Thursday, March 19, 2009

Chapter Thirty

Coasting Down Memory Lane;
Chapter Thirty

Sidney and Riley arrived at Famous Dave’s at five after. They met up with the other two couples inside the restaurant. Upon their entry, a few girls noticed Sidney and screeched his name, all while throwing themselves at him.

“Hey guys,” Riley said as she and Sidney sat down at the table.

“Hey,” Ben said, trying to keep from laughing. “Did you guys cause all that commotion?”

Sidney flushed slightly then answered. “Kinda,”

All throughout the meal Kaylan and Kim talked weddings, Riley joined in most of the time. The guys talked cars when they weren’t being dragged into the wedding conversation. They were sitting at a large table near the back of the restaurant; far from those dreaded screaming girls.

After enjoying a nice lunch with family and friends, everyone parted ways. Ben and Kim both had to go meet with an apartment owner, Kaylan and her fiancé Jordan McGraves both had to work, and Riley and Sidney were free for the rest of the day.

On the way home, Sidney held Riley’s hand in the car. They talked of topics of no real importance and enjoyed every minute of it. They were both at ease. Every now and then Riley would tease Sidney on his driving skills; she thought that he drove a little too slow.

Once home, they both let out a long, relaxing sigh. Riley bolted to the living room and flopped down on the couch, in total comfort. Sidney stood back and watched her. She’s hardly ever at ease, he thought. Which was true, it was an odd thing to see Riley act so carelessly, so freely. He thought that it was because when she was filming for the sports show she had to put on an act, so to speak. She always had to be so poised and so professional. But when she was at home, she could be lazy, loud, wild; politically incorrect.

He walked over to the couch, which his girlfriend was taking up most of, and lifted her up bridal-style and sat down. At her complaining groan he chuckled and set her down on his lap.

“Do you want to get married?” Riley asked, idly

“Are you proposing?”

“What?” She opened her eyes and looked up at his smiling face. “No. No, I meant it more, like, do you ever want to get married?”

“Ah,” he said as understanding spread across his face. “Sure. I mean, I don’t see why I wouldn’t.”

“Oh.”

“Why, you don’t?”

“I don’t know,” she answered coolly. “I mean, I don’t think it’s really necessary.”

“Oh?” He straightened. “And why not?”

“Well, I always thought that if you’re meant to spend the rest of your life with someone – you know, like soul mates, sort of thing – then you’re going to be with them, no matter what.” She had thought about this before, but never said anything.

“Rye, what brought this up?”

“I guess I’ve never really understood why people make such big deals about getting married and weddings and stuff. And I think with seeing how Kim and Kay discussed their wedding plans so… vitally, I still don’t understand it.”

“Mhm.” He nodded.

“I mean, if you truly love someone, why do some people think ‘oh if you don’t propose then we’re done.’” She sighed. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”

He laughed. “No. Not one bit. Actually, I think it’s kind of attractive how you can speak your mind so openly.”

“Thanks,” she said sarcastically. “It’s not always such a lovely trait.”

Several days later, while Riley was at the station Cheryl pulled her aside. Riley had just finished filming the half hour show that would air the same sports highlights continuously for that whole morning, and then the channel on which it aired would show fishing or poker.

“Great show, as always,” Cheryl praised.

“Thanks,” Riley smiled.

“No problem. You’re perfect for this job, you’re young, smart, gorgeous, poised, you have a beautiful voice – I love the bit of Australian.”

“Again, thanks,” Riley laughed. This was odd, she thought.

“Okay, so I need you to do something for me,” Cheryl began. “We have this young guy, Brian, and I want you to train him since you’re one of our best journalists.”

“Oh. Okay, yeah sure. When would you like me to start?”

“Next week sometime,” Cheryl smiled. She knew Riley would be the best example of talent and discipline. “He’s a great kid, really. Attractive, too.”

Since Riley could sense that Cheryl was hinting, she sighed. “Cheryl, I have a boyfriend.”

“Ooh, I know,” she said it in such a way that reminded Riley of her grandmother. “But I really appreciate this, dear.”

And with that, Riley headed to the arena to watch the remainder of the Penguins’ practice.

2 comments:

mrsjordanstaal11 said...

Sidney and Riley are so cute together. As always this was a great chapter, very well written. I can't wait to see what you have in store.

And thanks for continuing to read my story, it means a lot.

Carrie said...

I agree. They are so cute. And I', excited to see what happens in the next chapter. :)
I sort of have the same views on marriage. Don't get me wrong, I do want to get married at some point, but I can never understand why people leave each other just because one of them doesn't want to get married. That's really stupid if you ask me.