After a quick pit stop by my apartment, for me to get dressed in some jeans and shirt, Alex and I were off to our first destination. We spent the drive singing and laughing along to whatever was on the stereo. I really enjoyed being with her. She was always in a good mood and full of life. It was refreshing and incredibly contagious. Every time I looked at her and thought that this was exactly what I needed. She was exactly what was missing.
We arrived at our destination. A neat and unassuming little house. We walked up to the door and knocked. It took a few seconds before the door burst open and two of the cutest little girls in the world jumped into my arms.
"Duncan! You came!" The smallest one said. "We've missed you!."
"I've missed you too." I told them
"Where have you been?" The older one asked.
"Just working. I'm sorry guys. This is my friend Alex."
"Hi guys!"
"Alex, this is Fiona" I said pointing to the eldest one. "And this is Lauren."
"Wow, she's so pretty." Lauren said.
"Aww thank you, sweetheart. You're beautiful too." Alex told the little girl who beamed up at her.
"Duncan? Is that you?" A woman came to the door. She gave me a huge hug, holding me tight to her. "It's been too long. I'm so glad you came. Come on in. And who is this lovely lady?" She asked.
"This is Alex. Alex this is Claire."
"Nice to meet you. Thank you for having us,"
"No trouble whatsoever. Come on in, come on in. Food is nearly ready."
We walked inside, down the hallway covered in pictures of the happy family. We got to the living room and James, my doorman was enjoying a cold beer.
"Duncan!" He said standing up from his comfortable chair. "When I told Claire you were coming by, she didn't believe me. Said I was pulling her leg."
"Yeah i've been away for awhile. Sorry about that!" I apologized again. He gave me a hug, giving me two big taps with his hand.
"What matters is that you found your way back." He let go of me and turned towards Alex. "You must be Alex! It's so nice to meet you. I'm James."
"Nice to meet you. Thanks for having me." Alex replied as James hugged her as well.
"Anytime. Come into the dining room, food is about to be ready." We followed him into the adjoining room. The table was set, and Claire, was already bringing food in from the kitchen. Alex and I sat down, as the girls quickly joined, followed by a tall teenager who stopped in his tracks at seeing Alex at his dining room table.
"Hey Steve! You doing okay?" I asked James oldest son, who was still quite in shock. "I'm guessing you know Alex." He took a big gulp of air.
"Yeah, of course. How are you? I'm Steve." He was finally able to make out.
"Hey. Nice to meet you," Alex said.
"Will you stop staring and take a seat boy?" James finally said yanking him out of his dream world. He finally sat, and we all patiently waited for Claire to join us. When she sat down, James who was sitting at the head of the table, reached his hands out and we followed suit. We all held hands around the table and listened intently as James prayed.
The moment he was done, we all began to dig into the incredible meal that Claire had prepared for us. It was a fun and familial atmosphere. Something that I felt both Alex and I needed from our conversation the previous night. James was jovial and funny as always, quickly making Alex feel at ease. Steve calmed from his initial shock and was finally able to join the conversation. When the meal was done, and the plates wiped clean, we all made our way outside in the backyard. James had put in a basketball hoop for Steve to practice on. He was going to be a senior next year, and desperately needed a scholarship to be able to go to a good school. Steve was playing around with his sisters while James, Alex and I sat on the porch watching them.
"He's really coming along." I told james, about Steve's play. "If he keeps it up, Division one schools will be calling."
"I hope so. He's a good kid. Smart too. He's going to go places."
"You're teaching him all your moves I see." I told James as I watched Steve pull a particular great dribble. I saw the proud look in James's eye.
"You use to play?" Alex asked.
"A little bit!" James replied.
"A little bit? Come on don't be so modest. James was the best college player in the country." He looked at his family, focusing on his three beautiful kids.
"You never went pro?" Asked Alex.
"Almost did. They found out I had a heart condition, during my pre draft medical. Had to say goodbye to the game."
"I'm sorry. That must have been difficult. Letting go of something you loved so much." Alex said.
"It wasn't easy. But life goes on. I met Claire, got a security job and started a family. It would have been great to make the league. But there isn't one day that I wake up and i'm not grateful for all that I have." His words rang true, as they always seemed to. I held Alex's hand, hoping that the gesture would be enough for her to know just how grateful I was that she was there with me.
Shortly afterwards it was beginning to get dark. Alex and I began saying our goodbyes to everyone.
"Come by more often okay Duncan?" Claire asked. "The kids miss you. You know they think of you as family."
"I know. I'm sorry. I've just been distracted."
"And now?" James asked popping up behind Claire. I reached over and grabbed Alex.
"Now, things make more sense. Have a good night guys."
"You too, you're more than welcome to join us again Alex."
"Thank you so much for having us. The food was fantastic. I'll definitely come back." We hugged the kids. Steve even got a peck on the cheek from Alex, that probably made his year. Alex and I hopped into the car. Before I even had a chance to turn on the engine, she grabbed me, pulled me in and lay a kiss that rocked me to my core upon my lips.
"Thank you so much for bringing me. This was exactly what I needed. It felt really good and different." She told me her face inches from mine.
"You're welcome. I'm glad you had a good time. So where are we headed?"
"Head downtown." I nodded following her directions. "You seem to be reconnecting with alot of people this weekend."
"Yeah, it's nice. I hadn't been here in quite some time. I used to come have dinner here every Sunday. "
"Even Brad and Cindy mentioned how you've been so isolated."
"Yeah, I kind of lost myself this past year. I was sad, lonely and mad at the world. I didn't want to bring anyone else into that darkness."
"What changed?"
"Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself." She smiled, and placed her head on my shoulder as I drove through the streets of L.A.
"That's beautiful and so true. Is that you?" She asked.
"No. I wish. That was Walter Anderson." She kissed me on the cheek.
"Well I'm glad you're out of that darkness."
"I am too. So where are we going?"
"You'll see."