Freshman Flirt Pt. 03: Promises

"Can you set the table, sir?"

"Gladly, milady."

Ceilly was walking in as this exchange went down, and I'm pretty sure I heard an exaggerated gagging sound before she snickered and plopped down for pancakes.

Tad and I fixed the back gate that morning after a trip to the nearby Home Depot for some replacement lumber, screws, and a new latch. One of the hinges was messed up and a few fence slats were found to be broken, so a second Home Depot run at lunch time doubled with picking up some burgers and fries from Wendy's. Tad opened up a little more on the second trip, and he talked about missing his dad and his old friends. As we were heading back to his house, he asked about his mom when she was in college.

"Tad, she was a fun, sweet girl, who was friends with everyone she met. She even had a secret superpower."

"Huh? What?" he asked skeptically.

"Don't tell her I told you this but she had ninja-toes. She was always sneaking up on me, silent as a mouse and surprising me."

He chuckled as he nodded. I suspected he'd fallen victim to that at times, too. I continued. "Your mom had a boyfriend back home, so she didn't date anybody on campus. I was in the same situation, with my girl attending another college."

"You really never went out with her? With my mom, I mean?"

"Nope. Not once. Like I said, she had a boyfriend elsewhere, and your mom really liked him and wasn't one to cheat. And I wasn't either."

I'm not sure, but I think he smiled the rest of the way home.

***

By 4 that afternoon, the gate was fixed, the broken slats were replaced, and I'd adjusted the latch plate on the back door so the deadbolt engaged fully. I tapped on my wrist and Mandy nodded.

"Kids, Mister Barry has to head out. What do we say?"

"Thank you, Mister Barry!" Ceilly wrapped her arms around me for less than a second before she ran off and Tad shook my hand, giving me a nod. Then he was gone, too, heading up to his room, leaving Mandy and me truly alone for the first time all weekend.

"Barry, thanks for coming. You've been so much help. Want to do it again sometime?"

I pretended to think for a moment before replying. "Well, I'm available next weekend, the one after that, and, if I'm not mistaken, there's nothing going on the following weekend, either."

"You're serious? You can come next weekend?"

"Yep."

"Then I'll see you next Saturday morning. Let's worry about the other weekends after that, okay?"

"Sounds good. See you then."

***

One weekend turned into two, and over those, we finished unpacking Mandy's boxes, organized her home, and did a number of other little repairs. I suggested waiting until fall to set out some bushes and a little tree so the summer heat and dry weather wouldn't kill them.

We spent time talking and laughing during the week, and then spent more time together each weekend. I watched her, admiring her, and it wasn't too long before I realized I really liked her and wanted her, as much or more than I once had when she was on one end of her bed in those short shorts and I was at the other, with her boyfriend, my girlfriend, and our own determination to not cheat standing between us. However, I was careful to avoid much physical contact with her because she needed time after her divorce and because Tad seemed to always be watching, as if expecting me to take advantage of her. To him, Mandy was mom first, and nothing else.

More than that, though, I'd made a promise to him.

On the last Saturday evening of that period, Mandy and I washed and dried the dishes together, standing there in an uncomfortable silence, each of us obviously having things on our mind. Ceilly sat at the kitchen table with a book in her hands, but it seemed to me that her eyes were following us rather than the words on the pages. For a change, Tad was nowhere to be seen. Maybe the two of them were working together to keep an eye on us.

When the last item was away, I turned to Mandy to see her pointing to two wine glasses on the countertop with a mischievous look. Her back was to her daughter and her hand was hidden, making it all I could do to keep from chuckling at the extent of our efforts to tiptoe around her kids.

"Mandy, how would you like to go for a walk?" I asked.

Ceilly chimed in immediately, "I want to go!"

Mandy's eyes rolled in defeat, but I wasn't giving up. "Ceilly, your mom and I need to have a grown-up talk, okay? If your mom agrees, we might have a little surprise for you."

From defeat to saucers, Mandy's eyes expressed that she couldn't believe what I'd just said. I smiled and nodded, not giving away anything, before saying, "Do you have any plastic cups we can use? We'll take some with us while we stroll."

