Boredom and Loneliness

Though Jim did hear Angel, he didn't respond. He was too deep in misery at the moment to let her words penetrate. He stayed in the office, resting for a while, until one of the guys came and helped him to the house where he would stay the rest of the day. He wouldn't be seen at supper either - Becky explained he wasn't feeling well enough to get up and come. She didn't express much feeling one way or the other about what had happened, remaining fairly quiet. Everyone else tried to just go on with the day, but it was hard not to think about the fight.

Seeing Chad approach, Rosalyn got to her feet. She wanted to be excited. She wanted to look forward to this evening. But after today, her spirits had been dampened to the point where she wasn't sure if she'd even enjoy a date. But it was better than staying here.

She couldn't help a look of surprise at seeing Chad all dressed up. He looked incredibly handsome, and it was quite obvious he'd made an effort to clean himself up tonight. His suit was rather dashing and fit him well. Would she ruin his evening since she wasn't in high spirits? Maybe she shouldn't have let him come.

Managing a small smile, she did her best to give him at least a halfway warm greeting. "Hi... You look awfully good for picking up a girl out in the middle of nowhere."

Being handed the bag, her brow furrowed in confusion. Looking inside as he explained what it was, her eyes widened. Blinking, she glanced back up at him, hardly able to believe he'd done this for her. He'd...he'd bought her a dress? And a nice dress too. She rarely got dressed up for anything, since dates were non-existent, church was casual, and dances were usually cowboy-style. This was something she'd never had before...let alone thought she was pretty enough to wear.

She swallowed hard as her emotions started to bubble. She couldn't accept such a gift from Chad - it obviously wasn't cheap. But she also knew to refuse it, she would hurt him more than she already had with this whole ordeal.

Still not saying anything, she took the dress out of the bag and held it up to herself. It was so pretty, and for a moment, she felt again like the princess he always made her feel like. She didn't realize a tear had escaped to trickle down her cheek. "Thank you," she whispered. "It's beautiful..."

...She'd go back into the ranch to get some shoes, but could borrow a pair from Jade so she didn't have to go back to her house at least. After that, she'd agree to changing at Chad's hotel room- she didn't want to stick around here any longer, and changing in the jeep wouldn't be easy. She'd be quiet on the ride to town. She didn't want to talk about the day, and she wasn't ready to tell Chad yet what all had happened. Her hand would remain in his though, as she tried to soak up any comfort she could find, in spite of the dim look her eyes wore tonight...

...Looking at herself in the bathroom mirror, Rosalyn took a deep breath. She wasn't used to dressing like this. If she were Jade, she'd put her hair up in some fancy way, but the most she could do was just let it be loose and fall over her shoulders. She didn't have any fancy jewelry, and her wrist was white where she usually wore a durable watch that wouldn't match tonight. The necklace she wore didn't really match either - a silver locket on a black cord. Most of the time, she wore it under her t-shirt, but she couldn't hide it with this dress. She wasn't going to take it off though - it was too special.

After putting on a little bit of lip gloss, she finally stood back and looked at herself one last time. It would have to do. She felt rather silly, feeling so nervous, but she couldn't help it. She wasn't used to making herself pretty for a man. Emerging slowly from the bathroom, her eyes drifted to the floor as she stood in front of Chad. She hoped he approved. 

Though hibernating in his cubicle the rest of the afternoon, Gunner does eventually check his cell phone, finding a bazillion voicemails. Some from Reese. Some from Pete. Then one from Bree. It was unusual that they didn't already have plans. They hung out all the time before, then even more after being engaged. He'd been so preoccupied the last few days though, that he hadn't realized tonight they hadn't talked about doing anything.

Rather than calling Bree back though, Gunner sends her a text instead, letting her know he'd be there after work. Avoiding much more for the short time left of the day, Gunner didn't get much done. But at least he wasn't getting yelled at anymore either. Eventually he does head out, going first to the store, then over to JT's. It really had become his second home. If he wasn't here with JT and Bree, he was over at Bree's, or she was over at his place. It felt nice to have a close friendship there, even with JT. Close enough that he was allowed to walk in without knocking.

"Honey, I'm home!" Entering the house, Gunner immediately smelled JT's "famous" spaghetti sauce. That answered his question of what on earth Bree's uncle would be cooking in such quantity. JT couldn't make his spaghetti sauce in small portions.

He poked his head into the kitchen and grinned a silly grin. "The army is here for supper," he teased. "And... me, myself and I brought fixings for rootbeer floats without the roots."

JT looked over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. "You guys and your floats."

"Hey." Gunner set the grocery sack down on the table and winked at Bree. "If he doesn't want any, that just leaves more for us, right?" Without waiting for an answer, he reached over and pulled her close for a quick hug and kiss. "Mm, are you a sight for sore eyes. Don't ask me about my day - it was incredibly dull."

JT shoots a new glance over his shoulder. Having Reese call him twice to see if he knew where Gunner was, implied more than a dull day, but somehow he sensed he shouldn't ask about it.

Jared sighed and removed the CD from his portable player, only to toss it into the waste basket beside his bed. It had already accumulated at least ten other discs. Only one, so far, was set aside to keep.

After putting in another CD and listening through his headphones, this time it only took a couple seconds before he threw away that one too. He had quite a collection from his car...but he didn't have anything better to do this afternoon. He still liked the hard music, but...the lyrics weren't exactly things he'd feel good about other people hearing. Not anymore. Not someone like Grace. It wasn't like they spent much time in his car, let alone listening to music, but he still didn't like having this stuff around anymore. Perhaps in a way, he was trying to throw away a part of himself that he no longer liked.

He'd been home from the hospital for a couple days, and, thankfully, he'd had no more unexpected mishaps so far. He was feeling better, despite his shoulder being forced to stay in a sling - except for therapy sessions - for a while now. Grace would help him with his shoulder now too, along with his legs...after he'd told the doctor he'd changed his mind and still wanted her to be his therapist.

"Jared? Would you like some soup for supper?"

He looked up to see his mother in the doorway, and removed his headphones. "Um..." He thought about how his stomach was feeling before he nodded. "Yeah, I think I can eat a little."

Lydia smiled. At least he was willing to try. He'd lost so much weight lately that he was all but skin and bones. "Okay. I will make some for both of us then." She cocked her head. "You are still listening to music?"

"Yeah, well...it's not like I can go take a walk instead."

Lydia just gave him a smirk. "When does Grace come back?"

"Tomorrow. I think." In truth, Jared wasn't a hundred percent sure. His days ran together so easily anymore. After returning from the hospital, the days just seemed to melt together in a mix of boredom and loneliness. It couldn't be helped, but it didn't make it any more fun.

"Well, I will let you know when the soup is ready, okay?"

"Sounds good." Jared waited until she was gone again before putting his headphones back on. He knew he had it good here. He knew he was lucky to have a mother who was so caring. Now if only he could get some kind of life back. Until then, this afternoon and evening would be like all the others...the same...as every other day.