The Humdrum Life of a Hero

Chapter 5.

By friend I figured Jay meant one of his guy friends from one of his classes.

I certainly did not expect him to show up with a girl.

So, I stand there, a twinge of jealousy boiling in my stomach as I look at Jay and his friend standing on my porch. I snap out of if it eventually and greet them. "Vanessa Hollbrook, right?" I ask her.

"And you said she wouldn't know me," Vanessa playfully hits Jay's shoulder with her fist. I slowly curl my fist into a ball. I don't know what's gotten into me and why her being here is bothering me so much. It's not like I'm dating Jay. He's allowed to date whoever he wants.

"I don't know who Sarah does and doesn't know!" Jay says.

"Anyway," I roll my eyes at Jay and direct my attention to Vanessa. "Welcome to casa de O'Henry." I wave my hand to the living room, which is in a constant state of disaster. Clothes are folded on the coffee table, just waiting to be put away. Connor and Nick are spread across the couch and loveseat in various stages of their meals, either dessert or a second helping of nuggets. A yet-to-be-assembled train set sits half in and half out of the box in front of the television, which is currently showing reruns on Cartoon Network.

Jay, Vanessa, and I walk through the short hallway into the kitchen/dining room to find Tony and Miranda mid-make out. "Good Lord," I mutter as I go check on the lasagna. The rest of them chatter around the table and patiently wait for the lasagna to finish. "So, Jay, I heard you stumbled upon the soccer fields the other day," Tony chimes in.

When I came home last Saturday, I told Tony about I was pretty sure Jay showed up there on purpose. Tony waved me off initially, but as I told him the rest of the story, he seemed to think that Jay might have a little crush on me.

"He does not!" I had said, even though I hoped just a little bit that he did.

"He hasn't really said anything, but no one else has ever helped you do the dishes. Also, I don't even go to the boys' games, and he did, so obviously he wasn't going for the soccer atmosphere."

That was the extent of the conversation, but Tony validated my views on the matter. Now, though, that validation means squat since he shows up to my dinner with some girl. A very good-looking girl for that matter.

That frustration almost causes me to grab the lasagna pan without potholders, but my senses kick in at the last minute and pull me out of my frustrated haze. I plop the pan down in the center of the table with an audible thud.

I don't really contribute to the conversation; I just wallow in a shallow pool of self-pity at my end of the table. I catch snippets of conversation pertaining to me here and there, but I just smile and nod.

Dinner ends when Connor and Nick come running in, asking the boys to play football with them out back. The twins have never really shown any interest in football, and only showed interest in soccer because that meant they got Mom all to themselves for a few hours a week.

Miranda says she has to leave and go home as soon as the boys all go out the sliding glass doors from the kitchen to the backyard. Miranda has been to a few dinners over the last couple of weeks, and I still have yet to figure her out because she always has to leave early. At least I no longer run the chance of walking in on Tony and some girl having after-dinner-sex down in his room since Miranda always leaves early.

So that leaves Vanessa and I, who sweetly asks if she can help me clean up. No wonder why he likes her, she loves to help clean dishes. They're two peas in a freakin' pod.

I collect the plates and such and start rinsing them off. "I think it's really great what you're doing with the boys and all," Vanessa says. She catches me off-guard because I didn't really know she knew the extent of our situation. "Jay told me on the way over here."