“It’s okay, Ryan. You’re just…you. And I like you just the way you are.”
I swallow, with difficulty. I’ve done nothing to deserve her affection. To be honest, I’ve been a pretty awful brother-in-law and soon-to-be-uncle.
“Because I’m Ian’s brother?”
“Because I’ve got to know you and I’ve seen your good sides.”
“You really think I have good sides?”
“Of course you do. Everyone has them, you included.”
She moves around on the sofa, struggling to find a more comfortable position. I put my beer down on the coffee table and take her legs.
“What are you doing?” she asks, alarmed.
“You’re uncomfortable, and I’m taking up the whole sofa. Come on, put your legs up on me.”
She flushes red.
“Ian won’t kill me, I swear,” I tell her, as I lightly grab her ankles, lifting them across my legs.
She sighs with relief and stretches out.
“Better?”
“Yeah, thanks. I get so tired in the evenings…”
“Maybe you shouldn’t still be working.”
“It’s just for a few more weeks. Then I’ll be on maternity leave.”
“Good,” I smile, involuntarily.
Riley’s the only person who can bring out that little bit of humanity buried inside me.
“How come you didn’t go out and celebrate with the others?” she asks me.
“I didn’t feel like it.”
“But you came here.”
“I just needed…I wanted to…”
“Someone,” she says, kindly.
I nod in embarrassment.
She takes my hand, which is still resting on her leg, and squeezes it.
“It’s not a weakness, you know: admitting you need someone in your life.”
I shake my head.
“That ship sailed way too long ago.”
“Maybe you’ll get another chance. Not all missed opportunities are a bad thing, even though it can seem like that at first. Sometimes it was just the wrong time, the wrong place.”
I laugh sadly.
