The Balcony

Brenda led John out through the large back sliding doors onto a deck area that overhung the lake. The view was great, the water was still and the evergreen forest opposite the cabin swayed gently in the breeze. Despite the pleasant temperature and clear skies, there was only a trio of hikers and a young couple seated outside.

After the two had basked in the beauty of the area, taking in the fresh air, Brenda took John’s hand to lead him to another door situated between the door they just came out of and an identical door at the back of the restaurant. The middle door was much smaller, being just an ordinary wooden door with a glass pane in it. Brenda opened it and John followed her in, but not before he overheard the couple making a comment about him and his… hot mature “Date”.

The comment reminded John of their earlier encounter in the bathroom which made his entire face blush and his pants a little uncomfortable, but he shook his head, trying to **** that thought out of his mind. Through the door was a very short corridor: on the left wall was a door similar to the one Eric had first come through and straight forward was a staircase, which Brenda pulled John towards.

Upstairs was the balcony that had five spacious booths, all but one being blocked from view behind wooden dividers. John and Brenda headed to the open booth to find a set table. There was a clean white cloth draped over the table, a wood wick candle flickering and crackling, a small vase with three pretty flowers inside, cutlery neatly placed for two, then a menu stand with a chalkboard on the front which read “Reserved: Brenda”.

The booth was nice, but the view out of it was stunning; seeing over the lake from this angle was amazing and it was as if Eric or Kathy had purposefully chosen this spot and faced the lake in the perfect way so that you could watch the sun setting. John blushed as the hushed comments of the couple from downstairs rang out in his head due to the romantic feeling environment.

John hadn’t been up on the top balcony before; it was one of the few places at Fox House he hadn’t explored. It was always “off-limits to the trouble-causing duo,” his mom and aunt’s words, mostly because they would have likely disturbed anyone trying to enjoy their peaceful romantic meal since the two couldn’t stay still for longer than a minute. Of course, Kathy had a bit of a soft spot for the two trouble causers and would often sneak them a dessert; thinking back on it, he wasn’t sure if it was because she loved that they were always doing something they’d definitely get into trouble for or if she wanted a way to settle them down for a couple of minutes. The thought brought a nostalgic smile on John’s face.

“Sweetie?” Brenda called lightly, squeezing his hand. “You alright?”

John smiled. “Yeah sorry, just taking a trip down memory lane, I didn’t realise how much I’d missed coming here.”

Brenda frowned. “Sorry, sweetie, it’s not easy to come here after everything with Alyssia, this was our place after all... it just hurts sometimes.”

John knew better than to try prying about what happened between them; he lightly squeezed Brenda’s hand. “Well, we had good times here too, plenty of them.”

She gave him a rueful smile. “We did, and I treasure every memory we have here too. I’m sorry, sweetie; I didn’t mean to spoil our night out together.”

John smiled before wrapping his arms around her, hugging her tightly. “Mom, you haven’t ruined anything. Sure, it’s a shame we don’t get to see them anymore, but I’m sure there was a good reason for it, and we can make new memories here to hopefully outweigh the sad ones.”

“Aw, sweetie, you always know the right words to say. Anyway, I want to hear more about this girl you’re smitten with. I’m not going to ask you to introduce me or tell me her name or show me pictures. I just want to know what she’s like and what you meant when you said you needed some control,” Brenda prodded. John sighed as Brenda pulled back from him, and before he could argue, she put a finger to his lips. “How about we sit down first and talk about that in a little bit? I’m sure Kathy will be here soon and I feel like you might not want to clue her in on everything either.”

The two sat down, and true to Brenda’s words, the sound of boots climbing up the stairs rang out. Somehow Kathy looked almost exactly like he remembered her, though he was now slightly taller than her. She was a lithe woman who seemed to be in pretty good shape. Her dress sense seemed to have stayed the same too: jeans and a flannel shirt with leather suspenders gave her an almost cowgirl-like style.

It was strange to John, but crows feet at the edge of her eyes seemed to be the only sign that she’d aged at all, that and that she had gained a new scar from under her chin that cut through her bottom lip and ended just below her nose.

Other scars adorned her face including one that cut through her left eyebrow to just below her eye. Three deep scratches on her right cheek extended down her neck and only stopped to make way for a burn scar that disappeared beneath her clothing.

John always thought she looked like a badass and that was spurred on by the rumours people used to spread about how she gained her scars. Kathy, however, found the rumours funny and would not only confirm every last outlandish story but would perpetuate them and even tell John and his cousin stories about Hobs and Boggarts and the Black Shuck and many other strange English folklore creatures that caused or gave her those scars; the stories always did end with her giving the two a wink and saying, “Or perhaps I’m just a clutz and these were all accidents.” Those words always just spurred the two on to make more and more outlandish theories.

Her badass look wasn’t limited to scars though; she also had bright amber eyes that almost looked unreal and her hair was auburn but darkened towards the tips.

“How’s my favourite godson?” Kathy greeted as she approached the table and almost pounced on John, hugging him tightly. “I felt like my ears were burning up a little not too long ago, were you talking about me? Or were you about to offload some juicy stories?”

Brenda stood up and walked over to untangle Kathy from John and wrap her arms around the taller woman. “Just reminiscing, was all. It’s great to see you, Kathy, how’ve you been?” Brenda asked as the two separated.

“Same old, same old, no shortage of excitement out here though, ‘specially with Eric being a big kid all the time,” Kathy laughed. “So, I assume we’re here for a late birthday dinner?”

