Whiskey & Honey

by Andrea Johnston

  I’m opening my car door when I hear something behind me.

  “Hey, baby.”

  “Tony, what are you doing here? And I’m not your baby.”

  I toss my bag in the passenger seat and before I can take my seat Tony puts his hand on the door, slightly closing it and preventing me from opening it further to take my seat behind the wheel.

  “You didn’t call me after I left you flowers. I figured you were still mad.”

  I grunt in disbelief at his statement.

  “I’ll take that as a yes. Look, Piper. I’m sorry. I know I screwed up and you’re angry but come on.” He’s almost pleading as he removes one hand from the door and places it on my waist to turn me toward him. He really is handsome.

  No, Piper, he’s a cheater.

  “Please, Piper. Give me a chance to make it right.”

  The moment he finishes his sentence I hear a sound of an engine and my eyes look over Tony’s shoulder to see Ben leaning against his steering wheel looking at us. Gone is his teacher attire and instead he’s in a well-worn T-shirt and a ball cap. The scruff on his face just right, his eyes saying more than words ever could, and my heart skips a beat. I feel a sense of guilt for how intimate this must look and take a slight step back from Tony as he turns to see Ben.

  “Sullivan, do you need something?”

  “You okay, Princess?”

  Words not forming, I simply nod in response.

  “See you at dinner?”

  Another nod, which he returns before turning his attention to Tony. The look on his face is enough for Tony to release his hand from my waist. That must satisfy Ben because he drives away.

  “Dinner? Are you seeing him, Piper?”

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but no. We’re having family dinner at the Sullivans’. Look, thank you for the flowers. That was, well, the thought was nice, but please don’t do things like that. Tony, you’re not a bad guy. Hmm, actually that’s not true. You don’t have to be a bad guy. Just remember that with the next girl. I’ve got to go.”

  “So, that’s it? You’re over me that easily. I love you, Piper. That has to mean something.”

  I take a deep breath and look up at Tony and see sincerity in his eyes as I sit down behind the wheel and roll down my window. “Tony, you don’t love me. You loved the idea of me. And, honestly, I don’t think I loved you either. At least I wasn’t in love with you. I’d like it if we could still be friends though.”

  “But I did, do love you.”

  “Tony, what’s my favorite flower?”

  “Roses. All chicks love roses.”

  “No, Tony they don’t. I, for one, am severely allergic to roses. We were together almost a year and you didn’t know that. We had fun and I don’t regret our time together but we need to just call it a day. There’s someone out there for you but it’s just not me. Now I have to get going.” As he steps away from the door, obviously absorbing what I’ve just said, I roll up my window and drive away, leaving him standing in the parking lot.

  As I drive to my apartment I find myself feeling lighter and relieved. Once I make it inside, the first thing to go are my boots. Adorable and serving a purpose, they aren’t the most kindergarten-friendly piece of footwear I own. Changing into a pair of leggings, I make myself a light snack and pull out my planner. I look at the seating chart I made prior to meeting the kids and make a few notes when my phone signals a text message.

  Ben: Everything ok?

  Me: Yeah, I’m fine.

  Ben: Is he with you?

  Me: What? No! Why would you even ask that?

  Ben: He looked pretty cozy with you in his arms so I assumed you were getting back together.

  I can’t help it, that little hint of jealousy brings a smile to my face before reality reminds me, friends only.

  Me: Well, FRIEND, we aren’t. I don’t think Tony will be leaving me any more roses or looking to reconcile. I’ll see you at dinner.

  He doesn’t respond and I’m not surprised. Perhaps the all caps were a bit shouty. Until I have the option for italics in a text it’s the only way I can think of to remind him of the “friends only” agreement.

  Dinner with the Sullivans is never boring. I’ve been coming to family dinner every Thursday as long as I can remember. A few years ago Jameson started joining us. That’s just like Patty and Paul, to take in their kid’s friends who are maybe a little light in the family department.

  I’m in the kitchen helping Patty while everyone else is outside. I love spending these quiet moments with Patty. My mom is great and I love her but she’s never been much of a cook. Patty was the one who taught me to cook at a young age and it’s still something that we share.

  “How’s your mom, Piper?”

