One of the Guys (22 page)

“I’m
fine,” Karen smiled, taking the spoon back and scooping out a cherry. “I’m actually
better now that I’m here.”

Kate
scratched her head, unsure of what to do in this situation. “Should I call Dad
or anything, and tell him you’re okay?”

“He
knows I’m okay,” Karen said. “But you… Why are you home so early on New Year’s
Eve?”

Kate
shrugged. “I was tired. It also looked like I might have been the only single
person at Lucy and Jackson’s party. And I really wanted to come home and put my
pajamas on.”

“There’s
nothing wrong with that.”

*

“So,
how’s it going with your mom?” Lucy asked.

“Actually,
it’s not so bad,” Kate said, switching the phone to her other shoulder and flipping
through the clothes in her closet. “I gave her the master bedroom, so I’m back
in my old room. It took a couple weeks to get everything moved around and
reorganized. We’ve been going out a lot. I have to keep telling her not to do
my laundry. But she seems to be having fun.”

“What
about your dad?”

“I’ve
talked to him, and he seems kind of… undecided. I feel bad for him. I don’t
think he had any idea how unhappy my mom was. He really wanted to do the whole
Green Acres thing, but she didn’t. She just went along with it because that was
his dream.”

“That’s
so sad.”

Kate
sighed. “They love each other; they just don’t know what to do. One wants to be
there and the other wants to be here. And I think they might actually enjoy
being away from each other for the first time in thirty-something years.”

“Maybe
that’ll be me and Jackson someday,” Lucy giggled.

“Uh,
no.
I don’t see either one of you running off and
trying to start a farm. What are you kids up to tonight, anyway?”

“I
think we’re going to see what’s on Netflix. Want to come over?
 
You can bring your mom.”

Kate
pulled a sparkly, purple sweater off of a hanger and tossed it on the bed. “Thanks,
but Mom and I are going out with Julia tonight.”

“Really?
 
Again?”

“We’re
going to karaoke. It’s something my mom has never done. She’s all about going
out and doing different things.
Says she’s tired of sitting
at home and doing nothing.”

“Well,
you ladies have fun!”

Kate
said goodbye and tossed her phone on the bed. She yanked her t-shirt up over
her head and quickly tugged on the sweater. She yelled for her mom as she
opened her bedroom door. “Are you almost ready?”

“I’m
ready to go. You look nice in purple.”

“Thanks,”
Kate said, pushing up her sleeves and raking her fingers through her hair. “Let’s
go!
 
I told Julia we’d meet her there at nine.
We’re going to be late!”

They
arrived at the karaoke bar, named Fifteen Minutes, shortly after nine, and the
place was already crowded. Kate led her way through the web of tiny, crowded
tables and finally spotted Julia holding down a high-top near the stage. “Sorry!”
Karen said, reaching out and giving Julia a hug. “Kate was on the phone.”

“Sorry,”
Kate laughed.

“No
problem. I am just so glad you guys wanted to come out again. We’ve been so
busy getting ready for the Valentine’s Day fundraising benefit for the Heart
Association that I’m glad Kate’s taking a break and having some fun!”
 
Julia gushed. “What are you drinking, Karen?”

“I’ll
have a Long Island,” Karen said, perching on the stool and looking around. “So
how does this work, exactly?” she asked.

“I’ll
get the drinks,” Kate said, leaving Julia to explain karaoke to her mother. She
threaded her way through the crowd and to the bar where she quickly managed to
flag down a bartender and order two beers and a Long Island iced tea. She
turned around and leaned her elbows against the bar while to watch a trio of
girls belting out Prince’s “Kiss” on stage while she waited.

“I’ve
only been trying to get that guy’s attention for, like, ten minutes,” a loud
voice said in her ear, nearly making her jump.

“Kevin!”
she cried.

“Hey,
stranger!
 
I
haven’t seen you in forever!
 
What’s been
going on?”
 
They hugged quickly.

“Did
I jump in front of you or something?” she asked. She waved the bartender down
again. “Another beer, please?” she asked. “Put it on my tab.”

“Thanks,”
Kevin said. “So, where have you been?”

“
Loooong
story,” Kate said.

“You’ll
have to tell me sometime.”

“Yeah.
I’ll give you the abbreviated version for now. My mom’s been staying with me.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.
My parents are kind of doing this whole trial separation thing, I guess. So,
I’ve been spending a lot of time with her. She’s here with me and my boss,
Julia.”

“That
sucks. Is she okay?
 
Are
you
okay?”

“Oh,
yeah.
She’s fine. I’m fine, too,” Kate added, tucking her
hair behind her ear. “I think they’ll work it out eventually.”

The
bartender placed the drinks in front of them and Kate and Kevin smiled at each
other. “Well, I’ll let you get back to your mom,” Kevin said, taking the bottle
of beer. “Thanks for this.”

“No
problem,” she said. She handed the bartender her debit card for the tab and
grabbed her two beer bottles in one hand and the glass in the other.

“Hey,
Kate.
Call me if you ever want to talk or hang out. Don’t
be such a stranger.”

Kate
nodded and made her way back to her mom and Julia. She placed the drinks on the
table and seated herself in between them. “Have you picked a song yet?”

Karen grinned in
response.

“Really?
 
Already?
 
Do I know it?
 
Do I have to get up there and sing it with you?”

Karen
nodded. Julia giggled. “Yes, you know it.”

“Okay,”
Kate groaned. She wasn’t really a fan of karaoke. She had also been ridiculously
drunk every time she’d done it, so she couldn’t really recall any of her past
performances.

The
three ladies sat and chatted through renditions of “Like a Virgin,” “Living on
a Prayer,” and “Piano Man.”
 
