at Luke as he sat swinging on the swing, glad to have a friend like him to keep me busy. "Hey Luke, I'm glad we're okay again. I missed having you around," I said quietly.
"I missed you too. Don't think I'm not still a little miffed at you, but Tyler said I should forgive you. He says I can be a little over-protective," he looked up at me, his hazel eyes catching mine.
"Tyler's a smart kid. How's he doing with the whole moving thing?" I asked. Luke's face dimmed a little.
"He's putting on a brave face and trying to be optimistic about it. He really doesn't want to go. I'm trying to figure out some of this legal mumbo jumbo, but I haven't gotten very far. Dad's trying to get the lawyers to do something, but, this divorce stuff is complicated," he said with a shrug.
"How's your mom?" I asked curiously.
"She's fine. I think she is starting to feel a little guilty about taking Tyler away from his friends. Unfortunately not guilty enough to stop. I'm going to keep working at her," he answered. He stared out at the trees, both of us listening to the wind for a moment.
"Are Ray and Audrey are still fighting?" I asked. Shadow barked in the distance.
"Yup, worse than ever. I actually wanted to talk to you about that. My dad had a couple of beers the other night and I found out why they broke up the first time," he said leaning forward. I sat down next to him on the porch swing, interested in what could have torn them apart.
"I couldn't get much out of him, but my dad said something about Audrey wanting to be a party girl, and you know him. He isn't exactly the partying type," Luke said. I nodded. I had been surprised by the number of dates Audrey and Ray went on that involved going out on the town; he always struck me as reserved and kind of shy.
"So apparently in college, Audrey made some decisions that Dad didn't agree with. She didn't want to get married until she graduated. She wanted some space. Dad didn't want to wait anymore. They had a big fight and broke up. I didn't pry too much more because I was just glad to get him talking."
Luke paused for a moment, and then spoke slowly, "There's more though. I've known for a while that I wasn't exactly planned. It didn't take a genius to figure it out, since I was born three months after Mom and Dad got married. What I didn't know is that Andrew wasn't exactly planned either."
"Wait, what? How?" I said confused. Luke took a deep breath. As he spoke I could see it in my head.
Audrey poured another shot from the bottle on the table. The room was all smoke and darkness while music played too loud from the boombox in the corner. Audrey leaned against the wall, drinking shots like water. The house party was beginning to fill as the night got darker, so she didn't even bother looking up when someone slid into the spot next to her.
"A pretty lady like you shouldn't drink alone," said the handsome stranger next to her. She didn't feel like being social, but at the same time she didn't want to be alone either. She looked him up and down, taking him in. He was tall, with light brown hair and striking blue eyes. Something about his easy smile drew her in. She could do much worse, and tonight of all nights she didn't want to go home alone.
"Well, you should have a shot with me so I'm not drinking alone," she said smiling. The handsome man held out his cup for her to pour a shot for him. It splashed a little as she poured the bottle.
"What are we drinking to?" he asked as he raised his glass towards hers.
"To forgetting," she said after a moment. He clinked her glass and they both gulped the liquid. She poured another right away, offering some to the stranger. He held his glass steady for more.
"What would someone as pretty as you need to forget?" She squinted her eyes at him, debating whether or not she should tell him. His smile seemed nice enough. The night was still young enough to find someone else if he left.
"My ex-boyfriend is getting married today," she said, watching to see his reaction. He simply nodded and took her bottle, pouring her another shot.
"Maybe I