Friendzoned

MASH

I got excused from work for being ‘injured’, so Emily invited me over to her Aunt and Uncle’s house in order to make sure I was alright. I pulled into their small driveway and was greeted by the same golden retriever as last time. Emily walked out onto the porch smiling at my presence, “Boy, he got you good didn’t he?” she said inspecting my fat lip.

I laughed pathetically, “Apparently I got him better.”

“Sure did,” I suddenly remembered she had witnessed everything. She led me inside to the living room and had me sit down next to her on the couch, “So, I have some exciting news,” she began to boast, “I talked to the church committee and the owners of the hardware store and both agreed to help with the Children’s Hospital project,” she beamed with excitement as she was talking to me.

I glowed back at her, “We could get this thing up and running by next week!”

She nodded in agreement, “Then we can have an open viewing for the public to see. Brenden, this is going to be so great.”

Suddenly, a text message appeared on my phone from my dad. He wanted to tell me that Michael’s surgery was scheduled in a measly three weeks, which only meant the deadline for the hospital project had to be accelerated. I turned to look at Emily, “What do you say the two of us take a little field trip?” She eyed me curiously, but then reluctantly got up off the couch.

I decided to take her to the hospital, assuming she had never been there before. Since she came here in the middle of the school year, I couldn’t be too sure. The minute we walked in, the dim florescent lighting and bare, unfriendly walls immediately enlightened Emily as to why I wanted to take on this project, “If this is the Children’s Hospital,” Emily piped up, “I’m afraid of what the regular hospital might look like.” She held onto my arm as if we were in a haunted house. I smiled at her, allowing her to clutch onto my bicep. I took her down the hallway where my brother’s room was located and gave her permission to go in. Lying in the bed, Michael’s pale complexion seemed tired out, but that all changed once Emily and I entered. He immediately sat up, showing all his teeth with his grin. My parents were sitting in some chairs near the window and perked up as the door open.

“Everyone,” I announced, “this is Emily. Emily, this is…everyone.”

She greeted them all very warmly and introduced herself as my friend. It was a little hard to believe I was being friendzoned in front of my whole family, but nevertheless I was happy that they were able to meet her. My dad raised his eyebrows a bit at my “lady friend” as he liked to call them, but I shrugged off his reaction.

“You must be Michael,” Emily directed her attention towards my brother, sitting down on the edge of his bed, “I’ve heard so much about you.”

This made Michael cheer up, knowing that I had talked about him, “What have you heard?” Michael took his hand to his head and scratched his bald scalp. It was odd seeing him without his usual flop of hair.

Emily smiled like a Disney princess, “Such wonderful things,” she stopped for a minute, seeing how eager Michael was, “like you enjoy soccer, and the Macaroni and Cheese crayon,” she giggled a bit at that, “and that you really love your big brother, here,” she set her hand on my shoulder as she mentioned me.

Michael leaned back a bit, “Yep, all those things are true,” he confirmed.

Pretty soon, Emily had gotten to know my mother, father, and brother, more than I had ever expected. She was on her fifth round of tic-tac-toe versus Michael, as my mom pulled me over to whisper with me, “Emily is one special girl.”

I grinned at her, realizing this was the first mother-son related topic we had ever talked about, “Yeah, she’s something alright,” I replied, watching Michael win against Emily.

“She reminds me a lot of me when I was her age,” my mother mentioned as if looking back on the memories of her and my dad, “Might want to keep this one around.”

I pondered what she said for a moment, and then looked back at Emily and Michael, “I intend to,” I admitted, deciding to join the two on the hospital bed.

Michael and Emily had evolved into a game of MASH just as I approached, “Ever play this game in grade school?” Emily asked me as she was telling Michael her future dream cars.

“Of course,” I sat down beside her, listening to her answers. MASH used to be the knower of all truths. The game depicted who would be your future spouse, to your future job. It even told you whether you would live in a Mansion, Apartment, Shack, or House: the acronym of the title.

Michael began to tally up Emily’s results and looked back up surprised, “Ok, you will marry Brenden, work at the humane society, drive a Jetta, and live in a house in Colorado.”

I peered over at Emily. She had actually chosen me as one of her dream spouses. Even though it was just a game, I got an overwhelming sensation of happiness, “Colorado?” I questioned genuinely.

Emily shrugged, “It’s my home state.”

After countless games and talking, Emily and I had to leave. Michael was a bit disappointed, but he was happy once again when he realized that Emily and I would return the next day. He gave me a hug and then gave one to Emily, “Out of all the girls Brenden has let us meet, you’re my favorite.”

Emily pulled back from the hug, “And how many girls has that been?” she asked jokingly.

“Just you. So, there isn’t much competition,” Michael confessed.

 Michael finished hugging Emily so she could say goodbye to my parents. They also decided to give her a hug, and thank her for occupying Michael, “I’m so glad I got to meet you both,” Emily gave my parents a smile then returned to my side.

I led her back out into the parking lot and we stopped to talk by the hood of my car, “So, when are we getting hitched?” I laughed referring back to the game of MASH.

Emily placed her hands on her hips defensively, “You weren’t the only boy on that list, bucko,” she teased.

“But I was the one you were destined to be with,” I reminded her, bringing her in for a hug.

She wrapped her arms around my waist and placed her chin against my chest, tilting her head up towards mine. I slung my arms around her back and brought my lips into hers, kissing them lightly. I could feel her curve into a smile, “We better get you home,” I suggested, still holding onto her.

She snuggled right into my arms, “Not yet.”

We stood there for a moment, in each other’s embrace, not worrying about a thing. I liked this more than anything in the world. Being with Emily just felt right. There were not pieces of the puzzle missing. I could sigh a bit of relief forgetting the past and not worrying about the future. That was what being with Emily was like, all the mattered was what was happening in that moment. So even if we did end up getting married, living in a house in Colorado, owning a Jetta and adopting one too many animal, I didn’t have to worry about it. Because all that mattered right then, was how lucky I was to be holding a beautiful red-headed girl in the parking lot of a children’s hospital.

So, maybe it wasn’t the most romantic thing in the world…but it was us.