The next morning, I woke up earlier than Billy did. We were both sleeping on my bed. Billy had insisted that he sleep on the couch in the living room, but I wouldn't have it. He was lying on his right side, a pillow in between his ankles so that he could elevate his broken left leg. With him turned away from me, I decided to give him back scratches throughout the majority of the night. It was never easy for him to sleep in places other than his own bed. That was part of the reason why I wanted to move in with
him—
not him moving in with
me.
It was around 7 AM when I woke up, so I decided to call my mom. I figured she was up, since she had always been an early bird. She lived in Springfield—the capital of Illinois—where I was born and raised.
I picked up my cell phone and went to the living room, then dialed her number. It rang two times before she answered.
"Hello?" her voice came. Just from that one word, she hardly sounded sleepy or groggy; she'd been up for a while. She had the thickest Illinoisan accent of all. It was nasally like a Brooklyn accent, but one could definitely hear the "E" sound before most of her vowels.
"Hi, Mom," I said, ecstatic to her voice. It felt like it had been decades since I'd last called her, when in reality it had only been about two weeks.
"Well, hi, Ali!" she said in a cheerful tone. "How are you?"
"I... I'm great, Mom," I said. "I'm really great. I just wanted to check in with you. How are things for you?"
"Perfect, darlin', it couldn't be more perfect. How are things going with you and Billy?"
"Great. He's been in the hospital for the past couple of days, though. He just got out yesterday."
"Oh my god! What happened to him? Is he okay?"
"Don't worry, Mom, he's fine. He got ran over and broke his leg."
"Jesus
Christ!
"
"But he ended up saving his friend's life because of it. I guess they were chasing this criminal, and he or she drove right towards them. Billy pushed his partner out of the way, but he fell over when he did, and the bad guy just...ran over his leg."
"Dear God..." Mom said, completely exasperated. "He's a detective, isn't he... Which leg was it that got hurt?"
"His left leg."
"Dear Lord... He's alright, isn't he?"
"Yep, he's okay. He's been staying with me since he got out of the hospital. But...yeah, while he was recovering, I got to meet his partner, and his sisters—"
I almost finished my sentence with "and his mom," but I figured that part wasn't essential enough for Mom to hear.
"That's... That's good, Ali, that's... Wow. I... I'm sorry, I'm just...having a heck of a time processing this... You were there for him through the whole thing, weren't you?"
"Yes, ma'am," I said.
"Good, good... You love him, don't you?"
"Of course I do, Mom! I love him to death! He's... He's just so...
perfect.
I know that's a really bloated thing to say, but... He really is great. He's sweet, he's polite... He accepts my personality. He doesn't try to suppress it or ignore the way I feel. I'm just...so happy when I'm with him."
"I'm so glad to hear that Ali," Mom said, her voice cracking occasionally. "I'm... I'm so glad that you've found someone that makes you happy, and that
you
make happy. I... I know your dad would be just as glad as I am, probably even more so. I know you've dated some really big jerks in the past, but, through them, I think you figured out just who you were looking for.
"I still remember when your dad and I were still friends. He seemed like this gigantic A-hole, but once we started dating, I saw that he was just trying to cover up the fact that he was...scared. He acted that way because he was
scared
of people. I helped him overcome that fear, and as a result, he became much nicer towards people. I hope you and Billy can be like your dad and me. Help each other grow, all right? Become stronger though one another. I... I know I'm sounding like that green guy from
Star Wars
but I really mean what I say."
"Th-thanks, Mom," I said, rubbing my neck so I could get rid of that lump in my throat. "Thank you..."
"You're welcome, sweetie. Sorry for the speech... I just want you and Billy to have that relationship your dad and I had."
"No, no,
thank you
for the speech!" I laughed. "Actually, I— Well, I don't know if I should tell you this, but..."
"Tell me what, sweetie? You know I hate secrets."
"I know, it's just... It's kind of a private thing, y'know? I don't know if Billy would like it if I told you."
"Tell me what? Honey, you're killin' me here!"
I mulled it over in my head whether or not it was right to tell my mom about the plans Billy and I had for after the party that night. "Wellll... Okay. I'll tell you."
"Goodie," she said. "Don't worry; I won't tell anyone."
"Well, tonight...I'm planning on taking Billy's virginity."
Mom was silent for a few seconds. She loved juicy things like gossip. I was scared that she'd run off to tell someone, but then I heard her voice.
"Wow, that's... That's something, Ali. Billy's okay with that?"
"Of course he is. We actually both planned on...doing it tonight. And if he decided that he doesn't want to do it, then we won't do it."
"I... I had no idea he was still a virgin. A guy as nice and good-looking as him, I thought he wouldn't be. But that's good that you respect him like that. He has autism, right?"
"Yes, Asperger's Syndrome."
