The Next Door Boys (38 page)

I ignored her comment. Megan's little sisters shouldn't be looking at Brian.

“Hey, Bri.” I leaned against the wall and opened the door a crack so we could talk. He leaned forward, and our faces almost touched. Butterflies again. I couldn't take my eyes from his. It felt crazy but nice.

“Food.” He pushed the door open just enough to talk. I held the door close to me to try and give us some privacy. As much as I wanted to sit alone with him, the day was too crazy for both of us.

“Hey, Brian! Come on in!” I heard Andrea's voice behind me.

“Uh.” He stuck his head in enough to look back and forth between the two girls. He definitely didn't want to be there.

“Escape, while you can.” I whispered to him. As much as I wanted him around, he didn't need to be around two ridiculous girls who both thought he was cute and had no idea or appreciaxstion for who he was.

I took the bag of takeout from him. “Thank you so much for this. I feel like I should have been helping you today.” Our eyes locked again.

“We did okay for a group of guys. Most of the banging around today was Nathan.” His body rested against the doorframe.

“Guess we'll see you, if I ever make it away from my sewing table.” I rolled my eyes.

“You love it. Ignore everyone else and go to your happy place… after you eat.” A corner of his mouth pulled up, but his expression felt soft and caring. Or maybe I just wanted it to feel that way.

“Thanks.” He was right. I just needed to refind my happy place. Brian understood. He understood me and the chaos of Megan's sisters and the stress of the wedding that was days away. I'd never had that before, not from someone who wasn't family. I felt lighter for it, taken care of in a way that felt nice, not suffocating.

I stepped outside and shielded my eyes from the sun. The sunglasses I wore seemed to be completely ineffectual.

“It's called the sun.” Jaron laughed from Brian's porch. “Where have you been the last two days?”

I glared at him. “Sewing. For your wedding.” Didn't everyone know this?

“Oh, right.” He looked away from me. “Mom and Dad should be here soon. They're staying in Salt Lake until the wedding.”

“Oh.” I looked forward to seeing them, but I was also ready to have some time to do whatever I wanted. I imagined that Mom and Megan's family would keep me busier than I wanted to be until the wedding.

“Leigh?” Megan stepped off of Brian's porch. “You're going to kill me.”

I started toward her and the front of Brian's house. “Why, exactly?”

“Because the cravats from the tux rental place are horrible.” She pulled her lower lip in and squinted a little. “I mean, their ties are okay, but regular ties won't work for the period…”

“I pick the fabric, understand?” I wanted to help, but despite my best attempts, I'd lost my happy sewing place. It had turned into work, but it was my brother's wedding and it would only happen once.

“Thank you!” She pulled me into a big Megan hug, crushing my ribs and lungs in the process.

“You're welcome.” I patted her back. I wanted to be grumpy about it, but Megan hugging me was bound to diffuse my frustration.

“Hey, stranger.” Brian leaned over the side of his porch next to my brother.

“How're you liking your house?” I squinted as I looked up.

“I got real furniture and everything. Wanna come see?” He stood up and waited for me to join him.

“I'd love to.” I started up the steps.

“Not yet.” Jaron laughed. “Here's Mom and Dad.”

I stopped and let my shoulders sag a little. For the first time in… however many days, I was done with things that needed to be done, and Mom and Dad show up.

“Oh, good. I bet your mom would come to the fabric store with us, right?” Megan looked from me to my parents’ car.

“Yep.” I nodded. “She'll be happy to.” Mom wanted to be part of the wedding, part of the preparation, anything. It would be a way to see Mom without her hovering over me. Instead of poking through my apartment and poking through my brain for how I felt, we'd pick out fabric… for cravats… that I'd get to sew.

“How are the cravats coming, honey?” Mom called as she walked into my room.

“Slow.” I pulled another stitch through, the hand sewing was tedious. “How's the yard coming?”

“Your brother and Megan and Brian and your father and, well, everyone, should finish just in time for the party tonight.”

“Wedding tomorrow and then I can relax again.” I laughed a little. I wondered if I'd finish in time for the party.

“You look tired, Leigh, but not bad tired.” She sat on my bed and set her hands in her lap.

“I feel good, Mom—really good.” I knotted off another thread.

“It makes it so much more real, seeing you in your own place where you've been living and everything.” She looked around at the inside of my room and its current state of disarray from wedding sewing.

“Sorry I didn't invite you up sooner.” She and Dad had been really nice about not pressuring me for a visit.

“I understand. Space.” Mom's voice made it sound like she did understand.

“Thanks.” I leaned on my sewing table and rested my chin on my hand. It was nice to talk to her about something other than being sick. “I really needed it.”

