Thursday Afternoon

by Beth Rinyu

  We walked next door to the coffee shop, the same one Hannah and I had frequented on many Sunday afternoons.

  “When did you get back?” he asked as we took a seat with our coffees in hand.

  “About a month ago. I didn’t even know Hannah was sick. I thought she was taking care of her mother that whole time. Then her sister called to let me know that she was doing really badly. So I flew back to Connecticut to see her, and here I am.”

  He nodded. His eyes were dull and hollow—a sharp contrast from those deep, expressive ones I had gotten lost in so many times before. “When are you going back?”

  “I’m not.” I ignored his blank stare and continued. “The same day I found out about Hannah, I also found out that Senator Stevens killed himself, so there’s not going to be a trial. I guess I’m a free woman, in a sense.”

  “Wow,” he whispered, raising his eyebrow and letting out a deep sigh.

  “How’s Jack?” My voice cracked with emotion, and I had to bite my lip to keep my feelings under control.

  “He’s good. He’s officially a kindergartner—well, in September he will be. He’s at art camp right now. He loves it.”

  I smiled, remembering how much he loved to draw, and the many beautiful pictures he had done for me. “Well, I have an original of his hanging on my fridge right now. When he becomes rich and famous one day, I can say I have one of his very first pieces of work.”

  Simon managed a smile, but I could tell it was hard for him. I looked down at the table and took a deep breath. I hated the awkwardness between us. I had never felt distant with him. Even when we first met, I’d felt like we could talk about anything.

  “That day I dropped the book off to your house.” I finally focused my attention back to him. “Rosa told me you guys were at the park, so I took a walk there. I was so happy to see Jack and Macy, and then you.”

  His eyes were softening up a bit.

  “I wanted to talk to you guys so badly, but then I saw her, and—” I shook my head and pulled it together. “And I realized that you had found that happiness I had always wanted for you—just not with me. And that made me happy, because that’s all that ever mattered to me.” I looked away and squeezed my eyes shut, warding off the tears. “Or maybe I wasn’t happy.” I allowed the tears to flow, baring my true feelings to him. “Maybe I secretly wished you were missing me the entire time I was gone, the same way I had been missing you. Maybe I was really hoping you’d be as miserable as me, and maybe I wanted to be her—that girl who made you smile. That girl who doesn’t have a past she’s so ashamed of that she had to run away.” I looked up and met the strong gaze he had cast upon me, wishing he would say something…anything to let me know how he was feeling. “I’m so sorry, Simon. I know I made my choice the day I left, and I have no right to sit here now and tell you how I’m feeling. I truly do want you to be happy, and I wouldn’t change a single thing about our story, even if I knew I’d end up feeling this way.”

  He cleared his throat and inhaled deeply. “I’m glad you’re not her, Bree.”

  My eyes widened. I knew he was still probably angry at me for walking away, but I hadn’t expected him to come out with something so hurtful.

  “Because then you’d be my sister.”

  “Your sister?”

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “She was here on holiday for a few weeks.”

  Relief washed over me in knowing that he hadn’t moved on like I had thought. I felt so foolish for jumping to conclusions.

  “I had a lot of time to think,” he continued. “At first I was so angry at you for leaving so easily, but then I truly did realize why you did it, and it made me admire you even more. There were a few times I wanted to call you, and I actually came pretty close to it, but then I stopped myself. What good would that have done either of us? We would have still been in the same situation, and even more miserable because of it.” His eyes were glazed over with emotion. “Did you really mean everything you just read in there?”

  “Every single word,” I whispered.

  My stomach danced when he reached over the table and took my hand. “Do you know what today is?” he asked.

  “I do.” I smirked. “Thursday. Thursday afternoon, to be exact,” I clarified as I glanced at my watch.

  “So, I think maybe we should continue our tradition.” A beautiful smile spread across his face.

  “Simon, are you proposing we have…” I leaned over the table and whispered, “S-E-X?”

  “I was, but why are you spelling it?”

  “It’s a private joke.” I grinned, hoping that wherever Hannah was, she was laughing. “My place is closer.”

  He stood up abruptly and reached for my hand. “Closer is definitely better.”

  I got up, unable to hold back my laughter as he led me through the coffee shop and out the door.

  ***

  I rested my head on Simon’s bare chest after the best s-e-x of my life.

  “I have to pick up Jack soon,” he said as he glanced at his watch.

  I stretched my neck and kissed him on the cheek.

  “Do you want to come with me?” he asked.

  “Sure!” I couldn’t contain my excitement over the thought of seeing Jack again. I removed my head from Simon’s chest, allowing him to sit up. I was unable to resist wrapping my arms around him from behind and placing gentle kisses on his back before he stood up and headed into the bathroom. I got out of bed and grabbed my phone from the dresser, listening to the voicemail message while Simon finished getting himself together.

  “Hi, Aubree, this is Gene Coakley. I was calling to offer you the position that you interviewed for the other day. Give me a call back and let me know if you’re still interested, and we can go over more of the details.”

  “Is everything okay?” Simon asked, exiting the bathroom as I stood there deep in thought, grasping my phone.

