CHAPTER FOUR (4)

Party Time with New Peeps

CHAPTER 4: Party Time with New Peeps!

The rest of the week flew by. Abbie had her usual clients at work, and her cousin had invited her to a birthday party for her nephew this Saturday.

It was nice of her cousin to include her in what was going on in their lives. Her cousin had lost his mother as well a few years before Abbie lost her own mother. He always managed to help include Abbie in the activities of his family; his wife and their 3 children. Also, Abbie was told she gave the best gifts of anyone in the family. It was a shame too, because her cousin had lost his dad as well, with whom he had never been close. Samuel, her cousin, and his wife, Lydia, were always having parties for their kids’ birthdays, and Abbie was always happy to join—and to bring a great gift!

For the two young girls, 4 and 6 years old, she always remembered to bring something girly and pink but for his young son, she always found it fun to bring sports team related things. Although, there was a time in the past when she brought him a teeny tiny drum set to bang on. She hoped she didn’t drive her cousin crazy with her gifts—that was her only discretion. This time around, she brought a guitar game, and an Eagles football jersey for her adopted nephew who was turning 3 this time around. The Superbowl was in a couple of weeks, but the Eagles, the defending champions, lost in the playoffs this year, so they wouldn’t get to play.

That’s okay, they need a break. Can’t be champions of a sport every year… Especially in Philly… Abbie laughed at herself. She sniffled; the air was cold. She got into the Rogue and pressed the start button.

It was a devastatingly cold day in the Philadelphia area. The whole tri-state area was suffering from an unusual brush with the coldest air in years according to local meteorologists. Abbie pumped up the heat in her car to 85 and turned on Sirius Turbo. A Staind song was on. Years ago, she liked the band Staind, but in recent years decided that the lead singer was always whining until it seemed he made money. It must be nice to have money-focus-based depression, she couldn’t help but think. She switched to a different station called Octane and Bring Me the Horizon was on with their song “Can You Feel My Heart?” and she let it play. This song was intense, but she always loved it.

She couldn’t help but think of Ryan. She hadn’t heard from him the rest of the last week, and was wondering what was really going on with him. She didn’t feel it was her place to pry, and she wasn’t going to get her hopes up for what would be or could be with him. But she was a little sad that nothing seemed to have come to fruition. Oh well, such is life. This kept happening to her and she wasn’t surprised it had happened again. Even with that sweet kiss, she thought to herself.

It had only happened once. Ugh, why did I even think anything could happen there?

She decided to get moving. Backing the car out of her driveway, she waved to her neighbor. The neighbor was a young girl, in her 20’s. Younger than Abbie who was turning 34 in a few weeks. Right after the Superbowl, not that it mattered. The Superbowl this year seemed to be centering more around the halftime show act than the game itself. She couldn’t help but laugh to herself because she didn’t understand the controversy. Maybe I am just getting old and don’t care about frivolous things. Hey Mom! I’m growing up! Look ma, I made it! She couldn’t help but think of yet another song she liked. I do like a lot of music that is all over the place. She thought this to herself.

The highway drive was a nice break from the side roads, especially after the recent snowstorm that wasn’t supposed to be much but ended up being over four inches of frozen white hell. Her cousin was about an hour away from her home, but she didn’t mind. He used to live in Georgia, and before that, Florida, so she was grateful he moved back north and she could see him (and the kids!) more often.

As she pulled up in front of his home, she saw 5 other cars in the driveway and 2 on the street. She took notice of how beautiful her cousin’s split-level home looked in the snowscape that was Newtown, Bucks County in Pennsylvania. The snow and the sunlight made it all look so pretty and peaceful. “Peace, I hate the word, as I hate hell…” she started to laugh to herself. She enjoyed reciting Shakespeare in her head. Some of her favorite classes in high school as well as college had focused on Shakespeare works in the humanities classes, especially her undergraduate degree. “I myself am hell,” was another good one from one of her favorite poems called “Skunk Hour” by Robert Lowell. She loved thinking about poetry as she drove. “Hell is empty and all the devils are here,” she landed on saying out loud to herself. She couldn’t help but think how true that was in today’s world. But if Billy Shakespeare was thinking that 400-some-odd years ago too—it must all be repeating itself!

