Robbery in Progress

Eleven

Obviously, I didn't hear from Derek the next day. I was glad, though, because I was still really upset at myself for not being ready to meet his sister and I was sure that he was still disappointed. I knew the best thing was to let Derek spend time with his sister without bothering him.

At work, Paul could tell that something was bothering me. I noticed that he kept looking out of the corner of his eye at me and I knew it wouldn't be long until he asked me what was wrong. I was dreading it.

"Jen, is everything okay?" I nodded, without looking up from my desk. I pretended like I was so busy with paperwork that I didn't have time to socialize. "Jen, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." This time, I quickly looked up at Paul and then back at my desk.

"I know something's wrong. Talk to me." I looked up. Paul was sitting at his desk, staring across at me. I took in a deep breath before speaking.

"Relationship trouble..."

"What do you mean? Did something happen with you and Derek?"

"He called yesterday. He said he got a new job."

"Really? Where at?"

"That restaurant downtown, Gary Danko."

"Wow. That place is expensive."

"Yeah, it is."

"But I know him getting a new job isn't what's bothering you, so what is?"

"He said his sister was coming down today from Sonoma. He asked me to meet her. His dad was never  in the picture and his mom passed away, so this is the one family member I will be meeting that's really going to mean a lot to him, you know."

"So you're nervous? Jen, she will like you. I know it. Everything will be fine..."

"Paul, I told him no."

"No? Why did you do that?" Paul looked confused.

"Paul, I'm not ready."

"You're not ready? What are you waiting for?" I shook my head.

"He said she would be back down in two weeks and I could meet her then if I wanted to."

"I would." I nodded and gave him a quick smile and we both got back to work. I wasn't ready to have this conversation with anyone.

Later that evening, I was watching TV when someone knocked on my door. I turned it off and opened the door to find Christina standing there. I noticed Julie was sitting in the car. She waved.

"Christina, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?"

"Oh yeah. Everything's fine. Can we talk?"

"Of course. Isn't your mother coming in?"

"I asked her to drive me here so I could talk to you alone. I clearly can't drive." She raised up her arm, emphasizing the fact that she has a cast.

"Oh. Can I get you something to drink?" I spoke as I shut the door.

"No, I'm good." We made our way to the couch and took a seat.

"So what is it you came here to talk to me about?"

"Dad told mom and I about Derek." I was worried what this talk was about.

"What about him?"

"I know you turned down his offer to meet his sister." Was I really about to get a lecture from a teenager?

"I did."

"Why? Don't you like him?" I didn't speak. "Jen, I understand relationships are difficult. It's hard to open up to someone and trust them, but you just have to suck it up and do it. Anything worth having in life is never easy. If you really like this guy, you owe it to him and you owe it to yourself to meet his sister. I know his sister being the only family member you'll get to meet puts that much more pressure on the situation, but you can do it. I know you can."  She paused.

"When did you become so smart? You know you sound just like your dad."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." We smiled at each other. "Dad said Derek's sister would be coming back here in two weeks, right?"

"Yes."

"You should go talk to Derek tomorrow and spend some more time with him after you get off from work and in two weeks, you need to meet his sister. I know how hard it is for you to do something like this, especially because it's been so long, but you owe it to yourself to see what can come of this relationship. Promise you'll do it?" I had no idea how I could ever say no to Christina so I nodded my head yes and gave her a hug. We stood up from the couch and I walked her to the door.

"Thanks for the talk." She smiled at me and I watched as she got in the car. I waved at them both and shut the door.