Anna's Engagement Party

I walked into the brewery where Anna was having her engagement party. It was a small place with room for about 50 people, though you had a clear visual of all the barrels they used to make their beer, which took up at least half of the place. It was cozy and created a cool atmosphere. I wore a pretty simple dress with wedges.

When I finally spotted Anna in the small crowd, I quickly made my way over to her. I tried not to squeal too obnoxiously when we hugged, but I was so excited. After a brief hello, I had to get a look at the ring. It was really simple, but exactly what Anna wanted; one diamond centered on a gold band.

“I still can’t believe he actually proposed,” she said as she shook her head. “I mean, we were talking about getting a house and stuff, but I don’t know, I was so surprised!”

“I’m so happy for you,” I said before pulling her in for another hug. “We have to catch up later, but I won’t hog you.”

Before we pulled away, Anna whispered in my ear, “I wish you would. Some of Charlie’s family is driving me insane.” She laughed and I gave her a sympathetic look.

Darlene and Jessica were on the other side of the brewery, beers in hand, so I decided to grab a beer before I headed over there.

As I waited for some interesting blueberry concoction, I saw a tall figure out of the corner of my eye. Moose had walked in with a few of our other guy friends. I tried not to look in that direction while still maintaining a casual position at the bar.

“Hey, Caroline!” I heard. When I looked up, I saw it was one of my friends, Tom, who had walked in with Moose but was now alone.

“Oh my goodness, hi!” I enthusiastically replied as I greeted him with a hug. “Long time no see!”

“I know, can you believe it? The first of our friends to get engaged!”

“It’s crazy. How are things with you and Amber?”

The bartender brought over my drink and Tom quickly ordered a few drinks before answering me. He said things were good and that they were living together in Manhattan, but they were going to save some money before getting married.

“We’re just both really crazy with work right now,” he finished. “But what about you? How’s California? Meeting any cool guys?”

I gave him a pretty brief, generic answer. California was good. Work was good. I’d met a few people, but nothing serious.

We began walking over to our friends, each of us balancing three drinks, since he was clearly ordering for everyone. It was an open bar so things were bound to get interesting.

“Thanks,” Moose said to Tom without looking up at either of us. I held back the urge to roll my eyes. Everyone else thanked Tom and then promptly greeted me like normal adults with manners. I hadn’t seen Moose in months. Why did he have to make everything so uncomfortable?

We all chatted for a while around a wooden high top table. Anna and Charlie were able to come over for a little, but they mainly had to entertain their families.

After about an hour, I was waiting on my next beer at the bar when I heard someone say, “Hey.”

This time, I knew exactly who it was. I looked over at Moose and responded, “Oh, hey,” in a sarcastic tone.

He smiled and looked down at the bar. “Do you still hate me?”

It was a valid question, but it made me angry because I could tell he was probably on his fourth or fifth beer. I don’t know that Moose has ever dealt with confrontation without being moderately drunk.

“I don’t hate you, Moose,” I replied as I looked straight ahead and tapped lightly on the bar.

“I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”

“Well, I don’t,” I replied before I turned to face him. “Can I just ask, why didn’t you ever try to talk to me about it? I mean, you’ve had so much time.”

“I know, Caroline,” Moose replied as he let out a heavy sigh. “There were so many times that I wanted to, so many times I pulled out my phone and literally wrote out the text message, but I just felt like it was useless. I know things have been, well, tense over the years and I’m not the best at discussing, um, uncomfortable situations. You know that.”

I rolled my eyes as the bartender put down my beer. “Moose, you have to grow up sometime.” After the words left my lips, I realized that it may have come off a little harsh, but I didn’t even care as I turned to walk away.

Moose didn’t stop me. He didn’t gently reach out to me or say my name. He didn’t do anything. And it was actions like that that always made me dismiss Moose. I just couldn’t handle someone with such poor communication skills. I deserved better. And I felt like I actually had that with Tom so far. Sure, it was early, but he didn’t do anything cryptic. I felt like I always knew where things stood with him.

When I got back to the table, I pulled out my phone and quickly texted Tom, “I miss you” with a kissy face emoji.

Within five minutes, he texted me back that he missed me, too, and asked me how New York was. We texted briefly back and forth before I put my phone away.

As the night began to wind down, I collected my things and finished off my last beer. I pulled my phone out to text my sister to see if she’d pick me up but before I got a chance, I saw I had two text messages from Moose.

“Can we just talk?”

“Please, Caroline.”

