A Bradford Birthday Flashback

A Romantic Comedy Short Story

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

Read Part I Here if you missed it.

“This is a really bad idea,” Uncle Trevor said, rubbing his temples with his fingertips as he glanced from Uncle Jason down to her and then back again as he shifted from rubbing his temples to pinching the bridge of his nose.

“This is a great idea,” Sebastian said with a satisfied sigh as she watched Uncle Jason suddenly go still as he stopped piling fried chicken onto his plate to slowly, ever so slowly, look up, and when he saw them standing there, his eyes narrowed dangerously on them.

“Why is he glaring at us?” Mikey couldn’t help but wonder.

That is, until she looked up at Uncle Trevor and took in the matching glare that left her even more confused. She opened her mouth to ask Sebastian what was going on only to decide against it when she saw that devious glint in his eye, the one that reminded her of his brother just before he screwed someone over.

“Okay, then,” Mikey mumbled absently as she cleared her throat and stepped around them and made her way to the cashier. “Three, please.”

“That will be $80.50,” the friendly cashier said with a warm smile.

“One second, please,” Mikey said, biting back a sigh as she made her way back to Uncle Trevor and held out her hand.

Never taking his eyes off Uncle Jason, he took his wallet out of his pocket and handed it to her. Not really sure what was going on, Mikey made her way back to the cashier and paid her, grabbed their cups and made her way inside the large restaurant, pausing along the way to hand the wallet back to Uncle Trevor, unable to help but notice that he was still glaring.

When she went to sit at Uncle Jason’s table, Sebastian grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle tug that had her frowning as he led her towards a table in the back. “What exactly are we doing?” Mikey couldn’t help but wonder as Sebastian took the cups from her and placed them on the table.

“Did you go over the rules with her?” Uncle Trevor asked as he placed three sets of silverware wrapped in napkins on the table.

“Not yet,” Sebastian said while Mikey stood there, wondering why Uncle Trevor and Sebastian were taking in all the exits in the restaurant.

“What rules?” Mikey asked, frowning as she followed Uncle Trevor’s gaze as he took in the exit at the back of the restaurant before he went back to glaring at Uncle Jason.

“The rules that we need to go over so that you don’t get hurt,” Uncle Trevor murmured absently before he walked away, leaving her standing there trying to make sense of what he just said.

“Why would I get hurt?” Mikey asked as she glanced back at Sebastian to find him staring down at her and looking really freaking serious, which was saying a lot for a twelve-year-old boy who was already too serious for her peace of mind.

“Look,” Sebastian said, licking his lips nervously as he sat down at the table, dragging her with him so that she was sitting across from him, “there’s something that you need to know.”

“That you’re crazy?” Mikey asked, blinking at the teenage boy that was clearly screwing with her head.

“This is serious,” Sebastian whispered harshly.

Nodding slowly, Mikey said, “I can see that.”

“If anything happens, you don’t know us,” Sebastian said while she sat there, not really sure how to respond to that.

“Okay,” Mikey said, wondering if she should go sit with Uncle Jason instead. She glanced at Uncle Jason only to find herself wondering why he was discreetly shaking his head when he saw her.

“Don’t look at him,” Sebastian said as he reached over and gently tapped her on the nose.

“Why can’t I look at Uncle Jason?” Mikey asked as she glanced back at Sebastian.

“Because he’ll bring us down with him,” Sebastian said, grabbing a napkin out of the dispenser before pulling out a pen. “Look,” he began as he shifted his attention to the napkin and began drawing, “if anything happens, I want you to take the back exit and make your way to the gas station across the street.”

“Ummm, why wouldn’t I just meet you at the truck?” Mikey asked as she watched Sebastian quickly draw an outline of the restaurant and parking lot.

Shaking his head, Sebastian said, “It’s better if we aren’t seen together.”

“But we’re together now,” Mikey pointed out.

“Because we’re going to need you to cover for us,” Sebastian said, quickly glancing over his shoulder that had her following his gaze and-

“Why do you keep looking at the exits?” Mikey asked, watching as Sebastian started marking escape routes.

“I’ll come get you as soon as I can, but I might have to make a run for it,” Sebastian said instead.

“I’m going to need you to say something that makes sense,” Mikey said, gesturing for him to get on with it.

“And I’m going to need you to make sure that you don’t make eye contact with Uncle Jason again,” Sebastian drawled as he went to shove the napkin towards her, only to rethink it and draw another escape route.

She opened her mouth to ask a follow-up question only to find herself staring up at Uncle Trevor. “Let’s go,” he said, placing a plate overflowing with food on the table in front of her before grabbing hold of her arm and gently pulling her to her feet.

“Where are we going?” Mikey asked, watching as Uncle Trevor took in the emergency exits again as he led her to the pasta station.

“Did Sebastian go over the rules?” Uncle Trevor asked, throwing another look over his shoulder before he grabbed a plate and handed it to her.

“I’m honestly not sure what that was,” Mikey admitted as Uncle Trevor scooped a large serving of macaroni and cheese onto her plate.

“Don’t make eye contact with Jason, head to the gas station if things go south, and if anyone asks, my last name is Richards,” Uncle Trevor said, making it really difficult to follow this conversation.

“Maybe we should just go to the game?” Mikey suggested, only to frown when Sebastian walked past her and-

“Did…did he just steal my plate?” she asked, frowning down at her hands before looking up and found herself watching as Uncle Trevor headed back to the table with a large plate of ribs and-

“Grab a plate before you draw attention to yourself,” Uncle Jason said as he walked past her.

Biting back a sigh, Mikey moved to grab a plate and-

“Remember the plan,” Sebastian said as he shoved a plate overflowing with food in her hands before walking off without another word.

“What plan?” Mikey asked, shaking her head in wonder as she turned around and-

“Oh, come on!”

-watched as Uncle Jason walked away with a satisfied sigh and her plate.

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