“Training, it’s all about the training,” he said as he tucked another forkful in his mouth.
I shook my head and laughed, but when I looked back over, Brian had frozen with the fork halfway to his mouth. He was listening intently to some sound that only he could hear, and all amusement had disappeared from his face. There was something happening, and I was attuned enough to his way of monitoring things that I didn’t even ask. I just waited for him to give me a signal.
Silently, he set the fork on the table before he got up and moved toward the door. He put his ear to the door and listened as he held up a hand indicating that I should be silent, too. I nodded and held my breath, and after what felt like forever, Brian dropped his hand and came back to the table where he picked up his fork and finishe
d off the last bite of cheesecake.
“What was that?” I asked, stunned that he could just flip the switch and go back to what he was doing while I was still shaking.
“Nothing, I guess,” he said. “I thought I heard something outside the door.”
“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” I said with a wry grin.
“That’s Admiral Obvious to you, missy,” he grinned.
I groaned and fell back on the couch. I wasn’t sure if he’d actually heard something or not, but I trusted his instincts and wasn’t going to question them, even if he did tell really bad jokes.
*****
Brian sat down on the couch, grabbed the remote, and looked for the local newscast. We watched in silence for a bit, but it had been a draining day, and it wasn’t long before I felt myself nodding off. I pushed myself up off the couch and went to brush my teeth before turning in for the night. Brian was glued to his phone as he frantically texted someone and didn’t notice me leave the room.
“Ava!” he shouted just as I had put my toothbrush in my mouth.
“Whgut?” I said through a mouth of toothpaste.
“Ava!” his voice was frantic and I could hear him rushing around the room. I stepped toward the doorway just as he yanked back the door, slamming it into the wall, shouting, “Where have you been?”
I bent over and spit into the sink then straightened up and said, “Right here, in the bathroom, brushing my teeth. Where did you think I’d gone?”
“I don’t know,” he mumbled as he turned around. “I was just worried. Don’t do that!”
“Do what?” I asked.
“Disappear on me!” he insisted.
“But I didn’t disappear!” I argued. “You were on your phone and I simply got up and came into the bathroom! Chill out, sailor!”
“Whatever,” he grumbled as he checked his phone again.
I finished up in the bathroom and then went to find my pajamas. As I dug through my bag, I could hear Brian rapidly tapping the screen of his phone in the other room. I had no idea what he was doing, but I decided that maybe I didn’t want to know.
“I’m going to bed now,” I called as I stuck my head out of the bedroom. “I’m sleepy and I want to rest, okay?”
Brian grunted, but otherwise didn’t respond, so I walked out of the bedroom and around to the front of the couch.
“Brian, I’m going to bed now,” I said. When he didn’t respond, I leaned down and touched his shoulder to let him know I was speaking. In an instant he shot up off the couch, grabbed my wrist, spun me around and had me in a chokehold with my arm behind my back. I screamed, and he immediately dropped his hold and backed off.
“What are you doing?” I yelled as my heart raced from the adrenaline that the scare had sent coursing through my veins. “It’s ME!”
Brian hung his head and sheepishly looked at the floor as he mumbled, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“What is going on with you?” I asked, worried that there was something really wrong and wondering if it was safe for me to go to sleep if there was.
“I just got caught up in texting and forgot where I was,” he grudgingly admitted.
“That’s not okay!” I yelled. “You scared me to death!”
“I’m sorry, Ava,” he said.