The next
thing she knew, Kate was being hauled off of her bar stool by her mother and
led onstage.

As
soon as the music started, Kate recognized the song.
“Just like the white winged dove sings a song, sounds like she’s
singing, who… who… who…”
  
Kate and
Julia let Karen take the lead, and Kate was surprised to find that her mom made
a halfway decent Stevie Knicks.

She
spotted Kevin and a couple of his buddies in the back of the crowd, near the
bar. He raised his bottle to her in a salute and she waved back, trying not to
laugh as she sang into the microphone with Julia. When the song ended, they
made their way back to their table. Kate was relieved that the experience
hadn’t been too terribly traumatic.

As
the three of them giggled and rearranged themselves on their stools, Kevin
approached with two bottles of beer and another drink. “Nicely done, ladies!”
he said, high-fiving everyone at the table.

“Thank
you,” Kate said. “Kevin, this is my mom, Karen, and this is my boss, Julia. This
is my friend Kevin,” she said.

“Hi,
Kevin.
Thank you for the drinks. That’s so sweet,” Karen
beamed, taking her glass and swirling the little straw around in it. “How do
you two know each other?”

“We’re
friends,” Kate said. She looked at her mom, wide-eyed, hoping that she didn’t
think that Kevin was one of her
other
kind
of friends.
“Just friends.”

Kevin
nodded in agreement. “Yes, and as your friend, I was coming to ask if you’d
like to go to my friend’s Super Bowl party.”

Kate
found herself staring at Kevin.
Did he
just ask me on a date in front of my mom?!

“As friends,” he
added.

Karen
nudged Kate into speaking. “Yes. Sure. That sounds like fun. Thank you.”

“I’ll
call you,” Kevin said. “Ladies, I really enjoyed your performance.”

“Thanks
for the drinks!” Julia called as he walked away.

“He’s
cute,” Karen said.

“Mom,
that’s Kevin.”

“He’s
cute,” Julia agreed.

“We’re
just friends,” Kate said. “That’s it.”

*

When
Super Bowl Sunday rolled around, Kate found herself not knowing what two teams
were even playing, but she knew that Madonna was the halftime show, so it
couldn’t be all that bad. She finished up her work at the office and rushed
home to freshen up. She threw on jeans and a plain white t-shirt and pulled her
hair up into a ponytail.
I’m only hanging
out with Kevin
, she thought,
so it’s
not like I need to get all dressed up.
She studied her reflection in the
mirror, and then another thought crossed her mind.
But what if he has cute guy friends?

Half
an hour later, she had curled her hair and applied a full face of makeup. It
seemed like a bit much for just going and watching the commercials during a
football game, but she figured it was better to make the extra effort just in
case she met anyone interesting.

“Wow,”
Kevin said, as she got into the car next to him.

“Hi,”
she smiled. “What?”

“Nothing,”
Kevin said.
“Nothing.”

 
They drove along companionably, making small
talk about who would be at the party, the hosts, Mike and Valerie, and some of
Kevin’s other friends. Kevin fumbled with the radio a few times until he
finally gave up and played a Coldplay CD instead.
 
Kate felt a little awkward and tried to
remember the last time she and Kevin had really done anything together, just
the two of them. The only thing she could really come up with was waking up on
his couch the morning after Lucy and Jackson had gotten engaged.

When
they arrived at Mike and Valerie’s house, however, Kate immediately felt
relaxed and welcome. “Hi!” Valerie gushed, immediately taking Kate by the arm. “I’m
glad Kevin brought someone with him. Can I get you anything to drink?
 
We have a ton of snacks. Grab something and
go pick a seat in the living room before all the comfy spots get taken!”

Kevin
nudged Kate. “I told you that Valerie was really nice. Want a beer?”

Kate
nodded and wandered into the kitchen and picked up a football-shaped plate. She
started scooping chips, dips, meatballs, and macaroni salad onto her plate. “Save
room for dessert,” Kevin said. “Valerie makes these crazy-delicious chocolate
peanut butter brownies.”

Kate
took her beer from Kevin and stood by while he loaded his plate with food. Then
she followed him into the living room where they plopped down on the loveseat
together. “Hey, man, what’s up?” Kevin said, balancing his plate on his knees
and leaning over to shake a guy’s hand. “Everybody, this is my friend, Kate. Kate,
this is everybody!”

Kate
smiled and said hello. “Hey, it’s Stevie Nicks,” one of the guys said, raising
a bottle of beer in her direction. Kate assumed that he had been with Kevin at
Fifteen Minutes and witnessed her karaoke performance. She said hello and hoped
that she wasn’t blushing too much.

As
she surveyed the room, she realized, again, that everyone seemed to be paired
up with someone else. And most of the guys who were single didn’t seem to be
all that cute. A lot of them were wearing backwards baseball hats and acted suspiciously
like they were perhaps still in their early twenties. She’d definitely overdone
it with the hair and makeup. She looked down at the plate of food in her lap. At
least there would be brownies.

*

Kate
and Julia leaned against their cars in the parking lot of the Davenport Hotel,
both absolutely exhausted. The Heart Association’s Valentine’s Day fundraiser
had been a huge success, and Julia had made contact with lots of future clients.
It was rare that Bride Ideas organized such a large-scale event, but Julia was
never one to shy away from a challenge when it presented itself. It had been a
lot of work on top of the weddings they had planned earlier in the day, but
everything had gone smoothly.

“So,
do you and Alex have any romantic Valentine’s Day plans?” Kate asked.

“Are you
kidding?” Julia asked. “All I want to do is go home and go to bed. What about
you?”
 

Kate
snorted. “I guess I’m going home to hang out with my mom.”