Come Home Soon

Enjoy the post today, guys! I just wanted to say a happy birthday to my widdle brother Maxi. I based one of Mikayla's brother off of him (also named Max..), and he'll be coming up shortly! Actually, he's kind of in today's post, but he'll really become a part of the story later on.

“Call me,” Jenna mouthed as she got onto the elevator. I smiled in response and turned back to my computer screen. It was almost 6:00, and I was supposed to have left work an hour ago. But between lunch with Jenna, and talking to my coworkers on IM the rest of the day, I didn’t feel right leaving without getting a little writing done. I’m currently working on a story about keeping the weight off during this upcoming holiday season. I begged Angie to take me off of this story, because I can never manage to gain absolutely zero pounds between October and January. Much less actually lose weight. But she wouldn’t hear of it.

“Look, Kayla. The mark of a truly great journalist is writing about something you don’t believe in!”

Her argument didn’t make sense to me, but I let it go. I could tell I wasn’t going to win this one. What Angie says goes, no matter what. Not even Jenna could attempt to change her mind. I mindlessly browsed through my “weight loss tips” Google search, hoping to find something that could at least start my brain. But nothing was helping. I resisted the urge to visit other magazine’s websites for their dieting stories. It would be too tempting to steal.

I glanced at the clock. Almost 6:30. Ugh. I quickly typed something about wearing high heels to your many Christmas parties to appear longer and leaner, and switched off the computer. No way is the story ready for print, but it’s as good as I’m going to do tonight.

I waved goodbye to our security guard Hank and walked into the crisp air. It's beginning to feel more and more like winter everyday. I love winter, as long as there is snow on the ground. If there’s no snow, then there is no reason for the weather to be so cold. I pulled my coat tighter around my body as a gust of wind blew through the street. Just as I was getting into my car, Kris Allen’s “She Works Hard for the Money” rang from my purse. A text.

“hey k. mom n dad r throwing their annual “impromptu” dinner party. such a surprise. anyway just come 2 da house sometime friday.”

I smiled at my brother’s sarcasm dripping from my cell phone. Our parents always threw “surprise” parties at their house. Problem is, they aren’t such a surprise when they practically fall on the same day every year. May brought the brunch date, July is Girls’ and Boys’ respective nights out, and November held the dinner party. I'm always confused with why our parents insisted on having a large dinner at the start of November, when Thanksgiving was only a few weeks away, but I never question it. That’s just my parents. I texted a quick “I’ll be there,” to Max, and immediately called Evan.

“Hello?”

“Three dinner ideas. Go.”

“Okay, um,” I could hear the wheels turning in his head. “We could hit up Reese’s Place.” Reese iss an old friend of Evan’s family who stated his own restaurant. He's easily the most talented chef I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing, and his place is a huge hit. We went there for dinner frequently for a delicious blend of all types of food you can imagine. I’m an incredibly picky eater, and the fact that Reese cooks from all genres was a huge plus for me. It didn’t hurt that Reese made a big deal out of our arrival every time, either. For some people, having someone shout “Ahhh, my two favorite people! Come, have a seat at the special Evan and Kayla table! Joshua (the head waiter), two chocolate mousses! On the house!” would be embarrassing, but Reese is such a sweet guy that it didn’t matter. He grew up across the street from the Koerner’s, and always thought of Evan as a younger brother. And I quickly became his younger sister. He isn’t as old as my parents, but quite a bit older than Evan and I.

“Or pasta night at your place.”

“Nah, we just had Italian.”

“Mik,” he laughed. “We had pizza last night. That hardly counts.”

“Okay, but still. No. Come on, you’ve gotta come up with one more idea.”

“Orrrrr, we could take a rain check because Tyler and I just got slammed with a project due at the end of the week,” he muttered sheepishly.

“Um, I think I’ll go with option number one.”

“Sorry Mik, but I’m gonna have to take options one and two off the table.” I didn’t even try to hide my sigh. “I’m so sorry, babe. But doing well on this could land us a huge client. And you know Tyler and I need our stats up. We’ve got a ridiculous amount of competition, and with all the layoffs going around the company…”

“It’s okay,” I interrupted. When Evan was apologizing, he tended to ramble. Plus, I didn’t want to make a big deal of skipping dinner. I know his late nights with me are part of the reason his so-called “stats” are down. “Don’t worry about it. We can hit up Reese’s some other time. But it better be soon, because it’s been way too long since I’ve had a deliciously free dessert.”

“No problem,” he laughed. “But really, I am sorry. I should have told you I wouldn’t have time for dinner the second I found out I’d have to be staying late.” I heard a strange sound in the background, and then Evan saying, “Dude, shut up. I am not whipped.”

“Tell Tyler I said hi,” I replied between giggles. Tyler Myles is Evan’s best friend and business partner. They work at a highly recognized PR firm, and are constantly trying to move up the ladder. Their boss Vic noticed how well they work together, and made them a team. Evan told me that his partnership with Tyler is bittersweet, because Vic made sure that if one of them got promoted, the other instantly would as well. However, if one of them were to get fired, then so would the other. Evan is always worried about getting fired, but I constantly reassured him that he and Tyler are great at what they do. And they honestly are. Evan is usually the more professional of the two, and lines up clients and business meetings with ease. Tyler uses his eccentric persona and charm to land those clients immediately. They are two of the most different people in the world, which makes then an excellent team. They balance each other out, kind of like Jim and Dwight from of The Office. Not that Evan is as much of a slacker as Jim is, and Tyler’s definitely not as insane as Dwight, but you know what I mean. When you put their personalities together, they can probably do anything. And they both take their jobs very seriously, especially Tyler. He absolutely loves his job, and doesn’t let anything interfere with his work.

In fact, when Evan and I first started dating, he began using his free time to hang out with me instead of working overtime on their latest project. And for that, Tyler immediately hated me. Eventually, I got an in when Evan spun some crap about how our relationship would inspire him to work harder and better than he ever had before. Which might have been true, but I could tell that he was overdoing the story for Tyler’s benefit. And then I bought him a beer, which sealed my fate.

“He says to get off the phone so that we can get back to work, but I think he means ‘hi.’” I laughed and told Evan that he should be focusing on his job instead of his hot girlfriend, which earned an “Amen!” from Tyler. Before hanging up, I ran the family dinner by Evan, who said he’d love to attend. We made plans for lunch the next day just as I pulled into my driveway.