My Boyfriend, Cupid Part 1
During the ride to Chase's house Gale used the opportunity to catch up with her sons lives but she mostly talked about her time in Africa. Chase lived in a small two story house that looked a lot his neighbors. It had gray stucco and some faux stone siding. It looked completely normal on the outside but once we walked in I was surprised how feminine it looked. It was exactly how I would decorate my house; red fresh roses on the table on a white table cloth, heart-shaped decor on the wall, and it all looked incredibly clean.
"Uh, Bridgette, I guess you can sleep in the front room. I'm sorry, I really wasn't expecting you," Chase told me. It had already been decided that Gale was going to be sleeping in Todd's bedroom and Todd was going to sleep in the living room.
"That's okay, Bridgette, I can sleep in the front room, you can have the living room," Todd said. "After all you're the guest."
"Thank-you, Todd," I said. I could see the living room from the kitchen so I just went and put my suitcase down in a inconspicuous place and went back to the kitchen.
Chase stood by himself cooking dinner. "My mom and Todd are getting my mom settled in upstairs," he said. "You like macaroni? It's my mom's favorite so I thought that I'd make it for her since she just got home."
"Yeah, I like it," I said.
"So, Bridgette, why were you in Africa?" he asked me.
"Well," I started. "Before I left I was engaged to this guy. And, well, I loved him a ton. He lived kind of far away so I dropped out of school and quit my job and moved out there. And then when I got there . . . I caught him kissing another girl. On top of that he told me that he was planning on breaking up with me anyway but he 'didn't want me to think that it was about this other girl.' Needless to say, I was heart-broken. So I did what any rational person would do in my case and sold my stuff and moved to Africa."
"I see," he said.
"It was really good for me though. I stopped thinking about myself for once and started thinking about others. It really gave me perspective about what was important. I sort of wish I could of stayed there forever." I took a breath. "I guess I always knew I was only going to be there for a year but I didn't think about where I was going to stay when I got back. Sorry to put you in a such an awkward position. I thought Gale had asked you."
He chuckled. "It's really okay, honestly, I don't mind you staying here as much as I made it sound. My mom just never asks me anything. She didn't even ask me to take Todd when she left. She just sort of told me a week before she left that she was going to Africa and I asked her where Todd was saying. She was like 'with you of course, silly.'"
"She didn't even ask!?"
"Yeah, and I wasn't exactly in a position to take him in. But, what can I say, he's my brother, I would do anything for him," he said.
"That is so sweet! I wish I had a brother like you, my older brother and I aren't even talking," I said.
He just gave me a confused look.
"We kinda got into a fight at my mom's funeral and haven't talked since," I said.
"Ah," he said. He just looked at for a little while then he asked, "Bridgette, would you like to go out with me this Friday?"
I smiled. "Your mom did say that we'd be perfect for each other. So, why not?" I said trying to playful. My heart started beating faster.
He smiled back. "Never thought I'd date a girl that my mom wants me to be with," he said.
