26. More Dirt than the FBI
twenty-six
More Dirt than the FBI
Leah
W hen I get to my bedroom, I take my time changing clothes. I try to figure out if I should go back out there. Part of me thinks I need to give Dylan and Ronnie some time by themselves to catch up. They haven’t talked in a while, and I can’t help but feel responsible.
But would it be rude of me to stay in here? Would Ronnie think I’m stuck up? Or if I go out there, will she think I’m nosy?
Overthinker: Party of one…your table is ready.
I tell myself to take a chill pill and head out there. I’ll read the room. If it’s awkward, I’ll make some excuse to come back and hide.
When I walk out, I find Ronnie sitting on the couch, and Dylan doing something in the kitchen.
Ronnie perks up. “Leah, come sit with me!” She pats the couch next to her.
“Okay. Let me just grab something to drink real quick. ”
“Oh, Dylan can do that. Dylan, get the woman a drink!” She looks at me. “What do you want? Vodka?”
Dylan says, “Ronnie, Leah can’t have vodka. She’s pregnant.”
“True. But she also has to live with you, so I think she deserves some booze.”
“Haha,” he grumbles.
A moment later, he comes over with an iced tea for me. He stands there and looks back and forth between the two of us.
Ronnie says, “Hey, Dyl. Why don’t you go into the kitchen and make us a snack plate?”
“Sis, I just asked you five minutes ago, and you said you weren’t hungry.”
Rolling her eyes, she replies, “How about you go do it anyway so that we can talk about you?”
“Fine. But if you scare her off, I’ll kick your ass.”
He walks away, and Ronnie doesn’t waste any time. “So, Leah, tell me everything.”
“Everything as in?” I ask nervously.
“Hmm. Let’s start with the basics. What’s your last name?”
“Why? Do you want to run a background check on me?” I joke.
“Oh, sweetie, we have three other sisters. The four of us girls could dig up more dirt on you than the FBI.”
When my eyes go wide, she giggles. “Oh, I’m just giving you shit. I mean, we could do it, but you’re having our little niece or nephew, so we won’t.
“Good to know,” I mutter under my breath.
Dylan comes walking back to us. “We don’t have much in the way of snacks. I really need to go to the store. ”
Ronnie stares up at him. “You can go ahead and go. We’ll wait here.”
“Are you kidding? No way!”
“Dylan, we’ll be fine. I promise I’ll be nice. Do you really want the mother of your child going hungry?”
They both turn to look at me. My eyes dart back and forth between their faces.
What the hell am I supposed to say? Being around Ronnie makes me nervous, but I think part of it is that Dylan is here too. Maybe it would be better if it was just the two of us. I’ll have to get to know Ronnie eventually. She’s Dylan’s twin for God’s sake. I may as well bite the bullet now.
As they both still stare at me, waiting for me to speak, I say, “It’s fine, Dylan. You can go. We’ll be alright.”
“You sure?”
I nod.
“Okay, I’ll be right back. Veronica, I swear you better be nice.”
“Scout’s honor.”
Dylan and I exchange a smile at her reference to a boy scout.
When he’s out the door, Ronnie gets up and walks to the kitchen. “I don’t know about you, but I could use some coffee.”
“Coffee sounds good, but I can only drink decaf.”
“Good lord, I would kill myself,” she murmurs. “But decaf it is.”
She gets the pot going and excuses herself to the restroom. While she’s gone, I bite my nails even further, wondering how this is going to go. I really want to make a good impression on Ronnie since she’s so close to Dylan.
When she walks back to the kitchen to fix two cups of coffee, I decide to do something to break the tension.
“So, Ronnie. Dylan tells me that you’re a travel photographer. What’s that like?”
She smiles while pouring the steaming liquid. “It’s awesome. Exhausting but awesome.”
“What’s the coolest place you’ve ever traveled to?”
“Oh, shit. I don’t know if I’ve ever been asked that before. But probably Egypt.”
“Really?” I ask. “Why?”
“Well, I could say that the pyramids were incredible, and that the history is mind-blowing. But let’s just say I had an unhealthy relationship with The Mummy when I was growing up. I think Brendon Frazer was my first sexual awakening.” With a wink, she adds, “First of many.”
When she joins me back on the couch, there’s a bit of an awkward silence. Finally, she says, “Sorry, I’m a little nervous.”
“ You’re nervous. Why? I’m the one who’s meeting the family.”
“Leah, you’re the first girl my brother has ever brought around. You’re having his baby, and he’s been avoiding me ever since he found out.”
I chime in. “For the record, I wasn’t encouraging that. I never told him to ice you out.”
“Oh, I know that. He’s just an idiot.”
That gets me to laugh.
She goes on to say, “How about we both try not to be nervous and just talk like friends?”
“You want to be friends?” I ask, caught off-guard .
“Duh. Let me say it again—you are carrying my niece or nephew. That makes us friends…and family.”
“Alright then.”
She takes a sip of her coffee. “At the risk of sounding totally lame, I need to say something.”
Here we go.
“Dylan is not only my twin, but he’s my best friend. I know him better than I know myself. Although I’m going to miss having him around as my wingman, I’ve always known deep down that he was cut out for monogamy and fatherhood. He’ll be an amazing dad.”
“I think so, too,” I agree.
“My brother also has a heart of gold. I don’t want to see him get hurt.”
“Ronnie, if I’m being honest, I have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve never been in any type of relationship that you would consider healthy. And I really never thought I’d be a mom.”
She laughs. “I’ve never been in a relationship in general, so I get it.”
“I have no intention of hurting Dylan. It’s not that we are even in a relationship. He’s great, but I need to figure out my own shit before I drag him into it.”
“Just do me a favor,” she says.
“What’s that?”
“Don’t shut Dylan out. I get needing to figure things out. But I also know my brother. It will kill him if you don’t let him in. He’s super helpful and will do whatever he can to make you feel better. Just don’t shut him out of your life. ”
I swig my coffee. “Honestly, Ronnie. Dyl is the only person I’ve ever really let in at all. I’m not very good at it, but I’m trying.”
She smiles. “That’s all I ask. He really has the biggest heart. But enough about the sappy shit. Let’s go back and forth naming things that annoy us about Dylan.”
I hold up my mug to cheers. “That’s more like it.”