* * *
I’d never been happier for a dinner party to finish as I was tonight. The longer I sat there, the more the walls were closing in. I’d mapped out a plan of escape a million and one times since sitting down next to Lenny. The only question I want answered is what happened between David and Lenny. That’s all that races through my head as he drives me back to my parents’ house. Sitting here, I stare up at the house and think back to what it would’ve been like if I’d had allowed myself to mingle with Lenny before David.
Biting the bullet, I blurt out, “Lenny, what did you say or do to David?”
“Nothing.” He shrugs.
“I overheard you and your father tonight, Lenny. You said you wouldn’t lie to me, I expect you to answer the question.”
“Fine, you really want to know? I told his parents what he’s been doing to you and Sophia because something in me told me that they had no idea. I’ve grown up here, Jules. I might want to pound David’s face in, but Mr. and Mrs. Aldridge are good people. I might have mentioned that they needed to either cut him off or have him sign the papers. That’s all. Oh, and I decked him.”
“Violence and blackmail aren’t the answers to my problems, Lenny. Not to mention, this is my problem. Why would you think you needed to come rescue me?”
“I wasn’t rescuing you, Jules. I want to be with you, and I know you’d keep fighting me unless he signed those fucking papers. Why does this matter?”
“It matters to me, Lenny. You wouldn’t understand, but it does.” I grab my purse and reach for the door handle as I’m ready to escape the inside of his car. I can’t be in this tiny space anymore.
Before I can move around the front of the car, Lenny’s before me.
“Jules, listen to me, please?”
“There’s nothing to say, Lenny. We aren’t right for each other, and as much as I like you, I need to resign from working with you.”
“That won’t work for me. You don’t want to date me, whatever. But you’re the best designer I have ever seen, and the job is always yours.”
“I think we need to take a step back. As much as I need that contract, I can’t work next to you.”
“Fine, work from your office. I don’t understand what went wrong, Jules.” Lenny’s voice pulls at my emotions. I know he truly thinks he did what was right for me, but I can’t allow another man to think he can fight my battles for me. What was happening between David and me, was my fight, not Lenny’s.
“Let’s give it until Monday and then I’ll let you know. Thank you for dinner, Lenny,” I say and pull away from him. As I walk up to the door, I’m shocked that he doesn't put up more of a fight than he did. Maybe he doesn’t love me after all. Right as I put the key in the door, his arm meets my elbow, spinning me around to face him.
“Before you make your mind up, I need you to hear me out, Jules. Do you want to know why I did what I did with David?” He pauses, allowing me to shake my head in disagreement. Regardless, he continues. “Because with him in the picture, I couldn’t love you the way I want. With him in your life holding you hostage, you’d never allow me to get close to you and Sophia. He was making a fool out of you, and I refused to sit back and watch the one person that I care about since Rachel be made a fool. Can’t you see that I’m in love with you?”
“Lenny, you don’t love me. You feel sorry for me and my situation. That’s all. What you feel is purely sexual. You don’t date, and I don’t do one-night stands.”
“That’s a bunch of bullshit, and you know it, Jules.”
“I’m sorry, Lenny, but please respect me and my wishes to keep this professional.”
Lenny backs away from me. The look written all over his face is of one who just lost his best friend. I’m trying to keep back the tears as I make sure Lenny understands that we are over. I no longer want to rely on a man in my life to be taken seriously. If it gets out that I jumped from David’s bed to Lenny’s that’s all people will see. I need time to be on my own. To recreate the person that I need to be for my daughter.
“Good night, Jules,” he says before turning away retreating to his car. He doesn’t hesitate to bring the engine to life and back out of the drive. Instead of going inside, I stand here and watch until I can no longer see the taillights. Once he’s out of sight, I enter and go straight to my bedroom.
“That’s it, I need a house,” I say out loud as I look around the tiny bedroom. No longer can Sophia and I live here. As much as I was scared to make a big purchase or decision without knowing where my life was taking me, I can’t stay here another night. I need my own kitchen where I can stash away Oreo cookies in the pantry along with my favorite bottle of wine. Or a place where I can hide my mint chocolate chip ice cream behind the bags of frozen veggies in the freezer. Not to mention, Sophia needs her space.
Tossing my purse down to the floor, I grab the flyers on the houses that Lenny showed me before. I can afford most of them without stressing if business slows. When I separate them out, I take the top three and place them to the side. Quickly I grab my phone and send a text to my daughter.
Me: Which one of these do you like best? We need our own place!
After typing the message, I snap a quick picture of the three houses and send them to Sophia. It doesn’t take long before she responds.
Sophia: THANK GOD! #2 is cute and totally you.
Me: You mean totally us, and that’s the one I liked too.
Sophia: You okay, Mom?
Me: I will be.
Sophia: I’m almost home, will you still be up?
Me: I’ll be in the tiny room that threw up the 80’s.