Heading Home Again

“Yes, Mom,” I said as I threw a pair of yoga pants into my duffle bag. “I know, Mom. Okay, Mom. Yeah, I’ll be there.”

I was half listening to my mother’s ranting while trying to make sure I didn’t forget to pack anything for my weekend home. I was trying to make sure I had everything I needed for a few days in the cold state of New York.

When Anna told me she was engaged over FaceTime, I almost dropped my phone as I jumped up and down. “That’s so exciting,” I said to her before she started telling me the details about how her now fiancé proposed.

Charlie and Anna had been dating for roughly two years when he popped the question. They were walking his dog in a park when he pointed out a piece of paper taped on a bench. Charlie asked Anna what it said so she walked over to it and saw that it simply read, “Turn Around.” When she did, he was down on one knee.

Anna had been in a lot of crappy relationships and dealt with a lot of heartbreak over the years, so I was really happy that she had finally found a guy who not only treated her right, but also really seemed like a perfect match for her. It was inspiring, too. A short time ago, Anna was in the same place as me. Maybe I’d meet my Charlie soon!

I was due for a trip home anyway, so I decided to go for Anna’s engagement party. It wasn’t going to be anything huge, but it’d be a perfect opportunity for me to see all my close friends from home in one shot. Then I’d spend some time with my family before hopping back on a plane. It was going to be a short trip, but with the way things were going at work, I wasn’t about to take any vacation days.

On my way to the airport, I received a text from Tom. “Have a great trip home. I’ll miss you!” He added a kissy face emoji on the end of his sentiment. I smiled at the text and promptly texted him back that I’d miss him, too.

I arrived in New York super late Friday night and crashed immediately. When I woke up Saturday morning, I went downstairs where my mom was making breakfast.

Sometimes, I get uneasy when my mom asks me about my love life, but as I ate her amazing pancakes, I was happy that I finally had some good news for her. I told her I had just started seeing Tom and that things were going pretty well.

“I’m glad, sweetie,” she said refilled my coffee cup. “I worry about you out there.”

“I have a life, mom,” I responded as I rolled my eyes. “But I know you worry.” I could always tell my mom was concerned about me when we spoke on the phone, but I tried to calm her nerves by telling her about all the fun stuff I was doing.

“So,” she began as a mischievous look crept across her face. “No chance you’re going to move back home?”

I tilted my head down and gave her a look. “The more you prod me, the less I want to come home. Besides, I told you, I have a life there!”

I hadn’t told my mom about all of my work drama. It was the last thing she needed to worry about and I didn’t want her to get her hopes up that I’d possibly move home if things didn’t work out with my job.

So, Saturday afternoon I met up with Darlene and Jessica to browse around the mall for a possible engagement gift for Anna and Charlie. I knew we’d probably end up getting them a gift card somewhere, but it was nice to walk around the mall that I used to wander around when I was in high school. Plus, I could use some new shoes.

I caught up with Darlene and Jessica a little bit while shopping. Neither of them were seeing anybody, but they were going out a lot and really happy with their respective jobs. I actually felt like an outsider walking around with them. While I still continuously texted them both along with Anna in a group chat, I had no idea how much more connected they were to each other than to Anna or me. It was still an enjoyable afternoon, though.

“So, how’s everyone else?” I asked as I picked up a cool soap dish in Target. There was one person in particular that I wanted to know about but couldn’t ask directly about.

“Pretty much the same,” Jessica replied. “You know, all the guys are moving in with their girlfriends and I’m sure this engagement party is the first of many we’ll have over the next couple years.”

I laughed. “Well, I’ll probably miss some of those. Between engagement parties, bridal showers, bachelorette parties, and then the actual weddings, I have a feeling I’m going to miss out on a lot of it.” I let out a quiet sigh. It was kind of sad that I couldn’t have my life in California while teleporting here for the important stuff.

“Yeah, the other night we were all hanging out and we started talking about how weird it is that you’re across the country now,” Darlene said as she pressed a pillow against her face.

“Oh, yeah?” I curiously asked. “Who were you with?”

“You know,” she responded with a shrug. “The usual. Anna, Tom, Tom, Moose, Billy.”

My heart actually skipped a beat at the sound of Moose’s name. “So, how are all of them?”

Jessica and Darlene rambled on a bit about what everyone was doing. None of the information was that interesting or new to me until they finally got to Moose.

Turns out, he was newly single again and he would be at the engagement party.

Meeting Kim

The first voice I heard was somewhat high pitched and from the way she called out, "Tom?" in such an innocent tone, I concluded that it was his younger sister before she even walked out of the bedroom.

