69
Roger sent a troubled look back in the direction of the living room and shook his head in frustration. Even he couldn’t put the finger on why he was so agitated. “Something isn’t right about him. He’s- he’s too much like Stanley. They grew up apart, in different states even, completely different environments, yet I’d swear they grew up together.” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Maybe it’s just too soon.”
Sandy pulled the big guy into a fierce hug, and Roger returned it. He kissed the top of her head and got a face full of hair in return. He gently pushed her back and rubbed his tingling face. “You need to invest in a humidifier and better conditioner for your clingy hair!”
She snorted gently and gave him a little push.
He turned serious again. “I want you to be careful around him. We don’t know his true agenda. Not really. He’s too sexy.”
Sandy’s eyes widened. “Sexy?”
Roger scowled. “Handsome. Good looking- Oh fuck it, you know what I mean!” he finished with a quiet growl. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” He quickly ducked out the door, leaving Sandy in a state of confusion. She shook her head as she locked the door, and headed back to the living room.
When she arrived she saw her spot on the couch had been stolen by Tish. The tall brunette was sitting very close to her guest. Sandy should have moved to the chair Tish vacated but found herself taking a seat on the edge of the coffee table directly before Henry.
He saw the women were surrounding him. He wasn’t sure what was up. Glancing to his right, he was pretty sure he knew what Tish wanted. He smiled at Sandy’s happy expression and looked to Dayshia, who was no longer scowling but did look distracted by something. He turned back to Sandy.
“So… were we going to watch a movie?” he asked.
“Oh! Sorry, we didn’t pick one up,” she said.
He nodded.
“How old are you?”
He looked to Dayshia who, it seemed, finally found her voice. “Twenty-four.”
“Older than Stanley then?” Dayshia continued.
“Yes, just a little,” he said. Age was another part of his backstory. He’d been ruthlessly grilled on it until his responses became automatic.
“Girlfriend?”
He blinked in surprise. “Uh, no. Never.”
“Never? You must have had ladies chasing you!” Tish gasped.
He shrugged. “I- I was too shy. A tech nerd with my nose always in a book. I guess if they did I… just never noticed.”
“Now that’s a damn shame!” Dayshia blurted forcefully causing Sandy and Tish to burst into giggles. Henry’s face flushed with embarrassment and he gave them a small smile. He needed to redirect the conversation away from himself.
“How about you three?” he said.
“You want the three of us to be your girlfriends? Ambitious!” Tish said with a twinkle in her eye.
Henry’s smile fell away. “No! I mean- That’s not what I meant! I was just-” he stammered.
Sandy patted his knee. “She’s just a tease! She knew what you meant!”
He looked at Tish, and she was feigning innocence until Sandy gently slapped her knee. Then she began to chuckle.
“Sorry Henry, but you’re just too sweet not to tease!” Tish sighed happily.
He shook his head slightly. “Will I get an answer to my intended question?”
Tish nodded and flashed a wide smile at him. “I’m not seeing anyone at the moment. My hours at the hospital make dating too difficult, and the club scene is such a draining experience.”
He looked to Sandy who just nodded at Tish. “I’m in the same boat. Difficult hours and I don’t fit into the current dating scene in New York.”
They looked at Dayshia who gave them an imperious look. “I’m between boyfriends at the moment.”
Tish made a small sound of disappointment. “Awww, I liked Flash! I thought he was a good match for you!”
The dark beauty looked away. “Yes, Flash was promising until he insisted I attend his church because I had to be welcomed and accepted by the community.” She faced her friends with a stern expression. “You know I live by the rules of my faith, but I’m not going to force them on anyone else.”
They nodded then Sandy looked back at Henry. “What about your family? Other than Stanley, I mean.”
“As I mentioned, my folks passed away a few years ago. They were older when they adopted me and had no other kids or siblings of their own. The uncle in Ireland turned out to be an honorary uncle. A friend of our birth mother with no useful information about her and no knowledge of our father.” He smiled at Sandy. “How about you? Any siblings?”
Sandy sighed and rolled her eyes. “I have an older brother. He’s a lawyer somewhere in Nevada. He moved around a lot and just stopped keeping in touch. He had a falling out with us country bumpkins and ran off to become someone important. I guess he made it. My parents are retired and still live next to their friends in a small town no one’s heard of in Iowa. It isn’t even on most maps as people keep forgetting it’s there.” She smiled at Dayshia. “I was the girl who arrived from nowhere,” she said as she grinned at her friend whose smile showed she recalled saying that to her when they first met.
Henry gave Dayshia an inquisitive look, and she nodded. “I have an older sister. Beth. She still lives in Chicago and keeps an eye on my dad who lives in a senior’s home because he has Alzheimer’s. He raised us when Mom died six months after I was born. He was a good man. My sister married a man just like him, and they have three kids of their own. Great kids too! I see them over the Christmas holidays.” She looked over at Tish with a small grin. “Tish has me beat on the count of nieces and nephews though.”
Henry turned to look at the woman in question and drew back a little in surprise as she was so close. Had she been smelling his hair?
Tish blushed and nodded. “Yes! Yes, I have a large family,” she blurted to deflect attention away from the fact of being caught with her nose in Henry’s silky locks. He smelled warm and manly!
“I’m the seventh child and youngest in my family. Most of my siblings have families of their own. There are lots of kids. Most have at least two. My oldest sister had six kids, and her oldest has a baby of her own.”Belonging to NôvelDrama.Org.
Henry smiled at the thought of Auntie Tish surrounded by kids. “Inspired?” he asked with a gentle smile and saw Sandy’s smile become a pained expression as a small twitch appeared at the corner of Tish’s lips. “Oh! I’m sorry! Was I thoughtless?”
Tish gave him a weak smile, and he could see her shake it off. “No, it’s fine. You couldn’t have known. I can’t have kids. Motorcycle accident.”
“You ride?” he blurted in embarrassment to change the subject and once more saw Sandy wince. He shot her a desperate look. “Sorry, I have to shut up.”
Tish chuckled and took his hand in hers, smiling at how well her long fingers fit in his bigger hand. “Stop worrying. I’m fine now.” She looked into his compassionate eyes and smiled wistfully. Somehow, this time, the words just seemed to flow painlessly from her lips. “I was married for a short time to the wrong man. I was young and stupid. He was dangerous and exciting, and I was mostly blind to his faults. He rode a big, beat up Harley, but he was also hot-tempered and reckless. One night as we were headed home on the interstate, he got pissed at a driver who pulled in front of us dangerously. Pete kicked the guy’s car while we were going sixty miles an hour and the guy bumped us back. Knocked us both off the bike. Pete broke both his legs and an arm. I broke my pelvis, my left arm, and leg, and was in a coma for three months. When I woke up, they told me I’d lost a baby I wasn’t even aware I was carrying. The night of the crash, the doctors had to perform some drastic surgery to save me. The result, I won’t be having kids.”
Henry took her other hand in his, and her smile strengthened. “I’m ok with it now. It happened so many years ago, and I have so many kids to dote over now without having to bear any of the responsibility.”
He smiled at her then his stomach growled, loudly.
Giggles of released tension burst out of Sandy, and the others chuckled.
“Anyone want to go out for dinner? My treat!” Henry asked. He recalled that he should be unfamiliar with the neighborhood, so he looked to Sandy. “Any suggestions for local eateries?”
“There’s a Thai place that isn’t too far away. It’s walking distance,” she replied. Tish and Dayshia grinned and nodded.