A gentleman and a lady

Vacation, Day 2

I woke up on the couch again. I looked around the room, feeling satisfied with the state of my home. I looked at the time, seeing that I had slept in to 11AM. I wondered how Arnold was getting along at work, but quickly shoved the thought from my mind. I picked up my phone, wondering what to do with my day.

"Henry!" The voice answered, and I smiled.

"Jason!" I grinned as I talked. "What are you doing this weekend?"

"Did I hear you correctly?" Jason chortled. "You know I'm going up to the lake - I always do. You're welcome to join if you'd like!"

"Yes Jason, that would be really nice. What should I bring?"

"Ah you know better than to ask, we've already got everything set. Just bring yourself and whatever you plan to swim in!"

"I'll be there around 2PM, is that alright?"

"Perfect. See you then, Henry!"

I pulled up to my friend Jason's house. He was outside, packing up his truck, and waved upon seeing me. His wife, Emma, smiled and nodded her head at me.

"Jason, so good to see you," I called as I walked up to them. "You too, Emma."

"Henry," Emma said, hugging me. "We're glad you had some free time."

"Yeah," Jason responded, patting my back. "Mr. Workaholic finally taking some time off. How long are you in vacation-mode?"

"I'm not sure yet," I admitted. "I just needed to get away."

"Well then, let's get away!" Jason laughed. The three of us piled into Jason's truck and away we went.

I looked at the sun setting across the lake, sipping at one of the wine coolers Emma had packed. The lake was serene; Jason, Emma, and myself were the only ones there, and the only sound was Emma splashing in the water as she swam.

Jason came up to me, grabbing a drink from the cooler, and sat beside me.

"Henry," he said, taking a deep breath. "Thanks for coming out with us."

"Thanks for having me," I replied, taking another sip. "I needed to get out of my own head." Jason gave me a knowing look.

"So what happened?"

"What do you mean?" I clenched my jaw. I hadn't told anyone about Evelyn or what had happened, but I knew better than to try to lie to Jason.

"It's a long story," I replied. Jason shrugged.

"Well out here all we have is time." I sighed.

"Arnold - you remember Arnold - suggested that I hire a personal assistant," I started, Jason nodding. "I hired someone who was extremely qualified and great at the job, but it's not working out."

"What do you mean by that?" Jason laughed. "If they're good at the job, why wouldn't it work out?"

"She's just so cold and distant, she's an arrogant proud woman and nothing I do seems to make her any kind of friendly towards me," I sighed. "I honestly can't stand her."

Jason burst out laughing, and I stared at him in shock.

"Henry," he chuckled, "you're in love with her."

"N-no I'm not!" I snapped, furrowing my brow. Jason laughed even louder.

"Yes Henry, you are. If you didn't care about her like that, it wouldn't bother you that she's not friendly to you."

I shook my head. I'm not in love with her.

"Did I tell you how I ended up with Emma?" Jason continued.

"I thought you met in middle school?" I questioned. Jason nodded.

"Yeah, but we didn't start dating until after high school. In middle school we practically hated each other. She was this nerdy girl with good grades and I was a bully. I can't even tell you how many times I teased her," Jason smiled, looking over at Emma who was still enjoying her swim. "I asked her to prom once in high school and she flat out told me no. She ended up going with someone else and later told me she said no because she thought I was trying to pull a prank on her."

I looked over at Emma. She was just coming to shore, grabbing a towel before coming over to join us.

"There's my girl," Jason cooed, pulling her into his lap.

"Stop it!" Emma giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. I looked away, feeling as though I was intruding on a private moment, but I couldn't help but wonder what a life like that would be like with Evelyn.