What a lousy night. I tossed and turned pretty much all night long. Would Leah call out for me? No. Would Leah come in and want to be me? She didn't. Should I go to her? I didn't. Indecision is a terrible sleep aid. I was miserable. Exhaustion eventually overcame my indecisiveness. I dreamed miserable dreams. I finally wakened with a sense of relief at being free of my miserable dreams. Miserableness resumed when I remembered the cause of my miserable dreams.
As I shuffled towards the bathroom, I couldn't help but notice the door to Leah's room stood open. Surprised, I stopped and looked in. Leah wasn't there and her bed was already neatly made. I turned my head and looked down the hallway at the bathroom door. That door to stood open and again Leah wasn't there.
I ran upstairs. The parents were obviously off to work. I called out to Leah. No response. I checked every room of the house. No Leah. I looked on the porch and in the back yard. No Leah and again no Leah. What the hell was going on? Where was Leah?
The phone rang. I ran inside, grabbed the handset and said, "Hello."
"Hey man," came Joe's voice through the receiver, how's it going?"
"Hi Joe. Not too good. I had a lousy night, just woke up and I can't find Leah anywhere."
"Not to worry my friend. She's with me."
"What?"
"Yeah. She called me early this am and asked if I would take her shopping."
"What?" As you can tell, I was pretty much speechless at this point. Why in the hell had Leah gone shopping with Joe? More importantly, why had Joe agreed to go shopping with Leah? Shit. They somehow had made a connection and did have something going on already. Shit. Jealousy rears its ugly head yet again.
"She just realized she didn't leave you a note and suspected you might be wondering where she is. She asked me to call you, let you know she is with me and OK."
"What the fuck are you doing shopping with her?"
"Hey, I haven't had this much fun in a long time. She is a gorgeous model, has fantastic taste and is just plain fun to watch."
"Yeah, I know."
"You know she is kinda pissed at you don't you?"
"Yeah, I know, but I don't know why. Do you?"
"She refuses to talk about it. I think I have it figured out, but until I am sure, I don't think it too prudent for me to press the issue with her. I think the two of you need to duke it out. It should be interesting watching, I gotta tell you."
"Is this supposed to be making sense Joe?"
"Ha-ha, It does to me Chris. It will be interesting talking about the details in a few days. Listen, gotta go. Leah calls. By the way, just so you don't get pissed at me, I want you to know there is nothing going on between Leah and me and there won't be. OK? Ever."
"Huh."
"Just don't worry about me."
"Why would I care about that Joe? You and Leah are free will adults"
"Yeah. Right. Like you don't care. Come on Chris. Remember what I told you yesterday. Just be honest and everything will work out. Bye," and with that, the receiver went dead in my hand.
What the fuck was Joe talking about? What could he know about Leah? Why in the world would he tell me there was nothing to worry about with him and Leah?
All questions I couldn't answer at this point.
***************************************************************
The parents were at a movie. Leah and I were having grilled cheese sandwiches that I was grilling.
"Leah? Can we talk about this? Please? I can't stand this.
Silence. An effective weapon when one has the will to use it. Leah was good very good at wielding it.
"Are you and Joe, well, are you interested in Joe?"
Leah looked at me with what started as a blank look that turned into a look of dawning realization. The hint of a smile played at the corner of her lips. It disappeared as quickly as it came and a look of uncertainty overshadowed her face again.
Silence again.
"What the fuck is going on Leah?" I was getting pissed now.
That shocked her.
Leah's voice responded with a flat inflection, "Missy."
"What about Missy?" I replied with surprise in my voice.
"You were kissing her," with a still very flat inflection.
"What? Yesterday? In the pool?
"Yes. You were kissing her."
"No, she was kissing me."
"That's what I said, you were kissing her."
"No, she was kissing me for totally past history and past tense sorts of reasons. I was not kissing her."
"Huh?" Leah responded with some new life to her voice.
"How about you?"
"What about me?"
"You seemed to get chummy with Joe awfully fast."
"You are kidding aren't you?"
"What do you mean?"
"About Joe and me becoming chummy?"
"Well, you did kiss him didn't you?"
"Yes you dummy. Because I saw you kissing Missy."
"So you were jealous of Missy?"
Pause. Long pause. Longer pause.
I smiled. It was silly, but her admission made me feel good. "Come on Leah. Missy is like my little sister. It didn't mean anything. I couldn't do anything with Missy. It would be like incest."
I regretted the words the moment they popped out of my mouth. It was true, but I didn't want to confuse my relationship with Leah anymore than it was already confused. How much more confusing could it get. I was already having a covert incestuous relationship of sorts. Not full blown but getting damn close. I didn't want to make it anymore difficult than it already was.
"Oh."
"What about you and Joe? That relationship developed kind of quickly didn't it."
That brought a smile to Leah's lips as she responded, "So, a little jealousy on your side too? I reacted without thinking. I was a little jealous of you, CORRECTION, of Missy kissing you, so I kissed Joe to get back at you."
"So, you do like Joe then?"
"Of course I like Joe. But not in the way you mean."