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“You going out with that same guy?” asked Julius.
But Delilahwasa part of the family. I mean, wasn’t she? Hell, we’d asked her to move all the way out here to Southold, just to join us.
“Stephen,” she nodded. “His name’s Stephen.”
Another few seconds of silence passed, where no one was really sure what to say. I was hoping for Duncan to step in, or Julius, or even myself. Maybe they had something to dissuade her. Maybe she’d take her coat off, sit down, and I’d serve her some perfectly-cooked, medium-rare strip steak.
Instead she came up with her keys. I just stood there at the butcher block like a dummy, the carving knife in one hand and a two-pronged fork in the other.
“Alright then,” she said awkwardly. “You boys have a good night tonight, okay?”
She walked away in silence, except for the sound of her heels clacking against the floor. Nobody said anything as she crossed the foyer. None of us made a move as the front door closed behind her, and her car started up in the driveway.
“Well… shit,” said Duncan. “We sure fucked that one up.”
His words echoed my sentiments exactly. I set down the knife in disappointment.
“We fuckedeverythingup,” Julius spat. “I mean, what did we expect her to do? Sit down and eat with us? Give up whatever outside life she has left, so we can satisfy our own desperate need for companionship?”
That was always the problem with being a soldier, and especially a specialist: maintaining a girlfriend. It was hard for someone to stay attached once they realized you could be pulled away for a mission with zero notice, or might be called to serve month-long tours of duty on the other side of the planet.
No, Delilah obviously had a life to live outside of us, the house, and the twins. We had to respect that. In the end, what else could we really do?
Nothing, that’s what.
“We could’ve saidsomething,” Duncan reasoned, shattering my rationale. “Anything at all.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know,” Duncan shrugged. “Something that would’ve kept her here, or—”
“And for what, man?” Julius asked angrily. “What do we have to offer her? A warm bed? A couple nights of casual sex? Look at that girl,” he pointed toward the doorway. “She’s special. She deserves better.”
“Better than us?” asked Duncan.
But Julius was ignoring him. “She deserves someone who can focus solely on her,” he said. “Someone who can give her the safety and security she needs to—”
“We provide safety and security here,” I pointed out.
“Oh yeah?” Julius challenged. “And which one of us is going to give her the love and companionship that’ll eventually win her over? Will it be you?” he pointed. “Will it be me?”
“I— we haven’t really had the chance to talk about—”
“And what happens to the other two, once one of us wins her heart?” he kept going. “Do they just walk away? Disappear for a while, then show back up for the wedding? Clap and pretend to be happy?”
Ugh, I couldn’t even imagine! He was right, of course. The jealousy I’d feel just watching someone end up with her, other than me…
“We should’ve kept this whole thing platonic,” said Julius. “It should’ve been easy. The nanny should’ve been off limits from the beginning. And instead—”
“You’re just as guilty here as we are,” I finally snapped. “Nobody twisted your arm, so don’t act all holier than thou about it.”
“I’m not,” Julius said genuinely. “I’m just pointing out fact. We should count our blessings that she’s still here at all. Delilah’s the perfect roommate and an amazing caretaker. The twinsadoreher. We can’t lose her over a little casual sex, no matter how lonely we find ourselves.”
“Or…”
Duncan dragged the word out for a long time, probably for effect. When he spoke again it was haltingly, like he was thinking off the top of his head.
“Or instead of going backward, we go forward.”
