Imperfect Love Story

by Rachael Brownell

  It makes me wonder why I’m wasting my time, and his.

  “I’m fine, thanks,” I reply, my eyes locked with my mother’s. There’s a hint of warning in her stare that’s only meant for me to see. I wonder if she realizes how glaringly obvious it is to everyone at the table.

  The waiter arrives, cutting my conversation with Josh short. He manages to scoot his chair closer to mine, our elbows almost touching. Five minutes into brunch, his hand brushes against my thigh and I can’t take it anymore.

  “Thank you for a lovely afternoon, but I just remembered that I’m late for a meeting with the party planner,” I say, my attention directed towards Mr. and Mrs. Hansen as I stand. “It was nice seeing you again.”

  “But Chloe, dear, you haven’t even touched your food. The meeting can wait,” my mother says, her voice as sweet as pie.

  “I’ve lost my appetite,” I reply, looking over my shoulder at Josh before walking out.

  Damn it! No car.

  My options are to walk the five or six miles home, or I can call someone for a ride. Looking down at my phone, it’s close to when Lola should arrive. I’ll call Carmen and see if she can swing and pick me up. I may have to wait a while, but it’s better than walking in these heels.

  Plus, I’ll get to see my sweet girl. She makes everything better.

  “Hey, Carmen. Are you almost to town?” I ask as soon as she picks up.

  “No, Miss Chloe. Miss Addy was supposed to call you. I’m not feeling well so she picked up Miss Lola and is bringing her to you. I hope that’s okay.”

  Carmen sounds worried, more than likely because I wasn’t aware of the change in plans. If she knew Addy better, she would know how forgetful she is. She probably picked her up after her run this morning.

  “That’s fine, Carmen. I’ll call Addy and see where they are. I hope you feel better.”

  “Thank you, Miss Chloe.”

  Quickly dialing Addy, I’m not surprised when Lola answers her phone after only the first ring.

  “Momma!”

  “Hey, sweet girl. Are you having fun with Aunt Addy?”

  “Yes, momma. She took me to lunch and now we’re on a tour of the town.” Her excitement brings a smile to my face. Until realization sets in, anyway.

  “What town, Lola? Where are you guys?”

  “Fairview, momma. Where are you?” she asks, mimicking me like she always does. It’s her favorite thing to do, especially when I’m mad.

  “Can I talk to Aunt Addy, please?”

  “Aunt Addy,” Lola says, the phone still close to her ear. “Momma wants to talk to you. She sounds mad.”

  “Hey, girl. We’re here, where are you?”

  Addy’s silky smooth voice and carefree attitude make me want to strangle her.

  “I’m going to send you an address. Come pick me up.”

  “Only if you say please,” she replies. I can see her now, a huge grin on her face.

  “Please, Addy. I need to get out of here.”

  “Where are you?” Her voice takes on a concerned tone when she realizes that I’m not messing around.

  “Brunch. With my parents and my ex.”

  “Wy—”

  “No. The asshole before him. And please, Addy, don’t say his name. Especially if you’re in town right now. You never know who might be standing too close. People around here love to gossip. There’s not much else to do in this tiny-ass town.”

  “Sorry. Send me the address and we’ll come get you right now.”

  Ten minutes later, Addy pulls up in front of the country club and I hop in the passenger seat. Addy gives me a look of concern, so I shake my head and motion to the back seat with my eyes. That’s our sign.

  Yes, we’ll talk about it, but not at the moment.

  Addy nods, and I guide her to my parents’ house. There’s a flutter of activity going on outside. More tents are going up, tables and chairs are being carried behind the house. Addison’s eyes grow wide in surprise as she stares up at my parents’ house.

  “Seriously, this is where you grew up?”

  “It’s just a house, Addy. I promise.”

  “That’s not just a house, that’s a damn mansion.”

