by C. Lymari
“I’m Jake, and what’s your name?” I said as I slid in the booth, causing Juliet to stiffen.
“I’m Rosamie. This is Juliet, and my sister, Jessamine, makes cookies,” the little girl answered before she left again, running back to the counter.
I caught Emma’s curious gaze. Yeah, she noticed Juliet and me. My guess was, that was why Juliet picked this seat.
“I thought you didn’t want to come here?”
Juliet sat straighter, eyes flashing with annoyance, her lips pursing just a bit. I wanted to lean into her and kiss her.
“Rosie wanted to see Jess.”
“You babysit now?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
When I continued to stare at her, she answered.
“Jess had to come to work, and I’m watching Rosie.”
“You like kids?”
“Yeah.”
“You want to have any of your own?”
“I don’t know.”
Her honest reply took me back. I watched as Juliet turned and looked at the quote of the day, her eyes flashing for a second. I wanted to ask her why she didn’t want to have any children, but Rosie came back, this time with a chocolate chip cookie.
“For Jake,” Rosie said, and she dropped “my” cookie and picked it up.
But before I could say no thank you, Juliet snatched the cookie.
“Jake loves dirty cookies, don’t you, Jakey?”
“Jakey?” Rosie mimicked.
I was going to have a serious word with my mother.
“I haven’t eaten. Don’t want to spoil my dinner,” I said.
Juliet gave me a wicked grin that had me wishing we weren’t in public. “There’s nothing wrong with a little dessert before the main course.”
Fuck me. That sounded sexy as hell.
Next thing I knew, that cookie was being shoved in my mouth. Emma’s cookies were delicious even when they were dirty from falling on the floor.
“Mmmmm, delicious,” Juliet mocked me.
Her fingertips were still on my lips when I bit both of them gently and sucked them. I wanted…no, fuck that—I needed—to do that to other parts of her body.
A soft little moan escaped Juliet’s lips, and I felt my pants get tighter. There really wasn’t a reason why we couldn’t fuck. We were both adults, and I wasn’t looking for a relationship. Juliet had just gotten divorced; I doubted she wanted to jump into another relationship. She seemed all for jumping on my dick, but she wasn’t the type of woman to settle with a guy like me.
“Delicious,” I teased, letting go of Juliet’s fingers.
Two plates were thrown at the table. Juliet snapped her hand away from my grasp and sat back straight.
“Is it me or do I need a knife?” Jess asked.
“A knife?” Juliet answered.
“To cut through the sexual tension.”
Juliet shrieked, causing a few heads to look our way. “What! No! Jake was just leaving.”
“I’ll have what they’re having.”
“He will not.”
“Emma! Make me a double-bacon burger!” I yelled.
“Yay! Hamburgers!”
Rosie was the only one who seemed happy I would be joining them. Juliet didn’t say much, except to tell Jess she didn’t order a burger, to which Jess told her she didn’t ask her to buy Rosie a car seat or new jacket. And since she didn’t want to take her money, she could take the damn burger.
I liked that Juliet did something nice for others. Not like it was skin off her back, but it was still thoughtful.
“Beaaaaaaar!” Freya shouted as she walked in.
Next to me, Juliet’s body went rigid, and she put her food down. I knew there was bad blood between them, and I wished I knew what to do or say on this occasion. I figured it was about time they started to talk, for Max’s sake, not mine.
I got up and gave Freya a hug. There was no Max in sight, and I knew Freya was not one to stay quiet.
“Oh, what are you doing? Who’s this little cutie?”
“I’m Rosie.”
Freya turned to me with a huge smile. She had yet to spot Juliet.
“Are you on a date, Jake?” Then she looked at who was next to me, and her grin fell.
Juliet was smiling at Rosie, pretending like Freya wasn’t even there.
“Freya, you know Juliet, don’t you?” I addressed the elephant in the room.
“I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her before.”
“Lovely as always,” Juliet responded.
“Is our burger not to your liking? Do you want a salad?”
