The Only Way

by Magan Vernon

  “I know, I know. But Trigg’s already got his and Trey will be getting his soon. Who knows how long it’ll be before I get married. I could be dead by thirty from working in some cubicle just to pay for startup costs for this business. I could try and find more investors, but unless Dad makes a bunch of phone calls, I don’t think I’ll have much luck.

  She pressed her lips together. “Have you really thought this out?”

  I sighed. “Not as much as I’d like.”

  The waitress came to the table and our conversation halted as she set down our tray of rolls and ice teas in front of us.

  As soon as she was gone, Mom picked up her chopsticks, but didn’t touch it to her food. “Did you write any business proposals while you were in college?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, it was practically a requirement in all of my business classes.”

  She pursed her lips then nodded. “Okay. I need you to write me a business proposal. Tell me exactly how you plan on getting this project up and running and where the funds will go. You can present it to your father and me on Thanksgiving.”

  I widened my eyes. “Are you serious?”

  I didn’t know if I was more shocked that she actually agreed to it or that I’d have to present a business plan to her and Dad.

  She smiled. “I’m always serious, Tripp, and I think your father would love to see what you have planned as well.”

  I couldn’t contain my excitement. “That’s awesome, Mom. I promise that I’ll get it all together. I still have a few days and I know it’ll be great. I won't let you down.”

  She nodded. “I hope not.”

  ***

  As soon as I got home, I threw my coat down and opened my computer. I knew I had some of my old business plans from college saved in various folders on my computer. I also had some contacts for my fraternity brothers who worked in some sort of medical field.

  I didn’t even bother to acknowledge Trigg or Sam when they came back into the apartment, I was in the zone.

  It wasn’t until my stomach started rumbling and I caught a whiff of something garlicky coming from the kitchen, that I finally looked up from my computer. “You cooking something, Trigg?”

  His back was to me as he stood of the stove, but he laughed. “I guess you haven’t noticed what I’ve been doing the past half an hour.”

  I looked around the kitchen and didn’t see Sam, so I turned and saw her sitting on the bed. Her knees were curled up to her chest and she had a book on her lap. She still had all the damn makeup on but had changed out of the punk rock look and into a pair of plaid pajama pants and a Ramones t-shirt. My Ramones shirt.

  I nodded at her. “Nice look. Find that in my laundry?”

  She looked down at her chest and her cheeks flushed. She laid the book down on the nightstand. “Sorry. I can change. I was just doing our laundry and this was clean. I didn’t know if you’d get out of your computer coma and notice or not.”

  I smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Keep the shirt. It looks better on you anyway.”

  “Hey, before you two keep flirting, can I ask what the hell you’ve been doing on the computer for so long? Is it some new geeker game?” Trigg asked.

  I shook my head. “No. It’s a business proposal.” I closed my computer and set it down on the coffee table before standing up.

  Trigg turned toward me. “A business proposal? For what?”

  I ran my fingers through my hair. I’d never wanted something to work so much in my life and I was afraid to jinx it by talking about it. “Just something I’ve been talking about with Mom.”

  “Are you and Mom going to open the tea house and bookstore she’s been dreaming about forever?” Trigg asked with a laugh.

  “No. It’s just something. No big deal.”

  “Really, come on tell me what it’s about.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  I wasn’t used to seeing the guy dressed down in a faded blue t-shirt and jeans. He actually looked relaxed for once and not like he had a stick up his ass.

  I sighed and opened my mouth, about to actually spill everything, but then Sam’s arm grazed my shoulder and she darted in front of me. “Trigg! The water is boiling over!” she yelled.

  “Oh, shit! It is?” Trigg turned around and turned down the heat of the stove before carrying the boiling pot over to the sink and draining it.

  Sam gave me a knowing look and I mouthed “thanks”.

  She just smiled and scooted behind the counter. “Need help with anything else, Trigg?”

  ***

  Trigg made another amazing dinner of pasta with artichoke hearts and homemade garlic bread. He said that he took a Tuscan cooking class with Roni and always wanted to try making it again. I think he was just missing her and wanted something to hold on to.

  After we loaded the dishes, I was prepared to tell Trigg about the business proposal. I thought he’d probably tell me it was a stupid idea or I’d have even more work to do to defend it. But I was surprised when Sam tapped my shoulder.

  “Hey, do you want to go on a quick walk with me?”

  “Yeah, that sounds good.” I nodded.

  “Don’t be gone for too long. Well, I guess it’s okay if you are. Just don’t tell me how much fun you’re having. Alone. The two of you,” Trigg rambled.

  I patted his back. “Yeah, dude. We’ll be back at some point.”

  I grabbed my coat off the rack and handed Sam hers. We didn’t say anything. Not down the hall. Not in the elevator. I was starting to think that maybe she just wanted me to walk with her because it was dark and didn’t want to walk alone.

  Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a pack of cigarettes. The fucking taxes were getting ridiculous on them and I knew I should quit, but I needed something to keep my hands and my mouth busy with Sam that close to me.

  “You know those can kill you,” Sam said.