"Hey, Kim. This is Caroline," Tom replied as he motioned to me. "Caroline, this is Kim."

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you!” Kim said with a hand wave. Kim was thin, but looked somewhat muscular, like she definitely worked out. She had brownish hair with a slight red tint to it and really light skin. She was wearing a black tank top and plaid pajama shorts.

“It’s great to meet you, too,” I responded with a big smile.

I assumed that Tom and I would just hang out alone on his couch and watch TV. I presumed his sister and mom were in the bedroom, but that we’d have a little bit of privacy in a separate room.

I was surprised, though, when Kim sat down at the end of the couch and Tom followed. I sat down at the other end of the couch with Tom sitting in the middle.

“So, how was dinner?” Kim asked as she rested her chin on her elbow.

“It was good,” Tom replied. “How was the beach?”

“Nice,” Kim replied. “Mom was being such a pain, though.”

“Is she asleep?” Tom asked.

“Yeah, she passed out after we watched the Bachelor on demand.”

While I kind of felt like an outsider during this entire exchange, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat relieved that Tom’s mom was asleep. I like to mentally and physically prepare somewhat before meeting a parent.

“So how long have you lived in Santa Monica, Caroline?”

“About a year and a half,” I replied a little too quickly. I could feel myself becoming awkward in this whole situation. It’s not that Kim or Tom gave me any reason to feel that way, but I just felt like the entire situation was kind of strange. I mean, I was getting along with Kim but why did she come out here to talk to us?

She asked me how I liked it here and I mentioned a few of my favorite things before asking her where she lived.

“Wow, Tom. You clearly told her a lot about me!” Kim teased.

Tom laughed and told me that Kim lives in Arizona. She works for a marketing company there.

We continued talking for about a half hour. I didn’t originally intend to stay over for long, so I was wondering if Tom and I were going to get any alone time together.

“Well, I’m exhausted,” Kim finally said as she stood up and stretched her arms far above her head. “I’ll see you in the morning, Tom.”

“Good night,” Tom replied.

“It was so nice to meet you, Kim,” I said with a smile. I really felt comfortable with her already and I was glad she seemed so down to earth.

“You, too!” She responded. “Hold onto this one, Tom.”

Is that not the greatest thing to ever hear from a new flame’s family member or friend? I smiled at her before turning to view Tom’s response. He was smiling and nodding.

Once Kim was securely inside, Tom scooted closer to me, grabbed for his remote control, and put his arm around me. “So, what are you in the mood to watch?”

“I’m not going to make it through a whole movie,” I laughed. “Maybe something I’ve already seen?”

“Why don’t I just put on some TV,” Tom said before randomly choosing a station with a sitcom on it. After he put down the remote, he reached his other arm around me and we positioned ourselves into an optimal cuddling position.

We sat there for a few minutes before I spoke. “This feels nice.”

“Mmmmm,” Tom replied. “It really does.” After a moment, he continued. “But I know what would feel better.”

He moved so that we were now facing each other and then he kissed me. It was a deep, passionate kiss and his right hand was on my neck while his left hand was on my lower back. We made out like that for a while before coming up for air.

“So, you’re sister seems really nice,” I suddenly blurted out.

Tom playfully rolled his eyes. “I’m glad you think so. Good luck putting up with her.”

We went back to making out without going any further. I’m not sure if he was trying to be a gentleman or didn’t want to wake up his family, but it very much like high school and that was actually kind of invigorating. We just spent the rest of our evening really passionately making out on his sofa.

“I’m exhausted,” I finally responded before picking up my phone to order a ride. “I’m glad I came back here.”

“I’m more glad,” Tom replied before placing a single kiss on my neck. “I’m going to need to have you over again soon.”

“Oh yeah,” I asked with a giggle.

“Absolutely,” he replied. “And not when my family is visiting.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I replied before turning to him and kissing him again.

My ride was there within a few minutes. On the drive home, I thought back over the night and smiled.

The next day, I went to the gym and then to the beach with Shelby. It was nice to catch up with her but I tried to avoid conversations about my job as much as possible.

I went home and took a shower before ordering sushi to my apartment in preparation for a nice evening of catching up on my DVR.

Before the sushi arrived, I got a FaceTime call from Anna. I sat down and accepted it. “Hey, girl,” I immediately said.

“Hello,” Anna said in a slow, unnatural voice. “Guess what?”

“What?” I asked with hesitation.

Suddenly, a huge smile spread across Anna’s face and she held up her left hand. “I’m engaged!”