Brian set the table while Abby took the roast out of the oven. She sat it in the middle of the table next to the salad bowl, and took two glasses out of the cabinet for drinks.

“I would offer you wine, but we don’t have any so the best thing I can offer you is Coke.”

“Coke is fine.”

“Oh, wait, this is your lucky day. Not only do we have Coke, but we have Cherry Coke as well.” She was grinning from ear to ear when she turned from the refrigerator with the two cans in her hands.

Brian had to laugh. “What would you do if I said that I just wanted water?”

She closed the door. “I’d throw one of these cans at you.”

“That might hurt. I’ll take the Cherry Coke.” Abby tossed him the can of regular Coke. Brian laughed again, and they sat down at the table. “You should do that more often.”

“Do what?”

“Laugh.”

Brian’s grin faded into a small smile, and his concentration went to putting food on his plate. “This looks really good. You really shouldn’t have gone through the trouble of making this just for me.”

“Brian, it was no trouble. Besides, I wanted to do it.” Abby watched as Brian took the first bite. A slight moan escaped from his lips as he chewed. “You like?”

“Wow.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“This is… wow. Where did you learn to cook this?”

“It was my mom’s recipe. She didn’t make it very often, but when she did man. We all pigged out on it. It was great.”

“Where’s your mom now?”

“She died about four years ago from breast cancer.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. She was really strong about it and in the end, she wasn’t scared at all. She’d been fighting it for about two years and she went into remission a few times, but it always came back. The doctors didn’t catch it in time on her last relapse and it spread. For some reason, she didn’t really seem surprised. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go on like that.”

“No, don’t apologize. How did you feel about all of that?”

“Well, at first I was really angry. I didn’t want my mom to be sick or anything like that. After that I just got really scared and sad until one day she sat me down and told me how she needed me to be brave for her. She didn’t want me to be sad or scared because no matter what happened, it would be happening for the best. She raised me to be the best woman I could possibly be, and after that everything was in God’s hands.” Abby stopped to take a bite and a sip of her drink. “So after our little talk I grew so much, and I stayed by her side through the whole thing. When she was dying, all I could think about was how much I wanted her pain to end. I think I only cried a little bit when she died. I was just happy that she was finally at ease and she didn’t have to suffer anymore.”

“Wow. It takes a really strong person to be able to do that. Where was your father during that time?"

“My dad left us when I was eleven.”

“Oh.” Changing the subject a little, Brian asked, “So did you go into helping children at the hospital because of your mom?”

“Yeah, she had a lot to do with it. That and I just love kids. They have so much life, so much energy.”

“But it must be hard with them being sick.”

“It is sometimes, but we all deal with it together. I try my best to help in any way that I can.”

They talked for the rest of the meal, mostly about her work and the children. She was hoping that since she had opened up to him that he would feel comfortable enough to do the same. But by the end of the meal, he had barely spoken about himself at all. He talked about the group some, but she wanted to know about the real Brian, not the man that was in a music group.

When they finished eating, Brian insisted on helping her with the dishes since she cooked. Twenty minutes and two small water fights later, Abby and Brian went into the living room.

“Want any dessert?” Abby asked as Brian plopped down on the couch, one hand covering his stomach.

“No way. I’m stuffed. I’m surprised I don’t have gravy coming out of my ears or something.”

“Now that would be a sight. Wanna watch a movie or something? I’m not promising that we have anything good to watch, but oh well.”

“Yeah sure, just put anything in.” While Abby was searching through the movies, Brian kicked his shoes off and rested his feet on the table. “I could go to sleep right here.”

“You don’t have to stay if you’re tired.”

“I’m not really tired, just… comfortable.”

“You sure? I don’t want you to think that you have to stay.”

“Abby, it’s fine. If I wanted to leave, I would. Trust me.”

“Okay. Is Message In A Bottle okay to watch?”

“Yeah, whatever. I don’t think I ever saw it.”

“It’s really good, but I like the book better.”

Abby grabbed the remote from the top of the VCR before sitting on the couch, leaving some space between she and Brian. She wanted to sit closer. She wanted to be in his arms, but she knew that’s not what he wanted and she wasn’t one to push anything. As she fast-forwarded through the previews she couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to be laying in his arms, cuddled close, safe and warm.

Once the movie started Abby got up and headed out the room saying she was going to change clothes. She came back in her pajamas, and Brian gave her a once over with his eyes. Abby settled back in her spot putting most of her attention into the movie, but keeping some of it in Brian.

Through out the movie Brian would glance to his side just to see what Abby was doing, to see her facial expressions change as she watched the movie. He watched her eyes starting to droop lower and lower. Almost three fourths into the movie, Abby was sound asleep curled in a little ball on her side of the couch. Brian stood up and walked down the hall to her bedroom, pulling the covers back on her bed. He went back into the living room and gently scooped her into his arms, careful not to wake her. After tucking her into bed, Brian stood in the doorway watching her sleep.