  I put the cigarette between my lips and cupped my hand over it as I lit it, taking in a deep breath before I exhaled a puff of smoke. “Hey, you’re the one that told me we all have our vices.”

  She shook her head. “Yes, but I also said that the trick is to not let them kill you.”

  “Touché,” I said, taking another long drag of my cigarette.

  We walked another block before Sam finally spoke again. “So...the business proposal, what is it really for?”

  I shook my head. “It’s stupid, really. I probably shouldn’t even do it.”

  She turned and stood in front of me, putting her hand on my chest to stop me. Even through my coat, I thought I could feel her hand press on my chest. I wanted to grab it and kiss each one of those fingers and up her palm. I wanted to kiss every inch of her.

  I looked from her hand and trailed up to her pretty pink lips, then finally to her eyes. They were slightly watery from the cold and staring right at me. “Tripp. I know it’s not stupid. You wouldn’t have spent so much time working on something if you didn’t care about it, so please just tell me.”

  She licked her lip then bit down on it. “Please.”

  I knew I was done for. I couldn’t resist telling her everything when she looked at me like that.

  I groaned and put out my cigarette. “It’s just an idea that I talked to my mom about using my inheritance for. Mom was an only child and when her parents died, Grandpa left a trust for all of us kids. I want to use mine to start a non-profit organization to help kids with mental illnesses. It may never come to fruition and I may be in way over my head, but it was the first thing that really excited me in awhile.”

  She blinked and put her hand down, her eyes trailing down to my stomach then back up to my face. “Tripp. That sounds amazing. I think you would do great with that.”

  I blinked. “Are you serious? You really think it’ll work?”

  She nodded. “I do. I think it’s something you have experience in and it’s the first time I’ve seen you actually excited about working. You can do anything you really set your mind to, I know that about
you. Once you want something, you go for it in full force.”

  “Like I did with you?” I asked. I shouldn’t have pushed it, but I was good for doing that.

  She bit her lip again. Fuck. The girl was going to kill me if she kept doing that. “Tripp, you know I like you. I mean, it’s kind of obvious. But I don’t think we should cross that line while I’m staying at your place and don’t have anywhere else to go.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “So once you move out, then we can roll in the hay?”

  She laughed, shaking her head. “Who the hell says roll in the hay?”

  I shrugged. “It seemed like a good way to put it. What would you rather I say? ‘Make it with the love’? That’s a fancy way to say boning, right?”

  She swatted my chest. “How about you just take me on a date or something? We can go from there. Buy me dinner. Say things to me that aren’t about boning and your new business venture.”

  I laughed. “What fun is that?”

  “It’s either that or you can take Trigg out. I’m sure he’d love some bro time or whatever it’s called.”

  “I think I’ll pass. How about I pick you up on Friday after you get off work?” I asked.

  She laughed. “How the hell are you going to pick me up when I’m the one with the car and license.”

  “I have my ways.” I smiled.

  Sam shook her head. “Okay. You win. Pick me up on Friday.”

  She turned, but I caught her wrist. “Wait. You probably want to go home first and change, unless you want to wear your uniform out. I’ll leave and come back and get you.”

  She laughed. “Seriously. This is getting ridiculous.”

  “Look, a first date is like making a new first impression and I don’t want to fuck it up. Just let me have my fun.”

  Sam licked her lips again and God if I didn’t want to pull her to me and feel every bit of her against me. “Okay, Tripp. It’s a date.”

  Chapter 14

  I always looked forward to Thanksgiving, mainly because it was a holiday that revolved around food.

  Of course, I also usually drank myself stupid and there was no way in hell anyone was going to let me do that this year. This meant I would have to be sober to deliver the business plan to my parents and fuck if I wasn’t nervous.

  Trigg said he would drive me so I wouldn’t have to worry about Trey and Monica picking me up and questioning me about the redhead in my apartment. They probably would have thought she was just some random conquest of mine from the night before and that’s what bothered me more. At first sight I thought maybe that’s what I wanted and now...now there was something else. Something more.

  “So, are you going to try and see Roni and Bella today?” I asked Trigg, before getting in the passenger seat of his rental.

  He just rented it the day before and mostly used cabs, but I think he needed as much of an excuse not to explain to other people what was going on with him staying with me.

  He sighed, turning on the engine. “Not today. Roni’s at her parents' house, but she said she still needed some space. I offered to just come pick up Bella and bring her to my parents but she said she’d call.”

  “That’s fucked up, man. She’s still your wife and Bella’s your kid.”

  He nodded. “I know. It’s weird, you know, I thought I never wanted kids and just wanted to focus on my career. Then Roni got pregnant and I still wasn’t sure. But then as soon as I saw Bella, I knew that was the end. That I could never love another human being as much as I love that little girl.”

  “So love at first sight is real then?”

  He laughed. “Yeah. I guess you could call it that. I really miss her. She had started sitting up before Roni left and now I’m wondering how much more she is doing. If she even knows that I’m not around.”

  I put my hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure she does, man, and I’m sure Roni will come around eventually.”

