My wife had been gone six months when my sister Karen called, "What's going on big brother? Moping?"
She meant it to be funny but it still stung. My wife Lori had walked out one day while I was at work. She left her ring on top of a note that read "I'm leaving. I've met someone through my game who gets me."
Lori had started playing World of Warcraft and that's when our two year marriage fell apart. She wasn't working while we tried to start a family but she was quickly doing nothing else either but playing her game. Sadly my sister's words didn't sting because they were true but because I felt guilty for not moping. Lori's leaving was a relief.
"Hey sis, no, I'm done moping. I've actually got a date if you must know," I told her.
"Good for you! I won't keep you then but I've got a huge favor to ask. How would you feel about a roommate? Jen is going to start grad school soon and if she has a Texas address she can get in-state tuition plus I'll know that she's safe and looked after. Think about it and you can get back to me," my sister said.
"I don't have to think about it. Of course she can move in. It'll be nice to have another person around. I've got to ask though. Is this something she wants or are you forcing this on her?" I asked not wanting Jen to feel she had to move in.
"Actually this was her idea," my sister replied, "You don't know how much this means to me. We'll talk more later. Have fun on your date. Bye."
My sister is five years younger than me. At 17 she got pregnant and my parents kicked her out of the house. She moved into my apartment with me and for the first eight years of Jen's life I was basically dad to her. With my support Karen graduated college and got her law degree.
She got a great job out of state and so I've not seen either of them as much as I would like. Jen got her mother's smarts so I didn't think having a roommate, especially one who would have her nose in her books all the time, would be a problem. It also might be nice to have someone young around the house; well, younger than my 45 years.
Jen moved in at the beginning of August and the mood of the house quickly changed. Where I tended to get home from work and read Jen wanted to see the town. We ended up going out to eat quite often trying new places I'd heard about but not tried. We went to movies and shows, hit some museums, and drove around so she could get acquainted with the town. I suddenly dawned on me that if Jen wasn't my niece I'd think we were dating as much as we were doing together. The month passed quickly and we found ourselves with only one weekend left until grad school started for Jen.
I came home that Friday night to find dinner on the table and the house cleaner than I'd ever seen it.
"Jen, the place looks amazing! And what's cooking? It smells so good," I remarked as the smells of garlic and oregano hit me.
"I had to figure out a way to thank you. You've been doing so much for me I wanted to repay the favor. I made salad, blackened chicken with pasta, and garlic bread. After dinner we'll go to that new theater that serves food for a movie and drinks and dessert," Jen said.
The food tasted as good as it smelled and we enjoyed a leisurely meal talking about everything but school coming up on Monday. Jen had already purchased tickets for the movie so we weren't concerned that we were running late. Turns out we only missed the previews and so putting our dessert and drink orders in we settled back to enjoy the movie. The movie turned out to be a bit on the scary side and Jen ended up clutching at my arm a few times during the scarier parts even leaving nail marks in my skin during one scene. Once the lights came up we knew that the fun we'd had was about to end as Jen had some readings to do before classes started which would keep her busy most of Saturday and Sunday.
We got home shortly after midnight but, neither of us being tired, we cleaned the kitchen together and put the dishes away before saying goodnight and heading to our rooms. As we said goodnight I would have sworn that Jen tilted her head and leaned in to me a bit. If I didn't know better I'd have thought she was looking for a kiss.
