The one chapter 2
After I finally got changed, Zac helped me into my wheelchair and rolled me back out into the garage where my brother, Ethan, and my sister-in-law, Ashley, were enjoying a drink. A few years ago my mother had converted part of the garage into a bar for my father, and it had become a popular hangout spot for gatherings.
“There you are,” Ashley said with a smile as Zac parked me beside her and went off to mingle with the other guests.
I grinned at her. She had always been more a blood sister to me as well as a friend, and I was grateful for her support. She and my brother had come dressed as the Sneetches, and both of them looked more than comical in their hysterical yellow costumes.
“What happened to the Grinch?” Ashley asked. “You looked so cute in your costume.”
“I was getting little overheated so I changed into something more comfortable.”
“Liar,” my brother said. “You just wanted Zac to help you out of your costume.”
I couldn’t help but blush, but then their good-natured laughter eased my embarrassment.
“I know Stacy’s been stirring up shit,” Ethan said, “because after you told her you had to go the bathroom, she came and started bitching to me about Aunt Tracy.”
I sighed. There was just no escaping Stacy and the chaos that followed her around like an evil spirit.
“I know we decided not to tell Mom and Dad about her behavior back in April to save them the drama,” Ethan said, but things are getting out of control. I really think we need to tell them."
Ashley nodded in agreement.
“Believe me,” I said. “I’d love to see Stacy put in her place, but I’ll probably end up getting the brunt of it all like I always seem to.”
“Don’t worry about that, Lindsey,” Ashley said. “You’re more than welcome to move in with Ethan and me.”
The offer was more than tempting. “Thanks, Ashley. It’s been really stressful for me. I was just telling Zac I can't take much more."
“Well, somebody needs to put that witch in her place,” Ashley said.
“I know," I said, glancing toward the open door leading into the kitchen. Though I couldn’t see Stacy and Zac, I could hear their voices, and from the tone, there seemed to be no fireworks yet.
Regardless, I knew that if Stacy even tried to badmouth me or my family, Zac would step in.
I chatted to Ashley and Ethan for a little while longer, then I made the rounds of the other guests mingling around the bar, all of them wearing a slew of interesting Dr. Seuss characters. The atmosphere was fun, a tribute to my mother’s skill at throwing a good party. Something about wearing a goofy costume tended to bring out the child in people, and made them more friendly and approachable. The only reason Zac arrived as the caped crusader was because we didn’t know until the last minute that he was attending, so he had to find a costume on short notice.
After a while, the garage started getting a bit to stuffy so I placed my can of soda between my legs and rolled down the sidewalk to look at our neighbor’s house. My best friend Becky had lived here until her father was transferred to a new job seven years ago. We had once been inseparable, but the three hour drive from her new home gradually caused that inevitable rift that always seemed to affect long distance relationships. Now we communicated infrequently by email or the occasional call around holidays.
A young couple with a baby had moved in. Now the baby was a girl in the fourth grade. Time was passing.
I always thought my friendship with Becky would last a lifetime. If anything, I thought my relationship with Zac would have waned over the years, but instead it grew stronger. At the time I was dealing with my mother’s drinking problems. She and my father were having issues and for a time it looked like they might divorce. What I believed salvaged my friendship with Zac was the fact that he had moved from the neighborhood around the same time that Becky had, and that shielded him from the soap opera my family’s life had become.
“There you are,” Zac said, breaking me from my thoughts.
I turned toward my house to see Zac approaching with a huge grin. His loyalty and patience were the only things that got me through so many issues and crises with my family. He listened to me and counseled me with humor and love. He was a godsend, a gift to see me through difficult times.
Of course Ethan and Ashley helped out by letting me move in with them when my mother kicked me out of the house after Stacy’s predecessor, another of my mother’s manipulative, two-faced friends, negatively influenced my mother during the time she and my father weren’t getting along. Kelly was another story, and one that I wasn’t going to rehash any time soon.
Zac was like a soothing salve on a sunburn, cooling and calming. He made me laugh, told me silly jokes or called me ‘Crazy Bitch’ to cheer me up when I was upset or on the verge of tears.
We headed back to the porch. Zac sat on the steps while I sipped on my soda. We sat in companionable silence for a moment.
Zac gazed toward the neighbor’s house. “A lot has changed, hasn’t it?“ he said.
I nodded in agreement, the memories streaming through my mind.
“Things would have been different if I’d stayed next door,” he said with a laugh. “I’d have probably driven you crazy by now.”
“I doubt that,” I said. “I’d be the one driving you crazy. I’d have moved into your spare room for sure.”
Zac scooted closer beside me. “Did you really think everything that happened would have driven me away if I’d stayed?” he asked. “Nothing or no one would have done that. You know it was only because of my job.”
I gazed at Zac with such emotion that tears blurred my vision, then we heard my mother calling for him.
“Seems like you’re Mr. Popularity tonight,” I said, sorry that our moment had been interrupted.
Zac got up and strutted around in his costume, pausing to cop some ridiculous poses. “Hey, I’m a superhero. Everyone loves me.”
I playfully swatted Zac’s ass, more than delectably displayed in his snug tights.
“You coming?” he asked, as he walked toward the garage.
“In a minute,” I replied, looking back at the neighbor’s house.
I realized there were things I wish I’d taken back in those months before Becky moved; things I would have done differently, but one thing I knew was that her interest in Zac had been more than casual, and when Zac used to come over, her behavior toward me was no longer that of a friend, but of a competitor. I used to worry about what she might try, and had spent many sleepless nights mulling over the dilemma.
Then, fate had stepped in. Becky’s father was transferred, and the house put up for sale. Around the same time, Zac had gotten the job at the hospital, and he moved away. Suddenly the world had turned upside down. I looked away and took a sip of soda. My world may have been upside down then, but now, with Zac back in my life, things were finally looking up.