by Joanne Ganci
“Who says I let them in my bed?” he winks. I shake my head, getting up to give him a hug. Jesse has been my best friend since we were kids. “How was your trip?”
“It was fanfuckingtastic, my friend,” he says with a toothy grin, that fades just as fast as it appeared. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here, Max.” I try to wave him off, but he keeps going. “No, don’t just say it’s fine. I should have tried harder to get my phone fixed while I was over there.”
“You didn’t know. How could you? It’s not like he was sick. It just happened. No one expected my stubborn old man to kick the bucket. I’m not mad, so stop apologizing. Plus as soon as you got your phone fixed, you called me. I’m sure the international roaming charges are enough of a punishment.”
“You’re not fuckin’ wrong, brother. I’m gonna have to get me a sugar daddy to pay those fuckers off,” he says, shooting me a wink.
“You’re incorrigible.”
“But you love me, anyway.”
“I can’t figure out why, half the time. I’m not convinced you didn’t brainwash me into being your best friend when we were kids.”
Not skipping a beat, he raises an eyebrow, and asks, “If I brainwashed you, don’t you think we’d be more than friends?”
“You know damn well no amount of brainwashing could have me trade Lydia in for you.”
“Ahh, yeah...is that a thing again?”
Scraping my hands over my face, I shake my head. “No. Maybe?”
“Okay…” He tilts his head to the side, giving me a puzzled look.
“Why don’t we go with not yet? That’s the best answer I’ve got right now.”
“So, there’s a possibility?”
“That’s the big fucking question. We went out last night, and everything was going great...until it wasn’t.”
“What’d you do?”
“Ugh.” I sit back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest, and give him a quick rundown of my fuck-up.
“Damn, you’re hopeless.”
“Yeah, I don’t need a reminder,” I mutter.
“I didn’t mean it like that, though that’s true. I just think it’s fucking crazy you’re still stuck on her.”
“I’ve told you a million times—”
“Yeah, yeah. Whenever a Weston man finds his girl, that’s it. There ain’t no one else. If it wasn’t you tellin’ me, it was Dale. I just don’t understand it. I couldn’t imagine being with someone forever like that. I mean, you’ve been in love with the damn girl for almost half your life.”
“And I plan on loving her until I take my last breath. Even longer if I can figure out how to.”
“Ugh, you’re such a romantic. Why don’t they make gay boys like you?”
“I’m sure they do. You’re just a picky motherfucker in a small town. Pretty sure you’ve run through all the gay guys in this town.”
“Some of the ‘straight’ ones, too,” he winks.
“You’re too fucking much, man.” We both laugh and turn at the sound of the first customer approaching the booth.
∞∞∞
Luckily today went by ridiculously fast. It was great working with Jesse, it’s been too damn long since we’ve hung out. He’s currently flirting with some guy that’s working the next booth over, while I get a head start breaking everything down. Between cracking jokes with Jesse and the near constant stream of friendly faces stopping by to either buy something or just chat for a minute, it’s been a great day. The market shuts down in about fifteen minutes, but there are still a few latecomers that are browsing through the booths.
The squeal of a little girl, followed by chanting of what I think might be “cheese,” draws my attention to the front of the booth. A sharp dressed man, holding a little girl in his arms is standing there, looking straight at me. He murmurs, “Don’t worry, I’ll get you cheese, Princess,” to the little girl, but his eyes never leave me. It’s then that it hits me. That’s Brody Lancaster.
I straighten up from where I’m crouching, fixing the stack of empty crates. When I get up to the front table, I ask, “What can I get you, Brody?”
His lips tick up in a smirk, so much like his sister’s. “Wasn’t sure you would recognize me, it’s been a long time,” he jabs.
“Yeah. Yeah, it has.”
“TEES, TEES, DADDY!” the little girl shouts, trying to squirm her way out of his arms and closer to the sign advertising our fresh cheese.
“What kind of cheese would you like?” I ask her, with a smile on my face.
“Awl dem,” she says matter-of-factly, throwing her hands on her hips the best she can, being in her dad’s arms.
“A girl after my own heart,” I say and bring my hands to my chest, like she just shot me with Cupid arrow. She lets out a little giggle. I pull my gaze away from the tow-headed little girl, back up to Brody. “It okay with you if I give her a little sample pack?”
“Go right ahead. I’ve never seen a kid like cheese more than this little cheese monster right here,” he says, bringing his hand up to tickle her side.
I bend down to grab one of the sample packs out of the refrigerator, luckily there’s one more with a ribbon left on it. I have a feeling she’s gonna love that. I hold out the package for her, and her eyes light up like it’s Christmas morning and there’s a unicorn standing in front of the tree. “You weren’t kidding,” I chuckle.
