Chapter Twenty-Two
Once I'd gathered myself again, I went back out to the kitchen and called my parents and asked if they minded if Leighanne and I came up the day before my birthday and stayed for the week so they could get to meet her and I could get some things done back home. They didn't ask what things but my plan was to call my cardiologist next and make an appointment for one of the days following my birthday. When I hung up with them with their approval, I called Leighanne to double check the dates with her and to invite her to Howie's stupid Pictionary party.
"Pictionary?" Leighanne laughed.
"It was Howie's idea," I replied.
"Sure I'll gladly come play Pictionary with you and Howie and Kevin," she said. "Do you want me to bring snacks?"
"Snacks are always welcome. I think Howie's making dinner. I don't know what though."
"Okay. I'll be over around five," Leighanne said, and I agreed that was a good time. After discussing the trip to visit my parents and my cardiologist, we hung up and I started going through my wallet to find my cardiologist's office number, which I'd written on my health ID card along with my medications list.
Dr. Carlsbad had been my cardiologist for a couple years now I'd outgrown Dr. Noonan. Dr. Carlsbad was okay, but not as on-top-of-it as Dr. Noonan, who I'd had since I was a kid, had been. Probably because he hadn't been there during my scare as a child. There was a time I'd gone in at least once a year, sometimes twice a year, just to be tested and everything to make sure things were going okay. But when I'd turned eighteen I'd had to switch doctors because I was no longer a case for a Pediatrictian Cardiologist. And then I'd moved and the visits had since been much more sporadic, which had been working out just fine. I liked that Dr. Carlsbad wasn't overly nervous and didn't make me work in time off twice a year to spent time getting poked and prodded in the hospital with no good reason. It was kind of a blessing, given my current schedule situation. I tried to picture explaining to Lou that I needed time off for a non-neccessary medical check up. That would go over so well. Not.
I called and made the appointment for the 24th and was told that Dr. Carlsbad would give me a call to confirm later in the week.
I wandered back out to the living room, where Howie was taking notes from a cooking show. "Leighanne said she'd come over for the Pictionary," I said.
"Good, good," Howie lit up. "Great. When's she coming over?"
"Five."
"Okay."
I watched him write down a list of ingredients being shown on the screen as the TV chef explained what to do with them. "What's with you and the Pictionary and the cooking tonight anyways?" I asked.
"I just want it to be nice is all," he answered.
I thought he was weird, but I didn't ask anymore questions. I headed back to my room and grabbed a book I'd been reading and lay on the bed, waiting 'til Kevin got home so I could ask him what to do about Nick. If anyone would know how to handle the situation with Nick, it would be Kev, I decided.
It was four-thirty when Howie knocked on my door and I'd fallen asleep in the spine of my book. "Can you come help me?" Howie called in.
I shook myself awake and changed my shirt since my first one was now all wrinkled and nasty looking and walked out to the kitchen. The kitchen looked like it had exploded with stuff. There was sauce and flour and noodles and milk and grease and everything everywhere. "Oh my Lord, the apocalypse occurred in this very kitchen," I said, looking around.
"Not the apocalypse, just spaghetti, meat balls, and bread," Howie answered nervously.
"Good Lord," I replied.
We went to work trying to clean up all the mess before Leighanne arrived. I was doing the dishes when it occurred to me that Kevin wasn't home yet. "Howie, does Kev know we're doing this? Like is he going to be home in time?" I glanced at the clock. Leighanne was going to be there any minute now.
"Kevin?" Howie asked, confused, "No Kevin's spending the weekend with Kris down in Miami. Remember?"
I didn't remember because nobody had told me.
"Well then who are we playing Pictionary with?" I asked.
"I have a girl coming over, okay? I thought it would be nice." Howie pulled bread out of the oven. I let the dish I was in the middle of cleaning slip into the sudsy water. Howie wrapped the bread in a cloth and turned to realize I was staring at him. "What? It's not like I'm gay. I'm allowed to have women over."
"I know, it's just, I don't think I've ever met a girlfriend of yours before," I replied, "In the last five years we've been living together, actually, I know I haven't."
"Well now you're going to," Howie answered, shrugging. He carried the bread out of the kitchen.
So this was more of a double-date situation, I realized. I'd never really done the whole double-date thing.
