I'm a Good Person (Book 4)

Chapter 3

"Laura, I'm so glad you came," Helen greeted, "and don't you look pretty this evening."

"I am, too," Laura replied, "and thank you," her eyes beginning to wander beyond Helen to see if she could spy Robert as the crowd wasn't very large, but as of yet she couldn't.

"Robert isn't down yet," Helen said, noting Laura's wandering gaze, "he's still up in his room," Laura was a bit dejected by that, wondering if Robert might have been too afraid to face the crowd, "I was just thinking he might need some encouragement, but I can't leave my guests. Why don't you go up and see if you can't help him along?"

"Mrs. Nash... do you really think I should?"

"I don't think anyone will notice, do you," Helen grinned, "I know he's eager to see you. Go on up. It's the fourth door on the left."

Laura checked to see if her mother was looking at her. She wasn't. Not that that should be surprising. So Laura scurried up the stairs and down the hall. She came across a half opened door and caught sight of Robert standing in front of a mirror, struggling with his tie. She knocked lightly and the door slowly opened all the way.

"Your grandmother said I'd find you up here."

"Laura," he smiled, "you came."

The two hugged for what felt like a substantial amount of time before letting go. Laura was comforted that Robert had clearly missed her as much as she had missed him.

"I could hardly believe it when my mother told me your grandmother had convinced her to let me come along. You should have seen the way she tore around my room looking for something she felt was suitable to wear."

"My grandmother is sort of a force of nature that way."

"She said you might need some encouragement to come down," Laura said, "was coming here as bad as that?"

"It wasn't easy," he admitted.

"I'm sorry I made you come. I feel awful about it now."

"Don't. I had to try sometime, didn't I?"

"Sure, but not necessarily so soon."

"I'm glad I came, really. My grandparents have been very understanding. I just have these moments where I feel like I'm losing all control. Like this tie," he held it up, "I have tried for two days now to tie this thing and I just can't do it."

"You don't know how," Laura joked?

"I can't bear to have it around my neck. It suffocates me."

Laura understood at once, "so don't wear it. You said your grandparents understood."

"They do, and they told me I don't have to-"

"Then what's the problem?"

"Not wearing it opens up a whole conversation about why I'm not wearing it. Or it reminds people about what happened. I just... I want to be normal. I want to be able to wear a tie and not feel as if I'm being strangled! I just don't know if I'll ever be able to."

Laura closed the door behind her and sat down on his bed, "I can see you problem. Do you want me to help? Maybe if I tied it..."

"I don't think that would help. I can't tie it myself, I don't think someone else doing it for me would be any more helpful," Robert replied. He went back to the mirror to try once again to wear the tie, but once again got to the tightening portion and pulled it free.

Laura felt awful sitting there watching him struggle and knew having an audience wouldn't make it any easier for Robert, so she turned her attention to a bag sitting on Robert's bed, which had dumped over when she sat down. As she began collecting the contents to put them back in, she found a small box wrapped and a card attached at the bottom of the pile, "did you see this?"