“Not in the slightest.”
“Lydia teach her that hands on the hips move?”
He laughs, “I’m pretty sure it’s an inherent character trait in Lancaster women. But it wouldn’t surprise me to find out she gave her lessons in sass.”
A short curvy woman with long black hair in a braid comes up beside Brody, “Did you get your cheese, Cassidee?”
“TEES!” Cassidee hollers, shoving the package toward the woman.
“Max, this is my wife, Denise. And the space cadet blowing bubbles behind her is Annabelle,” he says, pointing to a raven haired little girl with bright blue eyes. “You’re already well acquainted with Princess Cheese. I mean Cassidee.” Cassidee giggles at her dad’s mix-up.
“Hi, Max. It’s so nice to meet you. I just adored your last album.”
“Thank you, Denise. It’s nice to meet you too,” I tell her, reaching out to shake her outstretched hand.
Cassidee starts squirming again in Brody’s arms. “Why don’t you take the girls over to the tables, so Cass can finally have her cheese?” He hands over his little girl and gives his wife a kiss on the cheek.
“They’re adorable.”
“Yeah. They are,” he replies, watching them as they walk away.
“Should I be worried you wanted to be alone with me? Parker already confronted me, yesterday.”
“Oh, I know,” he chuckles. “You don’t have to worry about any threats coming from me. You already know what my fist tastes like. Pretty sure that’s threat enough.”
“Yeah, I remember it very clearly.”
“Good. I do want to talk to you about Lydia, though. I don’t dislike you. I think the both of you were to blame about y’all breaking up. I love my sister, but she’s a stubborn fool sometimes. I just wanted to point out that her life is here. If you don’t have any intentions of staying, then...just leave her alone, man.”
For a minute, I just stand there stunned. That wasn’t what I was expecting him to say. But I respect the hell out of him for it. “If I didn’t plan on sticking around, I wouldn’t be pursuing her. I love music, and I’m not going to lie to you, I’ll miss it. But at the end of the day, I love her more. I wish I pulled my head out of my ass sooner and came home to her. I can’t change the past, though. Only thing I can do now is be a better man and be here.”
“You leaving to pursue your dreams didn’t make you a bad man. The two of you were young and stupid. You both could have tried harder.”
“Yeah…”
“Listen, she’s been angry for a long time. That’s not going to disappear overnight. If you trul
y love her, just stick around, and give her time.”
“I’ve always loved her, even when I wasn’t around. That isn’t disappearing and neither am I.”
“Good, good.” He tucks his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “Just make sure you keep your word. I’m a dad now. I don’t have time to kick the shit out of your punk ass.”
“But I know you would,” I add, laughing. “Don’t worry, I get it. Y’all Lancaster boys don’t fuck around when it comes to your sister.”
“Family means everything, man. But I think you already know that. Sorry about your dad, by the way. He was a good man.”
“Yeah, he was. Thanks. And thanks for,” I don’t know what the hell to call it, so I just gesture around between us.
“Yeah, you’re welcome.” He gives me a nod and walks off to join his little family. He scoops up Annabelle, making her nearly drop her bubbles. She doesn’t even seem to notice if the fit of giggles she dissolves into is any indication.
Man, I can’t wait to have a family.
Lydia
26
“I’m so glad you guys are here. I fucking love you guys.”
“Oh boy. She’s drunk,” Mary says.
“Yup, super drunk,” Rachael adds.
“Mary, can I have your hair? For like...just one day. I promise I’ll give it back.”
“Sure, babe. I’ll let you borrow my hair one day.”
“You’re so sweet. Look Rachael,” I grab some of Mary’s beautiful red hair and drape it over my head. “I would look great with Mary’s hair.”
“If you want red hair, why don’t you dye yours?”
“NO! That’s ridiculous. I don’t want to kill my hair. Plus, Mary said I can borrow hers.”
“I’m not sure what’s worse, the fact that I think she thinks I want her to murder her hair, or that she thinks she can borrow yours,” Rachael mutters to Mary under her breath.
“I’m drunk, not deaf, asshole.” I try my best to glare at her, but she’s so pretty and nice and I just can’t find it in myself to do it. “Don’t worry Rachael, I think your hair is pretty too.” The girls start laughing, and I can’t help but laugh right along with them. I feel so full of love right now. Everyone is here to celebrate my birthday. I’m fucking 27 today. Isn’t that crazy? “Can I tell you guys a secret?” I whisper. Though, come to think of it… “Am I being loud right now?”
