by Cassie Cross
“You ated it all!” Madeline shouts, laughing.
“I did, and it was delicious. I want to meet the chef!”
“I’m the chef.” Madeline points at her chest and Nate takes her by the arm, gently pulling her to him. He smothers her with kisses and her peals of laughter bounce off the walls. It’s the best sound. With Madeline still laughing uncontrollably, Nate stands up and spins her around, increasing the laughter tenfold.
“Nate, be careful,” Amy shouts from the other room. “It’s time for dinner, and I’m not cleaning up any barf tonight.”
“That’s really appetizing, Mom. Thanks,” Nate says.
“You already ate!” Madeline tells him with a giggle.
“I have room for more.”
“Where?” She pats Nate’s stomach, feeling around for some extra space.
“I have a hollow leg,” he tells her, and the look on her face is priceless. “All the food goes down there when I eat it, so I have more room in my belly.”
“Wow,” Madeline sighs with wonder, eyes wide.
“Ready for dinner?” he asks her, and she nods enthusiastically. “Why don’t you help Miss Callie get up?”
Madeline holds out her hands to me, and I clasp them in mine. Then Nate wraps his hands around her waist and pulls her back. Her hands slip out of mine.
“Uncle Nate!” she screams, laughing.
“Try again,” he replies, winking at me. She grabs my hand and he pulls her away again, then wraps her in his arms. “Where’s all that upper-body strength, princess? We’re going to have to start working on some bench presses.” He lifts her up over his head, and I have never seen a child having so much fun in my entire life.
“Nate!” Amy warns.
Madeline holds out her hand again, and I clasp it in mine. I take Nate’s hand with my free one, and he pulls me up. Madeline runs into the living room, and the smile that Nate wears as he watches her takes my breath away. And I could kill Amy and Gabby for subjecting me to all of this cuteness.
“C’mon,” Nate says, his hand gently pressing into the small of my back as he leads me to the dining room.
Mr. and Mrs. Wright are sitting next to each other, with Jessa and Madeline directly across from them. Ethan and Emily are at the far end, thankfully. There are only two empty chairs left, and they’re right next to each other, which I’m sure is no accident. Nate pushes my chair in as I sit down, and then he takes the seat to my left. When I look up, I notice Ethan watching the two of us, and I can’t lie, I feel a twinge of satisfaction at the hint of jealousy I see in his eyes.
Gabby and Ben sit across from Nate and me, too wrapped up in each other to notice that there’s an actual meal taking place. They look so in love that it’d be sickening if they weren’t my friends.
Jessa is thinking the same thing I am. “You two look so in love,” she says, sighing a little as she cuts into her lasagna. “I remember that look. It starts to fade a bit when you’re running after a screaming four-year-old.”
“Oh shush,” Amy says, flipping her napkin at her daughter. “Your father and I had the three of you, and we still look at each other like that.”
“Which is a miracle after having Nate,” Jessa replies.
Nate gives her a playful sneer. “Clearly I wasn’t too bad since Mom and Dad had another kid after me.” He looks over at Ben dismissively. “They stopped after you, so…”
“Only because they had achieved perfection,” Ben says, puffing out his chest. “Besides, if they could survive Jess’s projectile vomiting, they can survive anything.”
Jessa laughs. “You haven’t seen projectile vomiting until-”
“Vomit!” Madeline shouts.
“That’s enough,” Mr. Wright—Jack—says, looking both disgusted and amused at the same time. “Every conversation this family has seems to devolve into one about bodily functions.”
“And yet Nate, Jess and I are still here,” Ben says, picking up his glass of wine. “There must’ve been some real magic in the air the night you and Mom met.”
“How did you meet?” I ask.
There’s a collective groan from the three Wright children.
“Now you’ve done it,” Ben says.
Amy rolls her eyes. “You all seem to have a lot of opinions for people who wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for that night.”
“Well, I’d like to hear about it,” I say.
“Thank you Callie,” Amy replies, and I can tell from the smile on her face that she just loves telling people this story. The exasperated looks on the faces of her children prove that she tells it often.