“Freya…” I growled in warning.
“Not everything that glitters is gold, Jake.” Freya walked away without a word.
I watched her smile at Emma, and I could tell they were talking about me—us. Juliet pretended that she didn’t hear Freya or her comment, but when she told Rosie to finish her food because they had to go, I knew it made her uncomfortable.
“Bye, Jakey,” Juliet said, using my mother’s nickname.
If Freya caught wind of it, that would be the end of it.
“I’m going to kill you for this,” I whispered in Juliet’s ear as Rosie went to go say goodbye to her sister. “About Freya—”
“It’s okay, I deserve worse.”
Maybe she did, but I still didn’t like hearing it. Maybe the Juliet she used to be, I would have had no problem having her torn to shreds. But this Juliet now, I couldn’t bear to see her hurt. I didn’t turn to look at Freya or Emma as I left with Juliet and Rosie. I waited until Rosie was strapped in her car seat, wondering how I never thought much on how hot that looked. Most women didn’t have Juliet’s ass. When she finally turned around, I couldn’t resist reaching out for her. Her skin was cold. I wrapped my hand on her chin, giving her some of my warmth.
“Come to my mom’s tomorrow. She’ll have enough food to last all day.”
“I can’t.”
“You can… Bring Rosie if you want.” Bending down, I gave her a quick kiss on the corner of her mouth and walked away.
22
Juliet
“You stupid bitch. Where’s my food? There’s never anything to eat when I get home!”
The screaming echoed inside my room. I could only imagine what it would be like to hear them from inside of the tiny apartment’s walls. I hated nights like tonight when the wind would howl and screech against my window. It was nights like tonight that made everything worse.
“I’m okay… I’m safe,” I whispered as I closed my eyes tightly.
Another wave of anger echoed through my room, followed by crying. It was always the same thing. Rage followed by screams and shouts. Then the crying came and, in the morning, a half-assed apology.
Turning my phone as loud as it went, I started to play “Breathing” by Ariana Grande, hoping it would give Jess something other than her parents’ shouts to think about. My pillow was wet with tears that slid through those awful minutes of shouting. All I hoped was that Rosie had Jess’s headphones on and was oblivious as to what went on in her home.
“You’re my wife.”
Closing my eyes tighter, I tried to focus on the music instead of the voices in my head.
“I’m safe.” I repeated the words I knew to be true.
The next day I woke up early, not because I was going to go to Jake’s house for breakfast, but because I wanted to make sure Jess and Rosie were okay. I got ready because, you know, the girls needed to know I had my shit together. Nothing too fancy, just leggings with a peach long-sleeve. I only did my makeup so they wouldn’t be scared by the bags under my eyes. So not pretty. Bags were only cute when they were designer. My under-eyes were just gross.
There was a knock on my door before I even had a chance to knock on Jess’s wall. It was our own way of communication.
One knock was, “Are you okay?”
Two knocks signaled, “It’s okay. I’m with you.”
Th
ree meant, “I’m coming over.”
When I opened the door, Rosie was already all bundled up and ready to go.
“Good morning. Where are you guys going so early?” I asked them.
“Happy Black Friday.” Jess pushed her way inside, Rosie trailing her.
Oh, my God. Was it Thanksgiving already, and I hadn’t noticed? There was a pain in my stomach, like it was empty and full at the same time.
I immediately grabbed my phone, but there wasn’t even one missed call or text message. My parents didn’t bother to invite me over. I might have felt lonely on weekends in my old house, waiting for Chad to get home from God knew where. I might have felt lonely the first night in my apartment. But that was nothing compared to what it felt like right now.
My family didn’t want me over for Thanksgiving dinner. I knew that I’d said they were dead to me, but a part of me still wanted them to try. I wanted to have a family who actually cared. My parents were all I had left, and it hurt when they didn’t invite me because just as I said I was done with them they were done with me.
“Jake said we’re going to his house for pancakes and turkey,” Rosie said.
