Blue Eyes

I never considered myself antisocial or social. I didn’t prefer crowds but would be in them for sporting events or concerts. I liked going to movies on opening night to avoid spoilers- can't be spoiled if you see it immediately. I don’t know why I was worried about it when my social media was all sports and gaming stuff anyway. I’m Jeremy and I considered myself a usual 24-year-old guy, with medium blonde hair and blue eyes, glasses, average height and average weight. I’d been working at the same factory with my best friend from high school, Justin, for six years. He was working there first and when he said it was low-key as far as factories were with a big pay jump from my then position at a grocery store, I jumped ship immediately. I also ended up getting cool gaming friends and worked second shift -unlike the grocery store’s early one- and I only worked up to second team lead for more money and more power. I admit, that is my biggest flaw; I’m very self-serving.  The housing market was crazy, so I kept staying with my folks to save up. I also admit- I'm bougee. I like nice things to show off. I had the biggest ego at work.   

That was until Fallon started working there. Fallon was older than me but shorter than me. She was maybe 5 feet at best. She had long hair she colored all the time that she kept braided to form to the shop-rule, wore bright clothes (who does that at a freakin’ factory?) and she quickly moved into our group of friends. I didn’t mind at first- she had some nerdiness, knew just enough about sports to keep up with those convos, and she did her job. But then I clashed with her all the time. We got into petty arguments almost daily. I would take any jab I could at her but she played it off and would send insults back at me.  

I didn’t think I was weird at all until I made fun of her savage way of eating KitKat. Do you know how that pyscho eats KitKats? I’m going to tell you, because if I have to suffer, so does everyone else. She- gag- eats them –gag- like a regular candy bar. YEAH, I know, right? She just opens the wrapper and just bites the corner!  

“Oh my freakin’ gawd, I cannot believe you just did that in front of me! Are you nuts? How many bodies are in your basement?!” I said, I was sitting caddy corner from her in the break room.  

She looked at me with a cocked brow and swept her eyes back and forth. “What?” she asked.  

I could not believe she had the nerve to act confused. “Like you don’t know”  

“I don’t- I didn’t do anything, I’m just sitting here!” 

“You ate that KitKit the wrong way”  

“There isn’t a wrong way to eat a KitKat- I just don’t care to do it the commercial-gimmicky way.”  

“That’s the way you’re supposed to eat it!”  

“Oh, like you’re one to talk with the way you eat burgers”  

“What’s wrong with the way I eat burgers?” 

“Plain. No cheese, no condiments, just a bun and a patty. Now that’s psychotic”  

And then everyone else chimed in, some people not realizing that’s how I prefer my burgers- I like to just enjoy the sandwich, I don’t like the texture of all that other crap. I didn’t think it was weird or anything of it until then.  

And it was like that every day. Even not at work, because she and I hung out in the same friends-from-work group outside of work too. We all went for Halloween, near my younger sister’s, Julie’s 22nd birthday, and I was beyond annoyed that Julie and Fallon hit it off. They tag teamed against me whenever I tried to come at either of them.   

It’s not what I was used to; I was used to being the insulter, the power holder, the influence. And now I had to deal with Fallon’s camaraderie comebacks. I was annoyed in our D&D game that, when I asked, the DM claimed that Fallon’s character could beat my character in fight because the only reason I lived and kicked butt in the game was because her character’s heals kept me up and she used her magic buffs to aid me. And apparently, if my character actually opposed her’s one-on-one, she would have the upper hand using those buffs on herself and without any of my own healing, I wouldn’t be able to take her hits.    

She wasn’t a bad person, but she grated on my nerves. And everyone had her back all the time because she was disgustingly nice to everyone- she baked cookies and cupcakes, she gave everyone birthday cards etc. A waste of time and money. Sorry, I don’t cater to everyone’s overly sensitive feelings. Ugh.  

One Saturday afternoon, I rolled out of bed, went down to get food and my parents were sitting at our kitchen island, each with a cup of partially drunk coffee and a variety of mail and their phones.  

“Jeremy, guess what?” my mom asked.  

“....I literally just got out of bed, I have no context for anything” I replied grumpily. Not much of a morning person. Hence, 2nd shift.  

“We got invited to your cousin June’s wedding!” 

“Oh. Have fun” I said and opened the fridge.  

“You’re coming too” My dad chimed in.  

“Heh, no, I’m not. Weddings are so boring. And stupid. Have you seen the divorce rate?” I said, pulling out a drawer and finding nothing appealing.  

“Jeremy. You are going to your cousin’s wedding.” My mom with a lot of finality.  

