That Night With My Neph

I was finally able to plop down on a sofa outside the banquet hall. They were all dancing inside and having a good time. The bride and groom were gone. The cleaning crew were waiting. People were starting to trickle out and go home or back to the hotel. I had organized things before?a company picnic, a family vacation, projects at work. Nothing compared to the three-ring circus that was my daughter?s wedding.One of the ladies in the cleaning crew peered into the hall, rolled her eyes and shook her head at the others.?We?re almost done,? I told her. ?Wait.?The lady glared at me for a moment.?Where?s Julio?? I asked, naming their manager.The lady retreated, giving me a quiet apology.Months of preparation, intense days, dealing with guests, fighting with caterers, wrangling bridesmaids, managing rehearsals like a drill instructor, stressing over budgets, combating with a Bridezilla, and I wasn?t about to take attitude from a cleaning woman.But we were going into overtime. I decided to get up from the comfortable sofa and get back to the party. It was a happy day for almost everyone except me. I just wanted to go home.Leyla, my sister, was heading outside for a cigarette break. ?Did Jack leave already??She was referring to my ex-husband Jack who reentered our lives after three years just to walk his daughter down the aisle. He stayed for the party. Now he was headed back Texas where he was living now.?Yup. And good riddance to him,? I said.?I think my kid?s waiting for you,? she said with a squinty, curious look and a smile as she went outside.Hanging by the door inside the hall was Toby, my nephew. He had taken off the tie of his black groomsman suit.?Aunt Mel,? he said, with a goofy grin, happy to see me.I sighed. Everyone was dancing except him. His bridesmaid partner was dancing with several people. Toby had probably spent most of the wedding Kıbrıs Escort reception by the wall or at his table on his phone.He came to give me a hug even though we had talked an hour ago.?Mm,? I said playfully as he wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my cheek. Being a foot taller than me, he had to bend down to do it. Then he kissed the other cheek, like he always did. He was always so comfortable around me. He was probably the only family member I hadn?t yelled at during the wedding preparations.I held his cute face in my hands and looked at him seriously. ?Why aren?t you dancing??He shrugged. ?I don?t want to.?His body was moving with me to the rhythm of the loud music. ?Really?? I said.He laughed that sheepish laugh he does and started dancing with me.?Don?t be a wallflower,? I said to him. ?Where?s Cathy? She likes you.??No, she doesn?t.??How do you know???She said she doesn?t like me and that she wants to dance with other people.?I put my hands on my hips and looked around for Cathy among the flock of women in pink dresses dancing in a line. I had specifically chosen her as Toby?s partner because I thought they?d have some chemistry being the same age, both being seniors in high school and into the same silly comic book movies.?I don?t care,? Toby said.?Did she really say that?? Ooh, I had more yelling to do tonight.Then I spotted Babs, the bubbly, chubby college girl who loved to dance with anyone, who was flirty and sweet, a little promiscuous I heard but that?s okay. A popular girl, she usually had a whole bunch of friends around her, but for a moment she was alone, looking at her phone.?Go dance with Babs,? I said to him urgently.?I don?t want to dance.??Go. Now. I have to get back to work.??The party?s over.??Not for me. It?s not over till we land back in Chicago. Now go. Hurry, before Lefkoşa Escort someone else sweeps her up.?He hesitated, shuffling his feet, looking a little distressed.I pulled out my phone to send a text message, but I kept urging Toby.?Don?t visit me later unless you?ve danced with her,? I said. And he sauntered over to Babs, who looked up at me having received my message. She smiled at Toby, gave him a warm hello, took his hand and secretly nodded to me. She pulled him onto the dance floor in time to finish up the cha-cha dance.Julio, in charge of the cleaning crew, opened the door.?Give us a half hour,? I said without even looking up.?Ma?am?? he began to say.I turned to him. ?Just a half hour. We paid a lot for this fucking room. Don?t worry. We?ll be out in a half hour. I promise. Okay? Go chill for a bit.?He exhaled angrily but walked away.When he was gone, I looked over at the DJ who was looking at me and I twirled my index finger. He announced a last call for drinks. I looked back at the dance floor and smiled. Babs was spinning Toby around.My daughter wanted to get married in California, where her finance was living. So, our families booked a hotel near the banquet hall in Anaheim for a week. And every night, Toby would come visit my hotel room to drink tea with me.He wasn?t into tea. He just wanted to see me. I found it amusing. We?d have little conversations on the sofa, watching TV, sometimes holding hands, and then he?d give me an extremely long hug good night that sometimes ended with him smothering my face with kisses. It was cute. Harmless, I figured.An hour later, as the last few of us finally left the banquet hall, I looked around for Toby and Babs. Babs came to me and told me Toby had left already with his mom and little brother. Babs was going to the after party at some club in Hollywood.?You Girne Escort coming?? she asked. ?I want to catch a celeb.??I don?t party like that. I?m going home to a shower and a nice cup of tea.??A cup o? tea?? she said with a cockney accent. ?You?re so old, Melinda. Come out and have some fun.? She looked around to see if anyone could hear. ?Come out and get drunk and get fucked before you go back to work.??Ha,? I shook my head. ?Sounds tempting. That?s more your thing.??Divorced and not enjoying it? What is wrong with you?? Babs gave me a hug before heading off. ?Say goodnight to Toby for me. He ran off without saying shit to me. He?s so rude.??He?s shy.??Whatever. Shyness is still rudeness.?I was hoping Toby would not come visit me. It was our last night in California and I had worked like a dog today and I just wanted to sleep. After a shower, I put on my long nightgown and I started preparing my herbal tea. I decided to put the ?do not disturb? sign on my door to keep Toby from coming. I went to the door and opened it.?Just as Toby was just about to knock on it.I sighed. He was biting his lip and looking down at his feet.?I danced with her,? he said finally, pointing at me without looking.I leaned my head on the door and nodded. ?You did.??I actually walked up to her.??And she was receptive, wasn?t she? See? All you had to do was ask someone at the right time, right? And she liked you. Even though you didn?t say bye to her???I guess.? He saw the door sign I was holding, and his shoulders fell. ?You?re going to sleep right away???Yeah,? I said. He put his hands in his pocket and looked down the hall. ?I?m sorry, Toby.?He nodded. He sniffed. ?Tea?? He finally made eye contact with me.?Of course,? I smiled at him and took his hand. ?Just for me, though. I?ll see you tomorrow morning when we head out, okay???Okay,? he said. But he was staring at the floral print of my nightgown.I swung his hand a little to shake him out of the little trance he was in. He moved closer to give me his signature hug. He bent his knees. He wrapped his arms around my waist. I was ready to put my arms around his neck when he kissed me.