  “She’s good. She and Michael get back from their cruise next week. She said she’s going to stay in Chicago with him for about a week before coming home.”

  “My goodness, that’s one heck of a vacation. She must miss you terribly.”

  “I doubt it, she’s called me non-stop and sent me a post card from every port. She seems happy, though, and that’s all I can ask for. Michael is nice and seems to really care about her. Of course, we’ll see when they get back. I don’t know how you spend that much time together and then go back to long-distance dating.”

  Patty offers me a look of sympathy and a pat on the arm as she stirs the green beans that are in a skillet to sauté. “Your mother is a strong woman, Piper. She’ll be fine. How about you? Are you seeing anyone these days?”

  “Uh, no. I think I’ll take a break from dating. My track record isn’t the greatest. I think my picker is broken.” We’re both laughing as Ben walks in through the slider.

  “What’s so funny in here, ladies?”

  “Nothing, honey. Just girl talk. These beans are about done, how about the rest outside?”

  “Yep, just coming to tell you we’re all set. Do you need help?”

  “Actually, would the two of you mind bringing these out? I’m just going to grab a sweater.”

  Left alone with Ben, we work in silence transferring the green beans to a bowl. The sound of him clearing his throat stops me as I turn to walk toward the slider. Raising my brow in question, I wait for Ben to say something.

  “I’m sorry if I offended you earlier. I just think you deserve better than someone like Tony Dominguez and it … well, it just looked different than you said.”

  “There’s nothing to be sorry about. Thank you for being concerned but I promise I am not getting back together with Tony.”

  Dinner is the usual banter amongst the family with more laughs than we’ve had in a long time. Having Ben home seems to have brought a new element to our dinners and his parents are obviously thrilled to have him back.

  Once dinner is finished, Ashton and I find ourselves elbow deep in dishes. Well, I find myself elbow deep, she’s complaining about doing dishes. These are the battles with Ashton I don’t fight.

  “We need to talk Halloween, Pipe. What’s our theme this year? I’m thinking Vegas Showgirl.”

  Shaking my head, I simply reply, “No.”

  “Come on, Piper! It’s my year to choose. Last year we did the good witch bad witch thing like you wanted. By the way, I totally should have been the good witch but whatever. I want to sex it up already!”

  Just as I’m about to reply Jameson and Ben walk in the kitchen. “Who is sexing what up?” Jameson asks.

  “Us. Well, I want Piper to sex it up a little for Halloween but you know her, she’s anti-sexy.”

  I splash water at her following that response and Ashton lets out a screech that probably has the neighbor’s dog howling.

  “Nah, Piper’s hot already. She doesn’t need to sex it up. You could probably sex it down anyway, Ashton.” I’d expect something like from her big brother, but it’s Jameson who makes the comment.

  “Kiss my ass, Jameson. I don’t need to down anything but a shot on Halloween. Now, as I was saying to Piper,
we need a plan.”

  “Why don’t we do a group thing this year?” This time it’s Ben speaking and I turn to look at him.

  “What if we do an adult version of those costumes from the best Halloween ever? The one where we all went to the youth center party. You remember, Ash?”

  More screeches and now claps. I close my eyes as my ears ring in response.

  “Yes! Oh my goodness, Ben! Brilliant idea!! Dolly now will be so much more fun than Dolly before I had real boobs!”

  “Wait, what was I?” Jameson asks.

  Ashton and I look at each other and start laughing.

  “Whoa, déjà vu,” Ashton, Ben, and I say in unison.

  “Oh yeah, Neo! That costume was the shit. I’m down.”

  “How about you, Princess? Are you in?”

  I look at Ben, who has a huge smile on his face that I can’t help but return. “I’m in.”

  “Yay! I’m totally sexing up your princess costume, Piper.”

  Everyone laughs at Ashton and I have no doubt I’ll be stuffing my boobs back in their place all night long. Thank goodness I have weeks to attempt at toning down whatever Ashton has in mind.

  Since the last weekend at the lake, I’ve gradually started putting distance between myself and Piper. Seeing her is a little like putting a cupcake in front of a kid and saying look but don’t touch. Simply put, Piper Lawrence is my temptation. Everything about her entices me. Once she put the brakes on anything else happening between us outside of friendship, I needed space.

