kept her sandals on. They might have been wet, like her long dress, but they weren’t nearly as dirty as Ross’s.

            The microwave beeped from the kitchen, which was next to the front door. Eden and Sage walked together into a quaint kitchen with a single window and dishes piled up in the sink.

Ross eyed the clock on the pale blue wall. It read 7:51.

            “You’re just now making dinner?” he asked Eden with both dark eyebrows raised while leaning against the scratched-up countertop.

            “It’s not for me,” she mumbled under her breath as she pulled a plastic plate full of freshly heated lasagna from the microwave. Sage began to ring out her long blonde hair in the sink.

            Ross nodded as though he understood exactly what his friend was saying, but he still wasn’t done speaking. “Don’t you think it’ll be cold when she gets home?”

            “Can you please just stop talking?” Eden snapped. Her green eyes were spread widely and her thin eyebrows were raised.

            “Is this about lunch?” Ross didn’t get the hint, even though Sage was shaking her head towards him like a madman.  “Eden, I didn’t mean it like that!”

            Eden bit her red lip like she was holding something in. She spoke more calmly than she did a few seconds before. “I’m not mad, Ross.”

He snorted and rolled his eyes. “That’s what all girls say when they actually are mad.”

            Eden pulled on the handle of a white drawer underneath the granite countertops and pulled out a fork. She then slammed it shut. “Sometimes we really aren’t!”

            Ross held both of his hands in the air in an ‘I surrender’ position. He pulled his body up so that he was sitting on top of the countertop. “Aunt Flow has obviously gifted you generously this month,” he mumbled with a big grin.

            No one laughed at his joke.

            Eden didn’t even roll her eyes. “Oh my God, you have got to be kidding me.”

            Sage stared at Ross with her mouth wide open. It seemed to take a moment for everyone to register what their friend had just said.

            He cleared his throat in an obvious effort to clear the silence. “What? It was a joke.”

            Sage tugged on the sleeve of Ross’s tee shirt, which featured a practically unheard of band. “Come here for a second,” she said. He did.

            She led the both of them out of Eden’s kitchen and into the small living room. There was a bright yellow couch against the wall, but neither of them sat in it. They just stood.

            Sage leaned in as she spoke to Ross in a quiet voice. “It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience. That’s Julius Caesar.”

            Ross frowned. “Are you going to explain that or can I go back to the kitchen?”

            Sage sighed and smoothed out her tan dress. Then, she looked back up at her friend. “You have to be patient. Give her time to forgive you.”

            He held out both of his arms and scrunched up his face. “She said she wasn’t mad!”

            “Ross, she was trying to get over it, but then you…” Sage trailed off for a moment, like she was trying to come up with the right words. “said some things.”

            “About her period?”

            Sage shrugged. “And her mom.”

            Ross sighed and they both became silent. “It will be cold when she gets home, if she even decides to come here tonight,” he whined.

            “Let Eden handle it. Please?”

            Ross started to say something, but eventually nodded and hung his head in submission. “Yeah. Fine.”

            Sage nodded and they both went back into the kitchen. Eden was writing something on a sticky note in black Sharpie. It was short, and when she was done, she stuck it next to the plate of lasagna.

            ‘MOM’, it read.

            Sage suddenly seemed uncomfortable. She rubbed her elbow awkwardly. Ross cleared his throat. Eden ignored her friends and started walking towards the front door. When they didn’t follow her, she turned around and gave them a glance from over her shoulder.            

            “Are we going to Gina’s or not?” she asked with her eyebrows raised.

            Ross and Sage nodded. He grabbed the gray jacket back from Sage and pulled the hood over his head as the three friends walked out.