Winter just wasn't my season...

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The mood when we got back to the house was strictly business. The boys mumbled a thanks when I handed out their lunches, and while we all sat in the room together, nobody really spoke. I didn’t really feel like eating, but had a nagging feeling that if I left the room, either someone would follow me, or they’d all be talking behind my back. I didn’t like the way everyone was eyeing Jason and I, and I was desperate for something to break the tension.

“Hey…” I started. I was silenced for a second when everyone looked up at me. “Um…” I said, forgetting what I was going to say for a moment. “Oh, yeah… Matt’s birthday is tomorrow. We were going to go out and celebrate tonight. You guys in?”

“Sure. I’ll go.” Jason replied.

“You already know I’m there.” Matt joked.

“I think I’m going to sit this one out guys.” Nick said.

“Me too.” Drew mumbled. “I should work on the house.”

“Oh come on man, the boys are back in town.” Jason joked.

“Nick’s not going.” Drew said, sounding like a petulant child.

“I’m married, dude. Married men only get into trouble at the clubs. I’ll do dinner with you guys and then you guys can go out and have fun.”

“Nick I should stay and work on the house.” Drew said stubbornly.

“Drew,” Nick answered, his voice calm but firm. It was definitely his ‘Dad’ voice. “You’ve worked on the house a lot. You deserve a break. Go out. Have fun.” Nick’s tone was still light, but you could tell there was no way to argue with what he said.

Drew sighed, deeply and dramatically. “What time are we going?”

I wanted to say something smart, something sarcastic. If it was such a big deal to go with us, he didn’t need to be there, and I didn’t give a damn what Nick thought. This whole weekend so far was a bunch of little boys in some sort of pissing match, and I was getting sick of it. I was about to open my mouth to say something, when Nick cut me off.

“We can quit working about 7, get cleaned up. I’ll make reservations for about 8:30. Sound doable?” He looked pointedly at me.

“Whatever.” I said. I did a childish move myself a stomped off.

After I fumed for a few moments (and in the process, ended up ruining damn near a yard of fabric.) I picked up the phone to call Jarren.

“Hey, what are you doing tonight?” I asked when she picked up.

“Girls night out. Why, you wanna come?” She answered.

“No… Matt’s birthday is tomorrow. He asked me to throw something together for him, and more importantly, he asked me to invite you. If you can get out of your girl thing, we’re doing dinner at 8:30, and then hitting the club after. You can invite your friends if you want, I just need to know how many to make a reservation for.”

“Oh, I’m sure they’ll understand!” She said, sounding excited. “I’ll give them a call and see if anyone wants to come along, and I’ll call you back. Oh man, what do you think I should wear?” She blathered on like that for awhile, and I tuned her out, mumbling random “uh-huhs” and “yeahs” whenever I felt the moment fit. Finally, she said she better go, and I got off the phone with her.

My anger was now gone, replaced by a mild annoyance and just… Such a tiredness. I tensed immediately when I heard the door open again behind me. I couldn’t deal with anymore surprises, any more emotions, any more confrontations. I turned around, hoping the look on my face would ward off whoever it was.

“Relax. It’s just me.” Nick said.

“Oh. Whatcha need?” I asked, wiping the scowl off my face.

“I just wanted to see how you were doing.” He said, leaning against the door frame. “I know today’s been kinda rough on you.”

I shrugged. “I brought it on myself, you know.”

“No you didn’t Ella. You can’t help who you fall in love with.” Nick said, his eyes looking sympathetic.

“I can’t even decide who to love, Nick. How is that fair?”

“That’s the thing about love, Ella. You can’t pick. You can’t choose. Hell, you can’t even decide when it’s going to happen. It’s a bitch.”

“Yeah, well…”

“Look, why don’t you go home for a bit? You can make the reservations for me, get all gussied up… I dunno maybe go shopping and find a new outfit? Just relax. You’ve done an awful lot for us these past few days. You need to relax too.”
I nodded. I wanted to fight with him, demand to stay and help some more, but I knew it wouldn’t matter to Nick. “You’ll call me if you need anything?”

“Of course.” He said, ruffling my hair.

I was relieved, and the second I walked out of the house into the cold February air, I felt refreshed. Of course, that would be the moment I bumped into Seth, coming back with some friends in tow. I was surprised to see a two girls with him. Actually, one was Chloe, and that didn’t really shock me, but the other one…

“Hey you…” Seth ventured carefully. “Where you off too?”

“We’re having a birthday thing for Matt tonight. I was going to call, to see if you wanted to come. You’re all welcome too. We’re doing dinner and some dancing.” I said, speaking to his friends.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Ella, this is Justin, John, Pat, and Christi.” He said, pointing to the girl last. “And you already know Chloe.”

“Oh hey. Nice to meet you all. Anyway, I’m off to do some shopping. Nick said he’d call if he needed anything, and I need a new outfit…”

“I’m so with you. This house building thing? So not me, but I am an awesome shopper.” Chloe said.

“Chloe…” Seth said, his tone warning.

“Seth…” She whined. “You don’t want the sawdust and stuff to upset me do you?”

He sighed and looked at me. I smiled. I couldn’t help it, Chloe was just one of those people who was… Well… She was lit up. There was just this light that surrounded her, and whenever you were near her, you got pulled into that light too.

“She’s alright Seth. Besides, if she’s as bad with the house fixing stuff as I am, it’s better that you don’t have her around.”

“I’ll see you tonight?” He said.

I nodded and smiled. “Of course.”

Chloe and I walked down the street to my house, her chattering the whole way about various things. We stopped inside quickly, long enough for me to let Cumulus out for a break. Then we headed to my car.

“Hey… I heard Ian went a little crazy today… I’m sorry about that. I hope it doesn’t make you think badly about Seth or I… Or our family…” She said as she was clicking her seatbelt into place.

“No, not at all. I mean to be honest, Ian was a little scary. But that’s Ian. It’s not you, it’s not Seth. I know that Seth just brought Ian because he thought he would help.”

Chloe nodded. “Ian can be very scary sometimes when he’s angry. He and Seth have gotten into it a couple times. It can be hard core. I love Ian. And I know it may be hard to believe, but he’s a very loving person. I guess I liken him to a guard dog my grandpa used to have. The dog was nuts around anyone he didn’t know, growling and snapping…. But around us, he was just a pussy cat who would shake like a leaf if you yelled around him.” She was quiet for a moment. “I told that analogy to my Mom once. She worries about Ian a lot…”

“What happened to your Grandpa’s dog?” I asked, trying to make lighter conversation.

“He had to be destroyed.” She said sadly. “He bit the wrong person. I guess we all worry about that with Ian too.”

Her mood suddenly became dark, as if the light inside her was switched off, but in a blink, it was back on again.

“Ready to do some shopping?” She asked, smiling bright.