A Change of Mind

Continuing Strain

I had come home after church the next day and had lunch. I washed my dishes and then wandered out to the living room to sit down. I pulled out my phone and found Tina’s number in my contact list. She had sent me a couple more messages the previous night after I turned off my phone.

The phone rang twice and she answered. “Hello?”

“Hi Tina. It’s Curt.”

“Oh, hi. I was beginning to think you were blowing me off.”

“I wasn’t. I just didn’t get time to call before now I had church this morning.”

“And you couldn’t have called late last night?” Her tone was impatient.

“Well, I felt it would have been rude to Nate. We spent the night together.”

“The whole night?”

“Yes. He slept here at my place.”

“Oh honey, that’s awesome! How was the sex?”

I made a face. I hated how she expected me to share the intimate details of my love life like that. “I enjoyed it. And that’s all I have to say about it.”

“Oh, come on! Give me at least a couple juicy details.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Oh, why not? You’re no fun.”

“I just think it’s personal and would rather keep it that way.”

“I’d tell you anything you’d want to know about my sexual escapades!”

“But I wouldn’t ask about them.”

“Humph!” she said, her voice full of exasperation. I wondered if we were about to head for another argument. After a moment, she said, “Well, okay. I don’t want to fight with you again.”

“I don’t want to fight either,” I said, thankful to avoid more conflict. “So, did you have a good weekend?”

“Yeah, I went out with Kendra and a couple friends Saturday night.”

“Back to the club, yeah. The one security guard kept giving me a dirty look.”

“Yeah, they can be like that,” I said, hoping she wouldn’t push that topic too far. I couldn’t blame security for being a bit wary of her given recent events. I didn’t figure she’d understand or appreciate that point of view, though. “But you had a good time.”

“Yeah, I met this cool guy I’d never seen before, Doug. He’s in his early thirties and is in the music business. He says he helps find local talent and helps them break into the big times.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” I said. I had almost forgotten that Tina wanted to be a singer.

“Yeah, we talked a bit. I told him about some of my songs. He sounded pretty interested.”

“Cool. Did you have a copy of your demo CD with you?”

“No. And he didn’t have a business card on him, so he couldn’t give me his work address so I could mail it to him.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“Oh, that’s okay. He asked me for my phone number so he could call me this week and give me his address.”

“Oh, okay,” I said. A bit hesitant.

Tina sounded a bit defensive. “Let me guess, you’re like Kendra. She thinks the guy was just trying to pick me up and can’t really help my music career.”

I took a deep breath. “Well, since you asked.”

She interrupted me. “Well, let’s pretend I didn’t ask!”

I rubbed massaged my left temple. I was beginning to feel like I was navigating a minefield. “Okay. Anyway, I hope it works out for you and he really can help you out.”

“Whatever. Maybe I should just let you go. We seem to be getting on each other’s nerves.”

I considered her statement. I was getting frustrated and said somewhat strained, “There’s nothing I can say that’s going to go over well, is there?”

“Well, if there is something, that certainly wasn’t it!” She snapped.

“Sorry.” It was too late though. She had hung up. I sent Steve a quick text telling him about the exchange, then started getting ready to take Katie for a walk. I had just gotten her leashed up when I got a reply from Steve.

“You just can’t win with some people. Sorry man.” I smiled. At least someone else saw the whole thing as a no-win situation for me.

As I walked out the door, my next door neighbor, Lisa, was standing on her porch. “Hey Curt! How have you been?”

“Hi Lisa. I’ve been pretty good. Mostly just working.”

“So who’s the cute guy who came home with you late last night?”

I chuckled. Lisa was in her thirties and seemed fascinated by my social life. “His name is Nate. He’s my new boyfriend.”

“Oh, he’s adorable. I’m a little jealous. How long have you been dating now.”

“A little over two weeks, actually. This is our third weekend together. We saw each other for the first time three Fridays ago.”

“Very nice.” She looked a bit concerned. “You are using protection right?”

“Lisa!” I exclaimed embarrassed. What is it with women in my life who want to know about my intimate life?

“Hey, you’re a great neighbor. I just want to make sure you stay healthy so you’re my neighbor for a long time.”

“Thanks. Well, yeah, we’re playing it safe.”

“Good. Actually, I’m glad I caught you. Jeff and I are planning another barbecue for next Saturday. We’d love for you to pop over for a bit. And feel free to bring Nate.”

“What time?” I asked. “I have a thing at church in the afternoon.”

“Well, Jeff will probably fire up the grill around four and we’ll start serving food around five. But you know Jeff. There’ll probably be plenty of food well past ten.”

“Okay. I should be free by seven. I’ll have to check with Nate to see if he’s interested or wants to do something else.” I paused, then added, “Not that I couldn’t come alone.” I hesitated.

She laughed. “But two young guys in the early stages of love may have other ways they’d rather spend their evening than with heterosexual suburbanites. I totally understand. Just give us a heads up if you’re coming.”

“No problem. I’ll check with Nate when I talk to him later today.” I started to lead Katie away, then stopped. “Oh, I probably should mention that Nate’s a vegetarian. So even if we come, he may not eat. I hope that’s not a problem.”

Lisa laughed. “He’s welcome to do that. But there will be at least four other people there who are vegans. We always have something to grill for them and should have enough for Nate too. Plus, the dishes they bring should be safe for him, unless he has other dietary restrictions.”

“Okay. Thanks. Speaking of which, is there anything I should bring.”

Lisa pondered this for a moment. “I think we have all the basics covered. And knowing the friends I have helping out, we’ll probably end up eating leftovers for days. But if you want to bring some chips or something just so you don’t feel like your mooching, that’s fine. Or feel free to mooch.” She said that last while winking at me.

“Okay. Like I said, I’ll talk it over with Nate and get back to you. Probably sometime tomorrow?”

“That’s plenty of notice. Thanks, Curt. Enjoy your walk.”

I whistled to get Katie’s attention, as she had been sniffing at a shrub the entire time. “Let’s go girl.” With that, we wandered down the road.