“With Brad,” she replied, falling on the couch and throwing her head back like she hadn’t slept in a year. “Max doesn’t want to have anything to do with me when he has Brad, basically. Anyway, to answer your question, I thought I should bring this one over because I knew you’d be missing Lily.”
I nodded, feeling sad at first but then happy that my daughter was going to spend this Sunday with me. It was nice, even if it was just one day.
“She’s going to be here tomorrow. Lily.”
Heather straightened her neck, opened her mouth. “That’s amazing. I bet your happiness is out of control right now.”
“Well that…” I began, placing an elbow on the edge of the couch. “And there’s also another thing that I need to tell you about.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Who is he?”
I laughed. “What makes you think it’s about a man?”
She tilted her head to the side with a look of really-now. “I know because you’re my sister, and also because you have makeup on. That could only mean one thing.”
“Not really,” I retorted. “I had makeup on also when… uh…”
“Yeah… uh,” she teased. “Months ago at Brad’s restaurant launch party maybe.”
“How’s that going?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Don’t do that,” she poked her finger into my arm. “No changing topics. Tell me everything already.”
I leaned back and swallowed, my gaze fixed on little Amber’s smiling face. “Seriously, how is she not tired?”
“Jess!” My sister yelled. “Stop… doing that. I swear I don’t have all day.”
I crossed my arms and ran my hands over them for a few seconds.
“Are you cold?” Heather asked, sinking her fists into the couch. I assumed she was about to turn off the ceiling fan.
“No,” I grabbed her hand and she sat back down. “It’s Arthur Bridge. Bradley’s friend?”
She had a speck of amusement and a bit of disbelief on her face when I said his name. I was worried she was going to be annoyed, for whatever reason. But knowing Heather, she was good at putting things in the past.
“Are you serious?” is all she could muster. “That’s… That’s really cool. How? When? I mean, how?”
I chuckled, running my hand across my face.
“Mom and Dad. They signed me on Meetme. It’s an app that has a dating section.”
“I know what it is,” she laughed. “I used to be single once, remember?”
I nodded. “Well, anyway, so we met there. It’s a long story.”
“I’m all ears.”
I took a deep breath, contemplating whether or not to tell Heather about the whole thing. Maybe I should just stop at the two dates that he took me on, maybe the fact that he might become my new boss soon enough… and that’s it. I didn't have to tell my sister everything.
“I’m surprised he was into online dating, though,” my sister interrupted my thoughts. “You know what I mean? He used to be quite a player back in day. Don’t get me wrong, he’s great and all. Brad is very fond of him, but I think he’s a bit weird. He slept with Rachel, then attended her engagement with his own friend months later.”
I scrunched my nose. “Rachel? Rachel Phillips? Neil’s Rachel?”
Heather nodded. “Yes. But everyone’s different so… Anyway, I’m sorry for thinking out loud. Continue the story.”
My sister had unknowingly made the decision for me. She’d planted a seed of doubt in my mind and the last thing I wanted to do was admit to her that I was being stupid enough to help a hot guy obtain a green card illegally. Hell, I didn’t even know if the word "illegal" was appropriate for this situation, but we both did know that it was a scam, even if we really had the hots for each other. Marrying only in order to obtain permanent residency was against the law though, hence, it was illegal. Fine.
“We’ve met twice since then. Technically thrice, once at Henry’s office.”
“Henry Bridge, your boss?” Heather narrowed her eyes, then it hit her. “Holy shit. Arthur and your shitty boss are related? How did I not know this earlier?”
“Cousins,” I said. “But they’re super tight. Almost like brothers.”
My sister was rubbing her temples. “Wow. Small world, huh?”
“Yep!” I agreed, slapping my hands over my thighs, standing. “Everyone knows everyone.”
I walked over to the kitchen to pull out a bottle of water from the fridge.
“You know he’s divorced, right?” she said turning back and looking at me.
“Actually,” I grimaced. “His divorce still hasn’t come through.”
My sister twisted herself to look at me, and I made sure to avoid her stare.
“And you’re okay with that?”
She was referring to our controversial discussions on marriage. Heather always told me Tyler’s cheating had changed me as a person, made me more cynical toward relationships and the idea of marriage. She wasn’t wrong. I used to be much more easy going and trusting before I got screwed over by the love of my life, or so I thought.
“No, I’m not okay with it,” I snapped. She turned back around and stayed quiet until I sat back down next to her.
“Look, Jess. I swear I’m happy about what you’re telling me. I am. I just want to make sure that you don’t get caught up in the whole we’re not right for each other business. Arthur is great. I actually really like him and Brad does, too. He even pampers Max every time he sees the kid. But, he’s also complicated. You’re not one to handle complications that easily. Not anymore.”
I’d always appreciated my sister’s brutal honesty. I was as close to Deb as I was to Heather, but it’s different with friends. Heather and I grew up in one room, fought over who gets to keep the expensive doll that grandma had asked us to share. I’ve hated her and I’ve loved her, all at the same time.
“I don’t think I’m the only one who’s cynical.”