“That’s why you wanted to put your jacket on right now?” Jess snapped at her little sister.
I couldn’t blame Rosie; I all but did the same thing.
“I could have slept some more…” Jess trailed off.
She didn’t have to tell me it was peaceful in her house now that their dad was sleeping and her mom was walking on eggshells trying to make everything better.
“I can make us pancakes,” I offered, trying to make this day a little better for the three of us.
“You can’t cook,” both girls said with equally mortified faces.
I glared at them for ganging up on me, but my phone pinged with a text message.
Jake: Almost here?
Me: Almost where?
Jake: Don’t play stupid, Juliet. I swear I’ll come and bring you here myself.
Me: I never made promises.
“Why does she look funny?” I heard Rosie ask.
“She’s probably talking to hunky Jake.”
“Don’t call him hunky,” I told Jess, not bothering to deny that I was talking to Jake.
“Everyone calls him hunky. Have you seen the guy? I asked Freya to set me up on a date with him,” Jess said.
I started choking on my own spit.
“But she said he was too old for me.”
“He is,” I wheezed. “Is Freya trying to set him up?”
Suddenly, it hit me that Jake wasn’t mine. I knew he wasn’t mine, but in some way, it felt like he was mine. Now Freya was out there looking for someone perfect for him. Someone who wasn’t me. Because, let’s face it, not even on paper did Jake and I fit.
“She’s been trying, but Jake’s been picky,” Jess answered.
Well, when you looked like a Greek god, you had a right to be picky. Both girls sat down and started browsing movies on Netflix. My eyes kept going to Jess’s, and if I didn’t hear her crying through my walls, I wouldn’t have known. There wasn’t a sign that she’d been in pain the night before. Her eyes weren’t red-rimmed or swollen; they just had that vacant look. No one ever noticed because she had that look every day.
I didn’t stop and think when my phone started to ring. I just picked it up.
“Juliet,” a female voice I didn’t recognize greeted me.
“Yes?” I was hesitant.
Maybe it was my lawyer’s assistant; he kept changing them. Wait, it was Thanksgiving. Even my cheap lawyer probably had plans.
“Honey, it’s Cynthia—Jakey’s mom,” she added after my hesitation to answer.
“Oh, hello, Mrs. Carson.”
“Please call me Cynthia. Jakey said you were still undecided about spending Thanksgiving with us.”
Oh, that asshole.
Before I could politely decline I heard the ping of a text. I pulled my phone away for a second to look at it.
Jake: Now, you have to come.
Me: That’s not fair.
Jake: Would it help if I said I was sorry?
Me: Are you sorry?
Jake: Sorry, babe. I’m not.
“Juliet, honey, are you there?”
Shit. I forgot I had Mrs. Carson on the line. I couldn’t stand and wonder what the hell Jake meant by his last text.
“I’m with my two neighbors. Would it be okay if I brought them with me?” I asked.
Rosie started smiling. Jess, on the other hand, was glaring at me while she shook her head.
“The more, the merrier. I’ll be glad to have another girl in the house.”
“I’m not going,” Jess declared as soon as I was done with my phone call.
“Do we really want to eat takeout food today?” My voice was soft, almost pained, but it was enough to get a reaction out of Jess.
Her brown eyes flashed, and I knew she understood what I was trying to say: did we really want to spend Thanksgiving alone? For a brief second I wondered what was it that my parents were doing but I guess this is what I had to live with now. I was basically an orphan. Okay, that was a bit much, but it still hurt to think that my parents had chosen their money and good name over me.
“I don’t have anything to wear. Neither does Rosie,” Jess protested.
I smiled at Jess. We weren’t the same size. She was thin underneath all that baggy clothing she wore, and I was curvier, but we both had an air of delicacy. My clothes would do just fine. I had a feeling Jess didn’t want to wear anything tight either way. As for Rosie, she was covered. I couldn’t help myself when I was on Amazon looking at all the cute little dresses. They weren’t designer, but they were cute. And besides, it wasn’t like a toddler knew if they were wearing Walmart or Burberry.