She poured me a cup and then poured one for herself. Glaring at me, she drank it down angrily before topping it back off. Taking my arm, she led me toward the back door. "Ceilly, we'll be back in a little while. Call me if there's an emergency, but otherwise, you and your brother be good, stay out of trouble, and don't fight!"

Once we were outside, she said, "Barry, I can't believe you told her that. She's going to run to Tad and the next thing I know, they're going to think there's something going on between us, and Teddy's going to be accusing me of trying to bring a new guy into the house and I'll be back in court. Why the hell did you say that?"

From her look and the way she held my arm, I suspected that she felt that was exactly what I wanted to talk to her about. We'd talked a lot in recent weeks and had worked together closely. The thrill I'd once felt when I was around her was back, and her presence on my arm excited me. I'd have gladly put my arms around her and held her tight if thoughts of her wishes and of Tad, Ceilly, and my promise weren't so close to the forefront. Instead, we turned and started walking down the street when we reached the sidewalk.

"You've made a lot of improvements on your home."

"Ye-ah...but there's still a lot to do," she said, looking more and more confused.

"True, but your backyard is in pretty good shape, the fence is tight, and the gate is secure, especially."

"Huh?" I almost laughed at the look she was now giving me.

Moments later after I explained, she was laughing, too.

***

"A puppy!" squealed Ceilly.

Tad was more restrained, but he was nodding and smiling. He'd told me that they'd asked their mom for a dog several times, and she'd promised they'd talk about it again after they were moved in and organized.

"A friend from work has a litter he's been placing so I'll check this week to make sure he has some left. These are a Golden - Lab mix, so they're very friendly, very pretty...and very, very needy. If you get one, it will be hard work training it and making sure it gets enough exercise so it doesn't use your shoes or furniture as chew toys."

"Can we, Mommy, can we get it?" begged Ceilly.

"If one's available...and if, and only if you both promise to help take care of it." Mandy had confirmed on our walk that the kids had been wanting a dog since well before the divorce started, they'd probably be ready, and that she'd already been thinking about it. After the initial surprise, she'd been surprisingly enthusiastic about the idea, assuming they agreed to her terms.

Both kids promised, and I said I'd send a message to Nathan to confirm some were still available as soon as I got to my hotel.

"Thank you, Mister Barry!" Ceilly gave me a big hug, the first like that I'd had from her.

"You're welcome, Sweetheart, but we've got to find out if these are available, or if your mom will have to find a pup around here. That shouldn't be a problem, though: I'm sure there are a lot of dogs in shelters around here, so we'll come up with something, okay?"

With Ceilly and her brother looking at pictures of dogs on her iPad, I motioned to Mandy. "Time for me to go."

I told the kids goodnight, and Mandy took my hand and walked outside with me. We stopped by the garage, out of easy observation from the front door, and she turned toward me, taking my other hand, too. "Barry, I've been giving it a lot of thought over the past few weeks, of where I am, of what I want, and all I've been through. I'm not ready to...to go too far, but, you're a good friend who's been such a big help. The guest room's open now, so...you could stay, if you'd like."

Our hands were interlaced by our sides, but she was facing me and stepped close, her breasts pressed against my chest, making it almost hard for me to breathe in spite of myself. She was looking up at me, a look of need in her eyes.

I had to glance away and then close my eyes to keep from seeing the disappointment in hers.

"Mandy, I'm so glad I found you again and that I'm getting to know you. I really like you a lot, a lot more than I probably should under the circumstances, and I can't think of anything I'd rather do right now than stay here in your guest room, just your guest room...but...I can't."

"Why?"

Tad's face, giving me a hurt, disapproving look, was seemingly swimming before my closed eyes, forcing me to open them to Mandy's own look of hurt disappointment. "Mandy, I made a promise to someone."

"But you made a promise to someone else, someone your seeing someone else, right?." She said it in a resigned, accepting manner, but the disappointment in her voice was clear.

"NO! No no no no no! I promise I'm not! It's...it's just complicated; if I betray the trust that has my hands tied, it would be bad for us in the long run...if there were to ever be a chance of something between us. I'd like to think there might be, but I sure don't want to rush you into anything you're not ready for. Please, though, trust me, too, and give me some time?"

