plenty of girls. Been with the current one for two years now." He opens a cupboard and grabs a bowl.
"Think he'll get married?"
"Not sure. He doesn't like talking about that stuff. He's like you that way." He takes the box of cereal my mom set out and pours it in the bowl.
"I talk about stuff," I insist.
"Not girls." He gets the milk from the fridge and drowns his cereal in it. "Got any almonds? Walnuts? I like nuts on my cereal."
"I don't think so." I watch as Brad looks through the pantry. "We've talked about girls before. I haven't told you about all of them because some of them I only went out with once or twice."
"Hey, man, I'm not judging you. Not everyone likes sharing that stuff. I was surprised as hell when Paul told us about Lydia. My mom was too. It made me think maybe he is going to marry her. He's so into his job I didn't think he wanted to get married, but maybe she changed his mind."
"How about you?" I ask, taking another cracker from the sleeve. "Are you still anti-marriage?"
"I'm not anti-marriage." He brings his bowl around the counter to sit with me. "I'm just not ready to settle down anytime soon."
"I thought you told me you didn't want to settle down. Something about how being a doctor will take up all your time."
"I was talking about med school, not being a doctor. Once I'm done with all the school shit, I'll get a job, find a girl, and settle down." He chomps on his cereal and we sit without talking for a few moments. "What about you? Are you planning to find a girl and get married once you move to wherever you end up?"
I smile to myself, staring at the fridge door as my mind wanders to Riley. "I don't think I'll wait that long."
"What do you mean? Are you seeing someone?"
"Not yet, but I hope to be soon."
"Who is she?"
"I'd rather not say. Not yet."
"Is this someone from college?"
"No. It's someone here."
"Here? You just moved back this week. How'd you meet someone already?"
"I've known her forever. We went to school together."
"Does she know you want to date her?"
"I'm not sure. I've been giving her signs to let her know, but I'm not sure she's picking up on them."
"You don't have much time. You only have a few months before you get a job and move. Could be even less than that. If you want this girl, you need to tell her now. Don't wait."
"I will. I'm just not sure how to say it."
He gets up and takes his bowl to the sink. "Just ask her to dinner. She'll know what that means. If she doesn't feel the same way about you, she'll turn you down and you'll avoid any awkward conversation telling her how you feel."
"That won't work. She won't see dinner as a date. We've had dinner before. As friends."
"I'm sure you'll figure it out." He puts his bowl in the dishwasher. "I'm gonna go get ready. Orientation is at noon, right?"
"Yeah. We'll leave around 11:45."
He walks past me.
"Hey," I say, stopping him. "How was last night?"
"With Riley? It was great! We had a good time."
"You just went to the brewery? Nowhere else?"
"We thought about going to a movie, but it was getting too late. She had to work this morning."
"What'd you think of her?" I ask, wanting his opinion. I'm too blinded by love to see any of her faults, so I'm curious if Brad can find any.
"I thought she was really nice. Easy to talk to. Fun to hang out with. She said she'd be working with us at the pool."
"Yeah, I told you that."
"I don't think you did, or maybe I don't remember you saying it."
"Riley and I have worked there for years. This will be the last summer."
"Yeah, she told me that. She seemed sad about it."
"I am too. I'm really going to miss our summers there."
"You were right about that trailer. The place needs some serious work."
"Yeah, I know. It's so bad I don't even think it's worth fixing up. But she won't be living there much longer."
"Oh, yeah? She's moving?"
"Um, not yet, but hopefully soon."
"Huh. I'm surprised she didn't mention that last night."
"She's not sure yet so don't ask her about it, okay?"
He looks at me funny. "Yeah, sure, man. I'm gonna go shower."
He walks off and my mom appears. She was in the basement doing laundry.
"Your sheets are almost done," she says.