Back To Us

by Rachel Hanna

  “Partly. And I know that’s ridiculous. We’re not even dating each other, so marriage isn’t something that’s even on the horizon. But why start something that we can’t finish?”

  “And marriage is the only way to finish?”

  “I still believe in marriage, Dawson. I believe in happy endings and soul mates and all of that stuff. Even though I’ve had one failed marriage, I know it can be good. I know it can last forever.”

  “But why do you need a piece of paper to make something last forever?”

  “Why does a piece of paper mean it won’t last forever to you?”

  We’re at a stalemate, and it’s so stupid. He picks up his plate and dumps the rest of his food in the trashcan. After rinsing his plate and putting it in the dishwasher, he walks back over to the table.

  “I had a good time last night, Indy.” Without another word, he walks out the front door and leaves me sitting there confused.

  I sit across from a young girl and her mother. The girl, Anise, has been acting up in her class. Her mother, a harried and exhausted woman with six kids, sits there with tears in her eyes.

  “Mrs. Langley, this is an issue we can fix. I’m sure of it. What I’d like to do is have Anise meet with me once a week just to check in and see where we might be having problems. You can set that up with my secretary.”

  “Thank you, Miss Stone,” she says, reminding me of how glad I am that Ethan got my name change expedited.

  After the mother/daughter pair leave my office, I dig my small lunch bag out of my drawer and sink my teeth into the large apple I’ve been dreaming about all day. I close my eyes and take a moment to just enjoy it without interruption.

  “That must be one good apple from the look on your face.” I open my eyes to find Kent standing there smiling. I’m so embarrassed.

  “What can I say? I like apples,” I say with a laugh. Eating an apple is not sexy, especially with a thin stream of juice running down my chin. I quickly use my napkin to wipe it away and put the apple bag in the bag to finish later. “What’s up?”

  He sits down on the edge of my desk and crosses his arms. “I want to invite you and Harper to Thanksgiving at my house.”

  My throat closes up. Dawson has already invited me, and I declined. And now he hasn’t spoken to me in several days.

  “I can’t. But thank you for asking.” I stand up and pretend to file something across the room. Kent stands up and turns my direction.

  “Is this about Dawson Woods?”

  Again, I can’t breathe for a second. How would he know that?

  “No, of course not. Dawson’s an old friend from my neighborhood.”

  “Just friends?”

  “Yep,” I say, continuing to re-file things that I don’t even file normally.

  “Then why can’t you come? Listen, I do this every year for a few teachers who don’t have family. Why spend Thanksgiving alone?”

  “I’m not alone. I have Harper.”

  “Indy, don’t you think it’d be good for her to have a bigger Thanksgiving than just you and her?”

  He’s right, and I freaking hate it.

  I turn around. “How many people are we talking?”

  He counts on his hand. “Probably about ten including the two of you.”

  That seems innocent enough. And it’s not like I don’t know Kent. Harper needs a normal family Thanksgiving, and this is as close as we’re going to get.

  “Okay. That sounds good. Just leave me some details on my desk sometime this week.”

  He smiles broadly. “Great! I’m so glad you guys will be there.”

  “What can I bring?”

  “Just that beautiful smile,” he says, matching it with his own smile, before he walks out of my office.

  Peach Valley is a complicated place.

  “So we’re going to Mr. Akers’ house for Thanksgiving?” Harper asks me, looking at me like I’ve completely lost my mind.

  “Yes. He invited us, and I thought it’d be a nice change of pace. Plus, there will be other teachers there with no place else to go.” I wipe down the kitchen counter and watch her slump into one of the kitchen chairs.

  “Let me get this straight. I’m spending my Thanksgiving with a bunch of rejects who have no family that want them at their own tables?”

  “You have a way with words, Harper.” I struggle not to laugh at her interpretation.

  “Come on Aunt Indy… It’s a holiday! I don’t want to spend it with a bunch of teachers, and definitely not at Mr. Akers’ house.”

  I stop and look at her, my hand on my hip. “What do you have against Mr. Akers? He was my prom date.”

