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The story of us
Lonnie's POV
I paced around the Tibbs' living room waiting for Mrs. Tibbs to come downstairs. Virgil's Aunt Etta went to get her after letting me in. I guess by the look on my face, she knew something was bothering me, and let me in without a question asked; a rare happening for her.
Althea Tibbs and I had become close over the last year and a half after she helped me get back on track after Lana and I split up. To say it mildly, I didn't take the break-up well and began a downward spiral of depression and drinking when I was off-duty. I was a mess, and thankfully, my friends were there to kick my ass back into reality, but not without getting some help to work through all my issues. Mrs. Tibbs was only too glad to help me, and I am forever grateful she was. I was more comfortable with her than I thought, and before long, I started realizing there was more to my depression than just a break-up with a girlfriend. That was just the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. She listened while I opened up about my growing up without a father, my mother's alcoholism and depression and the death of my great-aunt Cordelia. In those sessions, I talked more than I have about anything in my life, but for some reason, once I got started, it just came out. I can't say that I'm an entirely different person, but I am not so sober and closed off anymore. I'm trying to be more open, but it's still not always easy.
One thing she suggested to do is to keep myself busy because it would help keep my mind from going back to those dark places. That being said, I am taking classes toward my Master's Degree in Criminology at Ole' Miss, and have started a feeder system for track, with kids from the later elementary grades. It's actually been fun, and maybe one day I'll have a kid or two in there. I just have to find the right girl, which kind of leads me to why I'm here now.
Tonight is the wedding rehearsal for Bubba and Tracy and I'm the best man. Now, I am more than happy to stand up there next to one of the best friends I have ever had. He's been with me through all this, and I am eternally grateful for that, but here's the problem. The maid of honor is none other than Harper Ryan, a girl I dated for a couple of years while I was in college. Her brother, Hayden was a buddy of mine, and she was two years younger than we were, and I had the biggest crush on her. We started dating over the summer between her junior and senior year while I was home on break. Petite at 5'4", honey-blonde hair and bright green eyes and a wicked sense of humor, I fell head-over-heels for her. Unfortunately, while I was at Ole' Miss on a track scholarship, she earned a full-ride to Alabama for her golden glove, and deadly accuracy with a bat. We tried to do the long-distance thing, but in the end, it just got to be too much, and we parted on friendly terms. That was over ten years ago, and I haven't seen her since then. I've kept tabs on her through her brother, and I think vice versa. She married some hot shot tight-end from 'Bama and moved to Nashville so he could be a second string tackling dummy for the Titans. He ended up getting cut and they moved to Jackson so he could take over some financial corporation, while she continued her job as a cardiovascular ICU nurse at University Hospital. They divorced a couple years ago after his verbal abuse turned physical, and now she is a flight nurse for the university hospital based, AirCare. No kids, but I heard that she was ready, he was not, and that was a lot of their disagreements, along with his feelings of inadequacy at failing in the NFL, so he took it out on her.
Anyway, seeing Harper after all these years has me a little unnerved to say the least, and that's why I need to see Mrs. Tibbs. She's the one who can help me find a little clarity in the jumble of emotions running through me.
Her quick footsteps down the stairs halt my pacing as I face the doorway out of the living room.
"Lonnie! Hey, what's up", she asked curiously.
"I need to talk to you about something. Sorry, I didn't call. I just.."
"No, don't be. You know you're welcome here at anytime. You look a little stressed.
sit down and tell me about it", she motioned toward the couch.
"You know about Harper, right?", she nodded as I continued. "I thought I would be okay with all of this since it's their day, right?" "Turns out, the closer it gets to the wedding, the more nervous I'm getting about seeing her. I mean, what do I say after all this time? Will she even want to see me?!", I say bouncing my leg nervously.
She grinned and placed her hand on my knee stilling it.
"Ok, first of all, slow down for a second. Now, has Tracy said anything about there being a problem?"
"No, but that doesn't mean anything, does it?" , I asked warily.
