“There she is. Hey, Nic!” She called to Nicole across the restaurant. As she joined them, Lauren yanked Nicole’s hand across the table.
“Holy crap! Look at that rock! That’s a whole lot of pumpkins and Christmas trees!” Lauren gasped as she gawked at Nicole’s ring. Jules pulled Nicole’s hand from Lauren and inspected the Trillion solitaire intently.
“He wanted to get you a bigger one but I told him it was plenty! I knew you wouldn’t want him to spend his life savings.” Avery smiled tiredly, sipping her vodka tonic.
“Plus she’d need a wheel barrel to push it around in!” Lauren agreed.
“So when is the blessed event?” Jules asked, and Nicole tucked her hair behind her ears, looking vulnerable.
“New Year’s Day.” The women at the table gasped so loudly that the diners in the restaurant all turned to them and stared.
“Nicole! That’s four days from now! What the hell?” Avery complained, throwing her straw wrapper at Nicole.
“We didn’t want to wait. Plus I know he’ll never forget our anniversary.”
“Where? How are we supposed to organize anything?” Lauren stared at her as if she’d just confessed to worshiping Satan.
“Aaron wanted to fly to Vegas, but I told him no way. I want Ike to be there, even though I know he won’t remember it. So I guess we’ll just have it at my place or his.”
“That’s it. We’re pulling an all-nighter. We need to pull this together, STAT.” Avery tossed down her napkin and waved the waiter down.
“No. We’re good, guys. We have a justice of the peace who agreed to come out on the holiday. I have no idea what Aaron had to promise him, but they were on the phone for a while.”
“What about flowers, and food?” Lauren gesticulated emphatically.
“We’ll figure it out. It’ll just be us, and hopefully you all can come.”
“This is ridiculous. What are you going to wear, Nicole?” Avery leaned forward as if a more important question had never been posed.
“A dress, I assume.”
“Check please,” Jules called and Nicole laughed.
A short time later, they were all in Nicole's bedroom, cocktails in hand. Avery pulled clothes from the closet and tersely held them up. Nicole and Jules were lounging on the bed, searching the internet.
“You need a new dress. You can't wear any of this stuff!” Avery whined as Lauren turned on some music.
“What do you think of these?” Nicole asked Jules, who scrunched her nose in disapproval. “Ugh! Can we just have poinsettias and call it a day?”
“For someone in your line of work, you sure don't give a crap about your own wedding.” Lauren unwrapped a chocolate kiss and popped it in her mouth.
“All I need is the rings, the license, and the groom. The rest is extra.”
“Aw. So sweet. Don't you just want to vomit?” Avery asked.
“I’m serious. The hard part for us was getting together. Being together is easy.”
“Talk to me in four years.” Lauren laughed and took a swig of soda.
“I’ve already done the big wedding. I just want this one to be about us.”
Avery plopped on the bed. “You’re right. This is your day. We’ll do whatever you want, unlike your first wedding. It really felt like it was more for Mom than for you and Ryan.”
“Pretty much,” Nicole agreed.
“He seemed so happy that day. You looked like you were coming down with something,” Avery murmured to Nicole, as she wrapped her arms around a pillow and looked up at the ceiling. Nicole sighed next to her.
“Yeah, I thought you two were the perfect couple.” Lauren joined the other three girls on the bed, taking a bite out of a Twizzler.
“He was happy. Ryan loved me, you guys. He just loved himself a hell of a lot more.”
“What made him cheat? Do you think it’s genetic?” Avery rolled over to look Nic in the eye. She remembered the pained look on her mother’s face when she confronted her, and Ryan’s tortured expression when he confessed to contemplating suicide. She wondered if anyone else in her family had the same issue.
“What do you mean genetic?” Jules sat up.
“I caught my hypocrite of a mom at the hotel. Don’t say anything.” Lauren and Jules gasped.
“No fucking way.” Lauren looked dumbfounded as she downed another Twizzler.
“Way,” Avery responded.
“Ryan always was an attention hog.” Jules looked thoughtful. “Hell, he was my first kiss.”
“Yeah. It wasn’t enough for me to love him. He had to have everyone love him,” Nicole responded, looking at Avery. The room was silent for a time.
