by London Casey
“Smile?” I asked.
“Yeah. Think about it. You texting means that door is still open. So let’s say Saturday night comes. He’s out with his buddies and he can’t get laid. Right? He gets home and he’s horny. His hand is no good to him. What does he do? He texts you back. Oh, girl, I’m so sorry for what I said and did. I’ve been thinking… we should work this out. Come over. Let’s talk. I miss you. I want you.”
Miranda pretended to throw up.
She had a good point.
“I stopped texting him,” I said.
“That sounds like you sent a lot of texts.”
“A few.”
“How many is a few?” Miranda asked.
“More than a few.”
“Emily…”
“I said I stopped,” I said. “This isn’t easy for me. My life is crazy right now. The bakery…” I stopped and looked down.
“Hey, we’re off the clock,” Miranda said. “This is us as friends, right?”
“The bakery is a pain in the ass,” I said. “I sometimes wish I never took it over. And my only way out without screwing you over is to have this guy who wants to buy everything, buy me out.”
“Who?” Miranda asked. Her eyes lit up. “I would love to get out from under that building. Hey, let’s do this then… you get close to this guy. Right? Worst case, sleep with him a few times. Get him on board. You unload your business and I unload my building. What do you think?”
Miranda’s eyes were really big.
This was what she always did. An idea would hit and it was warp speed forward.
“Wait a second,” I said.
“What? You can’t take some bad dick for the good of us?”
“Why don’t you… never mind…”
“Hey,” she said. “Between you and me. If I needed to fuck someone to get out of owning this building, I would.”
“Don’t say that,” I said.
“I’m serious. I would rather smooth things over with Liam than keep this building any longer.”
“You don’t mean that,” I said. “You’d never do that to Liam.”
“Try me,” Miranda said.
I wanted to slap her across the face.
But before the urge could overtake me, the door opened.
Liam was home.
“Oh, hey, Emily,” Liam said. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“I invited her over,” Miranda said.
“I’m going to go hit the gym then,” he said. “You two keep talking about whatever it was you were talking about.”
Yeah. Sure. Miranda was just talking about cheating on you for her own personal and business gain.
“Don’t go anywhere,” Miranda said.
Liam froze in place. “What?”
“Come over here,” she said. She slid a third wine glass across the counter. “Have a drink. Tell us about your day.”
What the hell is going on here?
“Are you okay?” Liam asked Miranda.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“How are you, Emily?” Liam asked me.
“Great,” I said. “How was your day?”
“Busy. Yours?”
“Busy,” I said.
“So was mine,” Miranda said. “Let’s drink to that and then talk.”
“Talk?” Liam asked.
“Drink up,” Miranda said with a smile.
I knew that smile on her face. I didn’t like it one bit.
It was her planning smile.
Something was going on here…
Miranda put her wine glass down. “I’m leaving for Boston…”
“What?” I asked.
“You didn’t tell her?” Liam asked.
“Boston?” I asked.
“Conference thing,” Miranda said. “I’ll tell you the details later. That’s not important right now. See, Liam said he was going to go with me but then backed out at the last second.”
“I didn’t do that,” Liam said. “Are you serious right now?”
I felt my cheeks get warm.
Please don’t argue in front of me…
“Well, it’s true,” Miranda said. “Which is fine now. Liam is staying here. I’m going to Boston. Blah, blah, blah. But… it’s why we’re sitting here together, drinking wine.”
“Why is that?” I asked.
“I needed you two together at the same time,” Miranda said. She lifted her wine glass again. “Cheers…”
“We already did that,” Liam said. “This is getting weird. What’s up?”
Miranda leaned against the counter and bit her bottom lip for a second.
Then she spoke.
“I have an idea for you two…”
Chapter Eleven
Liam
I had no idea where Miranda was going with whatever it was she wanted to talk about.
I had a long day at the office. The kind of day that had me standing at the window, thinking about life. Nothing extreme like jumping out of the window, but just wondering what would have happened in my life if I took a left or a right turn here and there.
Those days came and went, as they did for everyone.
My plan had been to come home, take a hot shower, have a stiff drink, and forget about the day.
I did not expect to see Emily in the kitchen.
Not that it was a bad sight.
The way she looked at me and smiled, there was a sense of comfort there. Almost to the point where I wanted to dump on the counter about my day. And knowing Emily, she’d listen, hear me, say something nice, then say something supporting. Or funny.
As Miranda walked away from the counter, I looked down and pinched the bridge of my nose. I had to chase away the images of Emily and I sitting there, drinking wine, laughing together.
Friends. We’re friends. Emily and I go back one hundred years. Friends as teenagers. Finding each other again in college. Life just being life all around us. Sometimes we wouldn’t talk for months, but when we talk, it’s always fun. A blast. That’s right. A freaking blast.
