My Second Chance

Chapter 9

Last night’s dinner with Charlie was good for me. He took me out to a little Italian restaurant on the other side of town, picking me up in his silver Porsche. My boy C sure is fancy, reminding me a lot about his big brother. We arrive at the lavish eatery and I am awe struck with the beautiful detail they put into everything, from the décor to the table settings – everything about this place gets a five star in my book.

We mostly end up talking through the whole meal, except when it came to the dessert. He tells me that he just got promoted to Chief Editor for Men’s Health Magazine here in the UK and I couldn’t be more proud. I ask him about Gemma and I could tell he’s over the moon for her.

“She’s the best sis. I can’t believe that I actually got her to be with me for so long.” He tells me.

“You can’t believe it? Why not?” I ask him.

He can’t hide the smile on his face which makes him look even cheekier than usual. “Well for starters, she's way out of my league! I’m not sure about what to do next. I mean, I want her to move in with me. But then I also don’t want to rush things. I’m so crazy about her, I think I’m going insane! Am I crazy for thinking that?!” He hits his fist on the table and everyone around turns to us with angry faces.

“Alright, now pipe down lover boy.” I tease. “You’re obviously whipped, you know that don’t you?”

“What?! I am not!” he says defensively. I raise an eyebrow and he plops his head down hard onto the table. I laugh loudly but this time the people around us look amused.

“Stop denying it and accept your fate little brother. You are in love!” I tell him.

He raises his head from the table and brings his face to his palms. He starts to groan but suddenly stands up from his chair. He takes a few deep breaths and I can’t help but feel a little anxious thinking about what he’s going to do next. I would like to think that I was never prepared. What is he doing?

He seems to be whispering something but I can't make out a word. What did he just say?

“I’m in love." he says. "I'm in love." he repeats. "I’m in looove!” the sound of his voice a little more louder than the last.

Everyone in the restaurant starts to clap, gives him hugs and wish him luck. Charlie looks more happy than I’ve seen him and I don’t think I ever have. After his exhilarating outburst of happiness, he brings me home. He’ll be coming back in four months for the wedding so he has me promise that I will be the one to pick him up.

Tuesday night rolls in and coming home from work after doing so much paper work has me exhausted to the bone. That’s the life of a social worker I guess. I sit in my car and close my eyes for a few minutes before trying to get the mess organized. There are papers everywhere and I feel dirty just looking at it all. I sigh and place my forehead on the steering wheel. My watch reads five forty five. I feel like hell right now but I don’t think being immobile is a choice if I want to sleep in my bed.

Living alone here in London is intense. I mean compared to home, it’s something else. Jennifer and I stayed together for a while but I thought it was better if I ‘spread my wings’ so to speak. She ended up crying over me leaving but I assured her nothing would come between us, even if I were just a few ways away from her. She was dramatic and trying to get me back to changing my mind but I stood my ground. London is big enough for the both of us.

Back home it’s nothing like this. Here you have the night life. I mean, there is a night life back home too but that’s just the local bars and strip clubs (if you’re into that kind of thing). We have a place called ‘Hotel Street’ there but that’s just a tiny area compared to the variety they have here in the UK. I love it here in London. Like I said it is nothing compared to home. I have thought about going back but when I really think about it, I get so overwhelmed.