Second Chance (editing)

Girl Almighty

Let's have another toast to the girl almighty. Let's pray we stay young, stay made of lightning. Am I the only, only believer there's something happening here, there's something happening here? The only, only believer, there's something happening here? I hope you feel what I'm feeling too. I'd get down, I'd get down, I'd get down on my knees for you. I'd get down, I'd get down, I'd get down on my knees. I'd get down on my knees for you.

Early the next morning I awake to a text from Bella asking me what she should wear to lunch. I roll my eyes because she obviously feels like she needs to make a good impression on my parents even though I'm pretty sure she already did years ago. I consider the restaurant we're going to and the kind of people my parents are and reply, 'Something cute but casual. And conservative.' A moment later she responds, 'That narrows it down. Babe, that's like my entire wardrobe.' I chuckle. 'Wear a dress.' I suggest simply. She gets back to me with a smiley face and I know she's found something. According to my phone, it's 8 o'clock. We are meeting my parents at 11. That gives me plenty of time to get ready. After all, they're only my parents, and I'm a guy so I'm naturally pretty quick to get ready. Bella, on the other hand, is clearly making this out to be a big deal in her head. Perhaps it is. At least for her. I really do want my parents to approve of her, but I have no worries that they won't. So I'm fine. I check my phone to make sure I still have an alarm set for 9:45. Then I roll over and prepare to fall back asleep. I need some extra rest.

When my alarm goes off I groggily roll out of bed. A shower will wake me up. As long as I force myself to make it a cold one. I strip down and step into the shower, letting the cool, refreshing water course down my body. I feel goosebumps on my arms and I don't know if they're because of the cold shower or because I'm both nervous and excited for lunch. Either way, I don't want to spend all morning under the water. I wash my body and my hair quicker than usual since I decided to sleep until the last minute. When I get out of the shower I have a text from my mom asking me if I'm still planning on being to the place by 11. I quickly reply then get back to my routine. The restaurant we're going to is Olive Garden. It's a nice place, sort of fancy. They have killer breadsticks, the kind a girl shoves in her purse at the end of a date gone awry. Not that I've ever experienced that.

I decide to wear a green button down shirt and some khaki shorts, hoping I don't give Bella a traumatic flashback. I'm all ready to go by 10:30, just in time to go pick up Bella and still make it by 11. She was going to drive there by herself, but I wanted her to come with me. That way we'd be able to arrive at the same time and walk in together. I can't wait to see my parents' faces when they see Bella. I wonder if they'll recognize her right away. What if they don't recognize her at all? What if I could get away with acting like she's a completely different girl? Well, I won't try. I want them to know that it's Bella I'm with, that it's Bella I love. I'm sure they'll be happy for me.

As my mother so lovingly pointed out, it's been a while since I've brought over a girl for them to meet. They'll probably just be glad that I'm with someone. Sometimes they worry about me. In my sophomore year of college my girlfriend of four years broke up with me and left me wondering if I'd ever find love again. I truly believed she was the one for me. After that I had a few flings, nothing serious. Then I started spending all my time pining for Bella, which only worsened my state. My parents have always wanted me to be happy and, at that time in my life, I wasn't. Now I am, and hopefully they'll be thankful of Bella for being the reason.

I arrive at Mason's house and am about to ring the doorbell when I hear voices on just the other side of the door. "How do I look?" I hear Bella ask. "I don't know. I'm your brother." Mason replies. I suppress a laugh. "Hey, Mason, have you told Mom and Dad that I'm with Logan?" She asks. I hold my breath, anxious to hear his answer. He replies with a question of his own, "You haven't?" Bella sighs. "No. All they know is that Mark and I broke up. I haven't exactly told them why. I'm afraid they'll be mad." She admits. Mad? Why would they be mad? "Well you shouldn't wait much longer. I'm sure they want to know what's going on with you." Mason tells her.

I decide that now would be a good time to ring the doorbell. Before I can, Bella opens the door. When she sees me, she jumps a little. "Logan! You scared me!" She gasps. "Sorry. I was just about to ring the doorbell. Are you ready to go?" I ask her. "Yeah." She replies, seeming a little flustered still. I wrap my arm around her waist, hoping to calm her down. "You look lovely." I compliment her. "Thanks." She says, blushing. She's wearing a gold sequin dress that sparkles under the sun and, I must admit, is quite fun to touch. The gold bangles on her wrist, matching her dangling earrings, clang together musically as we walk. Even her light makeup shimmers. Altogether, she looks angelic.