“Mooom, I don’t know those people like you do. We don’t hang out with them or anything. I have better things to do than wear dumb stuffy dress up clothes and watch two people tell each other lovey-dovey nonsense we can’t hear, and then sit around waiting for hours for them to come say ‘hi’ for two minutes. I know June and Ted enough, what does it matter if now they have legal complications?” I said, shutting the fridge harder than intended.  

“Jeremy, you do know your cousins, your Aunt Viv and Uncle Harry, Melissa, your grandparents. You know everyone except Ted’s side, and they don’t know ours either, we’ll mingle” my mom argued.  

“Yeah, and I know Aunt Viv and Aunt Missy will come over and get on me about getting married and kids blah blah, and Uncle Harry and Uncle Jim will try to tell me about cars and camping. I don’t want to go and I’m not, you guys will be off talking to other people, and I’ll just be sitting on my phone, which I can do here, in my pajamas with no shoes and no one bothering me” I retorted. I’m not anti-social- except when it comes to my judge-y family. I needed more overtime so I could get my own place and not deal with this crap.  

Speaking of, I got my phone out and started ordering food as I walked away.  

“Jeremiah Kenneth Weller, You WILL attend your cousin’s wedding. We didn’t make you go to anything else where you could have gotten better acquainted with everyone and that is on you. And it won’t be bad, they have generously offered you a plus-one.” she added as if that solved everything.  

I smirked over my shoulder. “I’ll bring Justin” 

“Jeremyyyy” my dad said in a parent-threatening tone, glaring at me over his coffee cup. 

“Dad, I don’t have anyone to bring, and I hate weddings. Save them the money on the plates” I said. I’d never even met her husband-to-be! 

 And then at that moment, my little sister sister Julie pops in from around the dining room corner and poured herself coffee. “What about that Fallon girl?” she asked.  

My eyes widened as my parents turned back to me with ‘that look’.  

“Who now, Julie?” my mom sing-sang while still looking at me with curious eyes.  

“That girl Jeremy hangs out with from his work. We met at Halloween. She’s really nice. She’s in his gaming group and that’s whose house he went to, to watch the Superbowl.” Julie said nonchalantly, swirling her spoon in her cup.  

“Perfect” my dad said and sipped his coffee with I could assume was victory.  

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Fallon and I do not get along! She’s just in the same mutual group I am.” I argued. 

“You can at least ask her” My mom said, rolling her shoulders.  

I sniffed an inhale and looked at the ceiling. “Look” I said “I will ask her. BUT if she says ‘no’, I’m not going to the wedding”  

It was perfect. Because it was ‘budging’ on my part, my parents would take me up the offer. And I knew Fallon would say no. I rubbed my hands together in my head.  

My mom sucked in her cheek. “We need a way to know you actually asked her”  

“oh my gaw. I’ll text her. I’ll text her right now and ask.” I offered.  

She accepted this. I texted Fallon.  

“Hey, I know this is weird, but my cousin invited me to her wedding with a plus-one, will you be it? You’re the only girl I talk to and my parents are on my a--”  

My phone pinged 20 seconds later. My eyes got wide at her response.  

“Yeah, sure. I know how crap it is to have family on you-and I like weddings anyway”  

I had thought that telling her about my parents would make her say ‘no’ to make my family torture me! Craaap.  

“She said ‘no way in hell’” I quickly said.  

Suddenly, my phone was snagged out my hand from behind by Julie; I never even saw her move.  

“She said ‘Yeeees’” She sing-sang like the annoying little sister she was.  

I reached out and snatched the phone back. “Eff You” I told her.  

“Jeremy!” my mom admonished “Anyway. You have a plus-one. You’re going”  

I was going to smother Julie in her sleep and poison Fallon’s plate at the wedding. This was going to suck.  

I had to get Fallon’s address so we could pick her up on the way. I texted our arrival and Fallon came out in a long coat and a small black and white purse. But also carrying a black bag. She got in the car. She had her hair down and curled, but loose curls and the sides were pinned back a bit out of her face. She had burgundy lipstick and matching eye-makeup on. I’d have made my sister sit between us, but she was already there because she was a bride’s maid (shows my attention-span to my family). I was wearing a black button up shirt, black slacks, and black shoes. I’d combed my hair and put on cologne-the extent of me ‘dressing up’.  

My parents cooed their thanks about her agreeing to come and Fallon thanked them for the invite. The drive wasn’t too long and then the torture would begin.  

My parents went ahead to the venue spot- some pond-side country club with an outdoor patio covered in flowers and soft-white lights.  

