Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
L evon
“Good to see you, bud!”
I took Gabe's hand, tugging him into a hug and clapping him on the back. When I pulled away, Ryan was waiting for his turn. I did the same gesture for him and joined them on the bench, stretching out my legs.
“What have you two dorks been up to since I left?” I asked playfully.
“Oh, the usual,” Gabe replied.
“I've been working on codes while this one impresses his boss just by existing,” Ryan joked. “I swear, he's gotten every promotion he's ever applied for.”
Gabe shrugged. “What can I say? My boss likes me.”
“That's good! I'm sure that bodes well for your career,” I praised. “It's such a nice day out. I can't believe how much things haven't changed around here.”
“Actually, there were a number of developments downtown,” Ryan said. “But it's mostly been the same old place.”
“Do you remember the park behind Checotah High?” Gabe asked. “We used to sneak back there with a few beers and try to slam them back before curfew. That place changed.”
Ryan laughed. “We shotgunned just about everything from beer to soda.”
“Gross,” I recalled. “I did that my senior year, too, but definitely not with soda.”
“And then we had one of the guys chug that thing of milk,” Gabe continued.
“Oh, he threw up everywhere ,” Ryan said through chuckles. “It was the worst thing ever!”
“I think that was John! His stomach ached for three days after that.”
I shook my head. “We never did that in my day.”
“Tough talk, old man. What did you do?” Gabe inquired. “I remember you were a mean pitcher with baseball. I even went to a few games.”
“I was in better shape then. You two must have been sophomores at the time, right?”
Ryan nodded. “Yeah, we still ran in the same circles, but you were older, for sure.”
“Do you remember when we streaked across the football field over Christmas break?”
I laughed. “Classic.”
“Oh, yeah! That's the year we found out just how much John was packing in his pants,” Ryan joked. “Which wasn't much.”
“You weren't packing much either from what I remember,” Gabe retorted.
Ryan rolled his eyes. “Whatever, man. That didn't stop me from getting a girlfriend.”
“That's not what I heard.”
“What about you? You were always pining after girls you couldn't have.”
“I eventually got the girls I couldn't have.”
I perked up. “You mean like Clara?”
An awkward silence draped over the bench like an old coat that needed to be washed. I cleared my throat and rubbed the back of my head.
“Which, speaking of,” I added. “Nobody told me you two were dating after I left.”
Gabe me a quizzical look. “I didn't know that no one told you, man. I thought that was just common knowledge.”
“I didn't have a clue.”
“We were dating for a few years. I mean, you were overseas for a hot minute. I just figured maybe you would catch wind of it on the internet.”
“I didn't check in much on my social pages.”
He shrugged. “It happens. The whole town knew.”
“But I didn't know.”
“That's old news, man. I wouldn't hang on too hard to it,” Ryan said.
I shot Ryan a hard look but didn't say much to him. Instead, I directed my next statement to Gabe. “Well, I only found out when I got into town.”
“Wild,” Gabe said. “I mean, everyone said you made it clear to Clara that you were taking your traveling job and that you two were over. I didn't know I needed your permission.”
“I would have hated to give you that impression.”
“That's why I didn't think it important.”
I nodded. “Right.”
“She told me things were over when I asked her to move to New York with me, so I don't think it's that big of a deal anymore.”
“Yeah, it's probably better to let it go,” Ryan commented.
I resisted shooting him another burning glance. “It's old news. You're right.”
“I hadn't expected her to react like that. I knew she didn't want to travel, but I didn't know she didn't want to move.”
“That's Clara. She's set in her ways.”
“It just seems like too much, to be honest. I might have dodged a bullet.”
I gripped my knee, trying to hide the pain I felt welling in my gut. He was talking about Clara—sweet, delightful Clara. I had spent so many years with her, getting to know the ins and outs of her brain and every inch of her personality. And when it was all over, I felt like I had been robbed of happiness.
But that was also my decision , I thought with a twitch of guilt. I chose my job over her comfort.
“You wanted to travel, right? I mean, from all accounts I heard, it was a mutual agreement,” Gabe went on.
“Sure, it was mutual,” I replied. “It just didn't work out. Just like with you two.”
“I wouldn't worry too much about it. No hard feelings, right?”
I offered him a genuine smile. “Sure, buddy. No hard feelings.”
He nodded and nudged Ryan, gesturing to one of coffee shops just across from the park where we were sitting. “Hey, speaking of feelings—are you ready to get married to Jen?”
“Of course! I literally can't wait to be married to her.”
“Nothing like the old ball and chain.”
I rolled my eyes. “That's my sister you're talking about, buddy.”
Ryan chuckled heartily while Gabe blushed.
He shrugged. “Ah, no hard feelings, dude. I was just teasing our groom over here.”
He took Ryan into a head lock and started messing with Ryan's hair.
I shook my head. “You two are ridiculous.”
“He's my best friend,” Gabe said with a chuckle. “I'm allowed to be ridiculous!”
“Dude, cut it out .”
“Why? Are you afraid your fiancé is going to get out of the shop and see you wrestling another guy?”
“No, she's probably at home right now.”
“I bet she's working. Why don't you go see her?”
Ryan huffed as he broke free from Gabe's grip. “I don't like bugging her at work, unlike the way you bugged Clara.”
