Breaking

Chapter 2

Peter’s POV

The warm smell of vanilla filled Peter’s nose as Vivian’s hair fluttered it the gentle breeze.

He watched her as she walked through the door, admiring the way she carried herself with grace and poise. She wasn’t one to flaunt her body, although she was physically beautiful with soft curves and a slender frame, Peter always found her smile and genuine compassion for others her most attractive features.

Peter shook himself back to his surroundings, cleared his throat and followed Vivian inside.

Lily had procured a table for them in the back of the restaurant where is was a bit quieter and they could all talk more freely.

“So what did you end up doing this weekend?” Lily asked Vivian as they all settled into their seats. “I spent most of Saturday on call at the hospital and ended up performing two emergency appendectomies and then I spent Sunday at my sister’s place.” Vivian stated.

“Ugh! You were supposed to be off on Saturday and you told me you were going to go out to that singles meetup!” Lily practically screamed at Vivian.

Lily was always a bit dramatic but Peter had grown accustomed to her rantings after several months of brunches. He spoke up.

“Maybe she didn’t want to go Lily. There’s nothing wrong with that. Is there?” “Well, no.” Lily hesitated. “I just thought you said you were ready to meet people” She directed the last comment at Vivian.

“I don’t know Lil. I mean I thought I was ready to, but that morning when Dr. Blake asked me to cover for him so he could attend his son’s baseball game, I chickened out and leapt at an excuse to not go” Vivian said rather flatly, with sadness creeping in.

Peter let out a long breath he didn’t know he was holding. The thought of Vivian feeling so lonely broke his heart but the thought of her dating hurt just as much, if not more. Robert had been his best friend since college but they were more like brothers than friends.

Peter was the one who introduced Rob to the cute girl from his English Lit class, Vivian. He was the best man at Robert and Vivian’s wedding and he had been the one to comfort Rob when Vi went through numerous miscarriages, so that Rob could be there to comfort Vi.

Peter had always admired Robert and Vivian’s relationship. He had always hoped to find someone who he could commit to who was as kind as Vivian and be the one to give her support and comfort in difficult times.

As hard as he tried, he had just never found the one. He had had his fair share of girlfriends over the years but none of them ever lived up to the potential he had envisioned for himself. Peter shook his head to push himself back to the present.

The girls had moved topics to what each other were planning for the upcoming weekend with Lily planning to take her family to the aquarium to see the new baby penguins and Vivian stating she was planning on staying home curled up with a book.

Vivian turned to Peter, “What are your plans Peter?” She said softly. “Taking any cute girls out to party?” She said with a playful lilt in her voice. “No, no.” Peter chimed. “Just planning on going rock climbing with some friends and then taking it easy.”

“Sounds adventurous and manly.” Lily remarked, everyone knew she was terrified of heights so of course she would never go rock climbing. This made Peter chuckle under his breath and roll his eyes ever so slightly.

Vi must have noticed because she locked eyes with him briefly and let out a little giggle and then looked away quickly before Lily caught a glimpse of the two teasing her.

Brunch continued in much of the same fashion with playful conversations and lighthearted bickering back and forth between the three of them, usually resulting in Lily being dramatic, Peter being sarcastic, and Vivian being the peacemaker.

It was always a good time that distracted Peter from missing Rob and their sarcastic joking with each other. With brunch wrapping up, the waiter brought the bill and Peter snatched it up before either of the girls could, and paid for their meals.

They chit chatted as they walked out to the parking lot where they began to say their goodbyes.

“Thanks for the food Pete!” Lily said, knowing he hated the nickname. “I’ll call you later love.” She said to Vivian giving her a tight hug. “I have to run to get Milo to a doctor’s appointment.” She yelled as she ran across the asphalt to her car.

Peter stood there for a second not sure what to say. He had always been bad with saying goodbye. “Thank you for paying for the meal, Peter.” Vivian’s sweet voice interrupted the silence. “Of course.” He said stiffly. “It really was good to see you.” Vivian said softly.

Hearing her gently voice calmed Peter, and he relaxed a bit. “It is always a pleasure to see you too Vi.” Peter said, as a small smile creeped on to his face.

They stood in silence for a few moments when Vi suddenly wrapped her arms around Peter’s waist in a gentle yet firm hug. She let out a sigh and whispered “I miss him so much Peter.” A small tear running down one cheek.

Peter instinctively wrapped his chiseled arms around her in a protective embrace and bent his head down closer to hers. He whispered back “I know Vi. I miss him too.”

They sat in silence for a few moments longer just breathing and grieving together. Vivian wiped away her tears and pulled away.

Peter had to resist the sudden unexpected urge to pull her back to his chest. “Thanks for everything Peter. It’s nice to have someone who understands.” Vivian said. Peter stammered something in return and watched her walk away.

He stood for what seemed like an hour alone on the sidewalk, fighting the urge to run after her or to simply run away from these confusing emotions that seemed to be building inside his chest.

He waved to Vi as she pulled out of the parking lot and started walking towards his car.

Peter jumped into his Jeep and then sat there. He just sat there. He thought about the fact that none of his relationships ever lived up to the one he saw in Rob and Vi.

He thought about how he longed to have a person to go home to at the end of the day. He thought about Vi dating and finding someone else and the possibility of being with Vi himself. Rob would kill him, he was sure of it.

He pushed the thoughts aside and sped off to work to help him forget the thoughts that kept trying to creep in.