“Are you okay over there?” Emily asked.
I picked my head up and looked at her. “I’m great. You?”
“Worried.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I have no clue what’s going on here.”
“Rough day at the office?” Emily asked.
“Can you tell?”
“A little,” she said. “Too many legal things at once?”
“Something like that,” I said. “I was standing at the window and thinking about that one night Steve and I set that tent on fire. By accident, of course.”
Emily threw her head back and laughed. “Accident. Yeah right.”
“What?” I asked. “It was.”
“No it wasn’t. You two were talking about setting something on fire all night that night.”
“Not a tent,” I said. “We were supposed to camp out there that night.”
“How did it even start then?”
I turned and leaned against the counter and faced Emily. “You don’t remember? Wow. Okay. Do you remember Meghan?”
“Meghan…?”
I put my hands to my chest and moved them out.
“Meghan,” I said.
“Oh,” Emily said. “Right. The girl that made every girl jealous.”
“Really?”
“She had boobs in third grade,” Emily said.
“See? And I got stuck with Mr. Barabitz for third grade. I missed out on the fun.”
“That’s gross, Liam.”
“How? It’s natural.”
“Natural,” Emily said. “You know she got them reduced. In size.”
“She did?”
“Yeah. They were causing back issues. So… ha…”
“Look at you. Taking pride in another woman’s suffering. I expected more from you, Emily.”
“Oh, shut up,” she said. “Go back to your story.”
“Okay, so that night, Steve said-”
“Sorry abou
t that!” Miranda announced. “Had to get something, send an email, take a call…”
Emily and I were smiling and those smiles faded.
That was a moment I’d never forget.
Seeing my fiancée made me unhappy… shit.
Miranda put her hand on a notebook. “This is everything that needs to get done. It’s a long list, but it’s doable. And truthfully, I won’t beat around the bush. I haven’t been as present as a normal fiancée would. But that’s just who we are, right, Liam?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Sure.”
She flipped open the notebook. “I know I look like the worst person ever here… but I’m here. For now. I’m going to Boston tomorrow. And it’s not just the conference. There’s more.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“Liam, we talked about leaving here so many times. It’s always been a dream of mine. I know we have the big city here but… Boston…”
I felt bad for Emily.
She looked rigid and uncomfortable.
“Miranda, what’s happening here?” I asked.
“Sorry. It’s a week-long conference. There’s a lot happening. But I’m planning on hanging around for a week after. Maybe more. I don’t know. I have a few meetings I’m taking. Possible job offers.”
“In Boston,” I said.
“Yeah,” she said. “I’m not taking anything, okay. I just want to explore options. I want to… see what it’s like there. That’s all. I thought we were going to do this together, Liam. Now, I get it. You have to stay here. That’s fine. And I know we agreed to get married here. Things are already in motion. So I’m not saying we’re not going to do that. I know you’re working on a lot at once on your own. This notebook… you and Emily… it all makes sense…”
“What makes sense?” Emily asked.
“I need your help, Emily,” Miranda said.
“Okay…”
“Okay? You’re in?” Miranda asked.
“I mean okay… as in, I’m listening…”
“Right,” Miranda said. “Sorry. There are some deadlines coming up for the wedding. Flowers. Food. Music. So many things I really have no… I don’t know. I’m not good at this. I’m not meant for it. But you have an artistic eye, Emily. Right? I remember you telling me how you used to sing. And I remember you getting drunk in college and singing. And you always wanted to go to the art museums. And you always liked flowers… you know?”
“Okay,” Emily said again. “What are you asking?”
“I’m asking you to help Liam while I’m gone,” Miranda said.
“What?” I asked.
Miranda looked at me. “I want you and Emily to plan our wedding together.”
I pushed from the counter. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m serious,” Miranda said. “Think about it. Emily is my best friend. Right? She knows everything about me. She knows everything about us, Liam. She introduced us. You two have been friends forever too. It’s perfect. And this way when the wedding comes, I don’t end up with cheeseburgers and half dead, discount flowers.”
I glanced at Emily.
She looked at me and looked away in a hurry.
“Miranda, I don’t understand,” I said. “We can wait until you get back.”
“What if we can’t?” she asked. “What if something happens in Boston and I get a job offer?”
“Then we deal with it,” I said. “Together.”
“No, Liam. I said we were going to get married here. I’m keeping to that. So if something happens, I want to be able to come back, handle my personal and professional life, get married, and move.”
“Wait a second,” I said. “You’re talking way too many steps ahead here.”
“Emily, can you back me up?” Miranda asked. “I suck at this stuff, right? Just be honest with me. Tell me I suck at it.”
Emily exhaled slowly. “Yeah. You suck at it. Flowers. Decorations. It’s not your thing.”