  It’s rather large, especially for a farmhouse. There’s more room than we needed for just the three of us. Six bedrooms, just as many bathrooms. There are a formal dining and living room as well as an informal one for when it’s just the three of us. As it was most of the time, I never understood the need for the more formal areas.

  There’s a guest house out back for the employees. My parents have a chef, a maid, and my mother has a personal assistant that all live there. They only hire people who are single, no significant others or children. That’s not conducive to their needs. Not to mention the guest house only has three bedrooms.

  “Well, shall we go inside?” I ask, my question directed more toward Lola than Addy.

  “Where’s my room?” Lola screams as she runs up to the front door. When it opens for her, she turns and runs back to me.

  Scooping her up into my arms, I smile. “It’s okay, sweet girl. That’s Marta. She lives here and helps grandma and grandpa around the house like Carmen helps us.”

  After a quick introduction to Marta and a tour of the main floor, I lead Addy and Lola upstairs to their rooms. My parents are going to be excited to see Addy. Both of them took to her immediately after meeting her even after I confessed to them that I told her everything.

  Hopefully her arrival, as well as Lola’s, will take their focus off me and my abrupt departure from brunch. If not, I’m in for a long weekend.

  11

  Park Benches

  “Addison,” my parents chime as they walk into the kitchen.

  Their faces, morphing from stone cold to heartwarming in an instant, almost make me laugh. There will come a time, over the weekend, when I’ll be pulled aside and spoken to about this morning, but it won’t be today. Probably not even tomorrow. If I can avoid them, I will. At all costs.

  How do you tell your parents the truth about a scumbag like Josh?

  Would they even believe me?

  I’m sure he’s changed since then, hopefully matured, but that doesn’t mean the way I feel about him has changed. Or the fact that I’m grateful he left me in the parking lot that night.

  Thoughts of that night bring back thoughts of Wyatt. Everything does around here. No matter where I turn, something in this town will remind me of him, of us, of what we had and of what I lost.

  Then there’s Lola.

  She looks so much like her father it hurts sometimes. When she holds a conversation, even at four-years-old, she looks you straight in the eyes. There are times I feel like I’m looking into Wyatt’s eyes as we talk, the hazel beauties sparkling in the light the way his used to.

  “Where’s Lola?” my mother asks, interrupting my thoughts.

  “She’s taking a nap. I’ll wake her up in an hour and then she’s all yours.”

  “How long has she been down?” she replies, taking a step toward the back stairs.

  Rolling my eyes, I nod at my mother and she begins ascending the stairs before the words leave my mouth. “Long enough, I guess.”

  Moments later, I hear Lola’s laughter echo down the stairs. That’s all it takes for my father to disappear as well. As upset as they were when they found out I was pregnant, they love that little girl to pieces. You would never know there was a point in time they wanted me to end my pregnancy.

  “So, what’s on our agenda for today?” Addy asks, taking a sip of her coffee.

  It’s after noon, almost ninety degrees already, and she asked for a cup of coffee. Not that I was surprised. Addy drinks coffee all hours of the day and night and yet still is able to sleep as soon as her head hits the pillow. I envy her sometimes.

  If it’s not the coffee keeping me up, it’s Lola or the dreams that plague me from time to time. I would call them nightmares, but Wyatt is always the star, and if that’s the only time
I get to see him, to remember him as he once was, it can’t be a nightmare.

  “Nothing that I know of. The party’s not until tomorrow. There’s not much to do in town. What were you thinking?” A devious smile spreads across Addy’s lips, but I silence her before she can share her thoughts. “Don’t even say it.”

  “Why not get it out of the way now, on your terms. No surprises. Figure your shit out and this way you can do it without Lola around.”

  Valid point, but I’m not ready to face him yet. There’s so much uncertainty.

  How will he react to seeing me?

  Does he even want to see me?

  Has he moved on?

  What happens after I tell him about Lola?