She nodded slowly. "You promise? You're not seeing anyone else and you're not just leading me on?"

I could see in her eyes that she couldn't deal with that right now. Teddy's infidelity had left a deep and lasting scar. "Yes, I promise. I'm not seeing anyone else and I don't want us to rush into anything, but I hope we might see where this will take us someday."

Mandy wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tight as she tipped her lips up to meet mine. It was just for a second, but it showed me that we both hoped for something more someday.

I was driving to my hotel when I also realized that my original promise to Tad and my new promise to Mandy were not necessarily mutually compatible. It was possible one, or maybe even both of them might, be hurt; if that were to happen, I'd be joining them in hurting, I knew.

***

Some months earlier, Nathan from work had asked if my Luke, a golden retriever, could breed his female lab, but I'd disappointed him when I informed him that Luke had been neutered. Still, he'd found another sire and had mentioned it to me when the puppies were born. Therefore, I called him from the hotel to see if any were unclaimed.

"Yeah, I've got a golden male and a little black female available. Think you might be interested?"

"Can you hold the golden male for me? I'd like to visit and check him out."

We made arrangements for a visit on Tuesday evening, right after work, and he sent me a photo of the little fellow.

I made no promises on Sunday, but the kids loved the photo and printed out a copy that went on the refrigerator door. They gave Mandy and me a little time to talk that afternoon, before I had to leave. We talked and snuck in a little kissing, too.

I sighed as I pulled away from the curb in front of Mandy's house, worrying about two competing promises and my ability to live up to them. The thought wasn't too far off my mind on the trip home or the next day.

On Tuesday evening, I went over to Nathan's and met the mom and the litter, including the cute little boy. Smaller than a few of the others but bigger than the black female, he seemed a very pretty, very happy pup, so I made an appointment for him at the vet the next evening. Luke's usual vet gave the pup a clean bill of health, so it was after this that I made the call to Mandy and the kids. It was a loud, rather exciting call, but afterward, when I took the little guy back to Nathan's, I confirmed my dibs on him.

He agreed to give me the "friends and family" price rather than the full "adoption fee" he was charging others. Remembering how puppies were free to good homes when I was kid, I gulped silently but gave him a Ben Franklin as a deposit and agreed to pay the rest on pickup.

"He'll be ready late next week," he told me, leaving me to disappoint two kids that their dog wouldn't be coming to live with them this coming weekend after all. I agreed, keeping up a good face, and called Mandy again later that evening.

"That's too bad," she agreed, "but it might be good in a way."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...you can go to the pet store with us this weekend to help us pick out everything we need for him so he'll be ready to move in when you bring him the following weekend."

"And we'll get to spend some time together this weekend and next weekend that way?"

"I didn't say it," she said with a giggle, "but I have no objections if you don't."

"What if I were to bring Luke with me this weekend so the kids could meet him? Hopefully, he and the little one will be spending some time together. He's a full Golden. Only problem is, I'll need to leave him with you at the house since they don't allow dogs in the hotel."

Her voice suddenly became quite serious. "Barry, that's a problem. We have a, ah, an official house policy that, ahem, only guests staying at our house are allowed to have dogs here. Considering that there's a guest room with no boxes in it now, I don't think that should be a big problem..."

I chuckled at her rule, which I was quite sure had been dreamed up on the spur of the moment. "Tell you what, tell the kids that and see what they say. If they agree and don't mind us staying there, Luke will come. Otherwise, I'll get the neighbor kid to watch him again this weekend. He's just a bit older than Tad and he's practically got his own dog watching business now with all I've paid him recently."

"Barry...wait...I'm not trying to cost you money."

Chuckling again, I replied, "I said practically. Seriously, it's not that much and what little was spent was money very well spent."

"Okay, if you say so. Tell you what, I'll talk to the kids and call you back in a little while, okay?"

"Sounds good. Talk to you then."

***

With her kids in agreement, Luke and I arrived at Mandy's house that Saturday morning to spend the weekend with them. Tad, Ceilly, and Luke made a mad dash to the back yard to allow Luke to take care of business and play, while Mandy had a funny look on her face.

"And the puppy's going to be bigger than Luke? What are we getting ourselves in for?"

