I Didn't Want it to be Weird

The plan for this week:  I have two more posts planned for sure.  One is from Brody's perspective, and will be up on Tuesday or Wednesday, and the other is a regular storyline post, which will be up Thursday or Friday.  At some point I'd like to get back to having some posts in reserve so I can actually keep a schedule, but for now I'll just keep letting you guys know.  You can always count on a post sometime on Sunday, and one at the end of the week, and I'm trying to get one up midweek when I can as well.  
__________________________________

When we left after dinner with Brody's mom, my head was spinning, and I don't think it was just the wine we'd had with our meal.  Brody kept up a steady stream of chit-chat on the drive home and I tried to keep up.  He didn't seem to mind doing the majority of the talking and I gladly let him.

When we got home, I said, "I think I'm going to take a bath."

Brody looked at me carefully.  "Okay.  Is everything okay?"

"Yes," I said, smiling.  "I'm just a little overwhelmed by the last couple days and I need to wind down a little."  My inner introvert needed my "me time".

Brody kissed me softly and said, "Okay.  Want a glass of wine?"

"That sounds good."

He kissed me again and turned me towards the stairs.  "Go.  I'll open something and bring it up for you."

"And that's why I'm marrying you," I said over my shoulder as I walked up the stairs.  I heard him laugh as he went towards the stairs to the lower level to find a bottle of wine.

I had just settled into a bath with a lavender scented bath bomb when Brody knocked lightly on the door and stepped into the now steamy bathroom.  He handed me an almost completely full glass of wine.  "Well, that's a little more than a glass," I said with a chuckle, taking it gratefully.

"It's a liberal pour," he agreed.  He leaned down to kiss my cheek but I turned my head so our lips met instead.

"Thank you," I said.

He smiled.  "You're welcome, enjoy your bath." He left the bathroom, shutting the door quietly behind him.  I took a long drink of my wine and then set it on the edge of the tub and shut my eyes.

I was in the tub long enough to have to drain some of the water and add more hot water to warm it up.  By the time I got out, dried off, and wrapped my robe around me as I walked into the bedroom, Brody was laying in bed playing on his phone.  I could feel his eyes on me as I shed my robe and pulled on one of his t-shirts that I had commandeered months earlier.  I hung up my robe and climbed into bed.  Brody set his phone aside as I laid down next to him and settled my head onto his chest.

"Feel better?" he asked wrapping his arms around me.

"Mmmhmm," I murmured, nodding.

"Good."  He stroked the back of my arm with one hand while he reached over and turned off the lamp.  "Tomorrow should be interesting."  During dinner we had rather hastily arranged brunch plans with Lauren, Alex, and Kinsley.  They were the only people that had responded.  I assumed Kinsley would bring Damien, as well.

"Yes, it should be," I agreed.  I yawned and we shifted into a more comfortable sleeping position.  It didn't take long for me to fall asleep.

I was still sleeping soundly when Brody's phone woke me up.  I fell back asleep as soon as he was out of the room with it, and barely woke up when he got back in bed.  I didn't wake up again until my alarm went off, telling us we had to get up and get ready for brunch.

I rolled over and groaned, and felt Brody sit up next to me.  I was constantly jealous of his ability to go from asleep to awake and moving so quickly.  He leaned over and rubbed my back.  "I'll shower first," he said.  I nodded, my face buried in the pillow still.  Not a morning person.

I laid there, slowly waking up, until I heard the shower turn off.  Then I forced myself into a sitting position.  By the time Brody emerged from the bathroom I was ready to get out of bed.  I took a quick shower, more to help myself wake up than anything, and dried off.  I got dressed quickly and put on just a little bit of makeup.

I could smell coffee as I wandered downstairs, and I gratefully took the cup that Brody handed me when I came into the kitchen.  By the time we made it to the restaurant for brunch, I was fully awake and excited to share our news with our friends.

We were the first ones there and we were quickly seated at a table for 6.  I texted Lauren and Kinsley to let them know where we were sitting.  We had just ordered drinks when Lauren and Alex arrived, and Damien and Kinsley came shortly after.  Once everyone was settled and had drinks, Lauren said, "Why didn't you guys come out last night?"

Brody and I exchanged glances, and Lauren furrowed her brow curiously.  "We were having dinner with my mom," Brody said.  Lauren looked at him like, "so what?"

"And then we went home," I continued, "Because we were both a little worn out from getting engaged."