"Sure it does. Apparently she has no problem with seeing you or else she would have said something to Tracy. Girls share everything, especially if she and Tracy are as tight as you've said", she reassured me.
"Ok, so what do I do? I don't want to make myself look like an idiot when we haven't seen each other in ten years. What if I still feel something for her?" I rambled.
"Just play it cool. Start out with small talk, and be sure to give her that grin of yours every now and again. You are an eligible, handsome man, and if she doesn't fall for that, then she isn't as smart as you say she is", she said mock-punching my arm. I could feel my cheeks redden with embarrassment at her compliments.
"Ok, I get it. I'll play it cool. I just want this to go well. This could be big for me, and I don't want to waste my chance", I say turning to face her. "Thanks for listening. It's time I get back in the game, right?"
"Only you know when you're ready", she said as we stood up. I gave her a quick hug and was on my way to leave when the front door opened and in came the twins followed by Virgil. Soccer practice was over, but the twins were still running on all eight cylinders. At six years old, they were quickly growing up, and I had become pretty attached to them over the last year, and I think the feeling is mutual by the way they swarm around me begging me to stay for dinner. It's hard to be in a bad mood around them. Unfortunately for them, I have somewhere else I need to be right now. One that could potentially alter the rest of my life for the better, I hope.
I arrive early at the Presbyterian church hoping to get my nerves under control before everyone else arrives. Unfortunately there is a burnt orange Jeep Wrangler Sahara parked in the front row with Jackson license plates. That could only be one person….crap. I'm not ready for this, but staying in my car would have made me look like an ass, and no doubt ridiculous. I shut the engine off and step out of the brand-new, loaded red Camaro with black racing stripes that I had bought for myself a few months ago with some of the money aunt Cordelia had left me as a present to myself for my promotion to Chief of Detectives. The door to the Jeep opens as well, and out steps Harper. My God she is gorgeous! Her tanned, petite frame is just as in shape as it was the last time I saw her, and she looks just as young. Time has definitely been good to Harper Ryan. I let out the breath I had been holding and my heart skips a beat as she smiles and makes her way over to me and wraps me in a huge hug.
"It's so good to see you!", she gushes. "My God look at you! You are lookin' mighty handsome, I must say", she said, hugging me again. I have to admit, that I had LuAnn and Dee come over and raid my closet to find something to wear. They picked a turquoise polo from American Eagle and the khaki pants to match and helped me find some shoes that were something other than my boots. I needed something a little trendier according to them, and they aren't too bad, but I'm still a little self conscious. Harper's approval helps my self-esteem quite a bit. I reluctantly back away to look her over, and grin as she shyly looked away. Her small, athletic frame is dressed in a green-printed spaghetti-strap sundress with a denim jacket and dressy brown cowboy boots.
"Well you're lookin' just as beautiful as I remember. How have you been keepin' yourself?" I ask unsure how to begin our conversation.
"Oh, you know, busy. I'm sure Hayden told you about the divorce", she began.
"Yeah, and I'm sure sorry to hear about that. I haven't had much luck in that area myself", I shrugged out of embarrassment.
"Yeah, I heard about that. I'm sorry too. Seems like we're both due for a change of luck, huh?"
"I certainly hope so. You stayin' at your parents place?" I asked trying to change the subject.
"No. I'm staying at the McGuffy house since its right by the reception hall. I really don't want to take the chance of having to drive back or finding a ride. Besides, momma and daddy are in Las Vegas for some medical conference that daddy has. I just didn't feel like staying out there by myself. This way I can come and go as I please without any of the help telling my momma all about it, and me hearing about it later", she said coaxing a short laugh out of me.
"I hear that. I got a room here to, just in case I'm in no shape to drive either. It wouldn't look good for Sparta's Chief of Detectives to get a DUI", I grin at her look of surprise.
"Chief of Detectives?! No shit?! Good for you! That is so awesome!" she said hugging me again as more of the wedding party began to arrive. Harper turned loose of me with a sheepish look and we made our way into the church to get the rehearsal under way.
…..to be continued. Reviews welcome!
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