“I can't believe it's taken you this long to work up the guts to ask her to marry you. You always did have a thing for Jen back in school.”
Ryan shook his head. “No, I was dating Tracy back then. It would have been bad form to try to go for Jen.”
“Well, you're not with Tracy anymore.”
“Thank God for that.”
Gabe cackled. He nudged Ryan again. “So, go say hi to your future wife!”
“Maybe in a minute. Are you going to find a new date for the wedding?”
Gabe shook his head. “No, I don't have time and I don't want to burn Clara like that. It might not have ended well, but I'm not going to be a dick about it.”
“I would totally be a dick about it.”
“You mean like the time when Sara nearly busted your balls?”
Ryan gasped. “Ugh, I can't believe you would bring that up! Of all the times!”
“You two were making out in the locker room and she kicked you because you tickled her by accident.”
“I hate you so much right now, dude.”
I shook my head at them.
As entertaining as it was to hear them reminiscing, I felt like the odd man out.
No one told me. No one thought it was important. And why would they? We had broken up. But I'm still miffed about the whole thing. I barely checked my accounts. I hadn't wanted to look at her face too much while I was abroad.
“—she comes now! You should go to her!”
Gabe nearly shoved Ryan off the bench.
Ryan shoved back. “Dude, quit it!”
Those two are ridiculous. Successful, but ridiculous. I wonder why no one wanted to tell me about Clara and Gabe? Did they want to protect my feelings? I rolled my eyes. I'm not that sensitive. She probably was embarrassed that she moved on so quickly.
I perked up slightly. Ryan had shifted from sitting to standing. He was loosening his collar with eagerness. I saw my sister set up on the grass. She held up a book to her face as she munched on chips.
“Now's your chance,” Gabe encouraged. “Go tell her how much you love her. Maybe write her a sonnet or two.”
“She'll like that,” I added. “She always had a thing for poetry.”
“Yeah, what Levon said!”
Ryan huffed and squared up, smoothing back his chin-length blond hair. He crossed the grass briskly and perhaps a bit unsteadily. There were a few times where he stumbled a bit, but he seemed to catch a decent stride as he approached.
“It's funny,” Gabe remarked. “Even after all this time dating, he's still nervous with her.”
“He doesn't seem that nervous.”
“Marriage can make a man nervous. Hopefully, she'll get him into a hobby soon. He doesn't have any damn hobbies.”
I laughed. “No art for the man of a thousand codes?”
“He's always been a nerd, but he never leaves the house.”
I chuckled. “I guess most nerds are homebodies.”
“I'm just glad he suggested the park. We all needed the air.”
“We sure did.”
Gabe clapped his hands on his thighs. He sighed loudly. “So, how you holding up with work? They sending you to great places?”
“I've been all over Europe a handful of times. I couldn't get enough of Rome. Copenhagen was nice, too.”
He whistled. “That must be quite the paycheck.”
“It's something.”
“It makes sense why she didn't want to travel or move.”
I blinked at Gabe. “What do you mean?”
“This town is nice. It's comfortable. Not much happens here in the way of drama.”
“I guess you don't remember high school.”
He laughed. “Oh, I remember it very well. I looked up to you a lot then.”
I frowned at the sidewalk. “I didn't get that impression.”
“I suppose not many guys would considering you were older. You probably didn't notice me much.”
“Well, we hung out a handful of times. We did know each other. But not as well as we do now.”
Apparently, we don't know each other at all , I thought grimly. Considering you kept Clara from me for almost three years.
“I just wish things had worked out,” Gabe sighed while staring at Ryan.
Ryan and Jen were talking close on the green. My sister looked happy—truly full of joy. It made me smile as she raised a hand to wave at us.
I waved back. “They look like they're really in love.”
“Yeah, they really do. I love hanging with the guy, but I can't wait until he gets busy with making a family. He needs female company in his life.”
“You could always wear a wig.”
Gabe cackled while shaking his head. “Man, I missed your humor. I'm glad you're back!”
“I'm glad to be back, too.”
“You don't seem entirely excited about it.”
I shrugged. “I'm still adjusting to the time zone. Everything is different in Europe.”
“Do the toilets flush in the opposite direction?”
I smirked. “I mean, in some countries, yes.”
“Did you ever go to China?”
“I did pass through China, yes. But it was brief.”
“Do they really have karaoke bars on every corner?”
“Oh, I couldn't have made it down one block without passing three.”
He nodded. “That's cool. I've always wanted to go there. Maybe next time you take a trip to Europe, I can tag along.”
“What about your job?”
“Oh, I could take a little time off. I wouldn't stick with you that long.”
“I'll certainly consider it.”
He nodded. “Cool.”
We turned our attention back to Ryan. It seemed we had lost him to the company of Jen. He had sat down beside her, pointing to her book and taking interest in her lunch. I almost yearned for work right now. I was far too stressed to deal with my surroundings, or with Gabe and Ryan and their boyish humor. It was nice to remember our high school years, but it only made me think of Clara.
Especially since she had recently been dating Gabe.
I couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal, sitting like a stone in my stomach. They hadn't told me a thing. They had hidden it away. Sure, the whole town knew, but I didn't. That meant everyone else got to see their relationship before I did.
I hope it was worth it, I reflected. Because I completely regret everything.