Lauren's jaw dropped and Kinsley's head snapped up from the menu she was reading.  Alex grinned and held up a hand to high five Brody, which caused me to roll my eyes and laugh.  "Well let's see it," Lauren demanded, waving vaguely at my left arm, the hand of which was concealed under the table.

I moved my hand above the height of the table and Lauren grabbed it, pulling it towards her.  "Holy shit," she said, tilting my hand to admire the ring.  She looked up and Brody and nodded. "Nicely done."

"Thank you," Brody said.

Kinsley snatched my hand away from Lauren while Damien met my eyes.  "Congratulations," he said, smiling.

"Yeah, congratulations," Alex echoed.

"Thank you," Brody and I said at the same time, which made me laugh again.

"So, tell us how you did it!" Kinsley said excitedly.  I had told the story to Jen, so I let Brody tell our friends.

When he was finished with the story, Lauren said, "That proposal was perfect for you."

"It was," I agreed.  "But remember what you had to say about our second date?"  I smirked, remembering Lauren's words that hiking was a terrible second date.

"Well, yeah, because hiking on a second date is just wrong," she insisted.  "But you guys are a little beyond that now, aren't you?"  I chuckled and shook my head.

It didn't take long before Kinsley and Lauren were being bombarding us with standard wedding questions, like did we have a date in mind?  Were we going to do it here or in Wisconsin?  "Ease up," Alex scolded Lauren.  "They've been engaged for less than 48 hours."  Lauren pouted briefly before rebounding and easily changing the subject.

It didn't stop her from pelting me with more questions when we went to the bathroom a little later though.  "Lauren, I don't know," I said finally.  "We haven't talked about it yet.  I mean, a few weeks ago we'd kind of talked through what we wanted and didn't want, but we haven't talked about it since we've been officially engaged.  When we figure it out, you'll know."

"Okay," she said, shrugging.

It was beautiful outside, so after brunch, Brody and I wandered around a nearby park for awhile before heading home.  I called Lynn as he drove.  Of course, she knew it was coming because she'd given Brody some input on the ring, but he hadn't told her his plans.

"Hi, Liv!" she answered cheerfully when I called.

"Hi, Lynn," I returned her greeting.  "How are you?"

"I'm good," she replied.  "How are you?"  I was impressed with her ability to keep up a normal conversation, even though I knew she was probably dying to know if I was calling because he had proposed, or just randomly calling.

I tortured her a little by making normal chit chat for awhile, to see how dedicated she was.  She didn't say a thing to potentially give away the knowledge she had.  Finally, I put her out of her misery and said, "Well, I'm calling to tell you that Brody proposed--"

She didn't even let me finish before she said, "You whore!  You knew I knew and you were testing me to see how long I could last!"

I burst into laughter and once I had caught my breath I said, "Guilty as charged, you're an excellent secret keeper.  We might need to have a conversation about your loyalties though."

"By keeping his secret, I was being loyal to you," she argued playfully.  "You wouldn't have wanted the surprise ruined!"

"You're right.  Thank you for helping him.  The ring is amazing, and the proposal was perfect."  I told her the proposal story, which she had apparently tried to get out of Brody but he refused to share his plans.

"I was hoping you'd be engaged before you came home for the 4th," she said excitedly.  "What did your mom say?"

"She asked if I pregnant," I replied.

Lynn snorted.  "Of course she did.  Always a class act, that Karen."  We laughed.  We chatted for a couple more minutes then hung up.  When we got home, I sat next to Brody while he called Jack and told him.  Jack was surprised, but excited, and insisted on talking to me to say congratulations as well.  It was sweet.  Then I called Kendra, while Brody called Christian.  I listened while Brody called Kevin after that.

"Do you have work you need to do?" I asked Brody after he hung up.

"I always have work to do," he said.  "But it's Sunday."

I shrugged.  "That's true, it is Sunday.  But if you need to get some stuff done, I'm good with that.  We spent all Friday and all yesterday, plus this morning together.  I think you've earned some time to do some work.  If you wanted to, I mean."

Brody looked at me carefully.  "What will you do this afternoon then?" he asked.

"I have a few more phone calls to make.  I should call my parents again, and Amy.  I guess I should probably tell John before someone else does, and James.  Then I'll probably sit downstairs and read for awhile.  I'll be fine."  I silently willed him to agree.  I wanted to finish up my phone calls and decompress a little.  The bath last night had helped but I was wound up and needed some more alone time.

"Okay," he said, after studying my face for several seconds.  I smiled and kissed him.  He stood and wandered back to his office and I picked up my phone.