“I was an exchange student in Paris.” There’s a far-off look in her eyes and a soft grin on her lips. “I was looking for this tiny art house theater. I fancied myself to be quite the movie snob back then. I had been searching for it for close to an hour, using a map that someone had drawn on a cocktail napkin. I asked around, but my French wasn’t good enough to be able to understand the directions that people were giving me. I was so lost, and then I snagged my purse handle on the end of a bench. When I bent down to pick it up, I noticed that another set of hands was reaching for it. They belonged to Jack.” She looks over at her husband and cups his face before threading her fingers through his. And even though I’m sure he’s heard this story a thousand times, he still looks completely taken by her. “He knew where the theater was; he’d been there countless times before. We went to a small bistro down the street from the theater, and we ended up missing the movie. We talked until the bistro closed.”
“Until they kicked us out,” Jack says, smiling tenderly as he looks at his wife.
Amy grins at him and squeezes his hand. “He walked me home to my apartment.”
“I walked by there every day on my way to class. I always knew something was special about that building.” Jack touches his forehead to Amy’s, and I swear it’s one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen.
“We’ve been together ever since. Managed to bring these three goofballs into the world,” Amy says, laughing.
“You wouldn’t know what to do without us,” Jessa replies as she cuts up Madeline’s lasagna.
Amy looks at me. “I always like to say that meeting Mr. Wright was-”
“The best thing that ever happened to me,” Jessa, Nate and Ben reply in unison, sounding pretty unenthusiastic about the events that led up to their existence. They’re obviously teasing their mother, and she rolls her eyes at them. Jack leans over and gives her a soft kiss, and it’s touching to see something so simple and romantic between two people who have been together for so many years.
“I hope you feel the same way, Gabby,” Amy says.
“I do,” Gabby replies, taking Ben’s hand.
“This is so beautiful.” Emily dabs at her eyes, and everyone at the table turns and looks at her, completely surprised that she said something.
Nate, unfortunately, is the first person to reply. “It really is beautiful,” he says, looking pointedly at Ethan. “Stories about men who honor their commitments are few and far between these days.”
I pinch Nate’s leg under the table, while Ethan looks like he’d love nothing more than for the floor to open up and swallow him whole.
AFTER DINNER, Nate and I stand side-by-side at the sink. He’s washing the dirty pots and pans, and I’m arranging the dinner plates into neat rows in the dishwasher. I’ve been stewing over the comment he made to Emily about commitment since he said it, trying to figure out whether or not I should say something to him about it. But Nate has his shirt sleeves rolled up, and I keep getting distracted by his forearms, watching them dip in and out of the suds, all soaking wet and strong and beautiful.
I really should splash myself with some of that dishwater to get my mind right before I open my mouth, but the two of us are alone and with a house full of people and a wedding on the way, who knows when that will happen again? I need to take my chance while I have it.
“Listen,” I say as I rearrange a f
ew coffee cups to make room for another one to fit on the rack. “I don’t need you to stick up for me.”
“What do you mean?” Nate asks, turning off the water and drying his hands with a dishtowel.
“I mean that I don’t want this week to be uncomfortable. I don’t want to have to worry about someone bringing up the past and throwing it in Ethan’s face or throwing it in mine.”
Nate turns to me, and for some strange reason I want to reach up and smooth over the crease between his furrowed brows. “I wasn’t trying to throw the past in anyone’s face, Callie.”
I sigh, not really sure if I’m explaining things so that he’ll understand where I’m coming from. “Maybe that wasn’t the best way to put it. It’s just that what happened between Ethan and me, it happened between Ethan and me. And now I’m in this awkward position of being here and trying to keep my distance while he’s still a part of things because his friends are my friends. It’s difficult, and I don’t want to worry about it more than I have to. I don’t want to worry about you saying something that’s going to bring all of that out into the open. Maybe it’s just better to let it be.”
Nate’s arm grazes mine, and it sends a shiver through my body that makes my stomach flip. “I know we only just met and I don’t know all that much about you, but…” When our eyes meet, he takes a deep breath and purses his lips, seemingly reconsidering whatever it is that he was going to say. That, of course, makes me entirely too curious.
