He chuckled. “No. Seriously. What are all these?”
Tricia stepped up beside him and sighed. “These are wedding invitations. So far I’ve been invited to six of them this summer.”
“Six?” he asked incredulously. “Seems a bit excessive to me. You’re not going to all of them, are you?”
She nodded. “Actually, Sean and I are going together. We…” And then she stopped. Wave after wave of sadness washed over her and it was all she could do to put the bowl down on the counter and not fall to the floor again.
“Trish?” Ryan said softly. “Positive thoughts, okay?”
She shook her head this time. “I feel so guilty,” she said, her voice a mere whisper.
“Why?”
“We’re sitting here having ice cream and laughing and having a good time and we have no idea if Sean is okay! It’s not right!”
Placing his bowl down beside hers, he took her by the hand, led her out to the living room sofa and sat down with her. “I have to believe he’s okay,” he said after a moment. “I have to believe the phone lines are down and that once things are up and running again, Sean’s going to call and say everything is all right. Sitting here crying and thinking the worst isn’t helping anyone.”
She studied him. “I know you’re right but I can’t help but feel bad and…”
“Tell me about the weddings,” he interrupted. “Tell me how it is that the two of you are going together. How did that come about?” Then he stood and went to grab their desserts and brought them back to the living room, sitting back down beside her.
For the next few minutes, Tricia told him about the pact she and his brother had made, chuckling by the time she was done. “I still can’t believe I agreed to it. But the thought of everyone looking at me like they feel sorry for me was more than I could handle.”
“I doubt anyone would look at you that way.”
“Trust me. They do and it’s awful.” She took another couple of bites of her ice cream. “And poor Sean…people were always trying to set him up with someone – even if he came with a date! I’m telling you, when people are involved and in love, they want everyone to be too.”
“That’s not a bad thing.”
“Oh yeah? Have you gone to any weddings lately?”
He shook his head. “I avoid them like the plague.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Probably for all the same reasons I just mentioned, right?”
He chuckled. “Guilty.”
Tricia sighed and rested her head back, her ice cream finished. “He was so excited about going to these things,” she said sadly. “We talked about it and talked about it and he thought he found the perfect solution. He told me I’d have to play the adoring girlfriend.”
Ryan sat back beside her, their heads almost touching. “And you didn’t want to?”
She shrugged. “I just didn’t think anyone would believe us. Everyone knows we’ve been friends forever. It would be hard to convince them that suddenly we’re dating and in love.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” He paused. “But if anyone can pull it off and schmooze a crowd, it’s my brother.”
Then they both chuckled and grew silent. Sean Peterson was one of those guys who was everyone’s friend and had no enemies. Tricia knew Ryan was right – somehow Sean would be able to convince everyone of anything he put his mind to.
She just hoped and prayed he would come home and prove her right.
Ryan sat up and stood. Without a word, he took her empty bowl from her hands and brought it into the kitchen. He returned a minute later. “I thought I’d be exhausted by now, but I’m more awake now than I was when I got here. Want to watch a movie or something?”
“That sounds good.” Tomorrow was Friday and she had the day off. It was a lucky coincidence. She had planned on working on lesson plans for her clients and doing some research on new therapy options but knew she could still do those things if she stayed up late tonight.
“I’m actually going to go upstairs and change first,” she said as she stood. “Give me a few minutes.”
Ryan nodded and watched her go.
***
When he heard the bedroom door close, Ryan pulled out his phone and tried calling Sean again. It had been several hours since he tried and he was hoping the call would go through.
Unfortunately, it didn’t.
He had a few other numbers to try – both in the U.S. and the Philippines – but he still didn’t get to speak to anyone. Looking up, he saw Tricia walking down the stairs in a pair of cropped yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt. Her long hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she’d taken off all her makeup.
And yet she still looked pretty.
“Okay, my turn,” he said and quickly made his way up the stairs to change. He didn’t have much with him – being away from home for another night wasn’t something he had planned on – but he did have a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. On a whim, he walked over to the closet and opened it. “Son of a…” he said with a laugh. The closet was still full of Sean’s clothes. It was as if his brother still lived there.
And that he’d be home soon.
Well damn.
He shut the door with a little more force than was needed and cursed. Positive. He needed to stay positive. Wasn’t he just telling Tricia that?
Suddenly the walls seemed to be closing in on him and Ryan quickly changed and made his escape, practically running back down the stairs. He found Tricia in the den flipping through the channels. It was a smaller room than the living room and it was dominated by a massive couch.
“Ah,” he said as he sat down in one of the large corners, “TV and the big couch. Good idea.”
Tricia chuckled at him. “And the big TV too.”
He looked closer at the television and grinned. “Damn. When did you get this?”
“About a year ago. The one your mom left for me was ancient and wasn’t very reliable with keeping a picture. When it finally went, I decided to splurge.” She waved a hand in the direction of the sixty-inch flat-screen. “Best purchase I ever made.”
“A woman after my own heart,” he teased and immediately noticed how Tricia’s smile faded and she went back to looking at the channel guide. “Okay,” he said after a minute, “what have we got?”