I called my parents first, and when they answered I started making my way downstairs.  My mom was much more excited today, and apologized profusely for her reaction yesterday.  She insisted I apologize to Brody on her behalf as well.  Then the questions started again.  When?  Where?  I patiently told her we hadn't figured it out yet, but once we had, she'd be the first to know.  When I got her off the phone, I called Amy.  She didn't answer, so I sent her a text with a picture of the ring.

I called James next.  I wasn't really expecting him to answer, but he surprised me.  "Hi, Olivia," he said, picking up on the third ring.

"Hi," I replied.  We hadn't spoken much since everything had happened with Cassie, besides the one night he'd been out.  Even that night we hadn't talked much.  "Um, I wanted to let you know that Brody and I got engaged," I said awkwardly.  There was a weird distance in our friendship now, but I still felt like he deserved to hear it from me and not from Damien.

"That's great, congratulations," he said warmly, evaporating some of my anxiety.

"Thanks," I replied.  He asked how he did it, and I repeated the story that I now felt like I had told a hundred times, even though that was a gross exaggeration.  He stopped short of asking all the annoying questions I had no answers to, and I was grateful for that.  We chatted for a few minutes and then I awkwardly asked, "Have you...have you talked to Cassie much?"

"Yeah," he replied.  "We talk a couple times a week.  I've seen her a few times.  She's working on getting things back on track, and she's doing well."  He paused for several seconds and then said, "She misses you, you know.  I don't expect you to forgive her, but if you ever did, she'd probably be happy to hear from you."

"I'll keep that in mind.  I'm glad to hear she's doing well," I replied, a little stiffly.  I don't know what I expected by asking.  We said goodbye shortly after and I hung up.

I looked down at my phone, dreading the next call.  I had debated in my head if I should call John and tell him or not.  I heard from him occasionally, and I was sure I'd see him at some point when we were back in Wisconsin in a couple weeks.  I had decided it would be less awkward for both of us if I told him myself prior to that.

I found him in my contacts, his number no longer popping easily into my head.  I hit send and waited anxiously while it rang.  He didn't answer, and I hung up without leaving a message.  I tossed my phone aside and grabbed my Kindle, settling onto the chaise in my little library.

I hadn't been reading long when my phone rang.  It was Amy, and she was really excited.  I repeated the proposal story for her and we talked about my upcoming visit.  We made some loose plans to get together.  Once we hung up, I was able to relax, getting sucked into my book.  I hoped that John just didn't call back.  Hey, at least I tried, right?

But, it wasn't that easy, of course.  Nearly an hour after I had called him, he called me back.  I took a deep breath and answered.  "Hey," I said.

"Hi, you called?  You didn't leave a message, so I didn't know if you needed something, or..." he trailed off, sounding about as awkward as I felt.

"Yeah, kind of.  I mean, I just wanted to let you know that my boyfriend proposed and I said yes, and I'll be back in a couple weeks and I didn't want it to be weird, so I thought I should probably tell you."  I stopped, recognizing that I was rambling like an idiot.

"Oh," he said.  I waited, desperately wanting him to say more.  Maybe this was a bad idea.  Maybe I should have let him find out from Amy or Lynn or someone else.  Would I have wanted him to tell me if he was engaged?  I honestly had no idea.

"Yeah, so I just didn't want it be weird, but I clearly failed at that, so..."  I filled the silence, willing him to say something to give me an out in this conversation.

"Well, that's great, Liv," he said finally.  "Congratulations."

"Thanks," I replied.  And then my mouth had a mind of its own, and I just kept talking.  "Look, maybe I shouldn't have called, I just didn't want you to find out from someone else and have it be weird, I guess I didn't really think about how it would go, I'm sorry if you'd have preferred for me to not call.  I just think--"

"Liv," he cut me off, chuckling a little.  "I'm not sure what you want from me.  I mean, It's cool.  I appreciate you wanting to tell me.  I think you failed miserably at making it not weird, but making things weird has always been one of your talents.  Your intentions were good.  I just don't have much to say about it, but I think that's okay."

"Yeah," I said.  "Yeah, of course that's okay.  I don't want anything from you, I just wanted you to know."  I stopped myself before I could ramble nonsensically any more than I already had.

"Alright, Liv.  Thanks for calling.  Maybe I'll see you in a couple weeks."

"Yeah," I repeated.  "Maybe.  Bye, John."  He hung up without saying goodbye, not that that was entirely out of character for him.  I rubbed my forehead and realized that by trying to make it not weird, I had achieved exactly the opposite.  This had been about as awkward as it could be.  I wished I hadn't called at all.