I’ve got some time now. Boujou Bar?
Okay. Be there in 15.
I changed course and headed toward Boujou Bar, hoping that if my mother and I were able to make amends, Lauren and I would be able to too.
I got there a few minutes before she did, and was seated at a table by the window, so I saw her walk up.
“Hey,” I said when she came in and took her seat across from me. “Thanks for meeting me. I know we could’ve done this through text, but I wanted to talk to you in person.”
She looked glamorous, of course, in a turquoise paisley-print romper, Grecian sandals, her long, blond hair piled on top of her head. The expression on her face was hard to read, though; it didn’t appear that she was totally psyched to be meeting up with me.
“Yeah, I guess so,” she said. “Unless you’re just wanting to tell me how much better you are than I am.”
I sighed, trying to suppress a smile. “Lauren,” I said. “I’m not trying to start a fight with you. I don’t actually like fighting with you at all. I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry about all of that. That whole conversation got completely out of control, and you’re right—I said some things that I shouldn’t have. So, I’m sorry. I want you to know that I don’t think I’m better than anyone else; I really don’t.”
She didn’t say anything right away, her brow furrowed as if she was really considering whether or not she should accept my apology. Of course I hoped that she would, but I couldn’t force her to. And if she didn’t, well, then, at least I would know that I had tried.
But then she nodded, and, finally, smiled back at me. “I hate fighting with you, too,” she said. “It’s been awful. This whole time I’ve just been thinking about everything and knowing that you’re mad at me and... it’s been awful. And I owe you an apology too, because I said some things that I shouldn’t have. So, I’m sorry. But you know what?”
“What?”
“Part of the reason I said what I did, I realized, was because I’m kind of... well, envious, I guess.”
“Of me?” I asked, unable to keep the surprise out of my voice. What the hell did I have for Lauren to be envious over?
“For a lot of things,” she said. “I see how happy you are with Cole. I mean, you climbed up a fire escape to sneak into his apartment! Would I ever do something like that just to see Trevor? No. And I can tell how crazy Cole is about you. Just the way he looks at you. Trevor’s never looked at me that way.”
“Uh-uh,” I said. “No way. You’re gorgeous and I know for a fact that Trevor has looked at you like that.”
“Yeah, maybe because he thinks I’m hot, but... with Cole it’s different. Yeah, he thinks you’re hot—obviously—but it’s something else. It’s hard to describe, I guess. And I’ve barely even hung out with you guys but I noticed it. And then you just leaving your parents’ house and getting a job... at a restaurant... I don’t know if I could do something like that. I’d like to think I could, but if I’m really honest with myself, I probably wouldn’t even last a day.”
“That’s not true at all,” I said. “You’d be surprised the things you can do. You’ve just never been in the position where you felt like you had to go out and do something like that—but if you were, you’d be able to. I know it.”
“Well, thanks for the vote of confidence.” Lauren brushed back a few wisps of hair from her face, and though her skin was flawless and she had applied just the right amount of blush to her cheekbones, I saw that she looked tired, or maybe stressed out. Had our little fight really affected her so much?
“So, I made a decision,” she continued. “I’m calling off the wedding.”
I stared at her, not certain I’d heard her correctly. “You... what?”
“I’m not going to get married. To Trevor, anyway. We’ve already talked about it.”
“You have?”
“Yes. He didn’t take it well at first, but I think he understands. Ultimately, he is a really good guy. And he deserves to be with someone who will adore him in a way that I simply don’t. I’m sure there’s lots of girls out there who would line up just to be able to adore Trevor, so I’m not too worried about it. He’s also being kind enough not to say anything until I’ve broken the news to my mother, who I’m sure will completely lose her shit.”
I grimaced. “I wouldn’t want to be the one to break the news to her. But... if you’ve really thought about this and think you’re making the right decision, then of course I support you.”
“See, that’s what I should have said to you when you told me what you were up to. Not gotten all crazy on you. But, yeah... I have been thinking about it, basically nonstop. I know for a fact that Trevor isn’t the one. I thought that, because he was handsome and rich and we got along well enough, that’d be enough. And the sex isn’t bad, of course, but we’re not, like, crazy about each other. We definitely don’t have the same thing that you and Cole do. And who knows? Maybe I’ll never have that with someone—but that doesn’t mean I should settle. Do you think... do you think I’m making the right choice?”
“That’s not for me to say,” I said. “I really can’t tell you whether or not you should be with Trevor. But it sounds like you’ve thought about it, and it sounds like you know what you want. That’s a good place to start.”
Lauren smiled. “I hope my mom will see it that way, too.”
“Hey—if my mom and I can get past all this business with Gareth and Cole, then this thing with your mom should be a piece of cake.”
Lauren gave me a quizzical look. “Gareth? What has that weirdo done now?”
“Oh, my God.” I shook my head. “You are not even going to believe it…”
Chapter 31
Cole
“Should I be nervous about this?” I asked Stella, only half-joking, as we approached her parents’ house. We were here for a party, or small social gathering, or whatever the hell it was you wanted to call it.