“Well, we might have gone somewhere else for that last week, sorry,” Brenda awkwardly laughed. “No, we are here for a relaxing night out; I’ve been busy with work and John’s spent his week busy with school and a new lady friend.”

If Kathy’s ears had been visible, John would be sure he’d have seen them twitch at that. “A lady friend, eh? So wanna fill us in on some details? What’s she like? What’s her name? Things serious between the two of you? She treating my handsome man right or she need a talking to?”

John shifted uncomfortably but caved. “No, no need for a ‘talking to’… she’s amazing, We’ve got a lot in common, and even in the short space of time we’ve known each other, she’s kinda changed the way I see some things. Not only that, but it feels like we’ve known each other for years and I guess that mutual feeling is the reason why our relationship seems to be developing so fast. We’ve only been together since Monday but everything is going so quickly that it’s like we’ve been dating for like a year or something, it’s a bit overwhelming.”

“Oh, young love, sounds like soul mates to me,” Kathy bubbled. “So what’s she look like? What’s her name?”

“Ahem! Kathy, I don’t think we should press him for more than that,” Brenda stated before turning to John. “I think I get what you meant earlier, sweetie, so don’t worry, I’m not going to press you for any more information. I do want to hear more but I’ll let you be the one to decide when you’re ready to tell me. And I’m sure Kathy’s gonna respect that you aren’t ready to say more too, right, Kathy?”

She just let out a laugh. “Oh, you know me, ever the snoop. But yes, I guess I will, and if you want to take her on a date to the best most romantic spot in town, I’ll make sure to reserve our best table for you. And before you say a thing, I can be professional when it’s needed, we didn’t get perfect reviews on Welp for nothing, after all.”

John awkwardly laughed. “Thanks, I’ll think about it. You aren’t wrong though, great food and a view like this makes for a perfect place for a date.”

“Of course and I obviously reserved Brenda the best spot, though I did think that maybe she might have been booking for her and a... ahem, gentleman friend, since you two usually take a booth down in the restaurant,” Kathy said with a sly smile.

Brenda groaned, “Enough of that Kathy, I’m quite content as I am.”

Kathy gave her a knowing look. “Of course you are a woman of your… appetite-”

“Kathy! Don’t say things like that while John is around, you’re going to make him think that I sleep around!” Brenda complained.

“Oh, shush, John’s old enough and definitely not blind. I’m sure he knows that having a high sex drive doesn’t mean you’re going to jump the first guy you spot, but you have to admit. It’s been a long time since you dated and you are a beautiful woman,” Kathy pressed.

“Enough, please!” Brenda sighed. “Kathy, I am fine, seriously. And don’t even think of trying to set me up again; the last time I stayed as a courtesy since you went to the trouble, but it went terribly, and if I wanted to go out dating again, I’d find someone myself. It’s not like I haven’t had guys asking for my number, I’m just not interested,” Brenda grumbled.

John was awash with feelings after hearing the two arguing; on one hand, he didn’t need to know about his mother’s sexual appetite, on the other, he had to wonder if that could be the reason she took so long in the shower, and that thought made him shake his head before his mind went down a rabbit hole that would leave his pants noticeably tight.

He also felt bad that his mom didn’t have anyone in her life in a romantic capacity, but at the same time, he was glad and felt relief he didn’t have to worry who she might go out with, but again he had to shake his head when he wondered if he was glad because he was being protective or something else.

“Anyway, I am glad to hear that you have a girlfriend, kiddo. Promise I won’t pry anymore. I’ll take your orders and leave you guys to enjoy your night. But you guys will be visiting us soon in a more social manner,” Kathy demanded before putting on her ‘professional’ demeanour. “So we have a selection of wild game some of the local hunters brought in, we have some venison and some wild boar that were brought in this morning, or there is anything on our normal menu if you’d like to choose something from there. Just a heads up, Eric has actually made some venison and boar burgers that he is extra proud of.”

“Uh, I’ll just have a bacon cheeseburger if that’s okay, please,” John ordered.

“Sure thing, kiddo. Want whatever drink you got earlier or would you like something else?” Kathy asked while typing on her phone.

“Actually, I’ll have a homemade lemonade.” John smiled before looking at his mother expectantly.

“And I’ll have a venison stew please, and I’ll have half a glass of red wine to go with it. Eric gave me this very nice shandy so I’ll save it for later,” Brenda smiled.

Kathy laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, he did, did he? That man has an obsession. Make sure you treat it like normal beer because the **** those hunters make is decently strong, about as strong as craft, so the shandy ends up like 6% ****, which you’d probably not realise due to how sweet they are. Anyway, dear, I’ll go put this order in and leave you alone... for now.”

Kathy headed out of the booth and closed the wooden divider, making the room feel that much more intimate. It hadn’t really dawned on John, but now that they were closed off, the booth didn’t even feel like it was part of Fox House anymore, it was like the two of them were in their own little world, even with the very quiet murmuring from the booth next to them.

Brenda reached over and took John’s hand. “Hey, sweetie, I know I wanted to talk to you a little but I’d really like to enjoy the view and your company. You don’t mind, do you?”

John smiled. “Sure, that actually sounds great to me. It’s been a while since we just sat together in silence without a TV or computer around.”

Brenda moved her chair around so that she was sitting next to John. She rested her head on his shoulder and the two of them just watched as the sun began to set in the distance.

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