“But what?”
Nate’s eyes search mine, and it’s so easy for me to get lost in that deep, expressive blue. He shakes his head, and the corner of his mouth quirks up in a half-smile.
“Nothing,” he replies, and turns his focus back on the dishes.
AFTER NATE and I finish cleaning up the dinner mess, he goes upstairs and reads Madeline a bedtime story. Once she’s all tucked in and sound asleep, Nate, Ben, Gabby and I all head over to the patio that’s connected to the guest house. It’s a beautiful outdoor space with a roof and open sides. There’s a grilling area that’s nicer than most of the kitchens I’ve been in, and a large stone fireplace on the side of the patio that’s opposite the house. Two love seats are positioned in front of the hearth; Ben and Gabby are all cuddled up in one, while Nate and I sit in the other, maybe an inch or so between us.
I’m settled into the cushions and my eyes are closed. I love the tickle of the wind blowing strands of hair across my face, and I take long, deep breaths. I can’t remember the last time I’ve ever breathed like this. Like it’s something I want to do rather than need to do.
“You really love this place, don’t you?” Ben asks.
Gabby asked me the same thing yesterday, and I realize that I should probably be a little less obvious about it, lest one of the Wrights get worried that I’m going to want to stay forever. But tonight is not the night that I’m going to do that.
“Yes,” I breathe, tilting my head toward the breeze before I open my eyes. “How did you guys ever leave it?”
“It’s easy to leave a place when you know you can come back to it whenever you want,” Nate replies with a grin. The small size of the love seat doesn’t leave either of us much room, but I welcome the warmth from the close proximity of his body as I fold my legs underneath me, trying to keep out the chill.
“What Nate said.” Ben wraps his arms around Gabby and she snuggles against his chest. I feel the familiar prick of jealousy beneath my skin. Not because I want Ben, but because I miss the feeling of being wrapped up in someone like that, completely trusting them with my heart, my life…my everything.
“Colorado, though,” Nate says, looking over at me. “This place has nothing on Colorado.”
“What made you choose to live there?” I ask.
There’s a far-off look in his eyes, like he misses the place already. It’s a look that makes my heart twist. He’s too beautiful for that kind of longing, and I have to press my hands into fists to keep from reaching out for him. What is it about him that just draws me like a magnet?
“I went to CU on a scholarship for lacrosse, and the moment I stepped off the plane I just knew I was supposed to be there. It felt like home. I loved all the mountains, the lakes. Everything,” Nate says.
Ben interjects with a little bit of brotherly teasing. “Nate’s always liked to climb things just to jump off of them. Colorado’s got plenty of things to jump off of.”
“That’s crazy,” I say, laughing. I can’t even wrap my mind around the kind of hobbies Nate must have. Rappelling, mountain climbing. Personally, I like having my feet firmly planted on the ground at all times. I don’t really like taunting gravity by throwing myself off tall things.
“No.” Nate looks over at me, his eyebrows scrunched together. The reflection from the firelight dancing on his face makes his expression very warm. “What’s crazy is knowing there’s so much beauty in this world and not actively seeking it out.”
“You don’t have to climb a mountain in order to appreciate how beautiful it is,” I tell him.
“That’s true, but the view is so much better from the top.” Nate leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I like to hike in this place called Willow Lakes. Get up really early and walk the trails when the air is still crisp, and the water is so still the reflections are like you’re looking at the mountains through a mirror. It’ll change your life.”
He says that like he wants to take me there. Like one day he thinks he will.
“Callie can use a life change,” Gabby says. “Maybe you could show her sometime.”
“I could show you lots of things,” Nate replies, his voice very soft and low. He’s looking at me like I’m the only person in the world.
Unable to break his gaze, my breath catches in my throat and I have to work very hard to swallow it down.
“Callie doesn’t do so well in nature.” Typical Ben, breaking the tension. This time I’m grateful for it.