“No,” she said, “you shouldn’t. It’s actually a really good sign that my parents want to do this. My mother especially. And it was her idea.”
Though I could certainly see this turning into the stuff of some B-rate horror movie, where the family lures the victim into the house under the false pretense of an amicable get-together, only to imprison him in their basement behind a wall of bricks, I took heart in the fact that there would be other people there, and hopefully at least one of them would have the sense to object if the Brookshires tried to do anything criminal to me.
My fears were largely unfounded, of course, and my trepidation quickly dissolved when we got there. Everyone was up on the rooftop deck, and it was a rather intimate gathering, maybe ten other people including Ed and Vivian. Stella’s friend Lauren was there, too, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood. There was a buffet table set up with all sorts of fancy small plates, things like oysters and foie gras and pesto-wrapped shrimp on skewers. Stella was talking with Lauren and another woman whose name I had forgotten, so I went over to the table to get some food. I had just taken a bite of shrimp when Stella’s mother materialized at my side.
“I do believe I owe you an apology,” she said. “For a lot of things, but mostly because I judged you when I shouldn’t have. You’ve been nothing but good to my daughter, and I can see how happy you two are together. And that’s what really is most important. I realize that now.”
“Well, thanks,” I said after I swallowed the bite. “That means a lot.” And it did—I knew it was not easy for Stella’s mom to be standing here in front of me, apologizing. I knew there would always be a part of her that would feel superior, especially to the likes of me, but I took it as a good sign that she was at least aware of that and trying to change her outlook. A little bit, anyway. If she could accept me in her daughter’s life, then, hey, maybe anything was possible. “And I do—I want to keep making Stella happy. Because she makes me happier than I’ve ever been, and my life really does feel complete.” Yeah, yeah, I knew I was scoring high on the
cheese factor with that one, but it was true.
Stella’s dad came over then with two bottles of beer, one of which he handed to me. “I’m not sure if it’s entirely appropriate to ask if we can re-hire you, since you and Stella are together now,” he said. “But I do want you to know that Vivian and I feel that our daughter is definitely in good hands. And we’re... we’re definitely sorry about all that other business. It’s probably a lot more than you ever thought you were getting yourself into. I’d like to make sure you’re compensated for that. I do plan on speaking to Drew again, on your behalf, if you’d like.”
I took a swig of beer. “You don’t have to do that,” I said. “Talk to Drew or the compensation. I appreciate the offer, but—”
“Well, not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but eventually Vivian and I would like to buy the two of you an apartment building here, of your own choosing, of course. You can live in part of it and rent out the rest; it’ll be a tidy passive income. We can talk about that another time, though.”
“It’s funny how life works out,” Vivian said. “But what Ed and I have always wanted was for Stella to be happy. And, while it might not look exactly how I envisioned it, I’m realizing that’s okay.”
I held my beer bottle out and gently clinked it against her champagne flute, a gesture I could tell surprised her, but then she smiled.
“To you and Stella,” she said.
***
It was late when we finally headed back to my place. For a moment, I’d been afraid that Stella was going to say she’d just stay at her parents’ house, since things were fixed between them, but she followed me right out the door when it was time to leave. I guessed there was still a part of me that was having a hard time believing that someone like her would want to be with someone like me, which I said out loud.
She shot me a quizzical look. “You really still think that?”
“Well… no. I mean, not really. It’s just... I know it’s probably going to sound stupid of me to say this, but I feel like I’ve waited my whole life to meet someone like you, and now that I have, I’m afraid that it isn’t actually going to last.”
“I don’t know the future. But I know I’m not going to run away from something just because I don’t know how it’s going to turn out. It doesn’t matter to me how ordinary or extraordinary our life is,” she said, touching the side of my face. “As long as I’m with you, that’s all that I really want.”
“That makes me so happy to hear you say that,” I said, giving her a kiss. “And just being with you means my life is already completely extraordinary.”
BOOK THREE
Chapter 1
Lena
I was about to embark on my ideal Friday night, which hadn’t happened the past three Fridays because of work obligations. But tonight a delivery bag of Chinese food sat on the counter, two cold bottles of Anchor Steam Beer were waiting in the fridge, and I had just changed into my Friday best: yoga pants and an oversized T-shirt. My Apple TV was at the ready and I had high hopes of finding a new show to binge-watch while I enjoyed scallion pancakes, General Tso’s tofu, and some veggie fried rice. I had just sat down on the couch when there was a knock at the door.
I paused, chopsticks a few inches from face. I did not take the bite of tofu; instead I remained perfectly still, as if any movement from me would alert whoever the hell it was knocking on my door that I was actually home. Who would be knocking at the door now, anyway? Pretty much everyone in my life knew that my Friday nights were just that—my Friday nights, to shut myself in, turn off my phone, and do whatever it was I wanted, which usually involved takeout, Netflix, and lounging on the couch. There was only one person who would disregard this, and that was—
“Lena? Are you in there? It’s Jenn.”
My sister, Jenn. Jenn, who seemed content to forever be the “little sister,” despite the fact that we were in our thirties.