  “First of all, gross. Second of all, he’s so… shiny and cheesy.”

  I giggle. “Shiny and cheesy? What does that even mean?”

  “He’s like one of those Ken dolls that my Dad would never buy me because he said his ‘junk’ didn’t look right.”

  I cover my mouth and burst out laughing because I can just see my brother saying something like that. “Harper!”

  “Well, it’s true. Have you looked between a Ken doll’s legs?”

  “Don’t talk about stuff like that.”

  “I’m not a baby,” she says dryly. “Anyway, Mr. Akers is just too perfect.”

  I walk over to her. “Harper, we’re going. It would be rude to cancel. Now, go get started on your homework.”

  She rolls her eyes - something we need to work on but I’m choosing my battles - and goes to her room. I hear my brother’s voice in my head talking about Ken’s “junk” again and it makes me laugh once more.

  Just then, my doorbell rings. I toss the dishcloth on the counter and walk to the door expecting to see some kid selling magazines or cookies. Instead, I see Tabitha standing in front of me all grown up.

  “On my gosh! Tabby!” I squeal so loudly that I can hear Harper come running from her room.

  “Indy!” Tabitha says, dropping her backpack and hugging me tightly. She looks just the same, only an older version. Her hair is still glossy black and just past her shoulders. Her makeup is thicker than it was when we were teenagers, and she’s a little curvier than I remember, but otherwise she’s Tabitha through and through.

  “Come in! I can’t believe you’re here!”

  Tabitha walks into the foyer and puts her bag on a chair.

  “I can’t believe you’re back in this house again,” she says with a loud laugh. Tabitha has always been loud and outgoing, which was a good balance for me when we were kids. I was much more serious and quiet.

  “Tabby, this is my niece, Harper,” I say, trying not to stutter and assume I can call her my daughter now. We’re just not there yet. Tabitha smiles and shakes Harper’s hand.

  “You’re simply gorgeous!” Harper grins, her cheeks turning rosy.

  “Thanks.”

  “Tabby and I were best friends when we were kids,” I explain.

  “Still are, I hope,” Tabitha corrected, chucking me in the shoulder.

  “Of course. We have a lot of catching up to do, though. Should I start a pot of coffee?”

  “Absolutely. And I hope you don’t mind me crashing on your sofa for a night?” Leave it to Tabitha to just drop in unannounced, bag in hand, and assume she can stay. She has always flown by the seat of her pants.

  “You know you’re always welcome!”

  “Can I go to Olivia’s? We want to watch a scary movie.”

  I purse my lips and eye her carefully. “As long as it’s nothing too gory.”

  “Oh, come on, Indy. We watched some gory movies in our time…”

  “You’re not helping,” I mumble to Tabby. She laughs, and suddenly Peach Valley feels like home again.

  “Okay, let me get this straight. The love of your life, Dawson Woods, not only lives back in his old house but you kissed him again the other night?”

  “Shh. You’re still the loudest person I know!” I look around the backyard, as if someone might be listening to our conversati
on. And for all I know, Dawson could be crouching in the bushes - which would make him a weirdo anyway.

  “Well, what are you going to do? You know y’all are old enough to finally ‘do the deed’ if you want,” she says, taking a sip of her coffee and batting her eyelashes at me.

  “Very funny. Look, nothing has changed. I just had a momentary lapse of judgement. But Dawson doesn’t want the same future I do, and I have Harper to think about now.”

  “Still so practical,” she says, finishing off one cup of coffee before pouring another.

  “Maybe so, but I can’t risk Harper getting hurt again.”

  “Are you sure you aren’t talking about yourself?” Tabitha has always been able to cut right through the crap.

  “So, tell me about your recent life adventures…” I pour myself a second cup and smile, unwilling to argue with her.

  “Well, most recently I was in Costa Rica for about four months. Beautiful place! Next, I’ll be backpacking through the Blue Ridge Mountains for a few weeks with a couple of friends.”

  “Still a free spirit, I see.”