She turned off the car and plastered a big smile on her face. Sometimes smiling was her secret cure for any bad mood. It released endorphins and worked some muscle that helped release the happy vibes. She loved to smile, as people said she had a beautiful smile quite often, always had, but it helped fix any sadness she was feeling sometimes. Especially in the middle of the afternoon on a winter’s day while thinking about the state of the world.

“Hey there Sammy!” she held out her arms as her cousin Sam walked up to her with open arms as well. She embraced him in a huge hug and smiled some more. She couldn’t help but let everyone at the party (she knew no one else but her cousin and his family) see from the windows of the home how happy she was to see her cousin. “Hi there!” she smiled at his son, Lenox. “He’s gotten so big so fast! Pictures don’t do him justice,” she exclaimed to her cousin Sam.

“Come in! Come in! The birthday party is just beginning and ‘Tash just got out some more apps! Cake will be later; I can’t wait to sing to ‘Nox! Hope you brought your singing pipes!” Sam exclaimed and laughed along with Abbie.

“Awesome! Who is all here? I don’t think I met anyone else before,” Abbie said and smiled while biting her bottom lip.

Sammy picked up on that right away and smiled and touched her arm. “Oh, don’t be nervous! Everyone will love you; you know that already!” he said.

“Okay,” Abbie smiled back. She couldn’t help but feel a little touch of social anxiety and trepidation whenever she walked into a similar situation where she didn’t know anyone. Except when she was running a group at work. But that was work—not a social situation, and certainly not family!

Abbie walked in and saw there was a group of seven people gathered in the living room and a couple about her age in the kitchen grabbing some of the snacks Lydia had put out. “Hi,” Abbie said to the group of seven people. There were also 5 other young kids in the house, but they were all running about. “Guess they all are doing their running thing now,” Abbie smiled. “I hear my neighbor’s kids sometimes, they’re about the same age,” she laughed.

“Yeah, they love to run around, especially ‘Nox,” Sammy laughed.

Two young girls were playing with a toy plastic kitchen set in the family room. She recognized them right away as Sammy’s girls. He called the young ladies over.

“They got so big so fast too,” Abbie said with a surprised look on her face as the girls came up to her and hugged her around her hips. “Last time I saw them, they were only able to wrap around my knees,” she laughed.

“Yeah, kids tend to grow fast, as I am finding out!” Sammy exclaimed. “It’s crazy. The time is going so fast. ‘Nox is over there. My friend Zack is telling him all about football apparently. He thinks he needs to have an education on the subject, before the Superbowl. My kid is 3 but will know everything there is to know about the sport,” Sammy laughed and gave a small eyeroll. “Zack has a nephew of his own. He is 12 and plays pee-wee football and Zack coaches his sister’s kid,” he said with a shrug.

“Ah, I see.” Abbie smiled. She didn’t know yet what to do with this information and giggled to herself. She never knew what to do with half the things people told her sometimes, especially at work. There goes my mind on overdrive. Anxiety… not fun. But she was going to fly with it. She could handle it. Deep breaths for Abbie. Deep breaths were her savior sometimes and she often liked to joke during important sports games, like when the Phillies were in the playoffs, those wonderful short-lived years. She said about each player when they went up to bat that they needed to take a deep breath. She sometimes thinks it worked when she took a deep breath for them, from her comfortable living room.

One time she went with a couple of friends to the Pocono mountains in Pennsylvania, a short drive from her, two hours on a decent, no-traffic day. She had been watching from the hot tub there. Those deep breaths were much easier to imagine and envision the players feeling through the TV. That was a great trip, she remembered. Then she remembered she was at the party and needed to get out of her head. Too much time alone, Abbie! She needed to get on that thing where she socialized more, she couldn’t help but let herself know. She was really beginning to become an air-headed woman, with her head in the clouds constantly.

