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And it could very well be one of those things that the sooner I got it done and over with, the better.
But then, I wasn’t sure what I wanted out of the conversation. I wasn’t sure if I really wanted this to end.
Just like a damn therapist, Andrei had me thinking more about my feelings than I wanted to and even considering I may have been too harsh with Krissy.
I knew it was a matter of being stubborn, and I didn’t even know how to break out of that fully.
I pulled open the door and both Kim and Andrew stood on my doorstep, both with broad smiles on their faces.
“Hey stranger,” Kim said with her usual warm smile. “Long time no see. How have you been?”
“You know how I’ve been,” I replied. “I messaged you this morning.”
“I know what you typed to me, but that’s not the same thing,” she replied. “I haven’t seen you out and about your place, and that’s weird for you. Normally, you are the one who is out doing things around your bungalow more than anyone else in the complex, so I figured it was high time to come by and see how you were doing.”
“And for my part,” Andrew chimed in, “I haven’t seen you or had anything to do with this drama that went down. So, I’m here to see how things are going out of the pure and simple fact I haven’t seen you in a few days.”
“Come on in,” I said, knowing there was no way I could get rid of the two of them without at least hosting them for a few minutes. “I’m surprised you showed up this late. Isn’t it about time for you to be sitting down to dinner?”
“Now, don’t worry, I didn’t show up here with hopes you’d feed us,” Kim assured me. “Though I know you are a good cook when you choose to be.”
“You have me beat on that front,” I told her. “Seriously though, I haven’t been doing shit around the house, so I don’t have anything to offer you.”
“Never mind that,” Kim said. “I want to ask you about tonight.”
“Tonight?” I repeated.
“There’s a show going on down at the Hidden Oasis,” Andrew piped up. “And we hoped you would join us.”
“Okay, you have got to be kidding with that one,” I said as I held up my hand. “You mean you really think it’s a good idea for me to go out in public and appear at the show that my recently broken up with girlfriend is going to be playing?”
“It’s not like she’s going to have the whole stage to herself tonight,” Andrew said. “There’s going to be a lot of people there, so you don’t have to pinpoint the fact Krissy is playing and use that as anything about anything.”
“Fair,” I said. “But the fact she’s going to be there means that she’s going to see that I’m there, and there’s a good chance she’s going to mingle in the crowd after the show, too. Don’t you think it’s a bit forward to be there with what’s going on between us?”
“I think you’re overthinking this. That’s what I think,” Kim told me. “I don’t know that Krissy will be thinking of you at all while she’s on stage. She has such a passion for music. It only makes sense that she would be too focused on the song to worry about who is out there watching her.”
I didn’t argue that fact. She had a good point. But I also felt strongly that it wasn’t going to be too subtle that I came to see her play that night. I could try to play it off as coming to see the entire show, but I had a feeling she would see through that far easier than I would hope.
And I didn’t know what I would say to her if she cornered me somewhere in the lobby of the hotel.
“I don’t know,” I said at last. “I think I might sit out tonight and just come next time there’s a show at the hotel.”
“Why?” Andrew asked. “You know, this is one of the few shows the whole family can attend, and those are always the best. I love to watch how the kids enjoy the music and sing and dance. You know you do too.”
And he was right. I had confided that in him when he and Kim had convinced me to go to the first show with them after I moved to this small town. It was a nice way for me to forget the things that haunted my memories. I could just let go and see them having fun.
“Somehow, I don’t think having the little kids there is going to do anything to stop Krissy from zoning in on the fact I’m there. You know as well as I do that when they are doing a family show that the lights are way brighter than they are when they play at the bar, and if that’s the case here, then it’s going to be a dead giveaway that I’m there,” I said.
“Look,” Kim snapped. “I came here to play nice with you, but the bottom line is we are worried about you, and we know what you’re doing. You aren’t going to be allowed to withdraw and forget about the world around you. There’s just no way I’m going to sit and watch a man I have come to love and admire wither away because of something that went wrong in his world.”
“She has a point,” Andrew said. “You aren’t being you, and we know how veterans have such a tendency to just hide when they are in a low place. And we know what those low places can mean for a man like you. So, you are coming tonight. I know you don’t want to talk to Krissy, and that’s fine. No one is making you do that. But you have to get out of your head at some point, and I’m not going to leave until you do.”
I looked from one face to the other. It was obvious they were both serious. If I wanted to have any hope of going to bed without these two camping out in my bungalow that night, then I was going to have to attend this stupid show. Not that it would be a bad idea for me to get out of my head for a while, but still.
“If I do come, then I’m leaving right after the music is done, okay?” I said. “And that is going to satisfy you both with me being okay, and I don’t want you to come after me again. I’ll come home and go straight to bed, and I don’t want to worry about you coming here and knocking when I do that, okay?”
They both looked at each other, and I could tell from the looks on their faces that they were considering what I said. I also got the feeling that it went against their initial plans, so they had to decide if this was going to make them happy or not.