They’d never done this before so Ryan had no idea what kind of movies Tricia preferred. In his experience, women tended to go more for the romantic comedies or dramas. That totally wasn’t his thing but with it getting late and the fact that he really needed a distraction, he’d pretty much agree to anything.
“We have all the usual suspects you can find on cable just about every day of the year, but I’ve also got on-demand so we have more of an option. Any requests?”
Now what? Trying to be fair, Ryan suggested several different movies as Tricia scanned through their list of options. They bantered back and forth for a few minutes on the pros and cons of several titles before settling on an old cop comedy from the eighties.
The lighting in the room was dim and Ryan was stretched out at one end of the sofa while Tricia was at the other. This one piece of furniture took up nearly the entire room but right now, he remembered exactly why his mom had purchased it – because it was extremely comfortable.
The opening credits were going when Tricia turned to him. “Do you want anything to drink?”
He shook his head. “I’m good. Relax. You don’t have to wait on me.”
She stretched out and got more comfortable – almost lying down. “I know. I can’t help it. You’re a guest here…”
“Not really,” he chuckled, but kept his eyes on the TV.
The movie started and that was the end of the conversation for the time being.
***
The sound of a phone ringing woke Tricia up. Lifting her head, she looked around the room and realized she was still in the den. It was a different movie playing on the television and Ryan was asleep on the other side of the couch.
Th
e ringtone wasn’t from her phone so naturally she knew it had to be his. “Ryan,” she called out hoarsely. Clearing her throat, she tried again. He lifted his head and looked around dazedly. “Your phone’s ringing.”
He immediately jumped up and sprinted from the room to get it. He came back in a minute later. “Yes, I can hear you,” he said as he came around and sat close to Tricia. “Uh-huh…okay…when?” He nodded and listened before pulling the phone away from his ear and hitting the button to put it on speaker.
“Ryan…?” she asked and he held up a finger to stop her.
The phone was quiet at first but then there was a bit of static. “Ryan? Are you there?”
Sean!
Tears were in Ryan’s eyes as he looked over at Tricia and smiled. “I’m here, bro. How are you doing?”
More static. “I’ve been better. I can tell you that,” Sean said with a slight chuckle.
“What happened? Where are you?”
“I’m at a hospital in Manila right now but they’re going to fly me out of here to Hong Kong in a little bit.”
“Sean,” Tricia interrupted, “what happened? Are you hurt?”
“Trish?” he asked with surprise. “What are you doing with Ryan?”
“When we heard the news about the storm and that you were missing, I came to tell her in person,” Ryan replied.
“Well damn,” Sean said. “I wasn’t really missing. I mean, the storm pretty much knocked out most lines of communications but I can’t believe you guys thought…”
“The company you’re subbing for called us with the news, Sean,” Ryan said. “They called mom – I think his name was Dave - and then she called me and I came to Tricia’s…”
“Wow. I hate that you guys got all upset over nothing.”
“Um…clearly it’s not nothing if you’re being airlifted from one hospital to another,” Tricia said. “What’s going on, Sean?”
“We were in the process of moving out of the area before the storm hit. No one expected it to be quite so bad. I should have left when they first warned us.” Sean paused. “But I was stubborn and wanted to get our things packed up.”
“Why wouldn’t you leave?” Ryan snapped. “Dammit, Sean, you need to listen to other people once in a while!”
“Yeah, okay. Spare me the lecture,” Sean said. More static on the line. “A crane collapsed when the worst of the storm was hitting and I was too close to it. I got hit with some of the debris.”
“What?” Both Ryan and Tricia cried in unison.
Sean sighed. “Let’s just say it’s gonna be a while before I’m…you know…mobile.”
“Sean, what the hell happened exactly? Where are you hurt?” Ryan asked anxiously.
“My whole left side. A stack of two-by-fours came down on me. Broke my arm in two different places, my leg in three different places and some ribs. Luckily I had my hardhat on or I’d really be in bad shape, huh?” he said with a nervous chuckle.
“Not funny, bro,” Ryan said. “Okay, so what do we need to do? What hospital? I can get on a plane and…”
“No,” Sean said firmly. “Everything is pretty chaotic here and I’m not even sure where exactly I’m going. I’ll have Dave keep you up-to-date just in case I can’t get through. They’re handling everything and…”
More static and then the line went dead.
“Sean?” Ryan called out, hoping they hadn’t truly lost the connection. “Sean!” Reluctantly, he hung up and looked over at Tricia. “I’m going to try to get him back on the line.”
All she could do was nod.
For thirty minutes, Ryan kept trying to redial and get through. He even called the few contacts he’d already made regarding Sean and couldn’t get through to any of them either. Tricia got up to get them each something to drink and saw it was after three in the morning.
“Ry? Anyone here in the states isn’t going to answer the phone at this hour. We need to wait until a little later in the morning and try again…maybe get some sleep.”
He stood and took the glass of juice from her hands. “I can’t possibly sleep. I need to find out where exactly he’s going to and get there.”