“Come meet Zack! He lives kind of close to you. I think it’s called Chaltown or something. Anyway… hey Zack!” he called as we walked over to where Zack was holding a football and talking to ‘Nox who was playing with some block toys. “This is my amazing cuz! This is Abbie!” he announced to Zack.

“Hey, what’s up?” Zack asked. He looked at me and smiled. Then looked down at ‘Nox and said to Sammy, “I think he is learning,” and laughed. “He seems really interested in this toy he has here though, but he is clearly listening. He is the next football star quarterback for the Eagles,” Zack laughed.

“Okay buddy, we are relying on you!” Sam said.

“Me? Or Nox?” Zack asked.

The two men laughed and Sammy picked ‘Nox up and put him on his back. Piggyback ride time. “Let’s go find your mom,” he said to ‘Nox.

“Mommy’s in the kitchen!” Samantha, Sam’s oldest daughter, said.

“Thanks girl! High five!” Sam said back to her, and Abbie couldn’t help but notice how much Sam and Samantha looked alike. She got the family smile.

Zack stood there while Sam walked off with ‘Nox. Abbie felt a little self-conscious but didn’t really understand why. There is a big difference between there being one person and multiple people in a room to talk to. She was nervous suddenly which was also strange as she had barely looked this man in the eye yet and she was rarely nervous around men in general, unless say, in a dark alley alone with a man when she was walking home from somewhere. Or a yoga class, where a man is talking to me that I don’t know and seems persistent. This was clearly not that type of situation. Zack more than likely was not a danger to her. He was teaching the kid about football—why was she so nervous? Fight or flight on overdrive, got to love it! She thought.

She looked up. Zack had brown hair and brown eyes. A little bit of a reddish tint to his brown hair, but he was gorgeous she couldn’t help but think to herself. I wonder what’s wrong with him? Why is he single? She laughed in her mind.

He broke her thoughts and held out his hand. “Nice to formally meet you,” he smiled at her. “Zack Peterson,” he said and held out his hand.

“Hi… Zack Peterson. I’m Abbie. Abbie Trevors. Nice to formally meet you too,” she laughed with her biggest toothy grin. I hope I don’t have anything in my teeth. Then she remembered she had brushed right before she left the house.

“Your cousin says you live near me; I couldn’t help but overhear? I live in Chaltown. Whereabouts, are you?” Zack asked.

“Lanstown? I’m sure you must have heard of it,” Abbie replied.

“Oh yeah, I went to high school in Lanstown. Home of the Crusaders! You must know by now I like football,” he laughed. “I’m pumped for the Superbowl even if our ‘Birds’ aren’t in it this year. Can’t win every year.” Zack said.

Abbie laughed, “That’s literally what I was thinking earlier! And that’s cool. I guess you played in high school, whereabouts Crusaders… like the Catholic high school? I went to another Catholic school around there, but a few miles away, and we were all girls. I sucked at sports, so I quit after freshman year,” she smiled back at Zack. He seemed to be beaming at her. My, he was tall. He was towering over her it seemed. Maybe it is his sneakers, she thought. Either way he was tall. Tall, dark and handsome. We probably look like idiots, Abbie thought to herself because they both were smiling so hard at each other. Wowsers.

They started to talk about the area. She found out he grew up in Chaltown and hung back after graduating college nearby and lived with his 56- year- old mother who was diagnosed with early-onset dementia at 52. He mentioned he had been helping her as the disease was progressing. He seemed optimistic about the situation though. Abbie feigned optimism for his sake as well. She didn’t want to be a downer.

She told him a little bit about her job and how she was a grief counselor and coach.

He seemed very impressed with her career and the fact that she was successful and living all on her own. They discussed people and places they knew in the area, and they decided to exchange phone numbers.

