Mike looked at her halfway through the movie and asked her “Just one question. What did you mean when you said you weren’t going to cheat on me?”
Jill looked up and said “They are all one syllable words. Too complicated for ya?”
Mike dropped it and they finished the movie. He deposited her at her doorway, kissed her forehead, and said “Tomorrow morning, girl”. She smiled and went to bed, but no sleep came for her as her mind was spinning about the events of the day. Mike sat twenty feet away, going through the exact same process.
In the morning, Mike was awoken at 5 am with the phone ringing. Irene again. He answered somewhat thickly “What now”.
“I assume she’s not around now” Irene said.
“No, I told you it wasn’t like that.” Mike replied irritably.
“Shut up. Jill said something last night, and I think I understand your problem. I’ve been up all night, and this can’t wait until Monday. Jill said her brother’s an ass. I assume you’ve seen that ass, probably staring at you in a mirror” Irene said.
Mike was stunned and made guttural noises without words. Irene quickly cut him off “No explanation Mike. You need to know some things. She worships the ground you walk on. You obviously feel the same. I may have fooled around with my brother years ago as a teen, but this is different. You never knew each other, you never met. You don’t get many chances at happiness Mike. If you guys don’t take this, you’ll both regret this forever. I’m not going to let you reply, and I will never tell your secret. Good luck to you both.” With that, Irene hung up.
Mike stayed awake, mind swirling, until 6am. He quietly got up, showered, and made coffee and some English muffins for breakfast. She came out of her bedroom about 7 and joined him at the table.
“Do we really need to talk?” she asked. “I don’t want to ruin tonight.”
“CRAP” he thought. He had forgotten what tonight was. He had a date…with the girl he loved…with his sister.
She saw the look cross his face, looked down and said “It’s ok. You don’t have to take me anywhere. I know I’m not that much fun to be around. I promise I won’t try to punch you again. Just don’t have me babysat. I’m a big girl.”
“Don’t be ridiculous” he said, smiling at her. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” She looked up with a slight smile. He looked at her and said “Let’s just forget about last night. Drinking was involved, so things got a bit out of hand. We’re OK”.
They both went about the morning with some laughs, Mike doing some work on his computer and her trying to figure out her smartphone. They had a light lunch of BLTs and after it was clean, Jill looked at him and said “Now. I need to talk. I’m going to try this sober. You get to listen, but please no questions. I’ve let this hang long enough, and you need to know.”
Mike looked at her, somewhat surprised. He took her hand and led her to the couch. “I’m here for you, don’t do anything you don’t want to”.
Jill just looked at him and said “It isn’t about want. I have to. Are you ready for this?”