“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I asked, marching across my living room.
Dad went on and on making excuses, telling me that he’d known I would overreact just like I was doing right now.
“I’m coming over,” I said, looking over at Jessica who was patiently awaiting an explanation. I sat back down once I hung up, my jaw clenching in frustration.
“What happened? Is it about your mother?”
I nodded. I’d told her a lot about my parents so Jessica knew what I was talking about when I said that Mom could be careless. "It's nothing major, thank goodness. Her clumsy-self tripped on the stairs and she hurt her ankle. She'll be alright, but I want to go see her."
“Are you leaving to see her right now?” She asked.
“I am." I paused, then added, "You want to come with?”
She didn’t hesitate for a second and was ready to leave within no time. I was pleasantly surprised at her eagerness to meet my parents. A lot of girls I had dated in the past bemoaned meeting parents, and made it into a huge deal. My parents were sweet and always welcoming to whoever I was with, though.
“And about what we were discussing earlier,” she began, before we left my place. “I know you hate waiting, but I promise I’ll think it over and let you know soon.”
I smiled, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. I was just happy that she hadn’t said ’no’ right away. I wasn’t too hopeful that she’d get on board with cohabitation so soon, but at least there was some hope, and it was enough to get me through however much time she needed to make the decision.
* * *
My parents had recently moved from a big house in Jersey to a penthouse in New York. They wanted to live closer to me when they moved just a year after I did. My father, Michael, was retired. He had started an online business, ever the workaholic, so his work wasn’t location dependent anymore. Even though they had no plans to move to America all those years ago, it made sense for them to do so when their only child left the country and there was nothing substantial that tied them to Canada anymore.
“What are we going to tell them? Do they even know about me?” Jessica asked, the anxiety spreading across her face.
I nodded. “They know that I’m seeing someone. But they have no clue that it’s… complicated.”
“Is it complicated?” She chuckled, looping her arm through mine as we stood outside their building. “I mean, we are talking about moving in together. That’s huge. The only weird thing about us is that we might be getting married in four months.”
“Rushing things,” I finished. “Yeah. I need to come clean to them. Dad is always asking me about my legal situation and…”
I turned to the right when Dad exited the building, wearing layers of clothing and rubbing his hands together in the cold.
“Son. It’s good to see you.”
We hugged and patted each other on the back, then he looked over at Jessica. “And you must be the special girl that Arthur has been telling us about.”
She blushed and shook his hand. “Jessica Clayton. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
We walked inside the building and took the elevator to the eighteenth floor. When they were finalizing paperwork on an apartment, Dad wanted a view of the skyline but Mom couldn’t care less. So, they settled somewhere in the middle. The eighteenth floor had a decent enough view, and yet wasn’t overpriced because of it. My parents had always been the epitome of compromise, finding a middle ground and working things out. Their relationship was the reason that marriage had seemed so easy to me. It was why I hadn’t hesitated to marry Sophie, thinking that we would be able to figure everything out just like they did. But of course, not everyone could be as lucky and in love as my parents were.
“This way,” he said softly, gesturing toward their master bedroom.
I entered without knocking and found Mom resting in bed. It took her a second to acknowledge my presence, but she eventually smiled, her eyes red and beaming.
“The doc put her on something that’s making her woozy a little bit,” Dad said.
“Michael!” Mom squealed, her voice low. “Stop worrying him. I’m not… woozy. I’m just fine.”
I sat next to her, then introduced Jessica, who had been standing by the door awkwardly, holding her hands together.
“She’s beautiful,” Mom smiled, then attempted to scoot more to the other side of the bed. “Come sit with us, Jess…ica.”
“Oh, I’m okay, Mrs. Bridge,” she held up her hand, and quickly walked over to the recliner sitting next to the television. “I’ll just sit here. I don't want to crowd you.”
Dad announced that he was going to get us something to drink, asking us to “catch up in the meantime.”
“So,” Mom sighed, holding my hand in hers. “Tell me what’s going on with you. Did you speak to Henry?”
“I did. We’re figuring it out, Mom. You don’t need to worry about any of that, okay? Just get some rest and don’t think about anything or anyone other than yourself.”
“Arthur,” she said, sitting up a bit. “After you had Megan, I thought you would understand how parents feel when their child is going through a hard time.”
Her eyes flicked to Jessica, and I turned my head around at her.
“I agree,” she nodded quickly. “I have a small daughter, and I’m always on edge, worrying about her. Having a child of your own definitely puts things into perspective. Parents aren’t lying when they say ‘you’ll know when you have kids of your own.’”
Mom chuckled and nodded at Jessica’s statement. “What’s her name? Your daughter’s?”
Jessica’s eyes beamed when she said Lily’s name, and I smiled at that, thinking that I couldn’t wait for the day that Lily was back with her for good.
“Well, I’m sure Lily is as wonderful as you are, Jessica.”
“Who’s Lily?” Dad said, pushing the door open with three small cans of soda in his hand.