“Avery, if you are letting this crap with Ryan and your mother hold you back from Shilah, you’re making a huge mistake.” Nicole folded her arms across her chest.
“She’s right. Life is fucking beautiful. Take chances, girl,” Jules agreed.
Avery closed her eyes, exhaustion overtaking her. She snagged a beer from the cooler and sighed. “Okay. List the pros versus cons of being in a relationship. Pros first. Go.”
“Orgasms,” Lauren chimed in with a smirk.
“Yeah but you don’t have to be in a relationship to have those,” Jules retorted. They all cackled. There was a lull in the conversation.
“Well, I guess that’s all we’ve got,” Avery surmised. “Lauren, pass me a Twizzler, you friggin’ cow.” Avery noticed that Lauren had eaten half the bag.
“I’m glad you’re doing this wedding now. I probably won’t be able to squeeze my fat ass into a dress soon.” Lauren looked uncomfortable. Avery narrowed her eyes at her.
“Why … are you knocked up?” Avery joked.
“Maybe…” Lauren smiled a sly smile. They all exclaimed in joyful surprise. Then they showered her with overlapping questions.
“I think it was around Halloween.” Lauren blushed.
“Someone got their trick and their treat.” Jules wiggled her eyebrows. Nicole laughed uproariously.
“Are you excited?” Momentarily jealous, Avery felt confused by Lauren’s lukewarm tone.
“Well … Jack had a vasectomy when we got back from the cruise. We both decided we’d stop at two and spoil the shit out of them.” Avery didn’t know how to respond, and she could see she wasn’t alone.
Jules suddenly chuckled. Laughter from Jules was unusual and they all turned to her with surprised caution.
“You know? It’s crazy to listen to the three of you talk. I’ve always thought, ‘these guys really have their shit together.’ The pretty doctor’s wife, the bad-assed businesswoman, and Lauren, the most popular chick in town. But I guess no one really has their shit together. Everyone’s on the quest for the perfect life … but the secret is there’s no such thing.” Jules’s lip quivered and an unexpected sob escaped her. After exchanging startled looks, the three girls moved to comfort her. Nicole stroked Jules’s hair as she tried to gather herself. After a moment, she continued, “The woman I love can’t even tell her family about us. She’s too afraid.”
“Honey, why didn’t you tell me there was someone? Is it anyone we know?” Lauren demanded.
“Like I’d tell the Gossip Queen of Jefferson Point.” Jules sniffed.
Lauren laughed and Avery couldn’t help but snort.
A phone began to play the chorus of “You and Me.” All four girls looked around in confusion and finally, Nicole reached out for her phone on the bedside table.
“Is that my phone?” She looked at the screen, which they all could see had Aaron winking in a self-portrait. Nicole rolled her eyes. “I’m gonna kill him.”
“Ooh, put him on speaker phone,” Avery chided, with a golf clap. Nicole answered the phone, on speaker.
“Nice ringtone,” Nicole began the conversation.
“I knew you’d love it. Did it make you think of me?” Aaron mumbled into the phone.
“I always think of you when I hear Billy Joel.” Nicole winked at the girls. Lauren sni
ckered.
“That’s not Billy Joel, Nicki.”
“Whatever.” She shrugged and Jules laughed out loud as she rubbed her eyes.
“Are you home?” he asked. Lauren began bouncing on the bed and making moaning sounds.
“Do you have me on speaker phone?” Aaron tone was scolding.
“No?” Nicole responded and Avery cackled.
“Oh Aaron, you’re so romantic.” Lauren cried dramatically. “You make my lady garden moist!”
Avery grimaced at the vulgar comment and slugged her in the face with a pillow.
“Get off the phone and come buy me a beer.” Shilah’s voice carried through the speaker. All the girls looked at Avery, and the fun was sucked out of her night.
“Nicole, I’m going to give you such a tongue lashing.” Aaron now played to his audience and Nicole blushed. “Come outside to the porch.”
All the girls ran down the stairs. Lauren disappeared into the bathroom and Jules opened the fridge. Nicole and Avery went out into the frosty night.
“Okay. We’re freezing our asses off. Now what?” Nicole demanded.
