Not a Love Story

Twenty-Nine // David

Oliver Greene

A week had passed since Henry's concussion and mom telling Henry and I about David. Mom suggested David come over for dinner this weekend so Henry and I could meet him. I eagerly agreed, hoping it would be a distraction from the jumble that was my thoughts. Tutoring Ben everyday was proving to be an increasingly difficult task as I found it more and more difficult to deny what I was feeling for him.

I was setting the table when Henry came down the stairs. He was back up on his feet with few headaches, but he still needed to take it easy.

"Need help?" he asked. I shook my head as I placed the last of the silverware down.

"I'm good." I said, turning towards him.

"Are you nervous?" Henry asked, lowering his voice so our mom wouldn't hear. I thought for a moment.

"Yeah, a little bit. What about you?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Yeah, a little bit." he replied with a smirk, making me roll my eyes at his sarcastic answer.

"I just want mom to be happy. I really hope he's as good a guy as she says he is." I breathed, feeling anxiety start to well up inside me. Henry nodded in agreement as our mom came down the stairs, fixing one of her earrings.

"Thank you for setting the table, Oliver. It looks wonderful." she complimented, smiling at us.

"Thanks, mom. You look nice." I observed, seeing she was wearing a casual black dress that she sometimes wore to work holiday parties.

"Thank you, honey. You both look lovely." she said, pulling Henry and I in for a hug.

"When will he be here?" Henry asked as she released us. She checked her watch.

"Any minute now." she said with a smile. Just as she finished talking, the door bell rang. "That'll be him. You two stay here, I'll go get him." she said. We both nodded and stood where we were, exchanging a nervous glance between the two of us as she went to the door.

A few moments later, she returned with a tall, tan man. He had dark hair and glasses and was wearing a nice pair of slacks, a polo shirt and a sport coat.

"Oliver, Henry, this is David. David, this is Oliver and Henry." she introduced us. I shook his hand before Henry did, both of us greeting David with smiles.

"It's nice to finally meet you two." David said, grinning. "Your mom talks about you two nonstop. She's very proud of you both." he said.

"It's nice to meet you too. We've heard so many great things from mom about you, we're excited to finally meet you in person." I responded, seeing my mom lightly blush at my words.

"Oh well now you're just trying to embarrass me. David, boys, make yourself comfortable. I'm going to get the food." she said. Henry and I sat across from one another, David at one end of the table and an empty chair for our mom at the other end.

"So do you work at the same company as our mom?" Henry asked. David shook his head.

"No, I actually work about 20 minutes away from your mom's firm. Our companies often work together with certain clients." David explained.

"Are you in engineering as well?" I asked, trying to continue the small talk.

"I'm in sales. Your mom is a whole lot smarter than I am." David explained, lightly laughing.

"Okay, here's the lasagna. David, I must warn you. I'm not much of a cook, so if it's bad you won't hurt my feelings." mom said as she placed the dish down on the table.

"She's lying. She makes some of the best lasagna out there." Henry said. David chuckled as we passed the food around.

"So, Henry. You're on the football team right?" David asked, my heart jumping at the mention of the team. Henry nodded.

"Yeah. I can't play right now because of this stupid concussion, but I'm excited to get back to it." he said.

"I can imagine. How long have you been playing?" Henry thought for a minute.

"Since I was 5? Maybe 6?" he said.

"That's awesome. Do you want to play in college?" David asked. Henry enthusiastically nodded.

"For sure. Playing for Wisconsin would be awesome." he said, grinning. David agreed, nodding.

"Your mom said you volunteer at the animal shelter, Oliver. How's that?" David asked.

"It's really fun. My boss and co-workers are awesome and I get to hang out with some really fun animals." I responded, smiling.

"How long have you been working there?" David asked, taking another bite of lasagna. I thought for a moment.

"I started volunteering around 8th grade I think?" I responded.

"Wow, that's great." he said.

"So where did you go to school?" Henry asked.

"I grew up in Maine and I went to school in New York. I moved out here about 5 years ago for the job I'm at now." he responded, smiling. "Oliver, you're applying to colleges now aren't you?" he asked, directing his attention back to me. 

"I am, yes. The end goal is Harvard medical school, but I want to go to Michigan for my undergrad." I responded.

"Both great schools. I had a friend who went to Michigan. He loved it over there." he responded.

"That's good to hear." I responded, taking another bite of lasagna as my mom chimed in and continued the conversation.

When we'd all finished eating, David offered to help mom clean up, which she bashfully accepted.

"I think they're a good match." Henry whispered as we made our way to the family room.

"Me too. He talks about mom like she means everything to him." I replied, feeling my heart swell as I heard her and David laugh, the sink running as they cleaned dishes. "She seems really happy." I finished.

"Yeah. She does." Henry agreed, smiling.

"How are you doing?" I asked him. Henry just shrugged.

"I get a headache if I go up the stairs too fast or anything like that but I'm doing better." I nodded.

David and mom joined us in the living room, where we all continued to talk and laugh as the sun set lower and lower in the sky. I noticed the way my mom's eyes would light up when David made a joke and when he looked at her. I could tell he meant a lot to her.

"It's getting late. I should probably get going." David said, briefly glancing at his watch. We stood up and walked him to the front door.

"It was great to meet you." I said, shaking his hand.

"You as well, Oliver. It was great to meet you too, Henry." David said, extending his hand to Henry.

"Likewise." Henry replied, shaking his hand and smiling at him.

"Thank you for having me, Beth." David said, kissing mom on the cheek.

"Of course. Have a nice night." she said, waving as he made his way to his car.

"You all as well." he replied, a smile on his face as he waved and got into his car.

After closing the door and locking it, she looked between Henry and I.

"So?" she cautiously asked.

"I really like him." I said, smiling at her.

"Me too. He seems like a good guy." Henry agreed. She wrapped her arms around us and hugged us both, pulling us close.

"I'm so glad. He's been excited to meet you both. I may or may not talk about you two often." she said, smiling.

"He's great for you." I said. She nodded and smiled at me.

"Thank you, Ol. That means a lot." she replied, pulling us in for one last hug.