I finished up with the dishes only just as there was a knock on the door and Howie answered it and I heard Leighanne's voice carrying through the apartment. A moment later, Howie led Leighanne into the kitchen - which we'd some how miraculously gotten clean minus the dishes in the strainer by the sink. She was carrying a plate of deviled eggs. She looked gorgeous. I couldn't help just staring at her as Howie collected the eggs from her and put them in the fridge.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey," I answered, smiling.
Theree was another knock on the door and Howie almost fell over himself rushing to answer it, making Leighanne laugh. Howie returned a couple minutes later with a slim Asian girl he said was named Carol. Carol worked at a clothing store Howie went to all the time and had apparently fitted his last suit. I had a feeling that wasn't the only thing fitted, but that's okay. We set up Pictionary in the living room, Leighanne and I sat on the floor across from Howie and Carol, who sat on the couch and Leighanne served her Deviled Eggs and we played Pictionary. I'm actually pretty bad ass at Pictionary, even though I'm not the best at drawing. Nick and I make such a stellar team at games like Pictionary that Kevin banned us from being team mates anymore when we play on the bus. It was the first time I'd played with Leighanne though, and we were a pretty good team, too - much better than Howie and Carol. Before long we were winning by a giant margin.
When we won, Leighanne wrapped her arms around me and kissed me and I tipped over backwards, laughing.
Howie and I set the table and we all migrated in to the dinner he'd made, which actually was pretty good considering Howie wasn't exactly known for his chef capabilities. I mean, he wasn't Nick, but he certainly wasn't the person I'd choose as Backstreet Boy Most Likely to be a Chef either (that honor went to Kevin).
After we'd eaten, Howie and Carol disappeared to Howie's room and Leighanne and I sat on the couch in the living room and attempted watching TV. After a little bit though, Howie and Carol got a little too loud and we decided to go for a walk. We trotted out to the sidewalk, Leighanne laughing all the way. "Howie is one of those people I don't like picturing having sex," I admitted when we were on the pavement and plodding through the neighborhood.
Leighanne giggled, "Not into the latino blood?"
I grabbed her hand and we walked along through the dark, the stars overhead twinkled. We bought ice cream sandwiches at a gas station down the street and sat on a bench in front of the run down laundromat next door. "I like the smell of dryers running," I admitted.
Leighanne licked a bit of ice cream off her wrist that had escaped from the wrapper. "Why?" she asked.
I shrugged, "It's just a smell I've always liked. It's like when the lint trays get full and there's fabric softener in there or something... I dunno, it smells warm."
She breathed deeply. "Yeah, it does smell warm."
"My favorite part of laundry is putting on my favorite sweatshirt after its all dry," I added.
"Mine is freshs sheets. I love fresh sheets."
I smiled as we kept talking because it occurred to me that of all the people having all the conversations in the entire world, I was glad that this one about laundry was the one I was involved in. There aren't a whole lot of people in the world that you can literally discuss your dirty laundry with, and I'd managed to find one.
"What are you grinning about over there?" Leighanne asked, tapping my foot with her foot.
I looked over, "Nothing much," I answered, "Just about how perfect you are."
"Liar," she said, laughing.
"It's true," I replied. I kissed her cheek.
I thought about how cute it would be to explain to our future children where we were when I proposed and telling them about the laundromat. But I'd left the ring at home in the rush to escape from the Howard porn sounds.
"So we're going to your parents next week," she said, changing the subject.
"Yeah we are," I replied.
"And your doctor's appointment," she added.
I nodded.
"Are you nervous?" she asked.
I shrugged, "Maybe a little," I answered. "I don't know. Yeah. A little."
She slid across the bench so we were next to each other and she put one hand on my chest over my heart. "Does it hurt?" she asked quietly. I shook my head no. But that was a lie because it really was hurting me. It'd been kind of dully aching since I'd realized that Nick had lied about telling his mother. Leighanne pressed her ear against my chest and listened. She frowned as she pulled back, "Your heart is beating so fast," she commented as she sat up.
"It usually does when beautiful women put their hands on me," I answered.
Leighanne laughed. "Oh and do beautiful women often put their hands on you?" she questioned.
"Not often enough," I said.
We walked back to the apartment and Leighanne gave me a kiss on the sidewalk, then climbed in her car and drove away. I stood outside for a few minutes, my hands in my pockets, thinking about the day I'd had and wondering if Nick was okay. I was still standing on the sidewalk looking up at the sky when the door to the apartment opened and Carol snuck out, carrying her shoes. She climbed down the stairs that led to our door before she noticed me.
