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hear the hesitation in her voice. I chew on my bottom lip to keep from laughing at her. She’s wigged out because I’m not a blubbering mess. It feels good and it’s taking all the effort I can muster not to bust out laughing at the situation.
    “It was good, actually. We went to breakfast then the mall.” I hold up my bags to show her my new purchases. “Then we went to the stables and road down to the lake.” She knows about the stables and the lake. I’ve told her how I feel closer to my mother there. I don’t keep everything from her, just that night. Everything else, I’m an open book.
    “You seem… I don’t know, lighter somehow,” she comments as she continues to watch me.
    “Yeah, I’m not sure what happened really. Dad and I talked a lot. We talked about Mom, the good times and the… bad. He even broached the ‘I want to see you married with kids’ subject. He worries, but I assured him he has nothing to worry about.”
    “I worry too, you know?”
    “I know you do. I’ll tell you what I told him. I’m not opposed to dating. I just need to know that the guy is into me for the right reasons. I need to see that he is willing to put forth the effort to really be with me. I know that makes me sound like a spoiled brat, but… my past… he needs to be able to take me as I am.” I smile thinking about my conversation with Dad. It eased the pain. “I told Dad that any male in my future has big shoes to fill.”
    Nicole throws her head back and laughs as well. “No shit. He spoils you rotten. What’s in the bag?”
    “I tried to argue my way out of it, but you know how he is. He was having no part of it.” I toss the bags to her. Just as she reaches for them, the alert from her cell phone announces a new message. She reaches for her phone instead.
    I watch as she reads it and a smile crosses her face. Interesting.
    “All right, you’re holding out on me. Who is that?” I ask.
    “It’s Brighton. He’s the one I met a few months ago at the bonfire. You remember the one you were supposed to go to, but decided last minute that you weren’t feeling it.” She scowls at me.
    “I didn’t say I wasn’t feeling it. I wasn’t feeling well. If you remember correctly I had a stomach thing for over a week.” I remind her of my illness. “Brighton is the one who has met you for coffee a few times on campus?”
    “Yes. He’s been texting me all day asking if we want to meet up at Studio 57 tonight. I told him we couldn’t make it. He’s been trying to get me to change my mind all day.”
    I can see she really wants to go. I think about the day with my dad and what he said. I do tend to shy away and keep others at arm’s length. I know he’s right that Mom would want me to live life to the fullest. “So tell him you changed your mind.”
    “Kens, we always spend tonight together,” she says softly. She’s afraid that mentioning it will set me off. I’m just as shocked as she is that it doesn’t.
    “Who says we aren’t? I have this new outfit that needs to be broke in. Put the guy out of his misery and tell him we will meet him there.” With that, I head to my room to shower and get ready. I pass a picture of me and my parents sitting on my dresser. I miss her so much. I miss our family. Today was the first day since we lost her that I felt like Dad and I are back to being us. It’s nice. I kiss the frame and place it back on my dresser. Time to strap on a smile and be the wing woman my bestie needs. I think I need this night as much as she does.

THE DELIVERY TRUCK was late. By the time the truck arrived and I had everything signed in, the staff were starting to arrive to prep for the night. I was bombarded with questions, so I’m just now getting home at a little after six. I walk into the house and I can immediately see that Brighton is not in the best of moods.
    “Hey, man, we still on for tonight?” I ask. I would love to grab a quick nap.
    I wouldn’t really classify what