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“You’re not eating, either. The food’s been on the table for nearly ten minutes and you look like you’re world’s away. You didn’t even see when it arrived here.”
I gave her a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry, Maria. You’re right, I am a bit preoccupied.”
I looked at the plate that had been set beside my cell. How could I not have seen that there? I picked up my fork to taste the food. It was a simple spaghetti dish with a cheese layer and cut up peperoni slices. It tasted delicious, if a little warm since I’d neglected it for a while. I almost wanted to ask for it to be warmed for me, but I didn’t really care about the taste that much. My mind was still preoccupied with thoughts of Brooklyn and out kiss, that I went all absent minded again.
She tasted exactly like I remembered. Although, it might be more accurate to say she tasted better. My memory wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t perfect, either. And it had been so long already since I last kissed her. Last night, her reaction had been so much more than before, she’d been a lot more sensitive, and it made me wonder some things.
Supposedly, she was about to get married, but what if…over the past half a dozen years, she didn’t actually date anyone after me?
The thought filled my chest with extreme satisfaction, not to mention determination to see this through. I had Brooklyn in my sights again after so long, I was going to at least try and fix things between us. If it wasn’t what she wanted, she could tell me and I would back off. I didn’t think she would, though. Or at least, really hoped so.
A heavy sigh made me look up at my sister, who was now glaring at me.
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly.
She waved a hand at me. “Whatever. Why don’t tell me what it is that’s on your mind? It seems anything else I say will go in one ear and out the other, so you can talk.”
“What were you talking about before?” I asked guiltily.
“My upcoming wedding with Chris,” she said bluntly.
That killed any guilt I felt. She already knew, even though I was willingly giving my support now, I didn’t want this arrangement. I hadn't seen the guy she was going to marry more than a few times, and every single one of those times, I didn’t particularly like him. But I was chalking it up to a big brother’s protectiveness over his little sister, and so was she, so it was easy for her to persuade me to go along with her. As long as it made her happy, I wasn’t going to raise any objections.
“Let’s not talk about Chris right now,” I said. What I didn’t say, was that it would just ruin my mood.
Maria shrugged. “Fine with me. So, what do you want to talk about? Are you really going to tell me what has you in such a good mood?”
“I’m in a good mood?” I asked, surprised.
She nodded slowly. “I’m pretty sure. Though you have been distracted, you definitely look like you’re not unhappy.”
I bit my lip. I hadn't realized that was what showed on my face. In reality, my mood was complicated, I didn’t even have words for it.
This was Maria, though, and she and I were close enough to talk about anything. So, after some hesitation, I decided to tell her.
“Do you remember back in college, there was a woman I dated?”
“Brooklyn?” she said with surprise. “How could I forget her? She was a nice. And then, you broke her heart.” She scowled at me.
I said nervously, “Yeah, well…when you sent me out to get that appointment from you, I happen to run into her on the way. She was busy, so I got her number and asked her out to drinks last
night. She hasn’t talked to me since, though.” I deliberately didn’t tell her about us meeting inside the bridal store.
She looked at me in surprise. “Seriously? So she’s the reason you’ve been looking at your cell like you’re waiting for her to call or text or something? Abe, you can't do that!”
I was a bit surprised at her vehemence, my eyebrows jumping up. I looked carefully at my sister. As far as I knew, I didn’t think she disliked Brooklyn.
“Why?” I asked, curious about her answer.
“How can you ask me why?” she hissed back. “I told you already, she was nice. I didn’t have much of an impression about her, because you didn’t let us meet that often, but I didn’t particularly dislike her. Still, you can't commit to her, Abe, and you know it. It’s the reason you broke that poor girl’s heart before, so please don’t do it again or that just makes you an asshole.”
I flattened my lips and leaned back in my chair, frowning at my sister. Her words were completely reasonable. Actually, I hadn't realized she knew so many details about the whole thing. The family had come down to California a few times while I was in USC and that was when Maria had met Brooklyn, but it had only been a few times, and each for a short amount of time. Not to mention my sister had only been sixteen then and going through puberty.
“What do you expect me to have done?” I asked. “Ignore her when we both saw each other?”
“Yes,” she said bluntly. “You should have completely ignored her instead of immediately trying to get close to her, how could that not be worse? Or better yet, you should have apologized to that poor woman then left her the fuck alone.”
“She’s doing well,” I muttered, feeling a little bitter.
