Julie met Tyra for breakfast at a diner the next morning before Tyra had to head to the airport to get on her flight back to Texas. She had planned an intentionally quick three day long visit before school started up again to see her mom, Mindy, Stevie and the twins. Last Christmas, Tyra had swore to Mindy she would visit more often and help out, but she hadn't really kept good on that promise.
As Julie sat down at the table, she noticed Tyra's huge oversized sunglasses.
"What's with the movie star shades?" Julie teased. She reached for one of the menus sitting on the table.
Tyra groaned. "I cannot believe I drank that much last night. I don't think I've been that intoxicated since my first year of college." She took a sip of water. "No excessive consumption of alcohol for me for at least the next two weeks."
"So, I have to ask," Julie said slyly peering over her menu, "where did you end up crashing last night after you left our place?"
"It was so late and I didn't want to wake my roommate Jenn's entire family up, so I just ended up going back to Landry's hotel room,"
"And how was that?" Julie asked, a slow grin spreading across her face.
"Satisfying," Tyra said, pressing her lips together and trying not to laugh.
"Come on Tyra….seriously!" Julie giggled. "Did anything happen?"
"Well I'll say this. Landry has clearly learned a few things in the past two years."
"So you did! I knew it!"
Tyra pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head and squinted at the harsh diner lighting. "Yeah, we did," she confessed.
Tyra couldn't deny the fact that last night was actually really nice. Maybe it had to do with the fact that she hadn't been with anyone for a while, but there was just something about the familiarity and safeness of being with Landry. All that aside though, she had lied in bed after, wrapped up in his arms and guiltily wondered if she had made a horrible mistake. Being with him wasn't just casual sex with an ex-boyfriend like it had been with say Tim Riggins, and she knew that.
"I made sure we had a conversation this morning before I left and I think we're on the same page," Tyra said quietly, "he knows that this doesn't mean we're back together or anything like that."
Julie glanced at Tyra skeptically. "If you ask me, I think he's always going to be madly in love with you no matter what kind of conversation you guys have."
"Well there's nothing I can do to control his feelings, but I think from past experience, I've learned I need to be straight with him."
"How very mature of you Ms. Collette," Julie replied, looking impressed.
"Yeah, I'm trying to work on that sensitivity thing."
The waitress came over and set down two coffees on the table. Tyra reached for hers almost instantly and took a sip. "See, I think Landry will always be in my life in some capacity, I'm just not sure what that is yet."
Julie nodded. "I get it."
"We're not like you and Matty," Tyra said. "You guys spent time apart, you dated other people, but when it came down to it, you were always miserable without each other and better people with each other. You guys are lucky. That's what everyone wants. "
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It was just like old times except Landry was standing on the other side of the front desk at the gallery and not perched on the counter at the Alamo Freeze, and Matt was dressed impeccably in dress slacks and a button down shirt instead of a white cotton uniform and funny little paper hat. It was Landry's last evening in town and he had stopped by to pick Matt up for their "guy's night" which was to include burgers, wings and watching the Cubs game at a nearby sports bar.
Landry glanced at a nearby bronze sculpture of a naked man with angel wings holding an axe.
"I still don't get why someone would pay fourteen thousand dollars for a hunk of metal shaped like a naked guy."
"You might want to voice that opinion somewhere else," Matt hissed, his face turning red as he looked around to make sure nobody was listening.
"Calm down Matt," Landry replied, "not everyone has the same taste in art."
Matt snorted. "Or any taste in art."
All of a sudden he noticed the shit eating grin on Landry's face. "What are you so happy about?" he asked.
"Well you know I'm never one to kiss and tell, but I didn't go back to the hotel alone last night."
"Oh lord." Matt buried his face in his hands. "You didn't. She didn't. No. Just...no."
"It's all good man," Landry assured him.
Matt shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah, I've heard that before. I give it a week till I get the Tyra is a heartless bitch phone call." He glanced at his watch. "Let's get out of here before you break something."
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It was midnight and Matt tried to enter the apartment as quietly as possible. He set his keys down lightly and crept through the darkened apartment and past the bed where Julie was peacefully sleeping, her long blonde hair fanned out around her, clutching Matt's pillow.
Matt brushed his teeth, stripped down to just his boxers and crawled into bed next to her. He stared at her sleeping for a moment and pulled her into his arms. She stirred and snuggled in closer, opening her eyes for a second and then closing them again.
"Hey," he whispered.
"Hi," she replied groggily opening her eyes again. "How was your guy's night with Landry?"
"It was good. I missed you though." He smiled and stroked her hair.
"I missed you too," she said returning his smile and smoothing her hands over his chest.
"Will you marry me?" he asked, looking at her with all the seriousness in the world.
She laughed. "You already asked me that, remember?"
"I remember. Maybe I should have clarified. I want to marry you now. I don't want to wait."
Julie rolled over on her side and sighed softly. She was pretty surprised he was trying to have this conversation with her at midnight when she was clearly out of it and wondered why he was acting so strangely.
She put a hand on his cheek. "We talked about this Matt. I just moved in three weeks ago and we promised my parents we'd wait at least two years minimum. I think it's probably smart to let them adjust to the idea of us living together, get settled in school, jobs, stability and all that stuff. I have a lot of trust to win back with them and I think impulsively announcing that we're getting married right away after we told them something else a few months ago won't get a good reaction."
He looked down, disappointed. "You know, it's not your parent's decision, right?"
"Yes, you're right. Ultimately it's not their decision, but it's important to me to have their blessing and I thought it was to you too."
Julie looked into his eyes with concern. This was coming out of nowhere. Something had definitely happened, but in true Matt Saracen fashion he was making her fish it out of him. She propped up her pillow, leaned against the headboard and asked him point blank "What's the matter?"
Matt glanced up at her, his eyes doing that red watery thing they did when he was trying to hold back tears.
"You know how I call grandma every Wednesday?"
Julie nodded.
"Well tonight was the first night I called and she didn't get on the phone. Heather, her nurse, said she was having a really bad week. She's getting worse." His voice broke. "It's just…probably a matter of time before she doesn't even remember me anymore. The thought of her not being able to see us get married..." Matt trailed off, knowing if he continued his thought, he would completely break down.
Julie's heart sank into her stomach.
"Oh Matt," she whispered, reaching out and wrapping her arms around him.