I was balls deep in editing a complicated business contract one Friday afternoon when my phone started to ring on my desk. Glancing impatiently at the screen I noticed that the call was from Deb. That struck me as odd because my little sister almost never actually calls me. She would rather text for half an hour than to just pick up the phone.
Fearing something was wrong with mom or dad, I picked up.
Deb was crying so hard that I could hardly understand a word that she was saying. My heart started pounding, thinking the worst till I could get her to calm down enough to explain why she was so upset.
As it turned out, it wasn't anything catastrophic like I had feared...at least not in my opinion, though it was a big to her. Apparently, she had just come home early from work to find her long-time boyfriend in bed with another woman. According to her, she had lost her mind, screaming and throwing things at the two of them before turning on her heel and storming out. She was calling from her car where she had parked a short distance away from her apartment. A good move as far as I could tell with her current mental state.
Taking a few minutes to calm her down, I managed to sort out the details. She said that she was sure that she was through with him, as infidelity was one of the few things that she found unforgivable. The apartment was in her name and she intended to text him when we hung up and give him the weekend to move out before she changed the locks. In the meantime, she would drive the hour to my place and stay with me for a few days. We had always been close, without the usual sibling fighting and petty jealousies, so staying with me was the obvious choice.
I assured her that everything would be ok and that I would be home a little after five. She had a key to my place as she usually stayed over whenever she was in the city. After offering to bring home her favorite take-out, we hung up. Her emotions had improved considerably and she had taken a shaky breath and calmed down, managing to even chuckle when I teasingly said, "I told you so" about the guy in question being not good enough for her.
I arrived home with dinner in hand and we ate and talked about what all had happened. Deb had always had a very calm and logical head on her shoulders, so I wasn't surprised when she recovered in short order, replacing panic and humiliation with anger and resignation. She was still upset about the betrayal, but I reassured her that it had nothing to do with her shortcomings.
She confessed that she had been working to the conclusion that their relationship had just about reached its expiration date anyway, so the loss wasn't all that great. It was the loss of trust and betrayal that still bothered her. Her pride and self esteem had taken a hit and it would be a while till she felt better about that.
We had consumed the better part of two bottles of wine with dinner and Deb was soon yawning. I could tell that she was beat and worn out from the day's emotions, so I suggested that we turn in for the night. I offered to cook breakfast in the morning and we would figure out something to do in the city to help keep her mind off of her woes.
With a kiss on my cheek, she said, "Thanks bro. I don't know what I'd do without you. I knew that you would make things better. You have always been my knight in shining armor." With that, she moved off to the spare bedroom.
Cleaning up the dishes, I heard her puttering around in the bathroom, taking a quick shower and getting ready for bed. By the time I had locked up for the night and retired to my room, I noticed that the light was out under her door.
I had just fallen pretty deeply asleep when I was awoken by the sound of my name. I sat up, startled and disoriented to find Deb standing by the foot of my bed. My first thoughts went straight to concern that her boyfriend had shown up at my apartment, or she had been unwise enough to answer a phone call from him.
"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked Deb.
"Nothing really. I mean, nothing's happened. I was just... I mean... Nevermind. I'm sorry that I woke you. It's fine, really. Go back to sleep."
Instead of turning away, she hesitated. I could tell that something was upsetting her. We had always been close growing up, best friends, really. We knew each other like books.
"Hang on. It's okay. Tell me what's wrong." She looked so vulnerable standing by the bed in an old long t-shirt of mine that she usually slept in when she stayed over. Her eyes were big and moist and her sad face made me feel for her situation.
"It's just...I know it's stupid. I'm a grown ass woman, but... Could I sleep in here with you? I just don't want to be alone with my thoughts. Every time I close my eyes, I see Mike lying on top of that slut, his ass pumping up and down."
"Ewhe, stop!" I said, "I do NOT need to imagine that!"
Laughing, she asked again, "So would that be okay?"
We had shared beds off and on for most of our lives, on vacations and camping and whatnot.
"Sure, just..." was all I managed to get out before she grabbed the covers and slipped into bed next to me.
"Woah, hang on!" I exclaimed.
"What" she asked with a frown, "Don't tell me that you're uncomfortable."
"No, no, no, it's fine. It's just that...nothing" I had slept in the nude for all of my adult life and hadn't even given it a second thought tonight. If I needed to get up in the night, I would have just put on the robe hanging in the closet like I usually did when I had company over. Now I didn't know what to do. She was already in the room and I was embarrassed for some reason, though I knew I had no reason to be. I figured that I'd just move over to the far side and wait for her to go to sleep. Then, I'd get up and put some boxers on. She's never know the difference.
Another quick peck on my cheek and she rolled over on her side away from me and snuggled down into her pillow.
" 'Night", I said carefully tucking the covers in between us.
After a few minutes I managed to just drift off again when she spoke up in a whisper, "Colin?"
"Hmmm?"
"Would you snuggle me? Like you used to when I was little? I need to feel safe tonight."
"Uhhhh," I hesitated.
"What?" Now she was sitting up looking at me with a frown.
"Nothing. Sure. Lay down"