"Well, when you two are ready for the hanky-panky, he'll have to know that he's probably going to be scared out of his wits. You'll have to guide him. Go slowly. He'll need to give the OK on every little thing you do. Just be gentle with him, all right?"
"All right."
"Good. Well... It was nice catching up with you, Alisandra. Have fun tonight, okay? Oh, and I'd advise that you do it at his place. That might make it a bit more comfortable for him. Okay?"
"Okay," I said. "Thanks, Mom. I love you."
"I love you too, sweetheart. Be safe. Bye."
"Bye."
I hung up. I put my hands on my hips as I mulled over what she told me. I had always remembered Dad as the nicest guy in the world. He always treated everyone with such respect and dignity. I forgot that he was a total douche before he and Mom dated. Ever since he was killed six years ago, I had encouraged Mom to start dating again, but she always gave me the same answer: "My heart only belongs to your dad." It was sweet, but I reminded her that no one could replace Dad.
I decided not to tell her that I was planning on moving in with Billy. She would have told me in her own innocent way that it was too early in the relationship to do that. The truth was, I had grown closer to Billy in the past three days than I would have in three months. But I didn't want to argue with her. I knew we were ready to take that step.
I went back to my bedroom to see if Billy was still asleep. He was, but as I stepped up to the bed, his body twitched then he sluggishly rolled onto his back. He let out a big yawn as he stretched his arms outward. He looked at me and smiled.
I sat down next to him as I said, "Good morning, cutie. Did you sleep well?"
"Mm-hmmm," he said, rubbing his eyes. "How about you?"
"Oh, I slept a little," I told him. "I kept on giving you back scratches after you fell asleep."
"Really? Thanks, Ali," he said.
"You're welcome, sweetheart." I couldn't resist slipping into the covers and lying next to him. I took the fingers of my left hand and tenderly ran them down the side of his face.
"Are you excited for the party tonight?" I asked.
"I don't really know," he said. "Harry changed the place to a bar."
"You don't like bars, do you?" I said. It was more of a statement than a question. "I'm sure you can still have some fun."
"The noise and the energy just...irritates me. I... I was hoping that he would plan on having me and him eat out with some of the guys from the P.D. I thought he knew—"
"Tell you what," I said. "How about before you and I head to the bar tonight, we stop and eat someplace nice? Just you and me."
"R-really?" he said, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Wh-where would we eat?"
I thought about it for a second. It couldn't be too slow, and it couldn't be too expensive. "We'd have to check some places out. I'd like someplace with that's kind of romantic and has good music."
"That sounds great," Billy said. "Harry wants me at the bar by 8."
"That should fit in fine," I said. Now that that was out of the way, I changed the subject. "How does your leg feel?"
"It... Actually, it kinda hurts. The pain killers the doctor prescribed me are in my bag. Could you get them for me, please?"
He was too polite for me to say no, and it wasn't like I was going to say no anyway. His bag was in my room. Before grabbing it, I went to the kitchen and got a glass of water for him. I went back to my room, gave him the water, then pulled a small bottle of pills out of the side of his bag.
"How many?" I asked as I opened the bottle.
"Just two."
"Hold out your hand."
I put two maroon-colored pills in his hand, and he swallowed them down with a gulp of water. I put the bottle back in his bag as he drank the rest of the water.
"Better?" I asked.
"It'll take a while, but it will be once it starts working."
"Good. So... How about you stay in bed and relax while I make us some breakfast? Do you like scrambled eggs?"
"Heck
yeah
I do!" he said. "And some toast?"
"And some toast, just for you."
"That sounds great. Thank you."
I gave him a kiss on the lips before leaving the bedroom and heading to the kitchen. Scrambled eggs and toast were pretty much the extent of what I could cook. Billy was a hundred times the cook that I was. He was most likely forced to teach himself how to cook, since his mother neglected him growing up.
A little over five minutes later, the eggs seemed ready. They looked more like an omelet than scrambled eggs. And I had set the toaster for too long, so the toast was nearly pitch black. I put a tiny bit of butter on it, then spread some strawberry jam on it. I put it all on a plate and grabbed a fork, then went back to my room.
"Here ya go, sweet stuff," I said as I handed him his breakfast. "I'm sorry that it tastes disgusting."
"What? Ali, it will not taste disgus—" He took a bite of his eggs, and his eyes went blank. He chewed a few times, then forced himself to swallow.
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," I told him as I lay next to him. "I just don't know what I did wro—"
"Ali, this tastes great," he said as he took another bite. "You're not a bad cook."
"I just get so used to
you
for me," I told him.
"Ali..." he said, giving me a look. "I love it. Thank you."
"Oh, you're just saying that," I said as I kissed his cheek.
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are."
"Am not."
"Are too."