She shrugged, pulling out her phone. “But it’s my job to warn you.”
Placing her phone screen in front of me, she drew my attention to one of Arthur’s pictures with Rachel.
“Stop, will you?” I said, slapping it away.
“I’m just saying…”
“Well, don’t just say, then.”
“I don’t like him,” she repeated, not holding back this time. “Not for you.”
“He’s a good father.”
“Sure, he is. Horrible boyfriend, though. And clearly a horrible husband, too.”
I cleared my throat and looked away, tears welling my eyes.
“Hey, hey, hey,” my sister nudged me, forcing me to look back at her. But I didn’t. Instead, I looked at Amber who was laying peacefully between us both, playing with a star-shaped toy.
“I just want you to be happy. I don’t want to see you hurt. If you think that Arthur is the one who can break the Clayton Sister Curse for you, then I’m all for it. I'll be the biggest cheerleader of your relationship with him, if that’s what will make you happy. You know I just want whatever will make you truly happy.”
I wished she hadn’t said that, because I found myself caught between my heart and my brain. Not that Arthur had done anything to make me feel as though he was anything but absolutely amazing, but I just didn’t know him enough to be sure that he wouldn’t shatter my soul like Tyler did.
“It’s okay,” Heather said on a sigh. “I’m sorry to put the pressure on you. It's just that I get worried. Mom and Dad would worry, too.”
I placed my hand over her shoulder and nodded. “I get it. But I can take care of myself. Anyway…”
“Yeah, anyway…” she smiled. “Does this mean you now have a date for my wedding?”
I laughed, through my multitude of emotions.
“I guess I do.”
The topic quickly shifted from Arthur being the wrong man for me to Heather’s wedding with Brad. Her eyes lit up when she talked about “making it official.”
“I just
want to be his wife,” she said. “I’m so ready.”
Though her and I weren’t really alike, we definitely had one thing in common. Cynicism. My heart smiled every time she did, but then it also sank when I remembered that she still had six months to go before the wedding. Anything could happen during those six months. Any number of things. Brad could cheat on her, for instance. He could feel overwhelmed with a toddler and a baby at home, then realize that this life wasn’t really for him.
I secretly prayed that none of this would happen, that my sister would get everything that she truly wished for in life.
But such was the power of our curse. I tried to shove it out of my mind.
Seeing each other happy made us worry about what might come along to trash it all. I was beginning to realize that both she and I lived too much into the future, seeing only uncertainties and potential disasters in each other’s relationships.
I realized in that moment that I needed to stop. Maybe it wasn’t so easy to stop overthinking, neither was it that easy to fully trust another man after what I’d been through.
But I needed to try.
* * *
"Lily-Bear!" I squealed, as I saw my little darling come running toward me, her pigtails flailing behind her. She was dressed in her plaid school uniform and she looked adorable, complete with a pink backpack with the daisies on it, the one we had picked out together before she went away.
Lily jumped into my arms and I covered her face with kisses, to her protests. "Mom, you're making my face all wet," she scolded me.
"I don't care, I'm going to kiss my baby girl as much as I want," I said, hugging her tight. She giggled and I finally set her down. "Are you ready to go home?" I asked her.
"Yeah," she agreed, letting herself into the backseat of my car. I took her backpack from her and set it on the seat before buckling her in and taking my place behind the wheel."
I started the car and got on the highway. "So, Lily, tell me everything that has been going on at school," I inquired. I loved hearing her regale me with tales about her teachers and classes and friends. She was so communicative at this age, and it was so fun being able to have conversations with her.
"I have a new best friend," she proudly announced.
"Is that right? Your best friend isn't Savannah anymore?" Last month she was going on and on about this little girl.
"No, she got moved to a different dorm because she didn't like Lindsay."
"Oh," I said, as if I perfectly understood. I was glad that I didn't have to navigate five-year old little girl politics that seemed even more complicated than workplace relations. "What is your new best friend's name?"
"Tiffany," she said. "And you know what else? We're almost twins! We have all the same stuff."
"That's cool," I said. "You two must have a lot to talk about, then."
"Yeah," she said. "The only thing Tiffany has that I don't is a sister. I want a sister, too. Can I have a sister, like Tiffany? Her sister is a baby, and I want one, too." She made this request as if it were as easy as stopping at the department store and picking one up.
"Well, I don't know. Maybe someday," I said, thinking of Arthur and his daughter.
"Tiffany also has a daddy who lives with her mommy, and I don't have that. Maybe we can get one of those, too, then me and Tiffany will be exactly alike," Lily said excitedly.
Something clenched in my heart, but instead of feeling loss, like I normally would have, I felt hope, and Arthur's face flashed in my mind. I couldn't help but daydream for the rest of the ride home about what a compete family the four of us could be. If only.
12
Arthur
It had been two months since Jessica agreed to give this “dating thing”, as she called it, a try. We’d spent a considerable amount of time together since our second date, but it was still never enough to satisfy me.