There were some tables with finger food and drinks, signs to the bar and bathrooms and we had to go to the people at the door to be taken to our table. It looked like every other wedding. I sighed in exasperation.  

Once, at the table, Fallon immediately excused herself to the bathroom. Really? She couldn’t last a 20-minute drive? I pulled out my phone. Then the genetic infestation began.  

My Aunt Viv and Uncle Harry, Grandma Evelyn and Grandpa Andy, Aunt Missy and Uncle Jim and my already married cousins, Gina and Joey, and Tony and Myra surrounded us. After greeting with my parents, they turned their talons on me.  

“Jeremy, nice to see you. We heard you had a date...” Aunt Missy said, looking around nosily.  

“Yeaah, she’s in the bathroom”  

“You look nice”  

“...Thanks” 

“Oh my gawd, is that your date?” My cousin Joey said, nudging Gina.  

Everyone, including me, looked behind me. My eyes widened and I stood up.  

Fallon was coming, holding her coat. She looked taller; she was wearing tall dark red heels, one with a bow in front, the other had the bow on the back, her dress was sparkling deep-reddish purple (maroon?) and it was tight-fitted. Her clevage was big and open (look, I’m a guy, all right?” and the dress was angled longer on one side and went up, waay up (guy) her thigh on the other.  

At a factory, you don’t see people ‘dressed up’; and I’d never seen Fallon look...attractive? Okie, fine- she looked kinda hot.  

It was like a slo-mo scene in a movie. She came back and set her stuff on a chair and immediately smiled and started introducing herself and making small talk with ease. She even put her arm in mine without looking. She fielded all their questions like a pro.  

“We haven’t seen you before”  

“We’re newly acquainted”  

“How long have you been dating?”  

“Oh, he just asked” well-placed eye roll. 

Everyone laughed.  

And then Fallon said “Oh my gosh, Weddings make me so hungry, let’s all grab some hors d’Oeuvres and I have to try their signature drink, it looks amazing.”  

They all agreed and talked about drinks. Fallon knew a lot about drinks; turns out she used to be a bartender.  

The wedding itself (boring, long, just get to the ‘I do’s’) happened. Everyone gasped at the bride, clapped at the kiss etc.  

Then at the reception (we just sat at the same tables for the ceremony and then it ‘became’ reception time as the wedding party took photos.  

The same hoard wandered in and I braced myself for impact. But Fallon was like a shield.  

When asked about children and her (and presumably my) wedding, Fallon answered “I think it’s so important you know little things about your partner before those very heavy commitments, you know? Everything is great at the beginning of every relationship, but that’s not the meat and potatoes, ya know? I don’t want to think ‘I’m so in love’ and then realize the other person puts the toilet paper on wrong”  

Everyone laughed again.  

“Or other little things. My parents constantly fight, still, about how the other squeezes out the toothpaste” she said in a very joke-y manner.  

More laughter.  

And when my uncles tried to berate me about how I don’t care or know anything about cars by talking to me about theirs, low and behold, Fallon did!  

“And that runs a V8 engine, right? Does it have one or two catalytic convertors for that?” Fallon asked my Uncle Jim.  

He lit up like a wedding venue table and started saying all kinds of terms that Fallon seemed to understand. They all just started talking to her.  

Then we got onto sports. I didn’t think Fallon’s bougee self would know anything about sports. I was actually able to talk about Football stats and stuff with her.  

She was able to talk about cooking with my grandmas, she sang a song with my Grandpa Andy, who used to be in a quartet, for the group called ‘Oh, Evaline, won’t you be mine’ and everyone was so impressed she knew such an old song. Didn’t sound half-bad either.  

At ‘dancing’ time, my mother was ahem ‘encouraging’. And with the other family anxiously looking at us, I said I was waiting for a slow song. And of course, the very next song was slow. I asked Fallon to dance. I whispered to her that I didn’t know how to dance as we walked up, and I tried to ignore the stage whispering of my mother and aunts of Fallon and mine’s ‘relationship’.  

Fallon put one hand in mine and said “Put your left foot towards mine, then right, okie, now left foot out to the left, right forward and twirl out and then twirl me back in”  

I followed the directions as best I could, and it was a little clumsy at first but then it went smoothly.  

“Heehee, See? You can dance” Fallon giggled.  

I looked over Fallon’s shoulder.  

My Uncles, Grandpa, cousins and dad were all giving me the thumbs up. My aunts, Grandma, and mom all were clutching their clasped hands to their hearts making ‘awww’ faces.  

I smiled at them and looked at Fallon.  

“I never noticed your eyes were blue before. Do you think we could...something, maybe less formal, sometime?”  

She smiled back and said “I do”