Travis spotted me and looked surprised. We walked the couple feet between us to meet each other in front of the house.
"Hey, Archer."
I wiped my hands on the rag I was holding and regarded him, waiting for him to tell me why he was there.
"The place looks nice."
I nodded, acknowledging his compliment. I knew it looked good.
"You've been working hard."
I nodded again.
He sighed. "Listen, man, Bree told me how you two have been spending time together, and I," he ran his hand through his hair, seeming to consider, "well, I guess I wanted to come out here and say hi. And that I'm sorry I haven't been out before this."
I kept studying him. Travis had never been easy for me to read. I had fallen into his traps before when he tried to pretend he was my friend, and then metaphorically shot me in the back. Even when we were both kids, even before my accident. I didn't necessarily trust him now, but I supposed maybe people could change–it'd been a long time. I was going to give it a try. For Bree. Only for Bree. Because I thought that would make her happy. And I'd do anything to make Bree happy.
I nodded at him, giving him a very small curve of my lips and gestured to the house, asking if he'd like to come inside.
"Yeah, yeah, sure," he said.
We walked to the front door and I let him in before me, walking behind him and pointing to the kitchen. I went straight to a cabinet and got a glass and filled it with water from the tap and took a long drink.
When I was done, I pointed to the glass and to him and raised my eyebrows.
"No, thanks," he said. "I'm actually on my lunch hour right now, so I can't stay long. What I actually wanted to know was whether you'd like to go out with me and some of the guys tonight? Nothing big–just a simple guys' night out, a few beers, some laughs."
My brows furrowed and I stared at him. I pointed to my scar and made a fake laughing movement.
Travis breathed out. "You can't laugh?" And he actually looked embarrassed. I'd never seen that look on Travis's face. Maybe he had changed a little. "Wait," he seemed to reconsider, "you can laugh. A soundless laugh is still a laugh. Come on, the point is, wouldn't you like to have some fun? Get away from this little house for a night? Be a normal guy?"
I wanted to be a normal guy. Or at least, I wanted Bree to see me as a man who was at least a little bit like other men. I had never wanted that before. In fact, I had wanted the opposite–to look as abnormal as possible so that no one looked at me. But now, now there was Bree. And I longed to give her what she deserved, not a sad hermit who never left his property. I was sure that she had gone on dates with men before me. They had probably taken her to restaurants and coffee shops. I didn't know how to do any of that. I needed to learn.
I nodded at Travis and mouthed, Okay.
He looked slightly shocked, but grinned–his big, white teeth flashing. "All right, then!" he said. "I'll be back to pick you up later tonight. Nine o'clock okay?"
I shrugged. That seemed kind of late, but what did I know about what time guys' night out should start.
Travis extended his hand and I reached forward, clasping it. "Okay, see you then." He smiled. "I'll let myself out." And with that, he walked out of my kitchen and closed my front door behind him.
I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms over my chest, thinking. For some reason, I didn't have a good feeling about this. But I wrote it off to nerves and went to get in the shower.
**********
At ten minutes past nine, Travis opened my gate and I stood up from the chair on the porch where I had been waiting. I walked up the driveway and locked my gate behind me. Travis had a big, dark silver truck and it was idling on the road. I took a deep breath. The last time I'd been in a car–that I remembered anyway, I didn't think the ambulance counted–was the day that I lost my voice.
I gritted my teeth and climbed up into it, forcing thoughts of that day out of my mind.
Travis revved the engine and started driving.
"So man," he said, looking at me, "you clean up pretty well. You might even be better looking than me." He laughed, but it didn't reach his eyes.
Bree had practically jumped up and down when I told her that I was going out with Travis and his friends, whoever they were. Then she had helped me pick out a decent outfit, not that I had much to choose from.
"Archer," she had asked me, holding up a shirt, "when was the last time you went clothes shopping?"
I had shrugged. My uncle did that. He bought me some stuff when I was eighteen.
She had regarded me quietly for a minute and then said, "And let me guess, you weren't quite as…" she waved her hand toward me, indicating my muscles, I guessed, "developed."
I nodded my head and shrugged.
She sighed as if this was a problem and started digging through my raggedy clothes. Finally she came up with a pair of jeans that was decent and she said could pass for purposefully worn, and a button down shirt I'd forgotten about, that had been a little big on me when my uncle initially bought it.
Bree seemed satisfied and so I was too. Maybe I'd even go into town and pick up a few new things if it made Bree happy that I looked nicer.
Travis turned on a music station on the radio and we drove along just listening to the music for a little while. When I noticed that we were heading out of town, I tapped Travis and pointed at the road and raised my shoulders questioningly.