“Look across the street.” Avery heard Aaron say. They both turned and looked at O’Connell’s. Aaron and Shilah stood by the streetlight. Aaron gave her a quick wave and demanded she take him off speakerphone.
Avery willed her legs to turn around and go back inside. She fought herself, trying not to look at him. It was impossible. Seeing her, Shilah did a double take. Unsure what else to do, she gave him a small wave. He nodded in return, flicking the ashes from his cigarette, and Avery could hear his phone ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and began to speak. Avery went back inside, but found herself drawn to the window, where she peeked out at Shilah. As he talked on the phone, she ached as she remembered late night phone conversations they’d often had. He looked up at the window where she was standing, and then he disappeared into the bar. With a resigned sigh, she joined Jules in the kitchen.
Aaron entered the bar, wishing he was across the street at Nicole’s instead. He purposely ignored Colin and his father, Patrick, who were giving him the stink eye from behind the bar. He wished like hell he could have a drink, but he promised Jack he’d be the designated driver tonight. He spotted Shilah and Jack near the dartboards and headed in their direction, ditching his coat at their table, where Ron was pouring a glass of beer. He noticed Jason and the Port Skanks from Halloween playing pool at a nearby table.
“I thought we lost you to the house across the street,” Jack razzed him.
“Nope,” Aaron responded. “She’s got plenty of company over there right now.”
He heard rowdy laughter come from the pool table and he looked in that direction. He noticed Jason glaring at him.
“What are you looking at?” Jason called and Aaron raised his eyebrows and shook his head. He saw by the way Jason was stumbling around that Colin had not been exaggerating. Jason was out of control. Without replying, Aaron took the darts from Jack and prepared for his turn.
“Aaron’s still pissed that I used to screw Nicole in the back of my car,” Jason announced to the entire bar. The Port Skanks chuckled, and Aaron felt his entire body tense. His eyes angrily calculated the time it would take him to get from where he stood to swinging distance. Jason stood closest to him, casually spinning his pool cue, Dave at his side and Nick on the far side of the table. He felt someone’s hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t,” Shilah demanded. Aaron took a breath.
“Have another beer, asshole,” Aaron called at Jason, who chuckled. One of the Port Frank dudes yelled something unintelligible at him.
Jack drawled back, “Why don’t you shut your pie hole?”
“Uh, guys? Remember, we’re supposed to be here to help defuse the situation?” Sean approached them. Colin was with him, and Aaron didn’t appreciate the dirty look the little Irish prick was giving him.
“This is your last warning. If you can’t control yourself, I will haul your ass out of here,” Colin instructed Jason, who pointed his finger back at Colin.
“I feel for you, Colin. You missed out. As quiet as Nicole is, she’s a hellcat in the sack.”
Aaron cracked his neck, plotting how he’d take Jason’s pool cue from him and stick it up his ass.
Colin cocked his head at Jason, and Sean put his hand on Colin’s shoulder.
“Dude, he’s wasted. Find your center,” he said to his brother. Aaron fumed and felt the grip on his arm tighten. He turned and saw Shilah, looking doubtfully back at him.
“Aaron, I cannot hold you back, so don’t make me try. Let’s just go. “
“Maybe you should,” Colin chimed in. Aaron glowered at Colin, then Jason, Dave, and Nick. Nick came around the pool table, pool cue in hand.
“Why do we have to go?” Ron took a long pull off of his pilsner glass and smacked his lips. “Jason started it.”
“Why don’t you all shut the hell up?’ Patrick O’Connell called from behind the bar.
“Shut up, old man.” Nick shouted at him, and Sean’s face contorted in anger. Sean stepped forward.
“Don’t you disrespect my dad in his own bar,” Sean shouted. His hulking size dwarfed Nick, but Nick didn’t back down.
“Okay, everyone breathe,” Shilah instructed. Jason’s drunken glare shifted past Aaron and settled in on Shilah.
