Nick slowly walked into McDonald’s. He was meeting up with Jerald and Tim Richardson. When he entered, he saw them sitting at a back table. He leisurely walked over and sat down.

“Well hello there Nickolas. Glad you could make it.” Jerald grinned at him.

“Anytime Jerald. Hi Tim.” Tim nodded his head.

“So tell us what’s going on with you and my sister. I heard you’ve been having problems for the last few months.”

“I’m not one to kiss and tell. Our relationship is between us.” Nick answered.

“That’s not how I see it. You’ve hurt my sister one to many times. I think we need to make some things clear.” Jerald whispered, sitting up straight in the booth. Nick stared at him.

“Since you’re my elder, I’ll listen to you. My relationship with your sister is between the two of us. Do I make that clear?” Nick responded back.

“Yes. My sister means the world to me. She thinks you hung the moon and the stars. I don’t know you that well, but Kevin and Brian think you’re an okay guy. I trust their opinion. You need to treat Ashton like a princess. I don’t want to hear about your breaking her heart. If you do, I will kick your scrawny ass.”

“Okay. Just please stop acting like Ashton is perfect. We both made mistakes. This relationship stuff is new to both of us. I wish all you Richardson’s would let us learn from our mistakes. You are always butting in where you don’t belong.” Nick said through gritted teeth.

Jerald was getting a little agitated with Nick’s attitude. He didn’t expect the young man to talk back. Tim sat quietly taking the conversation in.

“With that outlook, you’re not looking to good in my eyes. We care about our sister. We don’t want to see her get hurt. For some reason she loves you. You need to man up. I don’t ever want to have another talk with you about my sister. I know you love her.”

“I love her a lot. I know you mean well, but this is all new to us. She’s the one that broke up with me. Ashton hurt me. I’m not saying it’s her fault because it isn’t. We both were stupid. I want to work things out with her. It’s a lot easier without you putting your two cents in.”

“Well, I wish you the best. Don’t hurt her, or I’ll hurt you. Let’s go Tim.” Jerald got out of the booth.

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Are you going to interrogate me now?” Nick said defensively.

“Nah. I don’t interrogate people. I’m the peaceful Richardson. Kevin and Jer mean well. They just go about it the wrong way. Most of the Richardson’s have a temper. I agree that you and Ashton have to work it out. Ashton had a lot of issues with people she cared about it in the past. She took it hard when our dad died. You helped bring her out of that shell. I think you are great together. Kevin has a lot of great things to say about your relationship. Ashy can be a toughie sometimes. Her emotions get the best of her. You’ve helped make her world happier.”

“Tim, I’m grateful to have someone on our side. Thank you for believing in us.”

“Nick, there are more people on your side than you think. I want to be the minister at your wedding. Just don’t get married for a long time. Everything will work out. If you need someone to talk to about anything, give me a call. ” Tim shook Nick’s hand and left.

-------------------------

I was enjoying a day of pampering. I gave myself a manicure and pedicure. Now I was soaking in an apple scented bubble bath.

My thoughts were on the dinner with Nick. He finally wanted to work on our relationship. I was going to listen to what he had to say, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to jump back into a relationship with Nick. I cared about him, but he waited so long to try to work things out. My trust in him was lacking. I had to be honest with myself. I needed to be in control of my relationship with Nick.

I looked at the clock. I had to be at Nick’s place in a few hours. I quickly got out of the tub. After I dried off, I went to my closet to find something to wear. What was I going to wear? I didn’t want to get dressed up, but I didn’t want to look awful. I scanned my clothing. I settled for a yellow sundress. I quickly got dressed.

I started drying my hair. Then I put on some makeup. I was looking for a pair of sandals when the phone rang.

“Hello Richardson residence. Ashton speaking.”

“Hey Ash.”

“Hi Bri. What’s up?” I found my white sandals and put them on.

“Not much. Just seeing if you wanted to hang out.”

“I can’t. I’m meeting Nick for dinner.”

“Ooh. Are you back together?”

“No. He finally wants to talk. I’m going to hear what he has to say.” I stated as I rushed around Kevin’s house looking for my keys.

“You don’t sound so enthused.”

“Brian, we’ve been apart since January. He waits until May to work things out. It’s kind of hard to listen to him after all this time.”

“Nick is slow. It takes his brain time to figure things out. Just listen to what he has to say.”

“I will Brian. I’ve got to go or I’ll be late.”

“Love ya, Ashy. Bye.”

“Bye.” I hung up the phone. I still couldn’t find my keys. I continued to search the house.

I wish that everyone would stop telling me how to feel about Nick. I would handle the situation in my own way.

I found my keys and headed out the door.