She doesn’t respond back, and I know it’s because she’s here. I can see the taillights outside hitting the window. I stand and move over to my dresser, pulling out a set of pajamas. Changing, I pad over to my bed and fluff up the pillows as I place them against the headboard. Getting my laptop, I crawl into bed and wait for it to load. I need to email Blake instead of Lenny. The only way this will work is if I go directly to Blake who was supposed to be my boss in the first place. I’ve still not figured out how I got stuck with Lenny, but I did. Moving forward, he’s nothing but a thought in the back of my head.
Blake,
I know this email is late, but I wanted to touch base with you before Monday morning. The original contract that I signed directed you as my main point of contact with Ward Properties. Due to a few new situations, I’d like to request that this still be the case as we move forward as working partners. This is no reflection of anything that’s happened over the last several weeks. This is the best business decision for both companies as we remain professional.
I’d also like to place a contract on the three-bedroom that you have available in Berwick Plantation. As you are aware, I’ve been looking for a place, and this seems to fit perfectly for my daughter and me. I’d like to come by the office Monday after my appointment and sign the paperwork with an immediate move-in date of Monday.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me in the meantime if you have any questions as I’m sure you’re just like me and still working on the weekend.
Sincerely,
Jules Aldridge
Just as I hit send my bedroom door opens and in waltzes a smiling beautiful kid with two bowls of our favorite ice cream.
“Where did you find this?”
“Seems mother and daughter are just alike. In the freezer behind the veggies.”
“Seems it runs in the family, come on,” I say, patting the empty space next to me.
“What’s wrong, Mom?” Sophia asks, and I realize that my daughter has been through more than I have in her short life. I’m lucky that my parents are still very much in love with each other, and as much as I wanted that for Sophia, I knew it would only end worse than it already did.
“I’m sorry for uprooting your life,” I say, knocking my shoulder against hers.
“You didn’t, Mom. I promise I’m fine, but I do like the thought of having our
own house again.”
“Me too. Sorry I decided this was the best idea before. Next time stop me when I say we need to live with Grandma and Grandpa.”
“Will do, but for the record, it’s not been so bad. I love them, but I miss our normal too.”
“What do you miss, Sophia?” I ask and can’t help the curiosity that courses through me.
“Our time. You remember the nights Dad was “working late” and we would order pizza and watch Netflix? I want that again.”
“I promise we will be doing that as soon as possible. I miss those nights too,” I say as I take a huge bite of ice cream. At this moment, I realize that as much as I feel that I messed up, I did do something pretty great. Sophia is smart and so strong that she’s going to be okay. I might not have sheltered her from everything, but I have the feeling that even if I tried harder, she’d have known anyway. Just by the way she air quoted that her father was working late cues me in on how much she already knew.
“How was dinner?”
“Not well, I called things off with Lenny.” Sophia spins her head around and stares at me like a deer in headlights.
“Why?”
“It’s for the best, Sophia, and one day when you’re older you’ll understand.”
“Don’t play that card, Mom. Y’all are perfect for each other and not to mention he is hot.”
“There’s more to it than just looks, and I’m just busy right now, Sophia, and don’t need a man in my life. Remember that. No matter what you take care of you and don’t rely on a man to do that for you. You need to be equal partners in life, okay?”
“Okay,” she says, and I stop myself from saying any more. I don’t want to tarnish her father, nor give her a complex for the men who will come into her life when she’s older. Right now I just want to enjoy my ice cream with my daughter.
“Grandmother wants to have my party at the club, did she talk to you?”
“She did, but it’s your choice of where we celebrate.”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind as long as I can have my friends.”
“You can invite whomever you want, Sophia. This is your party, and I’ll make sure that she understands it’s not the social event of the year for her to plan.”
“Good luck with that one, Mom. You know she’s planning yours too, right?”
“What?”
“Oh yes, she booked mine already and has them holding yours too. This will be great; you know that, right?”
“I know it will be grand,” I say while rolling my eyes. This is what happens when you move home. Your parents start taking over your life. Now to figure out how to do Sophia’s party while keeping it low key and canceling mine.
24
Lenny
It’s been a few days since I walked away from Jules, and I still don’t know what the hell happened to make her push me away like she did. Fine, she overheard my father and me talking about her. It wasn’t bad, nor was it anything that I wasn’t prepared to tell her face to face. According to Blake, it’s from fear. Fear that she might feel the same way about me and that scares her. I guess part of me understands this, but then I’ve not been in love with someone since Rachel, and even though I should run away, I want to grab a hold and never let go.
The responsibility of loving Jules is more than I ever thought I’d be ready for, but given a chance, I know I can make it work. I just have to figure out a way to make her see this. Spinning in my chair, I come face to face with Blake.
“Dude, what are you doing?”
“Thinking, what’s it to you?”
“You’ve been an ass and need to pull your head out of it,” he says as he takes a seat.
“I’m processing, you know the drill.”