  That’s my biggest fear. Not that he doesn’t want to be a part of Lola’s life, because there’s no reason he has to be, but that he’s going to freak out when I tell him. I would freak out if I were him.

  “Not yet,” I finally say, pushing away the turkey sandwich Norman made for me.

  “Fine, but let’s at least get out of the house. We’ll go into town, walk around and see what this festival is all about. I’ll even let you criticize the way they’re doing things because we both know you could do it better.”

  Agreeing to her terms, Addy and I get ready to head into town while my parents dote on Lola. When we pop into the kitchen to say goodbye, they’re feeding her a giant ice cream sundae for lunch. They don’t know it yet, but they’ll regret that in about an hour when her sugar buzz kicks in.

  As I pull into town, the only street parking available is in front of the Tavern. Of course, just my luck. Addy is going to find a way to drag me inside later. I can already see the wheels turning in her head as she gets out of the car, nodding her head in approval.

  “This place is cute.”

  “It’s a bar, Addy. It’s not supposed to be cute,” I reply.

  “Not the bar, the town. It’s old but new. You know, it has historic charm but it’s like it’s been revived in a way.”

  Looking up and down the two-lane road that runs through town, I see exactly what she means. When I left, the buildings seemed run down. Old, the entire town seemed old. It felt old. And small. Intimate in a way. Everyone knew everyone. You couldn’t walk down the street without running into someone you knew or at least knew of.

  Maybe it’s a fresh set of eyes, or the fact that I haven’t been here in so long, but the town does seem different in a way. The buildings especially. Classic and historic, but with new life breathed into them. I don’t recognize anyone. I haven’t run into old friends or acquaintances, with the exception of Jones and Willy.

  I’m sure that won’t last long. As that thought hits me, I see the door to the bar begin to open.

  “Yeah, I guess so. Let’s go,” I reply quickly, taking off toward the park.

  “What’s the rush?” Addy asks as she attempts to catch up with me.

  “No rush,” I say, looking both ways before crossing the street. There’s not a car on the road, but I still feel the need to double check.

  “If you say so,” she mumbles under her breath.

  “I thought you wanted to check out the festival,” I reply, reaching for her arm and looping mine through.

  “I do, but you look like you saw a ghost and were running for your life.”

  No ghosts. Not yet. The moment I see Wyatt, I’m sure I’ll run, though.

  As we hit the path that leads through the center of the park, a memory bombards me. The first time Wyatt and I were seen together. Well, more like caught.

  Pushing him away, I rest my forehead against his in an attempt to catch my breath.

  “You have no idea what you do to me,” he whispers so only I can hear.

  “We’re going to get caught,” I reply, sliding out from between his legs and off the top of the picnic table.

  “I get that your parents are stuck up, but who cares? It’s not like someone is going to call them and tell them. Wait, it’s not like that, is it?”

  His eyes widen in surprise when I scrunch up my nose in lieu of an answer.

  “What the hell, Chloe? How is this supposed to work if you can’t even introduce me to your parents?”

  “I’ll introduce you, eventually. It’s just, they still think I’m dating Josh.”

  “What?” There’s a hint of anger in his voice that I don’t miss even though he’s trying to cover it up.

  “I never told them I was, I let them think it. When I tell them I’m going out, when I meet up with you, they still assume I’m going out with Josh. Its better this way, I promise.”

  “How is that better? It’s like I’m your dirty little secret.”

  He has a point. A good point, but if he knew my parents, he would understand why this is a good thing. The second they find out I’m dating someone else, they’ll want to meet him. Then, when they find out that his pedigree isn’t up to their standards, they’ll find a way to keep us from seeing each other.

  We’ve only been together a couple of weeks, but they’ve been two of the best weeks of my life. Wyatt’s amazing. He’s sweet and caring and the nicest guy I’ve ever dated. I don’t want it to end and the second my parents find out about us, it will end. They’ll make sure of it.

  It takes me almost an hour to explain it all to him before he gets it. The ramifications of telling them the truth are finally what gets through to him.

