Love In Between(9)

“Hey, Charley, why don’t you go take your crayons and paper over to the dining table and color me a pretty picture? I need to talk to your Uncle Luke for a minute,” Sam said.

I walked to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. I took off the cap and flung it at him. He caught it in his hand like he always does. I swear that boy should have been a baseball player. I think he missed his calling in life. I walked over to the couch, sat down, and put my feet up on the coffee table.

“I realized something today, and I want you to know about it,” Sam said.

“Yeah, what did you realize, Sam?” I asked, staring at the TV.

“I remember while growing up, my sister would come home crying because some of the boys were being mean to her.”

I looked over at him as I took a drink of my beer. “Yeah, and what’s your point?”

“I remember my mom telling her the only reason they were mean to her was because they liked her, and they didn’t know how to express it because they were scared.”

“Is there a point to you telling me this story, Sam?” I asked.

“Yes, Luke, there is. My point is that I think you have an attraction to Lily, and that’s why you’re acting like you are towards her.”

“Jesus Christ, Sam, do you listen to yourself? You have no idea what you’re talking about!” I spat as I got up from the couch.

“Luke, it’s been a year since Callie—”

“Stop! Don’t you ever say her name again!” I yelled.

Suddenly, I felt someone tugging on my jeans. “Uncle Luke, why are you yelling?”

I looked at Sam and shook my head. I bent down and put my hands on Charley’s shoulders.

“I’m not yelling, peanut; I just raised my voice by accident. I’m sorry.”

“Mommy always says to use your inside voice when you’re indoors.”

“I know, and I will; I promise. Now, go back over there and finish coloring that pretty picture.” I smiled as I kissed the top of her head.

“Look, man, I’m sorry I upset you, but Lily’s a real nice girl, and she doesn’t deserve to be treated rudely. She’s never done anything to you,” Sam said.

I looked at him, sat back down on the couch, and threw back my beer. “You act like you’ve known her your whole life when it’s only been two days. Do you want to date her or something? Are you trying to get my approval?” I asked.

“No, I’m not trying to get your approval, and I don’t need it either. If I wanted to date Lily, I would ask her on a date, but I’m really into her friend, Gretchen.”

I took the last sip of my beer as Maddie came walking through the door. I got up from the couch and kissed her on the cheek.

“Hey, sis, do you need any help?”

“Nope, I already took the bags upstairs.” She smiled.

We both walked over to the table where Charley was coloring and looked at her picture. “That’s a pretty picture, Charley. Can I have it?” I asked.

“Sorry, Uncle Luke, this picture is for my new teacher tomorrow.” She smiled.

“Ah, well, she’s one lucky teacher to get such a pretty picture,” I said.

Maddie and Charley cleaned up the crayons and paper then walked out the door. Charley stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned to look at me.

“Uncle Luke, are you going to come over tomorrow morning before I go to school?”

“You bet I am, peanut.” I smiled at her as she waved goodbye.

I loved that little girl more than anything in my life.

***

Later that evening, Lucky came over, and we headed to Bernie’s. It’s the bar my sister worked at during the day and some evenings, but it’s also where me and the boys played a little music. We can draw in quite a crowd when Bernie, the owner, tells people when we’re playing. We weren’t playing tonight; we’re just having a few drinks and shooting some pool. I’ve known Lucky and Sam since freshman year at college. The three of us were roommates. Lucky’s a womanizer. He always has been, and he always will be. His real name’s Thomas, but we started calling him Lucky when he scored with the hottest chick on our college campus. He knows just the right things to say to a woman, and they always fall right under his spell. After a few games of pool and a few beers, I was calling it a night. Lucky invited a few girls over to the apartment to play his version of strip poker. I rolled my eyes, hearing the girls giggle when he said that.

We arrived back at the apartment, and Lucky got out the cards. It was him, Sam, and two other girls playing. The third girl didn’t want to play, and neither did I. I walked to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. I took off the cap and flung it over to Sam as he put his hand up and caught it. I smiled and sat down on the couch. The girl introduced herself as Monica. I didn’t really care what her name was, and I wanted to be left alone. Lucky got up from the table and turned on some music. Sam yelled at him to turn it down. I shot Sam a look because he never tells anyone to turn down the music; he likes it loud. He tilted his head to the side, indicating it would be too loud for Lily. I rolled my eyes and went back to watching TV.

It wasn’t long before Monica scooted closer to me and started running her finger up and down my arm. I looked at her. She was attractive, but she wasn’t my type. She leaned in closer and whispered in my ear.