“But Sabrina…”
“Sabrina will be fine. I promise. How late do you think you’re going to be out?”
“Not long. I just planned to check in and see a few old friends. I’ll pick up Sabrina before it gets too late.”
“Eleven?”
“No later than nine,” He countered. Sabrina’s bedtime was a nine, and he wanted to make sure he was there for bedtime.
There was a moment of silence before Layla spoke. “Nine-thirty. See you then, Elijah.” Layla said then ended the call.
Elijah stared at the phone and wanted to say to hell with the meet up and go pick up Sabrina. He appreciated the support Layla provided to him and Sabrina, but he didn’t like being an imposition or taking advantage of their friendship. His mother would always hint around to see if their was more to their relationship, but they were, and would remain, just friends. Not because he wasn’t attracted to Layla, he was very attracted to her. But because he didn’t want to cross that line with a friend. He and Layla had a good thing going with the girls. He wouldn’t do anything to potentially disrupt Sabrina’s life. That meanthe would ignore how much he fantasized about the softness of Layla’s skin. If they ever got together and then later broke up, it would make things awkward between them and their daughters.
Despite not wanting to be an imposition, another part of him needed this fraternity meet up. He hadn’t gone to one since his ex-wife walked out on him. Since then his life had been nothing but work and parenting. A sacrifice he’d make again, but he did miss hanging out with his boys. He talked to his line brothers, Marcus and Jashaun, occasionally, but it wasn’t the same. He would go, but he wouldn’t stay long. It was a week night. He wouldn’t have more than one drink, and he could still make it home in time to have everyone in bed and lights out by nine.
Sighing, he checked his watch again. He didn’t like leaving without verifying what Adam said about the budget reports being in order, but if he was going to get a few moments of fun before getting to Layla’s on time then he’d have to leave then. He shut down his computer and left the office.
*
Elijah arrived at the dart bar where the fraternity meet up was being held. A variety of dart boards, some traditional and some high tech were the bar’s main attraction. He’d heard about the bar from others and had always wanted to check it out, but never seemed to be able to find the time. Decorated with dark wood paneling, leather bound seats and lighting that reminded him of the nostalgic theater lights the inside gave more of a social club vibe than a neighborhood pub.
He was greeted at the front by a brother he didn’t recognize. Not surprising, considering outside of paying his yearly dues he wasn’t as active as he’d been after college. Still, seeing so many unfamiliar faces reminded him how much he’dlost touch with everything other than work and Sabrina in the years since his divorce. Before he’d divorced he was at every reunion, meet up, or yearly conference. After, he’d worried that spending too much from his family was part of the reason why Angelica had left him. So he’d pushed this part of his life aside to make sure Sabrina knew he was always going to be there.
Despite not knowing everyone, Elijah introduced himself and before long he was quickly falling back into the warm welcome of his fraternity brotherhood. He loved the fact that no matter where they’d gone to school or when they’d crossed the line, he could always connect with a fraternity brother and find something they could talk about.
As he made his way toward the back of the bar he spotted two familiar faces he hadn’t seen for a while. Marcus a.k.a. Romeo and Jashaun a.k.a. Ocean. He walked over and their eyes also lit up with recognition. After a round of hand claps and hugs the three sat down.
“If it isn’t Enforcer. You still following those rules of yours,” Jashaun asked.
Damn, he hadn’t heard his line name in years. Part of the reason why he’d been given the line name Enforcer was because he was the rule follower. The one to make sure everyone else also followed the rules and didn’t make any stupid decisions.
“My rule following is part of the reason we all didn’t get in a car and drive over to Texas A&M just to fight those pretty boys from that other frat over a girl.”
Marcus’ eyes widened. “Oh, damn, I forgot about that. Why were we doing that anyway?”
Elijah laughed and shook his head. “Because Dre was drunk and mad that his girl had left him for one oftheir members. Not only would we have gotten our chapter suspended, but we might have ended up in jail, too.”
“Good old, Enforcer,” Marcus said. “Made sure we always stayed out of trouble.”
They started talking about the old days. What everyone had been up to after college. Elijah was surprised to realize Jashaun was also a single father. He’d learned about his after running into an old weekend hookup. Hearing about the big changes in his friend’s life made him feel even more isolated. He really hadn’t checked in on any of his line brothers after the divorce. He would have to do better going forward. They were all going through and dealing with different things. Single fatherhood, trying to figure things out, trying to do their best but also stressed about showing how much they struggled.
“You know, I ran across this proposal for this single dad’s club,” Jashaun said. “It’s grown nationwide organization, but they started here in Houston.”
“I’ve heard of them, but I haven’t gone,” Elijah said.
Marcus took a sip of his drink then said. “Sounds like you two might need to check it out.”
The young guy who’d been at the door greeting everyone came over to their table. “Aye, one of ya’ll want to get in on this game? We need another person.”
Elijah glanced at his watch. It was getting close to nine. “I really should head out.”
Jashaun grunted and shook his head. “Nah, man, we haven’t gotten you out of the house in years. It’s still early.”
“He’s right,” Marcus chimed in. “One game won’t hurt. Besides, we all know that when we leave tonight it’ll be hard as hell to get together again. Stick around a little longer.”
Elijah hesitated for a second, before nodding. “One game.” Breaking one rule this time wouldn’t hurt.
Chapter 3