He handed one to each of us, then sat down on the edge of the bed.
“Lily is Jessica’s five-year-old daughter,” I said.
His eyebrows shot up, and I knew what he was thinking. He’d been lecturing me on finding a woman who could understand my special relationship with Megan. Jessica was that woman, and my parents knew that. I saw on their faces that they approved of my relationship. I'm sure they thought I was going to bring home some kind of a bimbo, but I had proven them wrong. They were starting to see that I really had changed from my younger self.
But even though things looked peachy, I was anxious about what Mom was going to end up saying since her medications had lowered her inhibitions.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t bring any flowers or anything, Mrs. Bridge. We left right away after the phone call and wanted to…”
Mom waved it off before Jessica could finish. “Don’t be silly, and you can call me Julie.”
She then looked over at Dad, exchanging one of their secret glances, before turning her attention to me. I wondered if maybe Jessica and I would ever develop a secret look like my parents had. I hoped we would.
“You’ve found a real gem here, Arthur. Don’t mess it up like you did with Sophie.” She pointed at me drunkenly.
My eyes widened a bit and I put her pointer finger down without responding to her. She was obviously referring to the fact that I’d started eyeing another woman while I was still married to Sophie. My parents had been disappointed in me when my marriage fell apart, not once questioning Sophie. In their opinion, things would have fallen into place if I’d just stuck with it for a little while longer. Sure, my actions were disappointing and I couldn’t disagree with that bit. But, what they failed to understand was that the marriage wouldn’t have worked out regardless of anything. Sophie and I were amazing as friends, horrible as a couple. No amount of time would have been able to mend that.
This realization, however, did nothing to change the judgmental tone that Mom used every time she would talk to me about my ex-wife. And
somewhere deep down, I knew where she was coming from. She wanted to make sure that I never repeated the same mistake again. It was the one thing that had still been holding my heart in place. I didn’t want to hurt Jessica, and every time I held her in my arms, I felt a sense of responsibility.
Each time, I would wonder if I was worthy of it.
Jessica was surely going to want to know what Mom was talking about, though she didn’t ask any questions right away. I shuddered at the thought of Jessica knowing anything about what had happened. She’d told me about her ex-husband cheating on her. She’d even opened up about how it tore her apart like nothing else ever had. I felt my chest burn when I pictured the moment that I would have to tell her about the event that led to the morning my marriage with Sophie ended for good.
Dad cleared his throat.
“Anyone hungry?”
I shrugged.
“I don’t mind ordering something in if Jessica is up for it.”
She looked to the floor, rubbing the back of her neck.
“Sure, why not.”
The smile on her face had disappeared. She was obviously overthinking Mom’s words, trying to assess if I was worth risking her heart over. All I wanted to do was pull her into me and tell her that she meant the world to me, that she had nothing to worry about.
Jessica was the woman for me, the woman of my dreams, and I could hardly wait for the day she knew that as well. If she stuck around for that day to come.
“How does Thai food sound, kids?” Dad asked, with his eyes glued to his phone, eager to keep my Mom's mouth full, lest she continue saying things that would make everyone uncomfortable.
13
Jessica
I felt as if my hands were moving on their own when I poured Thai curry into a bowl. My mind was absolutely elsewhere.
“Here,” Arthur said, dipping a big serving spoon into the bowl.
It was just us two in his parents’ kitchen. Michael was putting Julie to sleep, ensuring that she was comfortable. Arthur had insisted that he wanted to help but Michael wanted him to hang out with me instead.
“What are you thinking?” Arthur asked, his hands over my waist.
I swallowed, contemplating whether or not to tell him that Julie’s words were stuck in my head in a loop.
Don’t mess it up like you did with Sophie.
“It’s nothing,” I lied. “I’m just tired, is all.”
He ran his hand over my cheek and lowered his neck to reach my lips. Our kiss deepened and I heard myself softly moan, feeling this strong man’s arms possessively wrapped around me.
“You have nothing to worry about when I’m around,” he whispered, my insides tingling.
“I’m scared,” I said, in a whisper of my own.
The words escaping our lips weren’t sexual, but they were having a similar effect on me.
I felt so close to him, the unspoken words making me want to jump at him, begging for him to take me. But my brain, traumatized by my ex-husband's cheating, told me that I should slam on the brakes while I still could.
“Don’t be,” he said, placing my head over his thigh, a little too high for what he probably should have been doing in his parent's kitchen. “I’m here now, and you and I are different. You and I are like nothing I have ever had before. I want you to be able to trust me.”
The sincere look on his face was enough for me to let go of the fear of having my heart broken… again.
I pulled away, quickly touching the inner corners of my eyes, when Michael appeared out of nowhere.
“Dinner ready, love birds?”
“Yes… Dad,” Arthur snapped. I laughed. I felt like a teenager again.