  “So I need to stay your dirty little secret if I want to see you, basically?” he asks after a long pause.

  “Unfortunately, yes. I know it sucks, and I’m sorry. I’m not ashamed of you if that’s what you’re thinking. I would love nothing more than to introduce you to them if I thought they wouldn’t freak the fuck out.”

  Reaching for my hand, Wyatt pulls it to his lips, kissing it gently. It’s in that moment I realize that I would do almost anything for him. He’s agreeing to keep our relationship low key so we can have one. It’s not a secret that the town is divided, it always has been.

  The rich go to the private academy, everyone else attends public schools.

  They each stay on their respective sides of town.

  There’s minimal interaction between the two social classes outside of working relationships.

  It’s a bunch of bullshit, but it’s the way it is. It’s the way it’s always been. One day, it’ll change and Fairview will become a more modern town. Until then, this is the way it has to be.

  “Hey, Chloe,” a voice says from behind me. Without thinking, I turn to look straight into a set of familiar eyes. Eyes that leave mine moments later only to focus on Wyatt’s hand wrapped around mine.

  “Jessica. It’s nice to see you,” I reply, not releasing Wyatt’s hand when he attempts to pull away.

  “Who do we have here?” she asks, the surprise in her voice being replaced with a sultry tone.

  “A family friend. What are you doing down here?” I ask. Her attention span has always been short so maybe she’ll lose interest.

  “My mom sent me to the bakery to pick up an order for her. I saw you sitting over here and thought I would say hi.”

  After ten more minutes of small talk, Jessica walks away, never learning Wyatt’s name. Never asking about him again. In fact, she never even looked in his direction again after I distracted her.

  “So, no more hanging out in the park?” he asks as we head back to the bar.

  “Probably not a good idea.”

  “We’ll find another spot. One that’s more secluded,” he promises.

  More secluded? One where I can kiss him for as long as I want without the fear of someone seeing us? I like this idea. In fact, I think I know the perfect spot.

  “Where did you go just now?” Addy asks as she takes a seat on the picnic table.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You, you disappeared inside your own head. I was talking to you one minute and you were fine, then you were gone, staring at this picnic table. Is this where it happened?” she asks, leaning cl
ose and whispering in my ear. “Is this where you lost your virginity?”

  “Jesus, Addy! No,” I reply. Addison bursts into laughter when she gets a look at my face. I felt my cheeks begin to heat at the mention of that night.

  She’s heard the story, most of it anyway. Enough to know that it happened outdoors, but I never thought she would think I was a voyeur at eighteen.

  “That’s one place I want to see before we head back to Denver.”

  “Denver,” he says from behind me. “I was hoping you might stay a while.”

  Addison’s face pales when she looks past me. I want to laugh, but I can’t. She’s genuinely scared shitless at the moment. She probably thinks Wyatt is standing behind me, that we’re about to see each other for the first time.

  “I have to go back eventually. It’s my home,” I reply without turning around.

  “I think you’re mistaken, Chloe. This is your home. You just haven’t lived here in a while. Everything and everyone you love is here. Don’t forget that.”

  Turning, I give Jones a knowing look. He takes a step back and holds his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry. Too far? You know I’ve always liked to walk the line.”

  “Too far, Jones. Too far.”

  12

  Sawyer

  “Jones?” Addy asks. “Not Wy—”

  “Nope,” I interrupt. She’s making a habit out of attempting to say his name and making me a bitch because I have to keep interrupting her. “Addison, this is Adam Jones.”

  Standing, Addy extends her hand towards Jones, but he makes no move to take it. Instead, he stares at her hand as if he has no idea what to do with it. Then his eyes slowly lift, and I see something in them that I’ve never seen before.

  “Jones,” I say, his attention now focused on Addy completely. “This is my best friend, Addison Larken.”

  Still no movement from Jones. No noise. Nothing.