Twenty minutes later, I was wearing a black long-sleeved blouse and a black and white checkered skirt with black thigh-high boots. Rosie was in a burgundy velour skater dress with black booties—sue me, I couldn’t resist getting her shoes too. I didn’t even blink an eye when I spent the money on her. I wanted her in pretty clothes. Jess, on the other hand, managed to wear every single black item I owned. A black cowl tunic dress with a black belt that accented her small waist, black pantyhose, her black combat boots, and one of my black satin blazers. She looked cute, but in a dark way.
“You look like you’re going to a funeral,” I told Jess.
“Jessa, you look pretty,” Rosie said as she twirled in her dress.
“It is Black Friday,” Jess said.
“It’s Thanksgiving,” Rosie added.
“Half the town is on the way to the closest mall because stupid shops open at 3:00 p.m. Where does that leave family time? It’s like Thanksgiving doesn’t exist for the poor because they have to work on a day that’s supposed to be for family. Or they have to stand in line so they can shop for everyone in their family so they can have enough money to get them something they might like.” Jess told us.
I turned to look at Jess while I drove, for the first time thinking about the meaning of this holiday. I guess she was right. For many people, it marked the countdown to Christmas, and unfortunately, that meant spending money on outrageous presents.
Swipe. Swipe. Swipe.
I used to pride myself on giving good presents, but I never had to work for them. I didn’t dread my bank account going low or wondering if I was going to disappoint my children.
“Should we take some food or snacks?” I asked, glad I had other things to worry about than how stupid I had been.
“Emma’s open till noon. We’ll get cookies and cupcakes,” Jess said.
Main Street was empty except for a few cars coming and going. We were at the four-way stop when it finally happened. By it, I mean running into a family member and having them ignore me in broad daylight.
It was worse than what I could have imagined. My two brothers were in Prescott’s truck, probably on their way to go hunt some game, their Thanksgiving tradition—because
nothing says “happy Thanksgiving” like killing an elk. I felt the minute both their gazes slid my way. How could it not happen when we were right across from each other? It was like I didn’t even exist to them. They looked right through me, and all I felt was a sharp stab of pain in my stomach. I wondered why it was so easy for them to dismiss me like that.
It was brief and soft, but the moment we passed each other, I felt Jess give my arm a squeeze. There wasn’t pity in her gaze, just understanding.
“Family sucks,” was all she said.
And today of all days, I had to agree with her. Family did suck. Emma’s was empty, thank God. I didn’t run into Freya. I didn’t think I could handle that much hatred toward me. Even if it was deserved.
It also kind of sucked handing over my card to Jess so we could buy sweets. My bathroom rug and new curtains were going to have to wait. I couldn’t afford luxuries.
Looking at Rosie’s smile, I didn’t regret buying her a new outfit. I mean, I had some money, but I guessed I kept expecting the worst, and what was little money for me might have been a fortune for others.
Our eyes met through the mirror, and Rosie grinned at me. Totally worth it. Instead, I felt fulfilled. A feeling I hadn’t had in a long time. At least Emma gave Jess her employee discount, so there was that.
“Who the fuck does this?” Jess exclaimed, and I knew she was taking in Mrs. Carson’s Christmas decor.
I liked the decorations. They made the whole place look homier.
“Let’s get this over with,” Jess grumbled before I rang the doorbell.
The door was instantly opened by Mr. Carson. He was wearing a turkey sweater and a big smile on his face.
“Great. We were starving!” He said by way of greeting.
The three of us followed him into the kitchen, where the table was bursting with all types of breakfast food: scrambled eggs, French toast, waffles, pancakes, bacon, sausage, and tater tots. Clark and Blake were already seated. Jake was standing behind an empty chair. He gave me a slow smile that did funny things to my lower abdomen and made the air around me heavy.
“We’re overdressed.” Jess’s hiss was drowned by Mrs. Carson’s shout.