Michael was a force of nature, though. Arthur was a complete combination of both of his parents. He was big and strong, appearing to be a pro athlete, but still had a gentle side that I’d discovered when I first spoke to him. He cared more for others than for himself. I didn’t know a lot of men who were this way. The fact that he’d shown up immediately after Michael called to inform him of Julie’s accident, spoke volumes in and of itself.
Even while we sat around the dining table with Michael, Arthur continued to question him about Julie’s health and her medication. He wanted to know exactly what the medical professionals had told his father, to make sure that he was diligently following each step.
I smiled when Michael said that he was the father, not the other way around.
“Debatable,” Arthur laughed, pouring red curry over some sticky rice.
“So Jessica,” Michael said, getting my full attention. “My son told me all about how you both met. Must have been fun.”
I nodded, waiting to swallow my food before speaking. “It was. It was um, unconventional.”
“I bet, especially considering that he’ll be leaving the country in what… ten months now?”
Arthur laid his fork over the plate, his fingers reaching his forehead.
“Yeah, about that, Dad.”
“I’m listening,” Michael shook his head after a pause.
“Jess and I are working at it. The whole situation. We might get married in four months, so I can apply for a green card as soon as the conditional one expires.”
Michael’s jaw came unhinged. “Your mother is going to be pissed.”
“Why?” Arthur asked.
“Why? Because we both thought that this was a… relationship. An actual one. And now you’re springing this on me like it’s nothing.”
“It is an actual relationship,” Arthur said quickly.
“So you’re both not together just for…?”
“Well we were,” I chimed in. “I mean, we are… but it’s not what you think. It's complicated.”
“I liked Jessica before any of this came up,” Arthur said, telling him about everything that happened at Henry’s office two months ago, my promotion, how I’d refused to be compensated for the favor.
“What you’re saying is that it’s been genuine from the start,” Michael crossed his arms over his paunch.
“Precisely,” Arthur nodded with tight lips.
“And you both are willing to hastily get married and screw it all up?”
“Don’t say that, Dad,” Arthur snapped again.
“No, don’t get me wrong, son. I’m just trying to understand. I’m happy that you both like each other enough to risk jumping into something that requires a lot of understanding and patience. I’m afraid it might still be the honeymoon phase for you. Things might look different when you spend more time together, get to know each other. I just hope it stays as pleasant when that happens.”
“Well,” I curled my lips into my mouth. “That’s going to happen sooner than you think. We want to get to know each other more before we jump into this marriage thing in four months. That’s why we’re moving in together.”
* * *
I read Arthur’s text on my way to work the next morning.
- “I’m sorry about Dad” -
I smiled at it, wondering if I should tell him that my sister was as cynical about this relationship as his father was.
I decided against it. Now was not the time to throw the name ’Rachel’ into the mix, anyway. I understood where Heather was coming from when she expressed her opinion on the kind of man that Arthur was. I didn’t agree with her, but she was coming from place of concern for me, and that made me feel good, at least.
I shook my head, picturing how she was going to react when I told her that Arthur and I were moving in together, living in his apartment until it was time…
Time to what?
If things went well, we would get married in four months and I would be living with him forever. Anxiety accompanied that thought.
What was I going to tell Lily? My parents? Heather?
I was sure Deb was going to ask me all of these questions once I got to work.
It’d been two months since I got promoted. That was two months of higher pay, more appreciation, an actual office, and mor
e meaningful work.
I was no longer slogging away, writing over ten sales letters for companies, only for my boss to not even remember my name. Henry knew who I was now. He made sure to greet me on his way to his office, speak to me in the common’s area, and most importantly, treat me like an actual person, complete with teasing me about his cousin. Yes, there was a curse in every blessing of mine.
The only downside to my new position was the fact that I was now away from my friends. I spent most of my days within my four walls and Henry had kind of appointed David as my personal assistant. I couldn’t be sure if he did it on purpose, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he had gotten some sort of sadistic pleasure out of it.
For me and David, it was awkward, to say the least. Though, he never made it appear that way, and we were making it work. He would do the mundane tasks for me without question, and I would resist the urge to ask him to bring me coffee.
Deb, however, spared no chance to tease us. It was absolutely ridiculous when she called me his boss. Though, I technically was. Not just that, she would also never hesitate to make fun of me when Henry waved at me in the hallway.
I braced myself for her craziness this morning while I walked toward my office. She was speed-walking behind me when I heard her say my name.
I clenched my jaw and turned around.
“Not today, Deb.”
“No,” she whisper-yelled. “I’m not trying to annoy you. I overheard Henry talking to bicep man last night when I was working late. I don't think he even knew anyone else was here.”
“Last night?” I narrowed my eyes at her. Last night was when we had visited Arthur’s parents.
“Yes,” she whisper-yelled again, seemingly proud of herself for eavesdropping.
“Okay, what did you hear?”
“I only know that something substantial has happened. Henry sounded excited, which is unusual. Think it might have something to do with Arthur’s green card?”
I shook my head.
“I doubt it. Things don’t work out just like that. Besides, I would have known if there was any kind of a development on that front.”
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