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“What would you do?”
“No, sir. I can’t make this decision for ya. When do you have to be out of your place?”
“End of next week.”
“Give it time. Mull it over. I’m not into the hokey-pokey stuff, but I believe most of us know what direction we’re supposed to lean,” Paul says, leaving me with insight, but no answer.
Two nights later, the boys gather at Paul’s place for a much-needed guy’s night. Maggie’s with Claire for the night, who’d volunteered to drop her off at school in the morning. Lee and Wells came prepared with a few six-packs of beer and a horrendous Arnold Schwarzenegger movie packed full of macho action sequences. ‘Arnold Nights,’ as Paul and his friends dub them, is a hallmark of their friendship, and they’re becoming a part of mine, too.
My mind’s still wobbly with the enormity of the decision I need to make following me around, so I skip the beer. Johnny gives me hell, continuing to offer me a bottle several times until Wells tells him to cut it out. His intervention is appreciated. I’ve never shied away from standing my ground, but my role in this group’s friendship is new, and I don’t want to create a divide.
Lee laughs hard at a scene with helicopters and chokes, requiring us to pause the movie. His phone buzzes while he’s drinking water to clear his throat.
“Which lady is it tonight?” Paul taunts.
“It’s just Rhodes, dude.” Lee rolls his eyes and taps out a reply on his phone.
“Rhodes?” I’ve never heard the name.
Paul chimes in, “You might not remember her, but you met her at the bar.”
I’ve only been to Sharkey’s once. “Who is she?”
“The red-headed bartender,” Wells confirms.
“Is she your girlfriend or something?” I ask Lee.
That question chokes Lee all over again, and the sip of water he’d just taken sprays out of his mouth and soaks Jonny’s shirt.
“Goddammit Lee. What the fuck?” Johnny swipes the napkins laying next to the half-eaten boxes of pizza off the coffee table.
Lee ignores him and shakes his head. “She’s not my girlfriend—she’s my roommate. Johnny likes to give me shit about Rhodes, but there’s no funny business between us. We’re friends and we’re roommates—that’s it.”
I’ve never lived with a female roommate. In college, I shared housing with other guys in my study program, some of whom became good friends. After college, I found a place of my own before running into Hannah again. We grew tired of shuffling back and forth between our places and compromised on a centrally located studio after only a few months of being together.
“How’s it living with a girl who’s not yourgirlfriend?” I’ve felt a nudge toward which direction to go, but it’s just a nudge, not a decision. I’m curious how Lee’s setup works, and I’ll take any guidance I can find. Paul eyes me, the only one aware of my situation and why I’m peppering Lee with questions.
“It’s fine. The same as any other roommate I’ve had. We each pay rent. We each do chores and keep the place up. Every once in a while we hang out and watch a movie or something, but mostly we’re like ships passing in the night.”
I consider the thought. Roommates. Beyond my feared disloyalty to Hannah, another concern holding me back from agreeing to Noah’s arrangement is my building attraction to her. Lee doesn’t seem to have this problem. Living together creates a level ofknowingsomeone that’s impossible any other way. Am I prepared for that kind of friendship with Noah?
I’m a grown man, capable of controlling my impulses and keeping my hands to myself. I have no history of being so taken by a woman I lose all rational thought. It’ll be fine, I decide. We’ll set boundaries and keep everything between the lines.
There’s also the issue of our kids. Maggie’s well-being comes first. I’ve spent the last few nights tossing and turning, trying to find the negatives in Noah’s suggestion. I truly believe Maggie would be happy at Noah’s, but take comfort in knowing if the move didn’t work, returning to the farm is still an option.
With every set of my friends’ eyes glued onto Arnold’s bulging, shiny pecs, I pull out my phone and fire off a text.
Logan: If we do this, what about Hope?
Playdate Noah: Hope comes, too. I’d never take Maggie’s cat away. She means too much to her. Plus, Rainey’s kinda obsessed with your damn cat.
Logan: Ok.
Playdate Noah: What does ‘ok’ mean?
Logan: If you and Rainey’ll still have us, we’re in. You’ve got yourself some roommates.
Playdate Noah: Roomie . . . I like the sound of that. I should have warned you, though. I’m not used to living with other adults. I’m messy. And, I still can’t cook.
