“Sorry, guys. We'll be right down,” I hear Cherry yell from upstairs before the room door slams, echoing down through the floor. Roman's patience has reached its end and he stands abruptly, telling Kenzie he has to go to the car.
“I need more snacks for this.” He winks at Kenzie. Because she's four, her attention span is about the size of a tick and the moment Roman stands, she drops her dolls and runs behind him to stare out the window. Taking a moment to relax, I stretch and begin fiddling with my phone.
A few minutes later Roman re-enters the house. A mechanical voice from the home alarm speaker announcing the front door is open causes me to look up.
In true Roman fashion, he doesn't just bring one snack. He has a whole bag and he flops down on the chair allowing his bag to sit heavily on the coffee table.
“Damn, Roe, did you get enough?”
“Well, you never know,” he says, sliding a pack of Cheetos out the plastic bag and ripping it open.
“I love chips,” Kenzie says with wide eyes. Roman tilts the bag in her direction and she sticks a tiny hand inside pulling out a fistful and pushing them into her mouth. Realizing I haven't eaten in a while, I reach my hand in his snack bag without asking, grab some individually packed cookies, and start munching on them. I wonder what's taking Cherry and King so long. No. You know what? I know what's taking Cherry and King so long. Those two are always all over each other but I'm surprised they aren't down here especially knowing that her parents are on the way. It’s pretty unusual.
It isn't often that Roman and I are sitting alone with little Kenzie. Cherry’s usually right here in the mix along with King. But Kenzie is a sweet kid and I don’t mind watching her for the few minutes it takes them to come down. Assuming the game of dolls is over, I grab the TV remote and start flipping through the channels, looking for ESPN for some basketball highlights. I don't play, I'm a football guy through and through, plus my jump shot is shit. But I still enjoy watching the game.
I'm about three minutes into the stats of the last Laker’s game when my phone rings in my pocket. Assuming it's finally Xia, I pull it out with a smile and swipe to answer, standing and walking into the kitchen.
“Hello?” I say, listening closely for her answer. Her voice comes over the line choppy and hard to make out.
“Baby, can you hear me?” I ask. Leaning against the large island and fiddling with the knife block. I lift and drop the knives as they slip gently into their spaces.
A second later my phone beeps and the line goes dead, so I walk through the kitchen toward the patio door as it rings again. As my finger hovers over the answer button, I catch Kenzie sitting under the counter eating something out of the corner of my eye. At that moment, I step on one of her dolls and lose my balance. My left foot slides about two feet in front of me. Cursing, I catch myself, and then immediately apologize as Kenzie looks in my direction. When I look back down at my phone I see that I actually hit the ignore button.
“Dammit,” I curse again, stepping outside and taking a seat on a small wooden bench before trying to call Xia back. Her phone goes immediately to voicemail. Frustrated, I turn off my screen and wait for her to call me as I gaze over the large backyard.
A squirrel jumps from a low-hanging branch and falls about two feet before landing on a nearby tree and scurrying up. I watch in awe. I swear those things are like the ninjas of the forest. I flip my phone in my hand and look back at the screen, wondering what’s taking Xia so long right as I hear voices coming from the window above.
“I just don’t know, King,” Cherry says. It sounds like she’s crying. I know I should probably walk away and give them privacy, but instead I keep my position and listen harder.
“What do you mean?” he asks. “Baby, we are fine, please don’t freak out.”
“I know.” She sniffles. “But this is all just too much. I love you, but we’re still so young and—“
“No,” King says, his voice taking on something like panic. “Don’t do this. If you don’t want to tell your parents we’re getting married then we don’t have to. We can just wait and do it when you’re ready. This isn’t supposed to be stressful, it’s supposed to be about us.”
“It’s not about that,” she says. “It’s not about them knowing. It’s just the idea of telling them made it all so much more real. I… I don’t know if I’m ready for this King.” My heart drops as I look up toward the window. I can’t see them but I’m starting to feel like an asshole eavesdropping on their conversation. I move from my spot on the deck and head out into the yard. Damn, I really hope they get through this. I’ve never seen a couple so in love. It would be a shame if cold feet ruined it all.
The yard is huge, surrounded by a wooden fence with pristinely-trimmed hedges and a flower garden that runs alongside it. White gravel covers a path through the yard which leads to a small sitting area near a fire pit. It’s nice; something my mother would have loved. My thoughts move to the lake house and how excited she’d be to see the progress Dad and I have been making on it. Pain begins to spread through my chest and I shake the thoughts of her away just as my phone begins to ring again, Xia’s name flashing on the screen.
“Hey baby, we’re still at Cherry’s house. We should be leaving soon, hopefully,” I say. “Are you on the way to the restaurant?”
“No,” she huffs. “I think I might be sitting this one out.”
“Why?”
“I’m just not feeling well still. Tell Cherry I’m sorry, I know this is a big deal for them.”
“What’s wrong?” Reaching the end of the yard I see a small pathway leading to the river. I glance behind me before heading through the trees.
“I think I may have started eating too many solid foods too soon after the virus. I got sick a few times today and my head is killing me.”
“Shit,” I say. “Need me to come over? I can make you a get well bag. Though before you ask, I won’t be renting The Little Mermaid.”
She chuckles. “No, I feel bad enough that I can’t be there and it would totally suck if both of us didn’t show up.” My mind goes to the conversation I overheard a minute ago.
“This dinner may not happen anyway,” I say, running a hand behind my head as I reach the clearing to the river. “I think Cherry and King are fighting. I heard her say that she wanted to call it off.”
“Oh my God, what do you think happened? I mean, Why? What’s going on?”
“I don’t know.” My foot rolls over a small stone and I pinch it between my fingers before throwing into the water. It splashes, causing small ripples to move over the surface.
“Roman and I have been here for at least half an hour and they haven’t come downstairs yet. We’ve been keeping Kenzie busy but her parents should be here any minute.”
“No,” she whines. “They are like our Megan Markel and Prince Harry,” she says. “They can’t break up.”
“Baby, we are like our Megan Markel and Prince Harry.” I say, which makes her laugh. “But you’re right,” I huff. “Hopefully they’ll come down and talk to us about it and maybe we can try and help them out.”