“Process this,” he states as he slides a piece of paper across my desk. I take it and look at the printed calendar.
“What’s this shit?” I ask, holding it out to the side as I try to figure out why Blake is giving me a bunch of appointments.
“Well, lover boy, that’s where your girl will be for the next two weeks.”
“How do you know this?”
“Remember she’s ditched your sorry ass and refuses to answer to you, so now I’m the lucky one.”
“Why are you giving this to me? I thought you said I needed to give her space?”
“Space is good for only so long, Lenny. You have to figure out a way to make her see that y’all are good for each other. You know flirt, be nice, show up at random appointments… Hell, I don’t know, but the sulking needs to stop.”
“I’m not sulking,” I say, and it hits me that I have been sulking.
“You are, and as much as I love you like a brother, I’m ready to strangle you.”
“Point made.”
Blake rises from the chair and heads toward the door, stopping only to look back and say, “Good luck.” Just like he arrived, he’s gone. I scroll through the dates, noticing that she’s at one of the model homes right now.
A short drive later, I’m parking in the driveway of the model home where Jules is showing some designs to a new client. They just purchased their first home, and we broke ground on the build a few weeks ago. Now it's time for them to do the fun stuff with Jules.
Taking a deep breath, I turn the knob to the front door and enter, hoping like hell that I don’t get a chunk of wood floor sampling tossed at my head.
“Afternoon,” I say as I enter the front area where Jules has set up shop. She flips her head toward my voice. There’s no smile reaching her eyes. Instead, she looks as if she’s not slept for a few days. Something’s off.
“I wasn’t expecting you today,” she states as she puts on a happy smile for the clients sitting across from her.
“Was in the area and wanted to check to see how The Johnsons were doing,” I reply as I walk over to them and extend my hand out to Mr. Johnson and then Mrs. Johnson.
“How’s the picking and choosing going for you today?”
“Jules has a great eye, and we love the suggestions she’s given,” Mrs. Johnson exclaims.
“Jules is one of the best,” I say with a wink in her direction and notice the slight roll of her eyes.
“If you’d excuse us, we are almost done, Lenny.”
“Oh, don’t let me keep you. Continue, please. I’ll just go grab a chair from the other room.”
“What?” Jules asks as her voice hits a new level.
“I’m curious, and what kind of owner would I be if I didn’t know what was going on inside the homes?” The Johnsons nod and scoot over to give me room to join them.
Jules doesn’t respond, but instead, she turns her focus back on the Johnsons. When I come back, I notice how’s she’s sitting. Her slender legs are stretched out to the side of her chair and crossed at the ankles. She’s wearing one of those wrap dresses, and all I can think about is untying it to reveal underneath. In the past, I’ve seen women wearing this style, and it’s never caught my attention. It’s never made me want to rip the fabric from their skin to just have a peek at the beauty underneath. That’s what Jules does no matter what she wears or says. The more I get to know her, the more I want from her.
“I think we got everything. Do y’all have any questions?” Jules asks as she tries to hurry them along.
“What about the padding for the carpet? Did we pick the thickest one?”
“Yes, it’s the thickest,” she replies, and a red tint crawls up her throat, reaching her cheeks. I catch her eyes for a moment, smiling to let give her the hint that I’m thinking about her. She cocks her head down and shuffles through some papers before tapping the checkbox where she marked the carpet.
“Yes. See, we did that right here.”
“Perfect. I just don’t want to have to worry for when we have babies and them crawling around on a thin carpet.”
Jules smiles and I wonder why this would matter, but I guess it does.
“You’ll be fine, I promise.”
“Thanks again, Jules, for
all the help. I know nothing about design, and Jackson here is worse than I am.”
“It’s been my pleasure; honestly, that’s why this one hired me,” she says, pointing toward me.
“Hired the best in Savannah,” I state, as I lean back and cross my arms over my chest.
“Let me show y’all out. Again, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to give the office a call. I’m sure Blake or I will be able to answer any questions,” I say before I stand and leave Jules in her space for a moment. I wonder if she thinks I’m leaving or if she’s excited for me to return.
I follow the Johnsons to the door, wishing them well before turning back toward Jules. Entering the front room of the house that she’s remolded to be a showcase of all the interior and some exterior materials, I lean against the doorframe.
“How ya been?”
“Fine, Lenny.”
“How’s Sophia?”
“She’s fine too.” She bends down to pick up her briefcase. Before I can ask another question, she plops the leather case down on the table and squares her shoulders at me.
“What are you really doing here?”
“Came to check in, see how things are going with my business,” I say as I cross the wood floor. I’m close enough to hear her quick intake of breath as her chest rises and falls quickly.
“Seriously? I thought I made it clear to Blake that I only wanted to deal with him and not you.”
“You did, but good thing I own the company and have more shares than he does.”
“You’re a cocky bastard, Lenny Ward, and it’s not a very nice look on you.”
Forty Candles: A Standalone Romantic Comedy Page 15