  That space will be put to the test this weekend since its Halloween. While we’ve seen each other at school, as co-workers, we haven’t been social in over a month. I have been opting to work on the house instead of attending family dinners, much to my mom’s chagrin.

  Today is the school’s fall festival. I know Piper is in charge of the cake walk while I volunteered to work on setup. The cake walk was my favorite part of the school carnival when I was a kid. We thought we were cool because unlike the little kids playing musical chairs, we had the cake walk. The joke was on us though, a cake walk is essentially musical chairs just without the chairs and the winner walks away with a cake.

  Tonight, I’ve opted to stay with the cowboy theme I’ll be wearing tonight but a scaled-down version. Dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt, I put on my Stetson before heading into the gymnasium where the festival is being held.

  I see a few of my students and their parents on my way to the cake walk. The fact that I have compared Piper to cake and temptation is not lost on me at this moment. From a distance she stops me in my tracks. Dressed in all black, she has on a large witch’s hat with feathers hanging off the ends. Only, it isn’t what she is wearing that stops me. It’s the way she is crouched down talking to a little boy. Smaller than most of the kids, this little guy is dressed to the nines as Darth Vader. Piper is smiling at him like every word he says is the most important thing to her.

  She’s beautiful. Time away has done nothing for me. Her laughter wafts across the room and hits me in the gut like a bullet. After a few minutes she stands and catches my eye. Her smile grows a little bigger and she waves. I wave back. God, I’m such a pussy. I’m standing here in the middle of the elementary school gymnasium dressed as a damn cowboy waving at the pretty girl.

  “Hey, Mr. Sullivan. Wow, Miss Lawrence sure is pretty. Is she your girlfriend?”

  I look down at one of my students.

  “She sure is pretty. No, Will, Miss Lawrence isn’t my girlfriend; she is my friend though. Would you like me to tell her you think she’s pretty?”

  “What?! No way! I’m going to the fishing booth. See ya!”

  I laugh and walk over to Piper.

  “Miss Lawrence, you’re a very pretty witch.”

  “Well thank you, Mr. Sullivan. You’re a pretty snazzy-looking cowboy. Jacob, this is Mr. Sullivan. He is your sister Clementine’s teacher. Mr. Sullivan, this is Jacob Thorne and Mrs. Honeycutt.”

  I shake Mrs. Honeycutt’s hand and turn my attention to Jacob. “Don’t mind Miss Lawrence, Mr. Vader. She is obviously very confused as to who you really are.”

  Giggles come from beneath the mask as he pushes it up over his head. “It’s me! I’m Jacob Thorne, silly!”

  “Oh, my mistake. You sure do make a great Darth Vader. Are you having fun, Jacob?”

  “Yep. Mrs. Honeycutt said she is taking me to the fishing game. If I win I get to take a fish home! Did you know that? Clem will probably make me keep my fish in my room but I don’t care. It’s going to be awesome!”

  Jacob’s enthusiasm is contagious and I’m considering joining him to catch my own goldfish. Before I can contemplate this odd thought, Mrs. Honeycutt excuses herself and Jacob. Alone with Piper, I suddenly feel awkward.

  “How have you been, Ben?”

  “Good. You?”

  “I’m good. You’re lucky you don’t have to leave here to get ready for tonight. I’m a little frazzled. I haven’t even seen my costume. I can’t believe I let your sister make it for me, sight unseen.”

  “Wait. You haven’t seen it? Are you nuts?”

  “Why, have you seen it? Oh my God! What did she do?” Piper looks around, almost checking to see if anyone can hear us before she lowers her voice to a whisper. “Am I going to look like an extra in a porno?”

  Her words combined with the look of horror on her face have me laughing so hard I’m crying. “No, I haven’t seen it, but it’s Ash. The likelihood you’ll look like a stripper or porn star is pretty good.”

  A groan from her has me putting my arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry, you’ll have your very own Village People and Neo to protect you.”

  “Not helpful,” she says, burying her head in her hands.

  “I don’t mean to interrupt, but is the cake walk happening?”

