Of course it was too much to ask that he just keep on walking.
"Eddie Latekka," Matt drawled. "Nice to see you're feeling better."
"What do you want, Lausch?" Eddie was not in the mood for this.
"Just thought I'd say hi. Apologize for roughing you up the other night."
"Do yourself a favor, okay? Follow your rich lawyer's advice, and stay the hell away from me."
"Now where's the fun in that?"
"Eddie," Janet said quietly, hoping Matt wouldn't hear her. "Just ignore him. Hopefully he'll take the hint and go away."
"What was that Janet?" Of course, Matt did hear her. "You want me to go away? But I was hoping you and I could get together later. Maybe you could show me whatever it is that's got Latekka keeping you around for so long."
"That's it." Eddie stood up. He could tolerate the jabs at himself, but turning on Janet was going too far. "Do you know what a restraining order means, Lausch? Because I'm pretty sure, after your stunt last week, the court would be real happy to grant me one."
"Yeah, I know what it means," Matt sneered. The guy would just not give up. "It means you need the law to protect you because you can't protect yourself." Satisfied that he'd gotten the last word in, Matt started to walk away. "I'll let you get back to your lunch date."
"And Janet," Matt turned back at the last second. "If you ever get tired of this loser, give me a call."
Janet was silent for most of the drive home. Eddie knew she was still upset about what had happened in the park, but he didn't know what to say to make her feel better. Some people would just never grow up, and Matt Lausch was one of them. Time after time, Janet had proved she was stronger than him, ignoring his comments, sometimes even turning them around so the joke was on Matt himself. But today, she didn't even try.
Janet, in her silence, also had their run-in with Matt Lausch on her mind. She usually had no problem letting his comments roll off her back, but today he managed to get to her. It didn't help that Eddie still hadn't told her about Rory. And the few times she tried to bring up the subject, something interrupted them. At first she thought maybe she was overreacting. What if it was just that one kiss? But if it was, why would Eddie feel like he had to lie about it? Maybe she was putting more weight on their relationship than he was.
Needing to break the silence, Eddie spoke. "You okay?"
"Matt Lausch just got to me, that's all," Janet shrugged.
"You know you can't put much weight on what that guy says," Eddie tried to reassure her. "A four year old is more mature than him."
"I know, its just. . ." Janet sighed.
"What?"
"If its not Matt Lausch, its someone else," Janet tried to explain. "Anyone who sees us together wonders what you're doing with me."
"What?" Eddie was dumbstruck. "Where is this coming from?"
It can't all be coming from Matt Lausch, he thought. "They're probably wondering what you're doing with me," Eddie told her. It sounded like a line designed to make her feel better, but Eddie honestly believed it.
Janet just shook her head. Not too long ago, comments from Matt Lausch wouldn't have mattered to her in the slightest. But that was before Eddie started keeping secrets from me, she realized.
"Here's the thing," she said, turning toward him. "I care for you so much Eddie. And these past months have been the most magical time of my life. But no matter how wonderful you treat me, and you do. You do. I am never going to stop feeling like the chubby girl who got rejected by the captain of the football team."
By now they had pulled in to her driveway. Willing her to stay in the car so they could talk this out, Eddie just stared at her. This was her call.
His heart sunk when she reached for the door handle. "I'll see you later Eddie."
"I just don't get where all this is coming from," Eddie lamented to his friends later that evening. "She's never let anyone's comments get to her before."
"Well, maybe that's not the only thing that's getting to her," Phil reasoned.
"How do you figure?"
"Let's face it, Eddie. You haven't exactly been honest with her about the whole Rory situation. Janet's a smart woman, she's probably picked up on the fact that you're holding something back from her."
"What does one thing have to do with the other?" Eddie couldn't figure out where Phil was going with this.
"Think about it," Phil started to explain. "Say you're Janet. You're dating someone, things are going well, you're happy. Some jerk comes along, says some stuff about you, but you don't let it get to you. It's like, 'What does he know?'"
"Then you realize the person you're dating is holding something back from you," Owen cut in. "Your relationship isn't as solid as you thought it was. Suddenly, those comments you overhear on the street have a lot more meaning."
"I've been meaning to tell her," Eddie tried to explain. "I just. . ."
"Buddy, take it from someone who's been there," Owen advised. "Just tell her. It may be hard, but if she hears it from anyone but you, it's only going to make things worse."