“I'm proud of you.” She touched the edge of the two cravats waiting for their hand stitching. “Can I help?”

“I'm close, it's good. Why don't you go outside and help them finish up? I'm sure I'll finish before the party.” I took another length of thread and set it through the eye of my needle.

“You know how much they appreciate all this work you're doing.” Mom kissed me on the top of my head as she walked toward the door.

“That's why I'm still doing it.” I didn't look up. I continued sewing. I wanted to be outside, I felt locked in a tower or dungeon to finish my girly indoor tasks while everyone else played in the backyard. I picked up the last cravat. The last one. Finally.

I did my best to keep the stitches small and even despite how sick I was of looking at the stupid cravats. The dark blue and black fabric would be burned into my memory forever. My fingers hurt—a thimble only protects one finger at a time, and nothing can fix fatigue.

“Leigh?” Mom stood in my doorway.

“Just finishing up.” I kept stitching, the repetition so automatic that my brain turned off hours ago.

“Let me.” Mom sat down and took the needle in one hand and the cravat in the other.

I unbowed my head for the first time in… a while. “You look pretty, Mom.” Mom's dress was a beautiful coral, brought in snug at the waist. It showed off her trim figure. I could hear the party outside.

“And you should too. Get dressed. I'll finish.”

“Okay,” I pointed to the corner she was approaching with the needle. “Keep the stitches especially tiny here because it'll take the most amount of pressure.”

“I got it, Leigh. Get dressed.” Mom was already as absorbed as I had been a few moments ago. She bit her lower lip like she always did while working on a tedious project.

I dug through my closet and pulled out a pale blue and white wrap dress. Easy. I slid on a pair of ballet flats and hit the bathroom. I stared at myself in the mirror for a few minutes. Even though I'd been sewing for three or four days straight, I looked okay. My cheeks were fuller and my pale skin was replaced with a healthy glow. I pulled out mascara and ran the brush through my lashes. Lip gloss next, and I didn't bother with anything else. Simple. Easy.

“Done,” I said at the same time as Mom.

“Oh, you look pretty.” She emerged from my bedroom as I emerged from the bathroom.

“Thanks.”

“Shall we?” Mom started toward the door. I followed. My brain and body felt numb from sitting hour after hour in my room with a project in my lap. Following Mom was about the only thing I could manage.

I didn't recognize our backyard. Paper lanterns and streamers were strung between the houses and created a near canopy. They could have done the reception in the backyard instead of the stuffy hotel we'd all be in the next day. I could smell the food from the barbecue, and there were people everywhere.

“Wow.” I stopped at the top of my steps.

“I know.” She touched my back briefly. “Go enjoy yourself, Leigh. You've been trapped inside too long.”

“There you are.” Dad came behind both of us. He put his lips on Mom's cheek, slid his arm around her waist, and walked out to dance. Even in our fairly small backyards, they disappeared into the people quickly.

I couldn't move yet. I'd been still for too long, and I wanted to take in more of the backyard.

“You having fun?” Jaron rested his arm on my shoulders.

“I just got here. It's beautiful. I can't believe what you did with the backyard, and I can't believe you're about to get married.” It blew me away. I wondered if it would feel as foreign after he got married.

“Me too.” He let his hand drop. “How about you, Leigh? I'd love to see someone make you happy like Megan does for me. You can't have sworn off boys forever.”

“I…”

“What about Brian?” He tilted his head, gauging my reaction.

“Brian?” Brian who had been in my thoughts, whose lines of friendship and brotherly protector were blurry, and who I was completely confused about.

“Yeah, Brian. You know, my roommate, the guy who lives next door,” he tried to stick a finger in my dimple, but I couldn't find a smile. He mentioned Brian, did that mean something?

“I know who you're talking about, but he's been like another brother next door. I'm sure he thinks of me as Jaron's kid sister.” That thought hit me the other day, but I didn't know how I felt about it anymore.

“Leigh.” Jaron put his arm around my shoulder, resting his weight on one leg. He whispered in my ear. His voice was soft and slow. “He's not your brother.”

I forgot to breathe. It was the way Jaron said it, like he knew something I didn't. If he did know something I didn't, did that mean Brian felt some of the same things that had been confusing me? It was a lot to take in.

“And here he comes.” Jaron smiled, taking a deep breath, trying to dispel the tension for both of us.

Brian's smile was wide as he moved toward us. “Dance with me, Leigh. You have to save me from Megan's sisters.” His smile continued as he grabbed my hands and pulled me away from Jaron. The music played about a third of the way into an old version of “Stand by Me.”