“She couldn’t even finish it! I took the leftovers home.”
And now he stops talking. “You took her leftovers home?”
“The dessert, too.” I point toward the container with whatever is left over from the chocolate cake I was eating when he first walked in here earlier.
“She ordered dessert, and you took it home with you?”
“She told me I was still blocked,” I yell back.
Kyle shakes his head at me in disappointment. “Dude, you’re an idiot. For real, though.”
I am taken aback, mostly because it is me who usually calls Kyle an idiot. He is never the voice of reason, and I don’t understand how he can be now.
“Your plan is to get her back by withholding the food she wanted?”
Now that I think of it, I have no idea why I didn’t give her the bag of food before she took off on me. At least the chocolate cake, which I know is her favorite.
“She wasn’t even hungry,” I protest.
As far as excuses go, this is a lame one. But it is true, nonetheless. I know her well enough to recognize when she was truly hungry. The steak they brought to her the other night was almost bigger than the plate. She ate half of it, and she barely touched the sides. She looked sick by the time she pushed everything away, not to mention the insane burp she let out in the middle of the restaurant.
It took real concentration for me not to crack up about it right then and there. The patrons looked at each other in horror while the staff tried to act like they didn’t hear anything. I had to slip the waiter a fifty on top of the gratuity on the bill just so that he would quietly hand me the bag with the leftover food once I walked Mona to the bathroom.
“What’s so funny?” Kyle notices the sudden amusement on my face.
I shrug. “She was cute, that’s all.”
“You’re weirder than we thought,” Kyle declares, and something catches my attention.
“Who’swe?”
He opens his arms wide. “We, the people!”
I am about to throw something at his head when he chuckles and puts a hand up.
“Easy there,Julian.” He grins from ear to ear. “It’s us, the people who consider you a friend, although, lately, it hasn’t been quite clear if you consider all of us your friends.”
I lean back in my chair, rocking back and forth, while glancing away. I do worry that I may have burned my bridges with some of them. Earning their trust back will most likely be just as difficult as winning Mona back.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” Kyle continues. “We talk, but it’s because we worry about whatever you got going on in your head.”
I rock back and forth in my chair. “In my head?”
Kyle gives me a look that’s full of disappointment. “You’ve been acting crazy, dude. And now that you’ve explained about your parents, I guess I sort of get why you’re a headcase. But I don’t really, you know?”
I stare at him and don’t say anything. I don’t really know how to respond to what he just said. None of them lived with my father growing up. They were not programmed from a veryyoung age not to distrust any and all women. It’s easy for them to judge me.
“What’s changed, man?” Kyle tries again. “You were always suspicious of everyone being after money, but it’s different now. You’ve been taking it to a whole new level. Your behavior toward Zara…”
“I’ve already apologized to your girlfriend,” I remind him for what feels like the millionth time.
“Yeah, you did, and good luck with her forgiving you anytime soon,” he deadpans. “How are we going to hang out all together if our women hate you?”
My eyes about fall out of my head. “They all hate me?”
“Well…” Kyle shrugs and looks away. “They’ve all become friends, you know? And they’re protective of Zara. The way you behaved at Ray’s wedding put the girls on high alert.”
I sigh but remain quiet. I don’t know what to say. It’s all falling apart around me, and it all started with the last time I broke up with Mona. I’ve been losing my mind ever since, and my father’s voice became louder in my head. The more I’ve been trying to silence it, the worse it’s become.
