Mat Barzal - What Real Support Looks Like

Part 6

"Yeah, actually, it was." Gemma tried (and failed) to keep the surprise out of her voice.

"I'm surprised, too," Annie said. "I thought he was a total fuckboy when I met him back home, but..." She stopped talking when they reached the end of the block, pointing across the street before finally stammering out, "What is that?"

"The Irish Hunger Memorial," Gemma said, proud that she was able to keep the surprise a secret. "It opened a year after 9/11."

"You didn't tell me about this," Annie accused her best friend.

"I know it's hard, moving away from home and everything," Gemma continued, "But I want you to see that there's a little piece of home here. Literally a piece of it: there are stones from every single county and soil from the west."

Annie looked awe-stricken, but she quickly snapped out of it and hugged Gemma. After releasing her, she said, "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Gemma laughed and let her best friend tug her across the street. The memorial wasn't just a statue: it was a park that included a Famine-era cottage transported from Connemara, an area in the west of Ireland that was hit particularly hard by the Famine. As Annie wandered around, Gemma couldn't help but think back to when she had taken Mat to Connemara during their trip to Ireland.

When they first arrived in the country, Mat had insisted on driving, but by the time they got to Connemara, he handed Gemma the keys to their rental car without a word of protest. Driving on the other side of the road was no picnic.

There was a little Famine museum in County Mayo that Gemma had wanted to visit during her time abroad, but she didn't have a chance, so she took Mat with her. She was worried that he would be bored by the tour, but he seemed genuinely interested in everything the tour guide had to say.

When the tour was over, Gemma asked, "What did you think? You weren't bored, were you?"

Mat looked surprised. "Bored? Are you kidding? It was actually interesting."

Gemma was still skeptical. "Really?"

"Yeah. Am I surprised that I didn't hate it? Of course, but I really did enjoy it. And the views? They're spectacular!"

Gemma nodded. "Yeah, the mountains really are something."

There was a bit of silence before Mat broke it. "Gem, I want you to feel comfortable around me."

It was her turn to be confused. "What are you talking about? I am comfortable."

"Not enough to really talk about history as much as you want to." Mat raised an eyebrow, and Gemma sighed. He was right: she was holding back a lot.

"I don't want to scare you off."

"Why would I be scared off?"

Gemma took a deep breath. "Well, when I was younger, everyone made fun of me for being a know-it-all. I don't want you to think that, too."

Mat wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her. He pulled back and cupped Gemma's cheeks with his hands. "Gemma, I would never think that. I love how smart you are—I haven't been exposed to that much in my life, and you've encouraged me to think, really think, about things I wouldn't have questioned before. You make my life richer in every way, and I love you for it."

Gemma blushed and smiled. "You really feel that way?"

Mat leaned in close enough that their noses were touching. "I really do," he said before kissing her.

"Earth to Gemma!" Annie shouted, waving a hand in her best friend's face.

Gemma looked around, and she was back in New York at the Hunger Memorial. "What happened?"

"You went to Gemma-land," Annie said matter-of-factly before saying quietly, "Were you thinking about him?"

Gemma paused before replying, "Yeah. Did I ever tell you about how I dragged Mat to that Famine museum in Mayo?"

Annie nodded in response, an unreadable expression on her face.

"I just..." Gemma was at a loss for words. "I just..."

"You miss him," Annie said. "It's okay; I'm not judging you," she added, seeing panic bloom on Gemma's face. "Lauren was right: you have to work through your feelings. And no matter what you decide in three days, I will support you."

"You mean it?" Gemma was shocked. She had been expecting (and dreading) a speech from Annie about how she shouldn't even consider taking him back. "I thought you didn't like him."

"I'm not particularly fond of him," Annie responded, "But he's also made you happy before. And I think he really does regret everything that went down the other night. He could've been denying he did anything wrong, but he's owned up to everything. I didn't expect him to be so mature. It makes me wonder if...I might have misjudged him."

Gemma couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you serious? You do know that he forgot about my birthday and said I should give up grad school, right?"

"I know, and I am still tempted to kick him where it hurts," Annie chuckled, "But I thought he was a loser getting paid millions of dollars for no legitimate reason. Now I wonder if there's more to him. My point is," she got herself back on track, "No matter what you decide to do, I'm behind you one hundred percent. Always."

"I love you, Annie," Gemma said, launching herself into her best friend's arms.

"Love you too, weirdo," Annie replied, and Gemma laughed. When Annie let her go, she said, "Do you want to look around? I've seen everything."

"No, I'm good," Gemma replied. "I've come down here quite a few times to get out of the Morningside bubble." It was true; everyone at Columbia seemed to be stuck uptown, so Gemma forced herself to leave campus at least once a week and explore a new neighborhood, whether it was thirty blocks from school or across the river in Brooklyn and Queens.

"Okay, do you want to head back to the Island?"

"Yeah, I've had enough exploring for the day," Gemma conceded, and the two girls walked back to the subway so that they could get to the LIRR.

                                                        **********

Gemma didn't know how it was possible, but she felt more conflicted than ever.

As she and Annie walked to the front door of the Eberle residence, which was illuminated by porch lights in the dark, Annie broke the silence and said, "What if no one's home?"

"Jordan's car is in the driveway, so he must be back from the game. Besides, Lauren gave me a key last night," Gemma replied. She was surprised that Jordan was home because the Isles won tonight, and she was sure at least half the team was going out to celebrate.

When they reached the front door, Gemma pulled her key ring out of her pocket. The key to Lauren and Jordan's house hung next to the one to Mat's apartment. She swallowed when she saw the two keys side by side, then yanked the Eberle's key away, separating it from the others, and put the key in the lock to open the door.

"Lauren? Jordan? We're home!" Gemma shouted into the house as they stepped inside. She heard one set of footsteps running towards them as she and Annie walked into the living room.

"Hey, Gem," Lauren said anxiously, "Why don't we go over to...?"

"Tito?" Gemma was shocked to see Mat's best friend sitting with Jordan on the couch. Jordan caught her staring at him and looked sheepish as Tito stood up and walked over to the three women.

"We need to talk, Gemma," Tito announced.