“Hey, Shilah. I hear Avery kicked you out of her bed. That really sucks. Speaking of suck, damn what that girl can do with her mouth.” Jason rolled his eyes back in his head and grabbed his crotch. Before Aaron could react, a dart whizzed by him in his left peripheral vision and impaled the beam three inches from Jason’s temple. Aaron turned and Shilah shot past him and grabbed a handful of Jason’s hair, slamming his head into the pool table. Nick pushed Sean in an attempt to grab Shilah, and Sean backhanded him, sending him sprawling into a table of girls. Dave also made an attempt to stop Shilah. Shilah kicked him, without letting go of Jason’s hair. Nick hit Sean in the back of the head with a beer bottle. Sean dropped to his knees, and Colin launched himself at Nick, tackling him to the ground. As he watched Colin pummeling him, Aaron was impressed at the little scrapper. Jack and Aaron looked at one another, and with a shrug, Jack tossed his half-full beer glass and lit off after Dave, who had the presence of mind to make for the back door. Unsure of whom to grab first, Aaron made his way to Shilah, since Jason looked bad off. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned and saw Chrystle looking up at him angrily. She hauled back and socked him in the mouth. The sound of police sirens stopped all activity, except Shilah and Jason, who still struggled against each other.
“I smell bacon!” Ron yelled from his spot at the table where he sat with his feet kicked up.
Shilah leaned his forehead against the cold jail cell bars. His fists ached and his knuckles were split open. He glanced at the opposite cell and saw Jason, who looked like he’d filmed a Rocky movie, lying on the cot. Dave held an icepack to his right eye and Nick slumped in the corner, facing away from them.
Holding his ribs, Shilah surveyed the varying degrees of injury of his own cellmates. Sean held pressure on the back of his head with gauze; Aaron had a tiny split in his bottom lip. Colin’s hands and face were covered in blood that didn’t appear to be his. He seemed completely relaxed, bored even. Jack looked pristine and snored softly on the cot.
A chuckle erupted from Aaron, and Shilah saw Jack crack an eye.
“What’s so funny?” Jack asked.
“You messed that pretty boy up, chief.” Aaron chuckled. His expression hardened. “Did anybody get a phone call?”
“Yep,” Jack responded. Shilah stood with a groan and crossed to the cot, wincing in pain as he took a seat next to Jack.
Aaron laughed harder and Shilah turned slowly to look at him.
“You have to be my best man, Shilah.”
“He’s sort of annoying when he’s happy, isn’t he?” Jack muttered as Aaron continued to guffaw.
“And Colin. I am
in awe of you, dude.” Colin turned to Aaron, seeming unsure of how to respond. Aaron wiped a happy tear away. Shilah laughed, and then groaned.
“Dude. You knocked out my tooth,” Jason mumbled to Shilah.
Aaron laughed harder. “Maybe you can get a gold one like Ron’s.” He called across the way to him.
A clanging sound alerted them all that someone was coming toward the cells. Shilah heard the sound of a baton rattling along the bars. Shilah saw Aaron’s face light up and watched him wince as his wide smile cracked his lip back open.
“Uh oh, Jack.” He managed just before Lauren came into view. She passed their cell with a look of reproach and turned to glare at the opposite cell.
“Well, well, well…” She began slapping the baton against her palm repeatedly.
“Here it comes,” Jack announced, rubbing his furrowed brow.
“When I go out with my friends to have a good time, no one ends up bloody,” she began, pacing the narrow hall between the cells. “You know, I should let your asses rot here all night long. But from what I understand, Jason and the dipshits were the perpetrators.”
“No. Shilah threw the first punch,” Dave called from across the hall.
“Did I ask you to speak?” Lauren spun on him and he flinched back away from the bars.
“Where’s Nic?” Aaron asked.
“She said she didn’t want a jailbird daddy for Ike,” Lauren responded and Shilah laughed at Aaron’s shocked expression. A guilty look crossed Lauren’s face.
“Relax, big guy. You’re lucky she can use those bedroom eyes for evil as well as good. She’s out flirting with the officers to get you a reduced sentence.”
“And Avery?” Shilah asked quietly, bracing for her answer.
“I took her home before I came.”
Lauren turned and seemed to focus on Jason.
“The officers brought you here to cool down. No charges are going to be pressed. The cops and I got the entire story from Ron and Pat O’Connell.” Jason opened his mouth and Lauren cut him off. “Test me, Jason. And see how fast it gets around town why you are being transferred.”
The Perpetual Quest for the Perfect Life Page 24