Page 44 of Burden to Bear

Instead of pressing that issue, I took another approach. “So, when is yours?”

“Mine? My what?”

“Your birthday.”

“February 21st.”

I grew outwardly disappointed. “Oh, man. We missed your birthday. I wish I had known. Did you celebrate?”

Laughing, Brock shrugged. “It’s alright. I had a good day, I guess. It was during the week this year, so I went to work. And I went out with my family that weekend. What about you? When’s your birthday?”

“September 24th.”

His brows shot up. “About a month after the baby then, right?”

I nodded. “Yep. I’ve found myself wondering if he or she is going to come early or on time and remain an August baby, or if he or she will come a few days later and have a September birthday like me.”

“That would be fun. You could spend the whole month celebrating.”

Laughter spilled out of me. “That’s certainly a possibility. I do like a good party.”

“That’s pretty much the opposite of me,” Brock shared.

I reached for another taco, my head tipping to one side. “Really? You don’t like parties? Izzy thinks you’re a lot of fun. How can that be possible?”

Brock set his taco down and took a sip of his drink. “It’s not that I don’t like parties for other people. I enjoy celebrating with everyone else, but I’m not someone who likes being the center of attention. I’ve always been that way.”

I found this news mind-blowing. “Not even as a kid?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Chris didn’t mind having big parties and inviting friends from school, but I never wanted that. I always did the small celebration with family, and even that felt mildly uncomfortable.”

“Why do you think that is?”

Brock shrugged again. “I don’t know. I guess you could say I’m more of an introverted person by nature. I mean, I’ll easily have conversation with someone, and I don’t live this completely solitary life. I enjoy celebrating others. But I don’t feel like I need any of that. I’ve always been happy with simplicity.”

Coming into this dinner with Brock tonight, I really didn’t know what to expect. While I suspected I’d have a great time, and I knew we’d have conversation that went deeper than just the day-to-day stuff about work or the kid-friendly conversation about animals, I hadn’t anticipated what it’d be like to get what I was getting.

I enjoyed this.

I enjoyed getting to know Brock on this level.

Because if it hadn’t been for him sharing it with me now, I never would have guessed any of what he’d just told me.

And now that I had it, I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what he thought of me. “I guess I can understand that all to a certain degree. I mean, I don’t need parties or anything like that, but I do enjoy when people take the time to celebrate moments with me. And I’m pretty sure you know I already love to talk. I’ve always been that way, too. When I was a kid, my parents were always worried that somebody might snatch me, because I didn’t hesitate to walk up and talk to strangers.”

“That’s dangerous.”

“It didn’t feel that way to me,” I explained. “We’d take a trip to the beach, or my mom and I could go to the mall, and I’d make friends anywhere I was. Whether it was the beachfront hotel, the food court at the mall, or a festival, I made friends everywhere.”

Brock sent a look of genuine surprise my way. “And did you maintain friendships with all of these people?”

Shaking my head, I replied, “Not really. Like, if we were on vacation, I’d have kids around my age that I’d hang out with while we were on the beach or at the hotel pool, but I’d never see them again after that trip. Of course, that’s not the case in every scenario. I have a few people I’ve met along the way that I’ve maintained some level of communication with, whether merely acquaintances or something a little deeper.”

“I already thought you and I were opposites in that regard, and this solidifies it for me,” Brock declared.

I bit the corner of my lip. “Is that a bad thing?”

“I don’t think so. Not at all. I’m merely making an observation of how different we are when it comes to something like that.”

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