“Exactly,” Miranda said. “Look around the apartment. Look how boring this place looks. It’s like the waiting room where I work.”
“That’s true,” Emily said.
“And you know Liam, right? You can talk about the past with him. You know my past. We’ve been friends since college. I mean, this makes sense to me. Am I crazy?”
“You’re crazy,” I blurted out. “Sorry… but…”
Miranda looked at me again. “You’ve been doing so much on your own. I’m just trying to help. I’m in a tough position here, Liam. I can’t miss going to Boston. I don’t want to let you down with the wedding. You’ve been asking all these questions about our past…” Miranda shut the notebook. “What do I do then?”
Emily looked at me.
I looked at her.
She shrugged her shoulders.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked Emily.
She didn’t answer.
Miranda did.
“She’s sure of it,” Miranda said. “It gives you both something to do. Have fun at it. That way I get to go to this conference. I get to see what jobs are possibly out there. And I get to have my dream wedding without the work. No offense to you two.”
“None taken,” I said.
“Oh, and another thing,” Miranda said to Emily. “Do this and forget about that stuff we talked about. The papers? The extra money? I’ll cover it for you. I should have never brought it up.”
“Uh… right…”
“So what do you think?” Miranda asked.
“I think you two should keep talking,” Emily said. “Alone. I don’t want to be in the way. I think it’s… yeah, it’s a good idea… but you two need to make sure of it all…”
“Okay,” Miranda said. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay for something to eat?”
“No,” Emily said. “Liam’s had a rough day. You two need to talk.”
“You had a rough day?” Miranda asked me.
“Work,” I said. “Let me walk Emily to the door and then we’ll talk…”
Miranda’s phone started to ring.
She took the call and walked out of the kitchen.
I looked at Emily, she had already got up and was walking to the door.
I hurried after her and got to the door first.
I opened it slowly. “I’m sorry about that. I don’t know what she’s thinking right now.”
“She always had crazy ideas,” Emily said. “You two should talk about it.”
“We will. I had no idea that was coming.”
“It’s okay,” Emily said. “I’m used to it.”
She smiled. For a quick second.
Emily was halfway down the hallway when I stepped out of the apartment.
“Hey,” I called out.
Emily looked back.
“Steve wanted to hook up with Meghan,” I said, finishing my story from earlier. “So he wanted to build a fire and tell ghost stories. So he could scare her then comfort her. I told him he was building the first too close to the tent. That’s how the tent caught on fire.”
Emily shook her head. “All that for nothing.”
“You know what a guy will do to get the attention of someone he likes.”
“Have a good night, Liam,” Emily said.
“You too…”
She disappeared and I stood there for a few seconds.
I felt like everything around me was going up in flames.
Chapter Twelve
Emily
The whole ride back to my apartment, I stared out the window.
My nerves were jittery. I was so unsettled. I couldn’t stop picturing Miranda and Liam standing there, gently arguing, talking about their wedding, only to have me pulled right into the mix of it all.
Which I did not need. I did not ask to be part of it.
Watching Miranda and Liam get closer was one thing. Even when they got engaged… that was a whole other thing to hear about.
I was never sure if it was actually real or not.
&
nbsp; Then to hear that Liam had been handling most of the wedding plans…
The car came to a stop.
I climbed out without saying thanks or goodbye.
Not that it was a requirement, I felt guilty as I slammed the door and the car sped away.
I wandered into the building and up to my apartment, alone, my head kind of spinning.
What the hell did Miranda want me to do? Stand in for her and pretend to be Liam’s fiancée? And do what? She’s the one going to Boston. She’s bailing, right?
Well, no, she’s going to a conference and then she’s going to network. That’s what her dream is.
But why even mention the wedding plans then? Does it mean that much to Liam? Why does it mean that much to him? If she’s not involved…
None of those questions or their answers were my business.
I didn’t make it ten steps into the apartment before I turned around and left.
I stopped at Miss Crabapple’s apartment to see if she wanted to go up on the roof for a little bit.
Since that was her only adventure left in life, she wasted no time in grabbing a light jacket and joining me in the hallway.
“You look sad, Emily,” she said to me.
“Ever have a day where nothing bad happens, yet it feels like it did?” I asked.
“Sure. We all have those days.”
“That’s today for me.”
“Can I tell you something you won’t want to hear?” Miss Crabapple asked.
“Of course.”
“What you just said… was a total lie.”
“What?”
“If you feel like you’re having a bad day, it’s because you are. Because something is eating at you.”
I opened my mouth to respond but knew better.
Cancer or not, Miss Crabapple was smart and fierce.
“Right now I just want to look at the stars,” I said.
Miss Crabapple gently elbowed me. “And think about some guy that broke your heart?”
“No,” I said.
She winked at me.
I was such a bad liar.