  “Yeah, I just got offered this job I interviewed for the other day.”

  “Oh yeah? Doing what?” He took a seat on the bed and put on his shoes.

  “Working in a law firm as an administrative assistant.”

  “Thought you didn’t want to work in an office,” Simon said, standing up and moving closer to me.

  “I really don’t, but it’s a job for now.”

  “Well, that’s a shame, because I know this guy who’s looking for a full-time nanny for his super-awesome kid.”

  I smiled. “Oh, tell me more.”

  He gripped the sides of my waist and pressed his forehead into mine. “I don’t think you’d be interested though.”

  “Why’s that?” I played along.

  “Because it’s a live-in position.”

  I tried to manage a straight face. “Oh? And why does this guy want her living there? Is that so he can screw that nanny on the side?”

  A devilish grin spread across his face. “No, it’s so he can make love to his girlfriend. So he can be with her every night and know that she’ll never leave again.”

  “I promise you, she’s not going anywhere ever again.” My hand caressed the side of his face. “And if the position is still open, I’d love to take it.”

  “You’re hired.” His kiss made my knees go weak.

  “I think you better let me finish getting dressed or we’re never going to get out of here to pick up Jack.” I gave him one last kiss on the lips and managed to pull myself away and get dressed.

  “So do Ava and Grayson live happily ever after?” he asked as we headed out the door.

  “Don’t know, you have to finish reading the book.” I grinned.

  “Yeah, well, I don’t really care about how their story ends. All I really care about is how ours does.”

  “We’ll just have to see about that, but if I was a betting woman, I’d say the odds are in our favor.”

  “I like the sound of that.”

  “Oh, I almost forgot: what are you and Jack doing for Fourth of July weekend?”

  “No clue—probably j
ust going to go see the fireworks at the park.”

  “I’d love for you guys to come to Montauk. My family and I rented this really nice beach house, and best of all it’s pet friendly, so Macy can come too. My brother and Trey would finally get to meet Jack, and I’d be especially happy for you to meet my father.”

  He seemed to be deep in thought. I hoped I wasn’t moving too fast by asking him to meet my dad. But he had just asked me to move in with him, and I had accepted, so I was confident we were past the too fast point in our relationship. “Yeah, that would be great.” He smiled, and I smiled back. Suddenly our odds at that happily ever after had just increased even more.

  Chapter 40

  If I could have paused time forever, I’d have made it stop on the past three days. They had been the best of my life. Being together with my family—and best of all, Simon and Jack—was a memory I’d always treasure. My father hit it off with Simon right away, and everyone fell in love with Jack. I found myself smiling, just thinking about how far I’d come in such a short amount of time. Last year at the same time, my father wasn’t even speaking to me and my brother did his best to pretend I didn’t exist while I continued to sell my soul to the devil. Now, there we all were together, laughing and having fun like a real family. And I had fallen in love, something I’d never dreamed was possible. Every time I looked at Simon and Jack, my heart would explode with emotions. It was the best feeling in the world, and most days it still felt like a dream—one I never wanted to wake from.

  After an entire day of building sandcastles, collecting seashells, and playing in the water with Jack, I finally had some down time. Simon and I sat on the beach, peering up at the sky as the magnificent bursts of colors flashed above the ocean, lighting up the night before fizzling away and fading into the water. Jack was off with Paul and Trey after Trey had insisted the fireworks were better down the other end of the beach. I didn’t know how that was even possible when we were all looking up at the same sky. Since everyone seemed to believe Trey’s ludicrous claim, my father and Karen had taken a walk down there as well. Not that I was complaining—I loved having some alone time with Simon. He had spent the entire day fishing with my father and Paul, and the day before that golfing with them. I loved that they were getting to know him better, but the stingy side of me missed him. I rested my head on his shoulder, sucking in the muggy salt air. The crashing waves hitting the shoreline and the fireworks overhead battled in a match to be heard.

  “I missed you.” I squeezed Simon’s hand.

  “You missed me?”

  “Yeah, everyone’s been hogging you up since we got here. So it’s nice to have some time with you now.”

  He leaned in and touched my lips with his, slipping his tongue into my mouth.

  “Is that better?” he asked when our kiss ended.

  “Hmm…I don’t know if it made it better or worse.”

  “So, I was wondering—” He started and paused.

  “What’s that?” The suspense was killing me.

  “Do Ava and Grayson end up getting married?”

  I let out a loud laugh. “Will you just read the book?”

  “Come on. Can’t you just tell me that much?”

  “Fine. Yes, they do. You’re such a spoiler.”

  He nodded and gazed back up at the fireworks. “Okay, just one more question.”

  “You said that was it!” I playfully smacked him on the arm. My eyes widened when he moved away and propped himself up on one knee.

  “Was his proposal better than mine?”

  “Oh my god!” I exclaimed, examining the ring box in his hand as the fireworks overhead cast a temporary glow on the gorgeous diamond inside of it.

  “I know it may seem sudden, but I know what I want, and I want you. I don’t want to lose you again.”

  “I-I can’t believe this is happening!” I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “Simon, you will never lose me again, I promise you that. I don’t want you to feel like you have to put a ring on my finger to prevent that from happening. I love you, and I love Jack, and I’m both of yours forever.”

