the chair for his
mother. Wow, that is a true gentleman. Steven has yet again earned
himself another point on his growing list of great boyfriend
qualities. I watch him smile at his mother, and laugh with his
father, which makes me do something I remember Michelle once
telling me. She said that when you first start seeing a guy, if you
can actually see yourself with him, then you should be able to
envision your life together before it actually happens. So I decide
to engage myself in this little exercise, and with minimal effort,
I can suddenly see Steven and I holding hands and walking into the
restaurant behind his parents. His mother would call me “Dear” and
I would call her “Ma”. Steven would first pull out the chair for
his mother, and then of course for me. He would gently kiss my
cheek and tuck in my chair from behind me. He would whisper in my
ear how beautiful I looked, and I would thank him. Then we would
all turn our attention to his father, who would say how lucky
Steven was to find a girl like me. His father would raise his
coffee cup and we would all raise ours to meet his, and clink them
together to toast the day.
It seemed simple enough, Steven and I
in an actual real relationship. Besides, Jessica knows me better
than anyone. If she had any doubts Steven and I wouldn’t hit it
off, she would have never introduced us. I hold still in that
thought, and wonder if Jessica knew Ben and I slept together
(without Steven in the mix), what she would think about that. Would
she tell me she always thought Ben and I would hook up one day? Or
would she freak out and tell me sleeping with Ben was the stupidest
thing I could have done? For a moment I actually consider spilling
the beans to her as soon as I get the chance, because maybe if I
did, it would make my feelings about Steven (whatever they are) a
bit clearer, especially if Jessica thought the latter.
“ Oh great.” I hear Michelle
groan, knocking me out of my fantasy. I look up to see Jessica’s
bubbly self, standing over our table with a bunch of brochures
fanned out in her hands.
“ Good News!” Jessica
shrieks, “I just booked all of us a full day trip to the Volcano.
There are zip lines, mud baths, hot springs, it’s a dream come
true.”
She passes us each a brochure and
vibrates with excitement. Michelle dramatically whacks her forehead
on the table and tosses her arms in front of her head. Stephanie’s
bottom lip protrudes and her brow furrows. She quietly pleads, and
asks Jessica if we can go tomorrow instead, but Jessica immediately
cuts her off, “No it’s already booked. It is going to be like old
times with all eight of us.”
I remain quiet, nervously thinking
about seeing Ben. When Jessica doesn’t see my enthusiasm, she
stomps her foot and shouts, “Megan, say something! Aren’t you
excited?”
“ Of course” I smile, “Who
wouldn’t want to zip line through the jungle hung over?”
****
An hour later, we are in the lobby
waiting for our shuttle. Jessica is zipping around, talking to the
hotel concierge, then whisking over to the tour guide, then back to
us to update us on the itinerary for the day. She claps her hands
together, and bounces up and down as she tells us that the bus ride
to the “best day of our lives” is going to be about two hours.
Michelle groans over the extensive travel time and flops down on a
floral printed chaise, pulling her sunhat over her face. Jessica
sits down beside me, huffs, and glances down at her watch. She
crosses her legs and nervously bounces them, resting her elbows on
her knees, “Where are the guys? The bus will be here any
minute.”
“ I am sure they are on
their way.” I assure her.
“ Michael is late for everything .” She
groans.
“ Well as long as he isn’t
late for the altar.” I chuckle. But Jessica shoots me a cold stare
and stands up to pace around the lobby.
A few more minutes pass before,
Michael, Eric, Matthew and Ben make their way into the
mother. Wow, that is a true gentleman. Steven has yet again earned
himself another point on his growing list of great boyfriend
qualities. I watch him smile at his mother, and laugh with his
father, which makes me do something I remember Michelle once
telling me. She said that when you first start seeing a guy, if you
can actually see yourself with him, then you should be able to
envision your life together before it actually happens. So I decide
to engage myself in this little exercise, and with minimal effort,
I can suddenly see Steven and I holding hands and walking into the
restaurant behind his parents. His mother would call me “Dear” and
I would call her “Ma”. Steven would first pull out the chair for
his mother, and then of course for me. He would gently kiss my
cheek and tuck in my chair from behind me. He would whisper in my
ear how beautiful I looked, and I would thank him. Then we would
all turn our attention to his father, who would say how lucky
Steven was to find a girl like me. His father would raise his
coffee cup and we would all raise ours to meet his, and clink them
together to toast the day.
It seemed simple enough, Steven and I
in an actual real relationship. Besides, Jessica knows me better
than anyone. If she had any doubts Steven and I wouldn’t hit it
off, she would have never introduced us. I hold still in that
thought, and wonder if Jessica knew Ben and I slept together
(without Steven in the mix), what she would think about that. Would
she tell me she always thought Ben and I would hook up one day? Or
would she freak out and tell me sleeping with Ben was the stupidest
thing I could have done? For a moment I actually consider spilling
the beans to her as soon as I get the chance, because maybe if I
did, it would make my feelings about Steven (whatever they are) a
bit clearer, especially if Jessica thought the latter.
“ Oh great.” I hear Michelle
groan, knocking me out of my fantasy. I look up to see Jessica’s
bubbly self, standing over our table with a bunch of brochures
fanned out in her hands.
“ Good News!” Jessica
shrieks, “I just booked all of us a full day trip to the Volcano.
There are zip lines, mud baths, hot springs, it’s a dream come
true.”
She passes us each a brochure and
vibrates with excitement. Michelle dramatically whacks her forehead
on the table and tosses her arms in front of her head. Stephanie’s
bottom lip protrudes and her brow furrows. She quietly pleads, and
asks Jessica if we can go tomorrow instead, but Jessica immediately
cuts her off, “No it’s already booked. It is going to be like old
times with all eight of us.”
I remain quiet, nervously thinking
about seeing Ben. When Jessica doesn’t see my enthusiasm, she
stomps her foot and shouts, “Megan, say something! Aren’t you
excited?”
“ Of course” I smile, “Who
wouldn’t want to zip line through the jungle hung over?”
****
An hour later, we are in the lobby
waiting for our shuttle. Jessica is zipping around, talking to the
hotel concierge, then whisking over to the tour guide, then back to
us to update us on the itinerary for the day. She claps her hands
together, and bounces up and down as she tells us that the bus ride
to the “best day of our lives” is going to be about two hours.
Michelle groans over the extensive travel time and flops down on a
floral printed chaise, pulling her sunhat over her face. Jessica
sits down beside me, huffs, and glances down at her watch. She
crosses her legs and nervously bounces them, resting her elbows on
her knees, “Where are the guys? The bus will be here any
minute.”
“ I am sure they are on
their way.” I assure her.
“ Michael is late for everything .” She
groans.
“ Well as long as he isn’t
late for the altar.” I chuckle. But Jessica shoots me a cold stare
and stands up to pace around the lobby.
A few more minutes pass before,
Michael, Eric, Matthew and Ben make their way into the
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