Episode 7

Andrew

"How did I forget her birthday?" I chastised myself.

"Forget what?" my brother Paul pulled me from my thoughts; I hadn't heard him come into my office.

"Liz's birthday," I replied, as he failed to suppress a chuckle.

"Earning the 'best husband' title, I see," he said, his hands raised mockingly, and I rolled my eyes.

"I have no idea what to get her; when I got home, I saw all the presents," I said, annoyed and serious, trying to temper my words but failing.

"Why does that bother you?" he asked, furrowing his brows.

"No, no, not at all," I sounded mighty unconvincing, and Paul crossed his arms. "I think Liz has an admirer," I confessed.

"I'm not surprised; Elizabeth is beautiful," he shrugged. "But how do you know?"

"I saw one of her presents, a necklace and earrings... and I read the note," I said nonchalantly.

"What did the note say?" he asked, curiosity etched on his face along with a smirk.

"That she was the prettiest girl and it was given with all affection by Simon," I huffed the last part disdainfully.

"Are you jealous?"

"No, I told Liz she could have a boyfriend; I have a girlfriend, there's no reason for jealousy," I retorted, a bit heated.

"Then why the defensiveness?" he probed, and honestly, yes, I was feeling some jealousy, but don't ask me why.

*"Because even you don't know\, you idiot\,"* I scolded myself silently.

"Help me choose a gift for Liz," I diverted the topic. "I've no clue what to buy," I concluded.

"Take her out to dinner; you two have never really had a date," he suggested, and the idea didn't sound half bad.

"I like the idea, but it wouldn't be a date. It's a birthday gift," I clarified.

"If you want to lie to yourself by saying that, then fine," he said, getting up to leave. At the door, he turned to me, "Both of us know you're going through something with Elizabeth, even if you won't admit it," and with that, he left my office, leaving me with words that I couldn't refute - because claiming I wasn't jealous of this Simon was as false as it gets.

...

I went to pick up Liz from school, intending to invite her out for her birthday dinner - hoping she had no other plans. At the school exit, while many students streamed out, Liz was nowhere in sight until she appeared, laughing with her friend Rosa, who noticed my car.

"Hi, Andrew," greeted Rosa.

"Hi, Rosa," I replied. "What brings you here; did something happen?" she asked with a frown.

"Relax, nothing's wrong. I was just nearby picking up some stuff and saw that school had ended, so I came to pick you up," I lied, and although Liz might have believed me, I doubted Rosa did.

"That's fine," Liz responded. "Can you drop Rosa off? She lives a few blocks from here," she requested.

"Of course, no problem," I offered them a genuine smile, and we all got into the car and drove off.

"How was your day?" I asked them, and they exchanged glances before erupting into laughter, leaving me confused.

"We have this teacher who's a bit..." Rosa struggled for the right word.

"Unique," Liz declared, still laughing.

"Yes, unique," Rosa agreed as both of them laughed uncontrollably.

"Why unique?" I inquired, their smiles proving infectious.

"Life is hard," Rosa intoned differently.

"It beats us down," Liz continued, imitating Rosa's tone, which made me laugh along with them. "He always says that, and because he's older and gruff, it's hilarious," Liz explained.

"I serve them up nicely," Rosa imitated once more.

"Your job to hit them out of the park," Liz finished, their impersonation causing me not to stop laughing this time. "You'd really like him," Liz said. "He loves baseball as much as you," she teased, since the phrases they imitated were related to baseball.

"So, are you telling me Andrew is a grumpy old man?" Rosa asked, astonished.

"Of course not!" I asserted confidently, but both of them laughed at me. We reached Rosa's house, and she got out.

"See you Monday, Elizabeth. Bye, grumpy!" Rosa called as she left.

"See you," Liz waved back, and I followed suit, driving back.

"Liz, can I ask you something?" I queried, not taking my eyes off the road.

"Yes, what is it?" she turned to look at me.

"Would you like to go out to eat?" I asked.

"Sure, where will we go?" she inquired, curious.

"It's a surprise. Dress nicely; we're going somewhere fancy," I advised with a smile, purely from the joy of Liz accepting my invitation.

"I have the perfect outfit for that," she said happily. "Is that why you picked me up?"

I blushed slightly, which didn't escape her notice; Liz was far from oblivious.

"Yes, I wanted to make up for forgetting your birthday," I explained.

"That wasn't necessary," she said, sounding deflated.

"But I want to," I said, glancing at her for a moment, and she smiled in response.

"Okay," she agreed. We arrived home, and Liz hurried off to get ready for the evening.

...

I was ready, waiting in the living room for Liz, who still had not emerged from her room.

"Liz, we're running late!" I called out to her.

"I'm coming!" she yelled back.

The phone rang, and I went to answer.

"Good evening, who's calling?" I asked, with a hint of seriousness.

"It's me, Teresa," my girlfriend Teresa on the other end - I had forgotten to inform her I wouldn't see her tonight.

"Teresa... I'm..." I stuttered, grasping for an excuse.

"I've been waiting for over an hour. What's happened?" she pressed.

"Teresa, I can't make it tonight. Something came up at home," I lied again.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier so I wouldn't wait?" she sounded annoyed.

"I'm sorry, love; I forgot to tell you," I lamented my carelessness.

"'My love, I won't see you because I'm going out with my wife' - were you really going to say that to her?" my conscience taunted.

"I'll make it up to you tomorrow," I tried to mollify her.

"I can't tomorrow; I'm going out with my sister."

"I'm really sorry for not coming today," I apologized again.

"It's okay, love; just wish you'd let me know. See you Sunday, kiss, love you."

"Love you more," I sent a kiss through the phone before hanging up.

I returned to the couch, still waiting for Liz, but then I heard her bedroom door open, and there she was—Liz...

"Yes, that's your wife!" my conscience pointed out.

"Liz..."

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