  “I know. But that still doesn’t change the fact that I want you as my wife.”

  His wife. My stomach fluttered. He wanted me to be his wife. “No,” I replied, trying to hold back my smirk. I couldn’t stand the turmoil on his face any longer. “You asked if Grayson’s proposal was better than yours. No, it wasn’t. Assuming that’s what this is.”

  He shook his head and let out a relieved breath. “You got me. So let me ask another question.”

  “Not if it has to do with the book!” I laughed.

  “Bree, will you marry me?”

  “Well, why didn’t you just ask that question in the first place? Yes, Simon. I would love to marry you.”

  He slipped the ring on my finger.

  “It’s beautiful. You could have put a paper ring on my finger, and I would love it.” I wiped the teardrop rolling down my face.

  “Damn, wish I would’ve known that!” he joked.

  I grabbed the sides of his face in my hands and kissed him. He kissed me back just as eagerly until we both fell back onto the blanket with our lips never parting.

  “Oh my goodness, get a room, you two!” Trey shouted, covering Jack’s eyes with his hands.

  “So, I’m assuming she said yes?” Paul inquired.

  “Wait. You guys knew?” My jaw dropped as I stared up at them.

  “Aubree, please tell me you weren’t naïve enough to buy into my whole act about the fireworks being better farther away.” Trey shook his head.

  “Well, no. But I never imagined this.” I stretched my hand and looked down at my finger.

  “So is it safe to come back?” my father asked as he and Karen lagged behind.

  “Oh my goodness, everyone knew? Jack?”

  His smile was a mile wide.

  “Did you know too?”

  He nodded and giggled.

  “And you didn’t tell me? Come here, you!” I pulled him down on the blanket and tickled him. His laughter was intoxicating. “I want you to know that I’m going to take this very seriously. I’m going to be the best I can be for you and your daddy because I love you both so very much.”

  He sat up and threw his arms around me. “I love you too, Bree.” He nuzzled closer and whispered in my ear, “Bree?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Would you be able to see those same fireworks if you were in California right now, looking up at the sky?”

  I smiled and kissed him on the top of his head. “Yeah, I’m sure I would. But you know what?”

  “What?”

  “They’re much more beautiful here.”

  “How come?”

  “Because I’m with the two most important people in my life.”

  Jack crawled onto Simon’s lap and we sat in silence watching the finale—a beautiful ending to the most perfect night. Simon reached for my hand, and I rested my head on his shoulder. I couldn’t think of a better ending to our story. Even though some of the chapters were painful to read, I wouldn’t change a thing about them. They were what made me who I was, and led me to a love I’d never thought possible. Simon and I had moved on to the sequel to our story, and I was excited to see the words that would fill those pages. No matter what the future had in store for us, the man sitting next to me and the little boy on his lap had made my life complete. The two roles in life I never planned on filling, I now eagerly awaited to take on—wife and mother—and I intended on being the very best of both because Simon and Jack deserved nothing less than that.

  Epilogue

  The months of planning, the little snafus, and the minor disagreements that came along with a wedding all paid off when the day had finally arrived. The flower debacle was solved, the last-minute change of DJ a success, and Mother Nature couldn’t have been kinder. The showers that had been forecasted all week long seemed to just disappear into thin air, making way for a beautiful, breezy, early autumn day. My
nerves had finally departed now that the church part was over and we were finally settling down at the reception. I was pretty certain the glass of wine in my hand had aided in the newfound calmness that had overcome me. I looked out at the crowd of people and smiled. Everyone that mattered most to me was together in one room. I took my seat at the table, waiting eagerly as the DJ requested that everyone focus their attention to the groom, who wanted to give a speech. I grabbed my napkin from my lap, just in case I would need it to wipe my eyes. Concentrating on one of the most handsome guys I knew, I wondered exactly what his speech would entail. Silence filled the room and he began to speak.

  “I want to thank everyone for being here today and being part of our special day. It means so much to both of us. I know that everyone goes into marriage thinking their relationship is unique and will be able to handle anything that’s thrown at it. Because let’s face it, if you didn’t, no one would probably get married.” He paused while everyone laughed. “And even though you know that hard times are going to be inevitable, you’re still willing to face them with this person and have faith that no matter what life throws at you, you’ll get through it together.”

  I lifted the napkin to my face and dabbed my eyes.

  “I guess I’m a little more of an optimist when it comes to this, because I’ve had two of the greatest role models to show me that true love really does exist.”

  I covered my mouth with my hand while Simon reached for my other one under the table.

  “My father and my mother.” Jack looked in our direction and smiled. “My dad, he’s the best father anyone could ask for. I just hope that I can be half the dad he is when the time comes for me to take on that duty. It was just he and I for a while until she came into our life. I vividly remember the first time we met, because I was so young. All I knew was I wanted her as my mother. She was so kind, so caring, and so accepting of me. She made my dad happy, and she made me happy too. When they got married, she made a commitment not only to my father, but also to me, and she never broke that vow. Even when I went through those awkward teenage years when I could be a real jerk.”