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“I came in when the prayer was going on, Katy,” Eve said. “I stepped to the side in the foyer so I wouldn’t interrupt anything. And I forgot you told me until I was at home thinking about it. I called you and you didn’t answer.”
Katy pulled her phone out of her pocket and saw Eve’s missed called. She apologized then insisted Eve make herself a plate. The two friends did just that, Eve making sure to say hello to Katy’s mother and father. They wound up sitting out on the patio, in the corner out in the sun. Inside, clusters of people gathered in the dining room, on various couches, and even in the den. A few people – those who didn’t mind the slight chill in the air – ventured out onto the patio and got good and comfortable. They talked as usual.
“Yeah, so she didn’t come up there today,” Eve said, finishing up about her job. “I am kind of thinking about maybe getting another position at a different firm.”
“Yeah, sounds like it,” Katy said. “Whatever happened to you moving to Omaha? I thought you said you had family there or something.”
“I do,” Eve said. “And yeah, that was the idea. Yeah, it’s smaller, but I could certainly take advantage of some of the opportunity out there. But, well, I took a trip out there. Certainly, a nice place to live but the chances of me meeting a guy are pretty slim out there. No thanks.”
Katy shook her head. “Oh, Eve… You should really...”
Katy’s words trailed off when she noticed the french doors at the back of the house open. Brennon stepped outside, looking around as if he were looking for someone specifically. He smiled and nodded when he saw Katy then headed out across the patio.
Eve looked back and forth between Katy and the guy coming out of the door. It was rather obvious Katy had lost her train of thought. Eve gently nudged Katy in the shin. “Who is he? You look...interested.”
“Stop, Eve,” Katy said, barely opening her lips. “Seriously, don’t you go trying
to do your hookup magic crap.”
“Hookup magic crap?” Eve asked, surprised. “What are you talking about?”
“You know,” Katy said very low then Brennon approached. “Hey,” she said, smiling. “I thought you were eating in there.”
Brennon gestured toward the free chair, asking if he could sit down. Katy insisted he did; Eve smiled, as if she were up to something. Katy kicked Eve’s shin rather hard under the table, causing the woman to jump a bit from the quick jolt of pain.
“Eve, let me introduce you to Brennon,” Katy said, looking coldly into Eve’s eyes – a stare that told the childhood friend she had better not try anything beyond cordial conversation. “Brennon, this is my best friend, sometimes, Eve. Eve, this is Brennon...my cousin Melanie’s brother.”
Eve extended her hand. “Nice to meet you Brennon. So, you’re Katy’s cousin, I guess.”
“Nice to meet you too, Eve,” Brennon said. “And, well, in a way.” He smiled. “I’m Melanie’s half-brother...her father’s other child, I guess you could say. So, we’re related in a way, but not really.”
“Oh, I see,” Eve said, connecting the dots. She glanced at Katy. “Well, that is good. Brennon, you seem like a professional kind of guy. What do you do?”
Brennon chuckled. Sometimes he didn’t realize how much he had evolved. His perspective of his own self was still that lost guy in his 20s. “Well, I’m actually a college professor at Indiana University.”
“Oh,” Eve said, turning to Katy. “Well, isn’t that something? Katy, as I’m sure you probably know, is a third grade teacher.”
“He knows, Eve,” Katy said, still keeping a smile on her face even if her eyes were telling Eve to shut up right now. “He knows. We were actually talking about that earlier.”
“I’m sure,” Eve said. She vividly remembered the way Katy looked at this guy when he came walking out onto the patio. And now, she noticed how Katy’s demeanor had changed for this guy. He had obviously come outside looking for her intently; he smiled and his eyes twinkled when he looked at her.
Eve purposely leaned back and closed her mouth, allowing Katy to talk. She was oh so sure Katy knew exactly what he was thinking.
“How’s it going inside?” Katy asked Brennon.
Katy and Eve listened as Brennon talked about the various people he’d seen inside. He was somewhat in touch with Katy’s father Richard, but that was only because they were a part of some of the same social circles. He commented on how good Linda looked...and how much Katy was turning out to look like her mother. Eve picked up on Brennon’s sly ways of complimenting Katy’s looks.
The conversation carried on for several minutes when Eve noticed how Brennon directed so much of his attention at Katy. And she saw the way Katy held on to his every word. Eve excused herself, said it was nice to meet Brennon, then retreated back to the house. Before she shut the french doors, she looked out and made eye contact with Katy. She slowly closed the door, raising her eyebrows suggestively.
Brennon turned around to glance at the french doors then turned back to Katy. He chuckled. “How long have you known her?” he asked.
Katy sighed then smiled. “Um...well...too long, I guess you could say.”
Brennon laughed then noticed the two people sitting at a different table in the yard getting up to go inside. The sun was setting – falling behind the canopy of trees at the back of the Miller’s property. Birds crossed the skies while a slight breeze whipped through the backyard. With where Katy had been sitting, her brown hair glowed in the last rays of afternoon sunlight crossing the backyard.
“So, earlier we had to go to pray and all that,” Brennon said, “but I was about to tell you about some of the experiences I had when I was a teacher than I think maybe would help you.”
Katy listened intently as Brennon shared some of the more bizarre stories from his time as a teacher. Katy laughed at times; other times, she dreaded the very idea of some of those things happening.