"So, are you nervous?" I ask her, deciding to wait until later to breach the subject of her telling her parents about us. "A little bit, yeah. I don't know why, though. I know your parents like me." She tells me. "Or at least they did all those years ago." She adds in a softer voice. "Don't worry about it, babe. I'm sure they'll be happy to see you again." I assure her. "I hope so." She says as I open the car door for her to get in. Once I get in the car I check the time. We have just enough time to get to Olive Garden. I pat Bella lovingly on the knee in an attempt to calm her nerves. She smiles at me. I wish her confidence shone as much as her dress. When we're almost there, my phone rings. "Hey, darling, can you see who that is?" I ask Bella, not wanting to answer it while I'm driving. "It's your mom." She tells me, her voice cracking. "Let it go to voicemail. We'll be there soon." I tell her. She simply nods.

When we get there I open the door for Bella and let her walk through. I catch up with her and take her hand. I give it a squeeze. "Let's do this." She says with only a slight quiver in her voice. We walk up to the hostess stand and Bella frowns when she sees the girl eyeing me. "Can I help you?" The hostess coos. "We have a reservation for Davis." Bella informs her, stepping just slightly in front of me in a possessive way. She holds my hand tighter as if I'll drift away otherwise. She checks her computer then says, "Of course, right this way." We follow her across the restaurant as she sashays past the tables of customers. Suddenly, she stops and points to a table in the corner where I see my parents. "Right there." She says. "Thank you." I say, leading Bella towards them.

I hear her swallow a lump in her throat. My parents stand up to greet us and I think I see recognition flash on their faces. I let go of Bella's hand so that I can give my parents hugs. I take a step back so that I'm next to Bella again. "Mom, dad," I address them, "this is my girlfriend Isabella." My mom raises her eyebrows. "The Isabella?" She asks, emphasizing 'the.' I nod with a smile. There's a pause, then, to my surprise, my mom embraces Bella. "It's so good to see you again, hon! How have you been?" She says to her. "I've been well, thank you. I just moved in with Mason since I got a job at the Tulsa Tribune. I'll get my own place once I get the money." Bella informs her. "Welcome back, Isabella." My dad greets her. I watch all the worry fade from Bella's face. It's replaced with a look of giddy excitement. We all sit down in the booth.

"So what brought you two back together?" My mom asks. "Not that you were ever actually together. Well, you know what I mean." She adds. "He dropped by my apartment one night." Bella tells my parents. "Out of nowhere?" My dad asks her. "Out of nowhere." She confirms. "How come?" My mom asks, turning her gaze on me. "I missed her." I answer her, simply. "That's sweet." She says. Then she turns her attention back to Bella. "Did you just let him in as if nothing had happened?" Bella picks up a breadstick and nibbles on it. "Not exactly." She admits. "Oh?" My dad pipes up. "I spent the cold, rainy night in my car." I tell them. Bella bites her lip nervously. "Yeah, I didn't handle him showing up very well." My dad laughs, then coughs to cover it up.

"So what happened after that?" My mom asks us. "I came back." I tell them. "That seemed like a good idea?" My dad teases me. I sigh. "The next morning I climbed the stairs to see her. I didn't make it all the way up before I hit my head." "Hard." Bella adds. My parents wince at the thought. "That was what caused me to actually let him in." She tells them. "How is your head now?" My mom asks, filled with concern. "It is fine, mom. That was a long time ago." I assure her. "Once you let him in did you two fall madly in love?" My dad asks Bella. I chuckle, knowing the truth. "Actually, I was already in love with someone else." My dad nods. "I see." He says. "My fiance." Bella elaborates. My mom's eyes widen. My dad glares at me as if to ask, 'what did you ruin?' I avoid eye contact. "Romantic story, huh?" I say sarcastically as I take a sip of my water. "Well it all worked out. I chose Logan over Mark and I'm happier now than I was then." Bella says, squeezing my hand under the table. I've never heard her say that before, so it's nice to know that's how she feels.