The sun was setting in the evening, and the sky was becoming bright yellows and pinks. Zack asked her if she had seen it. “Did you check out that sky tonight? Looks like the promise of some better weather in the coming days.”

“Oh yeah, I am so over the snow,” Abbie replied. She couldn’t help but look up and think how cool it was that he was a sky watcher too. He wouldn’t think she was a geek if she told him to look up at the sky or the moon and stars at some point. If there was a chance for some point. She was elated they had decided to exchange numbers.

At the end of the party, after she had given her cousin a hug and his girls a kiss, and the birthday boy a high five for turning three—big three! She decided it was time to go. She was never one to linger longer than she, a guest, was expected to.

“Hey Zack, it was nice to meet you! I hope we can meet up for drinks or coffee sometime. You have my number. And maybe you can introduce me back into the gym you go to!” she laughed and her eyes crinkled at the sides.

“That would rock,” Zack responded. Part of their conversation had taken them to discuss where they went to work out and which parks and recreation centers, they frequented. She could have figured that he was a sky watcher, because he was a runner who frequented the parks in the area as well. He did go to Planet Fitness, whereas she was frequenting the yoga studio. Her mind wandered and she thought of that random man who came up to her the other day and how creepy she felt. She was beginning to realize she felt so much more comfortable hanging out with people she knew, or knew by osmosis, like her cousin’s friend who lived in a town over from her.

The whole yoga class thing though, - that was creepy, she thought to herself.

“Bye Zack,” she said and smiled.

“Bye Abbie, drive safe! Hope we talk soon!” He smiled with a toothy cheeky grin. Abbie couldn’t help but start to giggle like a schoolgirl but she caught herself because she was shocked that the sounds were coming out of her mouth.

She walked down the driveway and climbed into her red Rogue and drove off, content, more content than she had felt in a while. She wasn’t sure exactly what had changed, maybe the promise in the sky, in every which way of the phrase, but in turn, she knew things were starting to look up relationship-wise.

They didn’t exactly have a relationship, but she could see some promise in Zack and maybe he didn’t have all the baggage that Ryan seemed to be carrying, even if she wasn’t sure he was. He is just so secretive—she thought to herself on the drive home. She pumped up the volume on a Shinedown song that came on Turbo. She loved hearing songs that inspired her, much like this one called “Diamond Eyes”. She always blasted it and got into the lyrics.

After her mother died, she felt incredibly close to these words, knew she would make it through. She had before, and she needed to this time. She wasn’t going to let her mother down.

The highway took her back into her hometown, Lanstown, and she loved it when she started to see the more familiar sights of the area. She pulled into her small driveway in her cul-de-sac that housed her townhouse that sat at the end of the row of four homes. She loved it when she came home to her warm house. Her kitty Mr. Meowington was waiting for her. He mewed at her; he wanted his dinner.

She loved his furry little tooshie. He was a black and white domestic long-haired cat. He was different than any other cat she had ever had, and he meant the world to her. They had been house mates for 5 years. She had rescued him right after her mother died. He had gotten her through a lot. He woke her up early every morning for his breakfast and with that alarm clock, it always got her into a groove to start her day. She would do her morning yoga poses and then meditate on affirmations for 5 minutes daily, just to get herself in a place of balance and mindfulness to take on the day. She found this helped her not to slip into the depression she experienced when her friend died years ago, and she was too young to know how to handle the pain and grief. She didn’t have the proper therapy yet. But she got through and she had gotten through her mother’s death with these tools, and her kitty.

He helped her so much and she was so grateful.

She collapsed on her sofa after feeding Mister Meowington and turned on the TV. She fell asleep as the evening news came on.

Around midnight she woke up again and walked herself up the stairs and got herself into bed. Pulling the dragonfly design comforter over her eyes, she fell into a deep sleep, and a sleep that was content for the first time in a while.

*******

THANK YOU FOR READING CHAPTER FOUR (4)- Look for Chapter 5 in your inbox next week! =) Hope you’re enjoying catching up with your new bestie, ABBIE! <3

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