His Girl

Bill

We were having dinner, the four of us, at Bill's house. Mom was a nervous wreck. So much so that I had to drive. I didn't mind. Breaker was going to meet us there which always made me nervous. What if...? I couldn't think about it, there were too many things that could go wrong.

Bill lived in a nice neighborhood. All the houses on the street looked similar. A garage, gable roof and peaked overhang above the porch. Standard executive housing, 4 to 5 bedrooms, a den and big family room.

Mom opened the front door with a key, I looked at her out of the side of my eye. What was that about?

"We're out here!" Bill called from the back.

Mom and I walked through the house. The decor was sparse and impersonal. The backyard was unexpectedly huge. There was a fire pit, another elevation with a volleyball net and a sectioned off rose garden.

"Down on your left," Bill said, he and Breaker were carrying a picnic table to the center of the cement patio. "You know where that chord is for the light?" Breaker retrieved an extension chord that was hanging from his back pocket.

He stood on a stool to connect it. Strings with round light bulbs hung above, crisscrossing over the table. He let the extension dangle against the wall and plugged it into the outdoor outlet.

"Ooh," mom admired.

"You like that? Breaker did all that. Sanded this table too. Feel that." He ran his hand over the smooth surface.

"We'll put a finish on it later."

"That's great, Adam." Mom touched the table.

"Alright, ladies, we did all this, where's the food?" Bill asked. Both of our mouths dropped.

"Huh?"

The doorbell rang, Bill and Breaker laughed loudly.

"Oh, you! We'll get you back!" Mom threatened, she and Bill went to answer the door.

"How long you been here?" I asked. I felt the table, it was as soft as velvet.

"All day. That took hours."

"What?" I couldn't form my question. What was going on?

He hugged me, gently stroking my hair. "Bill wanted to talk."

"We're going to put this in the oven now," Mom called through the kitchen window. I was confused.

"We ordered that service where they bring the food prepared and you cook it," Breaker said.

"Oh. We?"

"Me and Bill. Come on." He held my hand and walked to the rose garden. A wrought iron bench allowed us to sit completely surrounded by beautiful flowers.

"I missed you." I whined into his ear.

"Missed you to." He held me close, I tilted my face up to kiss him. For a moment I forgot all the questions swirling in my mind.

"You hang out with Bill now?" I asked between smooches.

"He needed some advice."

"Oh he did?"

"Yeah about using protection." He winked at me.

"Breaker!" I slapped his thigh.

"What?" He playfully slapped mine in return. "No, he just had me over to help on a couple things for tonight. And to talk."

"About what?"

"Man stuff, Chanel. You women just wouldn't understand." He was teasing me and I loved it.