Leap of Faith

Day Twenty-Nine

“Oh, sorry,” Libby’s voice broke my trance as I entered the TV room. She was huddled on the couch dipping gherkins into a tub of Ben and Jerry. Way to put me off my favorite desert for life. Bye bye chocolate fudge brownie, it was nice knowing you. “Did I wake you up? I thought I was being quiet, but I was raiding the cupboard for a while until I found the gherkins.”

I throw my pillow down next to her sit, pulling the blanket over me until I get comfortable. “I couldn’t sleep,” I tell my sister. “I thought I’d come down here and fry my brain with late night TV.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Libby enquires as she dips another gherkin into what was my favorite Ben and Jerry’s flavor. She sees me watching her and holds out the jar of gherkins. “Want one? They’re really nice.”

“Gross,” I say as I pull a face of disgust. “You only think they’re nice because your pregnancy hormones are lying to you. I bet you’re not even hungry.”

“Tell me about it,” Libby sighs. She looks down at her flat stomach and frowns. “This baby is going to make me fat.”

“And happy,” I remind her. She smiles at that.

“So, did you want to talk about it?” Libby presses again. I can tell from the look on her face that she’s dying to hear about it, but I just shake my head. “Suit yourself. We’re watching Third Rock from the Sun, by the way.”

I shrugged. I didn’t really care what we were watching as long as it was something that didn’t require me to think too much. I wanted to switch my brain off, not stir it to life. I watched at the show came back on screen, and while Libby laughed at the jokes, I didn’t. Instead, I was transfixed on the kid from the show. Tommy Solomon… now where had I seen his face and heard his voice before?

There was something eerily familiar about him, but I just couldn’t place it at all. His mannerisms were familiar… His face was familiar… His voice was familiar… Everything about him screamed that I knew him from somewhere else. I just didn’t know where.

Then it came to me.

“Isn’t he the guy from (500) Days of Summer?” I ask my sister. Libby looks at the screen with her head tilted then smiles and nods. “I thought I knew him from somewhere else.”

We fall back into silence and watch the episodes as they play. Every few minutes I hear the pop of the gherkin jar opening and then my sister eating her revolting treat. I kept shuffling away until eventually I was sat on the other end of the couch.

“So, why are you down here?” Libby asks, her eyes still glued to the TV.

“Couldn’t sleep,” I answer simply. Libby doesn’t believe me, if the narrow eyed look is any indication. I sigh and throw my head against the back of the couch. “There’s this guy…”

“TJ?” Libby smiles. I shake my head. “Not TJ? Ok, if it’s not the boy you’ve been permanently attached to for the past month, then who is it?”