She continued to knock, so I set the plate down, got up and went to the door. When I opened it, I was not surprised to see that Jenn was not alone—she was with three children—one of whom, Haley, she’d birthed; the other two, Oliver and Susie, she’d inherited when she married Gary. I could understand the fact that single motherhood was not what Jenn had planned on, but why someone would willingly enter a marriage—or any sort of romantic relationship, for that matter—with someone who already had kids, was completely beyond me. It was so perplexing that I couldn’t even really let myself think about it too much, because I’d just find myself getting angry at my sister’s complete obliviousness to it all.
Yet here she was, with a brood of children surrounding her. She had a desperate smile on her face.
“Lena,” she said. “I’m so sorry to barge over here like this. I tried to call, like twenty times, but your phone’s off?”
“You know I turn my phone off after I leave work on Friday.”
Jenn’s smile flickered. “Can we come in?”
The kids were already slipping past me, so I sighed and stepped back.
“I can’t believe this,” Jenn was saying. She was dressed up, in a navy-blue-and-beige-striped dress. She had some makeup on. Her shoulder-length brown hair had been twisted up in an alligator clip, and she was wearing dangly earrings. I knew exactly what was going on here. “Our babysitter canceled last minute. And it’s the faculty dinner tonight, and Gary’s getting an award. We have to be there.”
“Well, I’d say Gary has to be there, since he’s getting the award.”
Jenn widened her eyes, which she’d lined with black eyeliner. “Lena!” she said. “I’m his wife. I’ve got to be there, too. How would that look if I wasn’t there? Please. Can the kids stay with you? I told them they could watch something on Netflix, and Gary and I won’t stay long. Just the dinner and a few drinks after. Maybe one or two. I’ll owe you. Please. I don’t have any other option.”
I’d never been good at saying no to Jenn—no one was. And it had been that way our whole lives, starting all the way back when I was seven and Jenn was five, and I had said I wanted a puppy, which we didn’t get for another two years, when Jenn said she wanted a puppy. A part of me knew that she would never learn, would continue to depend on me as her backup if I never put my foot down, but I also knew how important it was to her to go to this award ceremony and be there for Gary. And because Gary was a nice guy and actually treated my sister like a human being—as opposed to Haley’s father—I would do this for her, even if it meant it was going to completely screw up my Friday night.
“Fine,” I said.
Jenn squealed and threw her arms around me. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she gushed. “I’m so sorry this was last minute, but I already had a talk with the kids and they’ve promised that they’re going to behave. Really, if you just let them pick something out on Netflix then you won’t even know that they’re here. But I’ve got to run—I’ll text you when we’re on our way back. Bye, kids—be good for Aunt Lena!” she yelled. The kids had disappeared into the living room, and they yelled bye, but no one came out to give a hug or anything. And then Jenn was gone, pulling the front door behind her as she raced down the steps to where she had double-parked.
I went into the living room to find the kids sprawled on the couch, helping themselves—with their fingers—to my Chinese food.
“At least get a plate and some utensils,” I said.
Haley and Susie got up and went out to the kitchen, but Oliver stayed right where he was.
“What are you doing?” I said.
“They’ll get me one.” He was ten, already with the attitude of a teenager.
“No,” I said. “They’re not your servants. They’re not waiting on you. Get up and get your own plate and fork if you’re going to continue eating that food.”
Without taking his eyes off the TV—which wasn’t actually playing anything yet, just the Apple TV home screen—he put the scallion pancake back into its cardboard container.
“Can I play Fortnite?” h
e asked.
“I don’t even know what that is. And I thought you guys were going to pick out something to watch on Netflix.” The girls returned from the kitchen, Haley carrying a paper plate and fork for Oliver.
“Here you go,” she said.
I intercepted it before he could grab it. “I’ll take that. From now on, girls, let Oliver get his own things, okay?”
“But Jenn says that we should help each other out,” Susie said.
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t help each other out. But the first—and biggest—help that you can give to someone is to let them know how to become self-sufficient. Once you know that someone is capable of that, then you can help them out.”
“I’m not even hungry,” Oliver said. “I just want to play Fortnite.”
I looked at the girls, hoping they’d clue me in. “It’s a video game,” Haley said.
“On the PlayStation 4,” Susie added.
“Oh. Well, seeing as I don’t have that, I guess you won’t be playing Fortnite.”
Oliver was not deterred. “Can I use your phone?”
“My phone? Why? So you can call your father and tell him that I’m not letting you play a game that I don’t even have the console for? It’s a big night for your father; I don’t think he’s going to want to be bothered about a video game.”
Oliver gave me a disdainful look, his expression heavy with disbelief that he was actually going to have to explain this to me. “No,” he said. “Not to call my dad. To play Fortnite.”
“I don’t have Fortnite on my phone, either.”
“I can download it.”
I could see how this was going to go. I could argue back and forth with him for the rest of the evening—and it would likely go that long, because kids were tenacious, this one particularly so—or I could let him download the game and happily lose himself in some virtual world until he got picked up.
“I don’t want to watch a movie,” he added. “Definitely not anything those two want to watch.”
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