  “Always will be. Life’s short, Indy. You should know that. Why waste time doing stuff that doesn’t wake you up with a smile everyday?”

  I can see her point, but I have no idea how to implement that in my own life right now. Instead, I feel more responsibility than I’ve ever felt.

  “True.”

  “Or with hot, sexy teachers who can also wake you up with a smile,” she says grinning before I kick her under the table and shake my head.

  Chapter 9

  It has been several days since I’ve seen Dawson, and it’s bothering me more than I care to admit. He’s obviously upset with me, and I’m sure he’s found out by now that I’ll be spending Thanksgiving at Kent’s house.

  And I think I might have made a mistake.

  I have a tendency to overthink things. It’s a self protection mechanism from my childhood. I have a need to take care of things before they get me. I’m always trying to fix problems before they even become problems.

  But still I know that my feelings for Dawson will only continue to grow the more time I spend around him, especially alone. And spending Thanksgiving like a little happy family would only have played into the twisted fantasy I have rolling around in my brain - the one where I install a real white picket fence in the front yard, slap on an apron and wait for Dawson to sweep me off my feet every night after work before kissing my new daughter on the forehead as we stand in her doorway watching her drift off to sleep.

  Yeah, I’m sick in the head.

  So, we’re going to Kent’s today.

  Tabitha is still here, even after only planning to stay a day or two. We’ve had so much fun catching up that I don’t want her to leave anytime soon. And I think Harper is starting to love her like I do. It’s hard not to love Tabitha. She’s so free spirited and open to any adventure. She’s so unlike me.

  “Okay, I’ve got the rolls and the jug of sweet tea. Harper, can you carry the pecan pie?” I say as she stares down at her phone playing some game.

  “Yeah…” she mumbles as she flips her finger back and forth and remains motionless. I walk back to her and bump her foot with mine. “Put the phone in your pocket, kiddo.”

  She sighs and slips it into her pocket before taking the pie from the counter and walking out the front door.

  “She’s still not a fan of going, huh?” Tabby asks as she puts on her sweater.

  “Not at all. She doesn’t like Kent.”

  “Well, can you blame her?”

  “What? He’s an okay guy,” I say, trying not to make eye contact with her because I know she can see right through me.

  “Oh, please, Indy. You know he’s shiny and cheesy…”

  I laugh. “Okay, you need to stop having conversations with Harper!”

  As we pull up in front of Kent’s house, I’m taken aback by how big it is. A four-sided brick two story, it’s situated in the ritziest neighborhood in Peach Valley. I wonder how he afforded this house on a teacher’s paycheck.

  “Wow,” Harper breathes out as we pull in the driveway.

  “Wow is right,” Tabitha echoes. “This place is like a mansion.”

  I’ve seen big houses in Charleston, but this one looks and feels so out of place in Peach Valley. It’s bigger than anything else in the neighborhood and sits on a huge lot surrounded by a white picket fence.

  “Happy Thanksgiving!” Kent says with his big toothy grin as I open my car door. He’s standing there, wearing a maroon wool sweater over a white collared shirt and looks like he literally just jumped off the front of a clothing catalog. I imagine him sitting beside a roaring fire with a red Irish Setter curled up beside him while he sips a high-class coffee drink and thinks about his stock portfolio.

  “Happy Thanksgiving,” I say as I give him a quick hug. It’s one of those “church hugs” that keeps my breasts from making contact. I don’t even make eye contact because I don’t want to give him the wrong impression about our reconnection.

  “Happy Thanksgiving, Indy. I’m so glad you could come,” he says with a smile as he holds onto my hands that he’s captured in mid-air somehow.

  I clear my throat and force another smile as I pull my hands back down by my sides. “Yes. Well… This is my niece, Harper.” I point behind me, unaware that Harper has high-tailed it from the car toward the house. And Tabitha seems to have abandoned me as well.

  Kent laughs and cocks his head to the side. “Yeah. I know Harper. Remember? I’m a teacher at her school? Where you also work?”

  I feel like a complete idiot now.