She shook her head. “If anything, you should be able to sleep a little easier because we talked to him and we know – for the most part – that he’s all right.” Taking his phone from his hand, she placed it on the coffee table. “He’s alive, Ryan,” she said softly and then let out a bubble of laughter. “He’s alive!”
And then she essentially wrapped herself around him in an embrace as she laughed. Ryan stooped down a little and placed his juice glass on the table next to his phone before straightening and returning the hug. They stayed locked like that for several long minutes before Tricia pulled back.
Ryan’s cheek was wet and Tricia realized she had actually been crying through her laughter and relief. He nodded and smiled. “He’s alive.” His voice was a little shaky and he reached for her again and pulled her into another embrace. “He sounded good, too, right?”
Tricia nodded. “He did. He really did.” She sighed and relaxed against him. “Should we call Steph?”
This time Ryan was the one to pull back but he took one of her hands in his and gently tugged until they both sat back down on the couch. “Not now. It’s too early. She’s probably asleep. I’d hate to be the reason she can’t fall back to sleep.”
“You really won’t sleep now?”
He shook his head. “My mind is racing in a million different directions.” Her hand was still snuggly secured in his as he spoke. “I can’t even begin to tell you how relieved I am. The thought of something like this happening to Sean? It kills me. I hate how he’s over there by himself.”
“Me too,” she said softly, resting her head on his shoulder. “But he’s right. It’s probably very chaotic over there and you know he’s not the only one who was hurt in the storm. We’d really just be in the way. Hopefully once they get him safely out of the country and over to Hong Kong, it won’t take long until they send him home.”
“Where is that anymore? He gave up his place and put all his things in storage when he left two years ago. Steph is constantly on the move and…”
“He can stay here,” she said simply. “He won’t be able to sleep up in his room but he can use the guest room for as long as he needs.”
Ryan went silent for several minutes. “That’s putting a lot of pressure on you. You have a full-time job and a life, Tricia. From what he’s talking about with his injuries, he’ll need constant care.”
She shrugged. “Then maybe they’ll fly him home to a rehab facility until he can get around a little bit more and then he can come here.”
“Or he can come and stay with me. I mean…I have the space and…”
“That would be very nice, too. I’m sure Sean would like that. I didn’t mean to step on your toes.”
He chuckled softly. “You weren’t. You’re just more compassionate than I am. As relieved as I am that he’s alive, part of me still wants to strangle him. If he had listened to the warnings, he wouldn’t be hurt right now.”
“I’m sure he’s learned his lesson, Ryan. We can’t harp on it. He’s got enough to deal with.” And then she sighed.
“What? What’s the matter?”
“It’s…it’s nothing. Really. It’s stupid.”
“No. Come on. Tell me,” he nudged.
“I’m a completely horrible person.”
Ryan looked at her as if she was crazy. “What in the world are you talking about?”
Tears filled her eyes again. “I hate he’s hurt and that he’s got a long recovery ahead of him and all I can think of is how I’m going to miss out on the time we had planned to spend together!”
“You mean the weddings?”
She nodded and began to cry. “See? I’m a horrible person!”
He couldn’t help but chuckle again as he put an arm around her and tucked her in close beside him. “You are the least horrible person I know, T
ricia.” She shook her head against him. “It’s true. How many people do you know would take care of someone’s family home and leave everything intact for them? I’ll tell you…none. You’re willing to let Sean come here to recuperate even though you know it’s going to be rough. See? Not horrible. Sweet. And kind.” He placed a kiss on the top of her head.
Beside him, Tricia wiped her eyes. “He’s my best friend, Ryan. He’s always looked out for me. How could I not do the same for him?”
“You’re a good person, Tricia. I know you’re disappointed about the weddings, but it can’t be helped.”
She yawned. “I know. He got me all excited about going with him and now…?” She yawned again and shifted beside him.
“It will all be okay,” he said softly, sitting back and relaxing a little more against the cushions. Tricia moved with him, her head still on his shoulder. “I promise.”
Her only response was a soft snore.
Four
Two weeks later Ryan was pulling back up to Tricia’s house. He parked in the driveway and sighed. The last time he was here had been to give her the news about Sean. Well, he’d been in contact with his brother every day since he left here and now he was essentially back for the same reason.
News about Sean.
Wasn’t this what phones were invented for?
With a bit of a growl, he climbed from the car and walked to the front door. Her car was in the driveway so he didn’t feel right about using his key and letting himself in. So he rang the bell and waited. Shifting uncomfortably, he wondered if he should have called first.
“Ryan!” Tricia said as she opened the door. “What a surprise!” She motioned for him to come in. “Were you working out this way again?”
“Uh…no,” he said, raking a hand through his hair. “Listen, is this…is this a good time? I wanted to talk to you about something.”
She was walking toward the kitchen – no doubt to offer him something to drink. He followed and accepted the soda she handed him. “So what’s going on? Is everything okay? I talked to Sean yesterday and he seems to be getting stronger every day.”
Marry Me: a Wedding Romance Duet Page 20