“I do fine in nature,” I argue. “As long as nature leaves me alone.” I can tell this is the beginning of Story Time with Gabby and Ben, featuring the tales of Callie vs. Mother Nature. There are so many stories to choose from.
Gabby looks over at me and rolls her eyes. “Nate, you’re lucky you even got her out on the river the other day.”
“Luck had nothing to do with it.” He’s talking to Gabby, but he’s looking at me. The corners of his mouth tilt up into a sly grin that makes my stomach flutter.
I want to reach over and clasp my hand over Gabby’s mouth to get her to shut up. I want to tell her that it wasn’t luck that got me out on that river, it was her stupid scheming. I can’t believe she’s being so obvious in her quest to set up Nate and me. Not that it really matters that much considering both of us are on to her. But I don’t want him to be uncomfortable, and, more importantly, I don’t want to be uncomfortable either.
“I can be pretty charming,” Nate says, being pretty charming. He leans back into the couch cushions before he stretches his legs out in front of him.
I reach down and pick up one of my flip flops and playfully toss it at him. He laughs, the jerk. The beautiful, charming jerk.
“I’m keeping this,” he says, holding up my flip flop like it’s some kind of prized possession.
“Good.” I playfully stick my tongue out at him.
“Where does this deep-seated fear of adventure come from?” Nate sets my flip flop on his leg and runs the pad of his thumb along the flowered pattern on the strap.
“Don’t ask her,” Gabby teases. “She’s got a list of aversions about a mile long.”
“That’s not true!”
She side eyes me, and all my rage melts away into laughter.
“Well, it’s mostly not true.” I guess I can’t really deny that they’ve got me on this one.
“It’s pretty true,” Ben says.
“Not you too,” I reply, glaring at him. “Is this gonna be what it’s like when you’re married? The two of you ganging up on me?”
“Let me tell him the story about spring break sophomore year.” Ben is practically begging, and the desperation in his voice is so irritating. “About the lake.”
I shrug, kind of defeated, and Ben takes this as a yes.
He looks over at Nate before he starts the story that is surely going to embarrass the hell out of me. “We went to some lake in central Texas during spring break.” Nate seems entirely too interested in this story for my comfort. “We’d been drinking a little, and Ethan-” Ben stops in his tracks, as if mentioning Ethan’s name is going to make him appear out of thin air.
“Keep going,” I tell him, trying not to sound as irritated as I feel. He’s already brought it up, there’s no point in stopping now.
Ben, to his credit, hesitates before picking up where he left off, wanting to make sure that I’m okay with it before he continues. At this point I feel kind of trapped. If I tell him to stop I seem like a bad sport, if I let him keep going, well…I guess I’m about to find out what happens with that.
“Ethan had been badgering her to get on this tire swing the whole weekend. It was kind of like the one grandpop had at that lake near his house, remember?”
Nate nods and looks over at me for a fleeting moment before turning his attention back to his brother.
“Anyway,” Ben continues, “it was hanging off of this tree-”
“It was a freaking huge tree on the edge of a cliff,” I say, interrupting. I want to clarify the situation so this story sounds a little less ridiculous than I’m sure it’s going to sound with Ben telling it.
“It wasn’t a cliff, Callie,” Ben laughs.
“It was a cliff,” I tell Nate, even though I know that he thinks I’m exaggerating. I’m not. Well, I am, but only a little.
“Callie finally got the nerve to get on it, and Ethan pushed her off.”
“He shoved me off,” I say, glaring at Ben. He was there, he knows that’s not an exaggeration. I had forgotten about what a jerk Ethan could be sometimes, even before the cheating.
“And she went flying, screaming her head off. We were all yelling at her to let go, but she waited too long and the tire had slowed down to the point where she just kind of slid out of it.” Ben is killing himself laughing, and Gabby isn’t all that far behind him. I know I looked ridiculous back then, but I can’t help but feel like the two of them are such assholes for laughing at me, both then and now. My cheeks grow hot, and I tell myself that I’m just embarrassed at the story in general, not necessarily because it’s being told in front of Nate.