She was way more on board than she was initially, maybe because she now genuinely wanted me to stay in the country, close to her. I could tell by the way she ran her fingers over my arms that she loved it when I held her close and tight. We just couldn’t keep our hands to ourselves, that was for certain. It was good news not just for us, but also for my green card application. After a point, we’d stopped actively trying to make our relationship look real, because it had become real. It didn’t feel like a charade, and that was the biggest validation for me that the decision had been a good one.
Still, four months remained until her and I would have to get married for this purpose, and I only hoped that she’d still want to when the time came. The thought alone made my heart race. I couldn’t lose her. I couldn’t go through a divorce again. I didn’t want to, but I needed to take the chance. If not for anything else, then for my daughter who I wanted to have a real father-daughter relationship with as she grew up.
Jessica rested her head on my chest and pulled the comforter above her shoulder.
“Cold?” I asked.
“Does it matter?”
“Not really,” I chuckled.
It was hilarious that the biggest problem that we were encountering as a couple right now was the fact that I liked to keep it cool inside my place whereas she liked warmer temperatures. Despite this, I often fantasized that Jessica and I lived together. I didn’t want her to be so far off, all the way in Brooklyn. It wasn’t that I hesitated to spend an hour in traffic for her, but I wanted to know what it was like to wake up next to her and then not watch her leave immediately after waking up.
She’d told me that Henry commented on our relationship, teasing her about it every now and then. It’d been on my list of tasks to have a chat with the guy, to make him shut up, but we both knew that there was no changing him. He’d continue to be annoying, as long as we were conservative with our approach. He would shut up once we made it official, because then teasing us about it would be boring for him.
I could think of a bunch of reasons for Jessica to want to move in with me. This teasing from Henry being one of them. Not to mention, the fact that living with me would save her a lot of money in rent, which she could use to bring her daughter back home.
It’d been two months since I'd been trying to convince her that she should accept an additional payment for what she had agreed to do for me. We both knew I had been offering it for one reason, and one reason only — Lily.
But Jessica’s pride was bigger than a mountain. It was silly, but adorable nonetheless. She wouldn’t even entertain the idea that she deserved way more than just the promotion she’d received after Henry had set it in place for her. In my eyes, she deserved the world.
As she snuggled into me, I wrapped my arms around her tighter than before.
“You said you wanted to talk about something important tonight?” She asked, her big brown eyes fixed on me. I’d asked her to come over so I could propose the idea that she should move in with me. We’d hung out and finished dinner since she’d arrived, but I hadn’t found the courage to bring it up until now.
She raised her brows and shrugged.
“You have to promise you won’t give me an impulsive response,” I said, my pointer finger on display.
She threw her head back and groaned. “Here we go with the disclaimers.”
I burst out laughing at her comment. It was the first time that I’d realized how I’ve been walking on eggshells around her, attempting to ensure that I wouldn’t piss her off. The fact that she was sensitive was one of the first things that I’d noticed about her. It wasn’t hard to raise her temper, but then it was quite easy to please her as well.
“Move in with me, Jess,” I said after I took a deep breath.
She stiffened and her grasp on my hand loosened.
“Are you serious?”
The subtle smile on her face made my palms sweat. I had no idea how to interpret it.
“I am,” I nodded. “I’ve been meaning to ask you to come live with me for a while, but I didn’t know how you would feel about it. Now that we’ve started spending s
o much of time together…”
Jessica looked away, then squeezed my hand.
“Is this because of the application? It could help us if they knew we lived together before we married each other, right?”
Of course, that little fact had occurred to me, but it was nowhere close to being the big reason as to why I was putting the idea out there. The thing, however, was that I risked scaring her off if I told her that I genuinely wanted to share my space with her, despite knowing her for just a few months. Even if I told her that it was for Lily, her pride would come in the way.
But now, she was convinced that it would work to my advantage, not to hers, and I had a better chance at getting her to move in with me.
“Yes. It’ll be really helpful. Remember the attorney’s email about having enough evidence of a relationship, especially if the dating period was too short? This will definitely do the trick.”
Jessica looked away and started biting her nail.
“Can I get back to you on this?”
“Yeah. Yeah. Of course, take as much time as you need.”
She laughed.
“We don’t have a lot of time, do we?”
I shook my head, then my hand reached for my jeans pocket when my phone vibrated.
“It’s my mother.”
I felt the tension rising to my temples because I almost never received a call from my mother in the middle of the week. She was affectionate, but wasn’t the type to make phone calls. I would usually see my parents at least once every weekend. Now that they were getting old, I wanted to spend as much time with them as I could.
Before I answered, I’d assumed that it was Dad calling from her number and I smiled when I realized I was right. Though, that smile disappeared as soon as he told me why he was calling.
Mom had tripped over the stairs, and ended up spraining her ankle. Dad informed me that she’d been admitted into the hospital for exams, and they had just arrived back home. Luckily, it was only a minor fracture and all she needed was rest. He had just finished getting her set up in the bedroom, and she was doing fine, but was a little tired and loopy from the pain medication.
Single Dad Fake Fiancé Page 9