  He let out a deep breath. “Yeah, and I probably have to tell everyone what’s going on. I’m sure Dad will want me to use his lawyer and fight Roni for everything, but I just don’t want to deal with the headache, you know? It’s like sometimes we don’t get to be our own person and just have to do everything the Chapman way.”

  That one knocked the breath out of me. Trigg and Trey were always the shining examples. The golden boys of the Chapman family. I’d never thought Trigg would say anything to step out of those norms.

  “You’re talking to the brother that did do things his own way: the family fuckup.”

  He shook his head. “You’re not a fuck-up, Tripp, even though you want to be this big badass. I’ve seen all the shit you’ve been working on this week with whatever this secret project is. It’s something you’re really passionate about. Something that I’m pretty sure has to do with that business proposal you’re going to pitch to Mom and Dad. It’s either that or you guys are starting your own porn company and making home movies, although I really hope that’s not what you’re doing since I’m sleeping a few feet away.”

  I laughed. “No, we’re definitely not doing anything like that.” I sighed. “I talked to Mom about using my inheritance to start a non-profit company that would help kids with mental illness. She agreed that if I showed her and Dad a business plan that she’d think about it.”

  “Wow. That wasn’t what I was expecting you to say at all.” He widened his eyes.

  I raised an eyebrow. “What were you expecting?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know, but definitely not that.” He twisted his face then nodded. “But I like it. It actually seems like something you’d be really good at. You’re actually a pretty good leader. When you care about something or someone you go all out.”

  “I think that’s a compliment.”

  He glanced over at me. “It is. And if you need anything from me, whether it’s marketing help or financial, I’m all in.”

  I shook my head. “I didn’t tell you all this because I need your help or money.”

  “I know. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to.”

  ***

  Chapman family Thanksgiving was different than our normal brunch. It was like a fancy gala or something with servants walking around with silver trays of appetizers, women in fancy dresses, and guys in suits.

  A balding man in coattails who I’d never seen before answered the door and took our coats. It was a good thing Sam didn’t come because the girl would have definitely been out of her element. The only dress I’d ever seen her in was the one she wore to work and these women were in fucking ball gowns.

  Some of the people I recognized as Dad’s business associates, some aunts, and other distant relatives but I didn’t see anyone I really knew.

  “I may need a drink to get through this," Trigg mumbled.

  “Me too,” I said.

  “Did someone say drinks?”

  Trigg and I both turned to see Monica standing there with two cans of Coke. Her stomach seemed to have grown even bigger than the last time I’d seen her. It was like she smuggled something under the long black dress.

  “Gee whilickers, Mon, you sure know how to make some guys feel special,” Trigg mocked, taking the can from her.

  Monica handed me the other can and smacked his arm. “Shut up. It’s been my biggest craving and Trey will have a shit fit if he sees me with one, so I figured you guys could be my cover.”

  “So you’re just using me? I’m hurt,” I said, putting my hand to my chest.

  She grabbed the can from me and chugged half of it before wiping her mouth with the back of her palm and handing me back the can. “Yup.”

  “Still trying to hide the soda addiction?” Trey came up behind Monica and squeezed her sides, causing her to squeal.

  “Hey, these two said they wanted a drink,” she said, swatting his side.

  Trey put his arm around her waist. The two of them looked like the poster couple for America with her fiery red hair in some fancy updo and him in his three piece blue suit and
hair meticulously gelled. Well, I guess the poster couple who got knocked up before they were married.

  “Sure you were, Mon,” Trey said and kissed her forehead.

  Usually, seeing a happy couple would make me sick to my stomach. I’d probably be looking for something strong to dump in my can then go after one of Dad’s colleagues' daughters. But this time I didn’t feel sick. This time I had the overwhelming urge to text Sam.

  “Hey, I’m going to go look for Mom and Dad,” I said. “You guys okay here?”

  Trigg nodded.

  “I think they’re in the dining room,” Trey said.

  “Okay,” I nodded. I turned in the direction of the dining room but stopped in the hallway to pull out my phone. Sam always had her phone in her apron; even though she wasn’t supposed to check it during work hours, I knew she did.

  Unlocking my phone, I pulled up my messages. The last text that popped up was one from her. It was something about her asking if it was the apocalypse since she was stuck at the grocery store. She probably shouldn’t have gone out for more coffee the night before a holiday about food, but she was stubborn and I wished I loved something as much as she loved coffee.

  So...working hard or hardly working?

  God. Why did I send that? That was stupid and cheesy. She would probably roll her eyes as soon as she saw it.

  The three dots went across my screen, signaling that she was typing back. Something jumped in my chest. Fuck. I was turning into some kind of lovesick puppy. Not a good thing.

  A lot of lonely stoners need their pancakes.

  I found myself smiling even though she couldn’t see it.

  I’ll bring you a plate of fancy turkey and brie if you’re sick of surviving on pumpkin butter and coffee.

  She responded back quickly. I guess it wasn’t too busy.

  I could eat pumpkin butter and drink coffee forever. No fancy food necessary!

  “What’s on your phone that’s making you smile like that?”

  I locked my phone, putting it in my pocket before I looked up to see my mom standing in front of me. She was in some frilly purple gown that looked like something she would wear to the Governors Ball.