  I feel Piper tense immediately. Before I turn to the voice full of contempt and attitude, I give her a little squeeze. Once I turn to face the condescending woman who has obviously affected Piper, I’m not surprised to see Felicity Remington-Thorne.

  “Oh, Ben. I didn’t realize that was you. Is something wrong?” Suddenly the tone has gone from one of contention and annoyance to saccharine sweet.

  “Nothing is wrong, thank you for your concern. Clem, you look lovely.”

  “Of course I do, Mr. Sullivan. I’m a princess. Mother, I would like a cake now.”

  “Just a minute, Clementine. The adults are speaking. I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Felicity Remington-Thorne,” Felicity says to Piper, extending her hand.

  “Yes, Felicity, I know who you are. I’m your son’s teacher and you and I grew up together.”

  “Really? I don’t remember you.”

  I look at Piper to make double check that smoke is not filtering from her ears as she puts her sweet-as-pie smile on and looks from Clem to Felicity before she responds. “I can assure you we did. Now, Clementine, how about you and I find a few more participants and we’ll get this cake walk happening.”

  “Oh I don’t want to walk; I just want a cake.”

  Before Piper can retort I step in. “Clem, that’s not how it works, but it’ll be a fun reward if you win. How about you run and find a few classmates or kids from other classes and we’ll get a round going. Piper, why don’t you make sure you have the music cued.” Once I’ve sent Clementine and Piper off, hopefully avoiding a meltdown by one and a cat fight by the other, I turn to Felicity.

  “Ben, you look quite handsome. The cowboy look suits you.” This woman has got to be kidding me. She’s practically petting me as she purrs her words at me. Removing her hand from my bicep, where she’s managed to caress me into the uncomfortable zone, I side step her as I see Clementine making her way across the room with a few kids.

  “Thanks. Look, Felicity, you did grow up with Piper and maybe you could be a little kinder to her now than when we were kids.”

  “Piper? Who is Piper?”

  “Piper Lawrence? The woman you we
re just rude to and the one who is your son’s teacher.”

  “That’s Pathetic Piper? No way! Wow, she must have paid big bucks for a makeover.”

  I’m momentarily stunned silent as I process what has just been said. Managing to corral my anger at the insulting words this woman has said, I return to the spot I just vacated so there is no question she can hear me. “Do not call her that. Ever. Do you understand? That is cruel and not appropriate behavior for a woman and definitely not a mother to a young girl. I’m going to walk away now, please do not be rude to Piper.”

  Instead of staying at the festival, I’ve decided to leave and put some distance between myself and what just happened at the cake walk. Piper told me that Felicity had been awful to her growing up but I didn’t know the extent of it until that moment. I’ll never understand the cattiness of some women and frankly don’t want to understand it. I lost my temper a little but I’ll be damned if I’ll let anyone speak to Piper that way.

  I have a few hours before we’re all meeting at Country Road. Plenty of time for me to get out to the house, work off whatever has me behaving like a caveman. A few hours swinging a hammer should help release some of the frustration and tension.

  I managed to work myself into exhaustion and contemplated blowing off Halloween all together. I’m not sure if it’s the idea of spending the night with my friend Piper or the ridiculous amount of text messages I’ve received from the guys that has me parked in front of Country Road. To top it all off, I’m dressed as some throwback version of the Cowboy from Village People. When we first joked about reliving a Halloween of our youth, I wasn’t expecting everyone to be this pumped, but damn if they aren’t.

  Ashton has been cutting and sewing until her fingers bled for weeks. She not only made her costume and Piper’s but she helped spruce up both mine and Owen’s. Unsurprisingly, Jameson didn’t need help with his Neo look; then again, a pair of sunglasses and black coat aren’t the hardest costume to put together.

  Owen is living out his childhood dream as a policeman. He explained that every year his mother forced him to dress as a clown when all he ever wanted was to dress as one of the men in blue. This was his chance to live that childhood dream so he turned to Ash for “flare,” whatever that is. Landon completed our band of misfits in a no-nonsense construction worker look. Which, is also his everyday wardrobe. Basically he’s dressed up as himself. Why couldn’t I have wanted to grow up to be a teacher and not a cowboy? Maybe I’ll tell my students to keep this in mind for their future Halloweens.