  “Sorry. My brain isn’t firing on all cylinders today, apparently.”

  “It’s fine, Indy. Like I said, I’m just glad you came.”

  I can’t help but like Kent. He’s always been charming and good looking. He’s always known just what to say, which is why he was never hurting for a date back in high school. If anything, time has made him more handsome. Why does that happen with some men? The older they get, the sexier they become.

  “This place is beautiful. You’ve really done well for yourself on a teacher’s salary,” I say as we walk toward the house.

  He laughs under his breath. “I inherited it from my grandmother, actually. She passed away five years ago, and being the only grandchild has its perks, I suppose.”

  “You have a lot to be thankful for then.”

  “Yes, I most certainly do. Thankful is what I’m feeling today.” I can tell he’s looking at me, and I can see those pearly white teeth in my peripheral vision, but I stare forward like I’m marching in a very rigid parade.

  I’m trying my best not to give him the wrong impression. We had some good times when we were teenagers, but we’re all grown up now. And a relationship with Kent Akers isn’t something on my mind no matter how good looking he is. Or how nice his house is. Or how much I’m craving a connection with a man who actually wants me too.

  We walk inside, and it’s more gorgeous than the outside. I see Tabitha chatting with a teacher I recognize from the school, and Harper is petting a very ugly Bulldog by the fireplace. As I imagined, there’s a roaring blaze but the dog isn’t the requisite Irish Setter I was envisioning. Instead, the pup has the worst underbite I’ve ever seen.

  “Let me take your coat,” Kent says as I slide it off my shoulders. “Make yourself at home. We have some appetizers in the kitchen and wine on the island.” He pauses for a moment until I nod and make eye contact and then heads down a hallway to the right to put my coat away.

  “Can you even believe this place?” Tabitha asks, suddenly appearing in front of me. I scan the room and take in the ornate features, yet it feels so homey. With thick wood moldings and original hardwood floors, I can feel the history of the home. But the kitchen has been updated and a wall has been opened between it and the living room, giving it a more modern feel.

  “It’s unreal. I had no idea this home was back here.”

/>   “Well of course not. We grew up on the other side of town,” she says with a chuckle.

  “You mean the poor side?”

  “No. We weren’t poor. We were just financially deficient.”

  I laugh at her sarcasm. “Look at Harper. She seems to love that dog.”

  “His name is Scooter,” Kent says as he walks up behind me.

  “Scooter? That’s not a very masculine name,” I remark with a smile.

  “Agreed. My ex named him that.”

  “Ex? You were married?” I ask, surprised that anyone ever roped Kent Akers into marriage. I’d assumed he would always be a bachelor because his choices were too numerous to narrow down.

  “Yep. For six years.”

  “What happened?” Tabitha pipes in, being her normal nosy self.

  “Tabby!” I admonish her. It has never worked before, but I have hope that adulthood has made her more aware of people’s feelings. She’s never had a filter between her mouth and brain.

  “It’s okay. I don’t mind the question. Her name was Michelle. We met at a baseball game. Had some good years. Had a couple of not so good years. Then she decided that she wanted to play for a different team altogether.”

  I bite my lip and wrinkle my nose. “Ouch.”

  “Yeah. Hard to compete with that.”

  I can see Tabitha struggling to hold in a laugh. “I’m going to go get some wine. Want anything?”

  I shake my head and push her away, hoping Kent doesn’t notice her face about the crack from the stifled laugh.

  “Sorry. She can’t help herself,” I say. He seems unbothered.

  “No problem. I’ve moved past it all, honestly. But it was a good humility check for me.”

  I smile. “I can imagine. I mean, I always think of you as this woman magnet…”

  “So was my wife, unfortunately,” he says, eliciting an immediate loud laugh on my part. I swear the whole room quiets for a moment, looks at me and then goes back to talking. My face feels like it’s on fire. “Have I mentioned how glad I am that you’re here, Indy?”

  “Yeah… You might have mentioned it once or twice,” I say, averting my eyes and looking around the room again.