I chuckled as I pulled her into an embrace. "A whole lot of puppy love and affection. And he'll probably be about Luke's size or maybe just a little bigger."

With the kids out back, we kissed, and Mandy whispered, "I've been looking forward to that since we set this up."

I shook my head. "Since our kiss when I left last weekend, for me."

"Silly!"

After lunch, everyone piled in the Pilot and we went to PetSmart for a puppy carrier, a dividable crate, dog bowls, food, toys, a collar and leash, and all the other things a puppy would need. The kids were looking at the cats up for adoption, too, until Mandy let them know in no uncertain terms that the limit was one pet for the foreseeable future. I winked at them before telling them that one pet becomes two or three pretty quickly in many cases. Mandy was frowning at me, but I knew she wasn't mad.

Later that afternoon, I invited Tad out back to make a fence inspection with me. "We don't want Luke or your new puppy finding a broken board and escaping, now do we?"

"No, sir," he agreed, but once we started walking, he asked quietly, "Mister Barry, what's this really about? We did this a couple of weeks ago and you said then that the fence should last a long time."

"True, but your mom didn't know about that, did she?"

"Ahem...no?"

"Tad, we need to talk, man-to-man, without your mom being around. Is that okay?"

He nodded silently, but looked nervous about it, staring down at his feet, biting his lower lip, and fidgeting with his hands.

"Your mom invited me to bring Luke and stay in your guest room this weekend. Are you okay with that?"

He looked me in the eyes when he nodded this time.

"Thanks, Tad. Now, you know me a little better now than when we had our first conversation several weeks ago. I think you know that I'm your mom's friend, and that I'd never want to hurt her, right?"

"Yes, sir," he said with a degree of hesitation in his voice. "Why?"

"Because I made you a promise, Tad, the first time I visited, that I'd never use your mom or intentionally hurt her, and that I wouldn't disclose our discussion. Your mom and I have gotten to know each other since then and I find that I care a lot about her, so I think we need to discuss this again."

"Why, sir?"

"Well, I want you to know that what I said then holds and it's still as true now as the day I said it, but I think we need to make sure we're on the same page with everything. I'll never use your mom, never try to take advantage of her, or anything like that. That's no different than when I first said it, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"The second part's still true, too, that I'll never intentionally hurt your mom, but this is the part we need to discuss. When two people start getting closer, when they start having feelings for each other, one never knows how the situation is going to work out. Will it work out where the two sides come together and everyone's happy or will they decide it's not going to work out and walk away? Does that make sense?"

"Yeah...I think so."

"Good, cause it takes most guys a long time to learn that, so if you really understand it, you have a leg up on most of us." I chuckled and he looked a little less certain. Then I hit him with the hard part.

"The problem with relationships is that, well sometimes, the two sides see things differently. One person may think things are great and that the two of them are ready to move forward together, but the other person may realize that he or she isn't going to be happy in the long run. Do you think they should try to stay together anyway?"

"I don't know."

I nodded. "You got the right answer, Tad, in that no one knows. One might think they're not going to be happy and they might find out they're right...or, just maybe, that they're wrong. Let's look at this, though, if one person in a couple isn't happy, do you think the other person will be in the long run?"

"I wouldn't think so. They'd probably fight, wouldn't they? Sort of like my mom and dad?"

"Yeah, probably, and they'd probably both end up being miserable and end up breaking up eventually, like your mom and dad did. If that happens, is anyone happy?"

"Uh, no, sir."

"Right. Now, I, ah, like your Mom, and I think she's starting to like me at least a little.

He grinned at that. "Yes, sir. I'm pretty sure she does."

"Well, that's good to know," I said, smiling as if it was new info to me, but happy at the same time at the confirmation. "Tad, the point is, I'd like to see where this goes with your mom, but if we try...well, there's a possibility that she'll get hurt just like there's a possibility that I'll get hurt, or maybe even that we'll both get hurt. I sure don't want that to happen, any of it, but I'm just being up-front with you that it could."

He nodded silently, but I wasn't sure if he was getting it all, so I added, "Just know that if your mom and I decide to try, to see if there might be anything more between us, that if anything bad like that does happen, it won't be intentional and it might still be better than if we try to force it, creating an even worse situation in the long run."