"Hey," I said to her.
She blushed when she saw me. "Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to interrupt you."
"It's alright," I answered. "Nothing really to interrupt."
She looked up at the sky the way I was. "You and Leighanne are cute together," she said.
I looked down at her, "Yeah?"
"Yes, very." She laughed, "And very good at Pictionary."
"I'm good at every game," I answered, winking.
"And humble too."
I laughed, "I usually am, but when it comes to games I'm not."
Carol nodded. "Well, I just thought you should know. She looks like she loves you a lot. You looked happy." She moved towards her car, parked at the curb.
"I have the ring," I said, "It's in my room."
"Then what are you waiting for?" Carol asked, standing in her open driver's side door.
I shrugged, "The nerve?"
Carol laughed. "Good night Brian."
"Night Carol."
Inside, the room was stuffy so I opened the window and laid on my mattress and waited for morning to come.
The remainder of the weekend was quiet and uneventful, mostly filled with Howie and I arguing over whose turn it was to clean what parts of the apartment and who had custody of the remote control. On Monday, I woke up early and found Kevin in the kitchen on the phone. I yawned and opened the fridge and pulling out stuff to make breakfast. I had just decided I wanted a hardboiled egg when my attention was peaked to what Kevin was saying.
"We were counting on this time off, I mean you tell us we've got until Spring Break and then you take it back and say we gotta jet off to Italy in the middle of our time, it's not really fair." I put the stuff down on the counter and raised my eyebrow at Kevin. He turned away. After a long pause, he finally said, "Fine. We'll see you in Sanremo."
When he'd hung up, I pounced. "What was that?"
"Lou," Kevin replied. "He booked us for the Sanremo Music Festival in Italy."
"When is it?" I asked.
"The festival is the week of the 26th, we'll be leaving on the 22nd," he replied.
"But I have plans," I argued, "I'm taking Leighanne to see my family for my birthday, for the week. I have an appointment on the 24th." I stared at him, dumbfounded.
Kevin shrugged, "You know Lou, it's written in stone already the moment he spoke it. I'm sure you can get out to Lexington to introduce them another time. When we get back, between Sanremo and Spring Break. I'm sure we'll have a couple days."
I shook my head, "This is unbelievable. We were supposed to have this time off," I grumbled.
"It's the price you pay I guess," Kevin said in a ho-hum sort of manner.
"I guess," I replied.
I went on and made breakfast, dreading the fact that when I was done making it and eating I was going to have to call my mother and cancel - yet again - and put off the doctor's appointment until when I got back from Italy. It wasn't a huge deal, just an extra week, I told myself. And the Sanremo Music Festival was a pretty big deal so it was worth the trade off, wasn't it?
"What do you mean you aren't coming?" my mother's voice was exasperated.
"I mean I just got a call this morning that we've been booked for the Sanremo Music Festival, in Italy, and it's the same week and --"
"But it's you birthday," my mother said, her voice almost a whine. "It's your birthday, Brian, and I haven't gotten to spend a birthday with you in years." She sounded near tears now.
"I know, Ma, and I'm sorry, but it's a really good thing that we're being offered Sanremo, you know? It's a really good festival and --"
"Can't you go to the Sand-remmy thing next year?" she pleaded.
It broke my heart because she so clearly wanted me to go there, but I couldn't argue Lou, that much had already been proven. "Trust me Ma, if I could I'd come spend my birthday with you instead, but it's really important I go to Sanremo. I'll bring Leighanne up after, when we get back, before we leave for Jamaica."
She sighed, "You work too hard, Baby Duck," she accused.
"I work just right, Ma," I answered.
"No," she said quietly, "You aren't a slave and I sometimes think that they all forget that. But don't you forget that. There are somethings in this life more important than the almighty dollar and more important than being famous in your career. You remember that, you promise me you'll remember that."
"I'll remember that," I answered.
"Promise me."
"I promise."
She sighed yet again. "I just miss you Baby Duck."
"I miss you too, Ma."
Chapter End Notes:
Thank you RokofAges75 for the info/article about Brian's doctor. http://www.usatoday.com/life/health/doctor/lhdoc218.htm
