Page 87 of Ripped & Shipped
I figure Mom will bow out. She’s never one to go into town these days. Not if she can help it. But tonight, she’s the first to say, “A scoop of Rocky Road sounds wonderful.”
I sit in the back seat of Duke and Shannon’s car on the way to the ice cream parlor. Duke drove me over here, so they’ll just drop me home after we get our dessert.
“Did you get an invitation to Brooks and Gabby’s reception?” Shannon asks.
“I did. Just yesterday.”
“Are you going?”
“I plan on it. Brooks is a good friend. He and Duke and I hung out pretty regularly before Gabby stole his heart, and ultimately stole him away from us.”
“I wish we could have been at the wedding,” Shannon says. “But a local reception’s a great way to celebrate with all their Ohio friends and family. Are you bringing anyone?”
“Who would I bring?” I ask, innocently.
Duke looks at me in the rear view window like he’s trying to use his jedi mind powers to make me think of Ella Mae. He doesn’t realize it’s not that complicated. I’m already thinking of her. As a matter of fact, I could use a jedi to help me stop thinking about her so much.
“Aren’t you dating anyone?” Shannon asks.
Her voice has such a note of concern in it.
“Not really,” I say, trying to be vague.
Duke’s eyebrow raises for a brief moment. Only I catch the movement. Technically, I’m not dating anyone. Would I like to bring Ella Mae to the reception? Yeah. I really would. Will I? That’s a whole other story.
* * *
Three days. I literally have never counted the days between seeing a person. But I am counting now, and it’s been three days since I’ve seen Ella Mae.
I’m so out of my depth here. Usually, dating is easy for me. If I like a woman and I know we’re attracted to one another, I flirt, or maybe she flirts. We decide to go out. We date until it doesn’t work anymore.
I don’t usually get serious. Plenty of guys in the Army had wives and girlfriends. In my typically cynical way, I called all those significant others,distractions. I know. I know. Once I met Courtney, I took all that back. Alex loved every repentant minute of that experience. Courtney’s amazing, as you know. But I figured that committed life was for other guys, not me. My mind was on the mission.
Whatever has me in knots over Ella Mae is so different than anything I’ve ever experienced. Distracting doesn’t begin to define it.
Today, we’re taking more photos. When I get to Ella Mae’s she opens the door before I knock.
“Hi, Soldier. Long time no see, boyfriend.”
No kidding. Was I supposed to come around?
“Yeah. I’ve been working. And we had a family dinner last night.”
“That sounds nice.”
“It was. Duke and Shannon broke their big news to Mom and Dad.”
Ella Mae walks into her house and I follow her down the hall.
“I bet they were out of their minds with happiness when they heard they were going to be grandparents.”
“Mom was so happy. They both were. Mom even let us take her to ice cream.”
Ella Mae pauses just before we reach the living room, turns, and looks me in the eyes.
“Chris. That’s so awesome.”
Everyone in town knows about Bridgette, and about Mom’s difficulties since the accident.