“Yes, very much so,” Mary snickers.
“It’s adorable that you think you’re whispering, though. Go on.”
“You know Max, right?”
“Mhmm,” Rachael says, before taking a sip of her beer.
“We went out the other day, and I totally fucked everything up. I’m pretty sure he thinks I hate him now.”
“Lydia!”
“I know! I totally don’t hate him. I just freaked out and—”
“No, Lydia. He’s—”
“Ridiculously sexy! I know.” Mary starts laughing so hard, she almost spits her beer out. I roll my eyes and continue confessing to my best friends. “I don’t know what I’m doing with him. I know I’m sending crazy mixed signals. And I don’t hate him. Not at all. But I’m still so angry with him. How can I be this angry when I still love him? It doesn’t make any sense.”
After spilling my guts, I look up at my girls, expecting some sound advice, or at least a look of sympathetic understanding. That isn’t even close to what I see when I look up, though. Mary is still laughing her ass off. She’s clutching her stomach and doubled over. I would have thought something was wrong if she wasn’t making those heaving donkey noises she makes when she loses it laughing. I don’t know what’s going on, so I look to Rachael to see if she can fill me in. She’s standing there with wide eyes, biting her lip, and staring at me. No, wait. She’s not staring at me. It looks like she’s looking over my shoulder. Jumping into defense mode, because obviously there’s some sort of hilarious looking zombie behind me. I draw my arm back, swing around, and let my fist fly toward whatever’s behind me. Before my fist can connect with whatever it is—I really don’t know, because I closed my eyes. I’m drunk, not a badass warrior—it catches my wrist in its large palm. “Whatever you are, I’ve got three brothers, and they’re around here somewhere. I’d let me go, if I were you. Plus, my brains are way too mushy to be appetizing right now.” There. That should do the trick.
“First of all, I’m sure your brains are delicious, Blondie.” Why does the zombie sound like Max?
“Oh, no! Max turned into a zombie.”
“No. I’m not a zombie.”
“Oh, shit! The zombie can read my thoughts! And it’s impersonating Max!”
“Open your eyes, Blondie.” Feeling as though it would be better to just do as I’m told, I open one eye.
What? I’m drunk, not…
“Max?” His lips turn up in an amused smirk as he nods his head. “Why aren’t you a zombie?”
“Damn. How much has she had to drink?”
“I don’t know, I lost track about an hour ago. It’s her birthday. She wanted to drink tequila, so we let her drink tequila.” I hear Rachael answer him. I can still hear Mary giggling. At least she’s dialed it back from dying donkey/hyena.
“What are you doing here, Max?”
“You texted me, Blondie.”
“I don’t even know where my phone is.”
“Yeah, uh...we lost track of that right around the time we lost track of how much you’ve had to drink.” This time, I definitely glare at her, I don’t care how pretty she is. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. If I knew you were texting Max, I would have taken it away.”
Did I just growl?
Max lightly touches my shoulder, pulling my attention back to him. “It’s alright, Lyd. I was going to stop by tomorrow to give you your birthday present, because I didn’t want to intrude on your family time. Since you asked me to come by, I brought it with me tonight.”
“You got me a present?” I can feel my eyes go wide. “I thought you would have hated me after the other day.” Crossing my arm over, I grab my elbow, looking down at the ground. In the back of my mind, I register the sound of the screen door opening and shutting. “I was the worst.”
His fingertips glide across my chin, just long enough for him to tip my head up, so I’m looking at him. As soon as our eyes meet, he pulls his hand away and I instantly miss the contact. “I could never hate you, Lydia.”
My body sways toward him. Even if my head and my heart are at war, my body knows what she wants. Stepping closer, I look up, taking my time getting lost in his stormy eyes. I’m about to open my mouth and reply when...CRAAAACKK. The sky opens up, and we’re caught in an instant downpour. Neither of us move to go inside at first, still caught in each other’s gaze. His mouth ticks up and I know he’s probably thinking of all the times we’ve gotten caught in the rain before. I find myself waiting for him to pick me up and swing me around before kissing me until my toes curl, like he used to. I remember things aren’t the same when he shakes his head slightly and laughs.
“C’mon, Blondie!” He tucks me into his side, and we run toward the house together. When we make it to the house, he holds the door open, and ushers me inside.
Max
27
She fucking loves me.
Those words have played in a loop in my head since I heard them slip from her drunken lips. As hard as it’s going to be to give her time—that moment between us in the rain definitely proved just how hard—knowing that she still loves me gives me so much hope.
Running my hand over my face, I try my best to wipe away the moisture, but I’m soaked to the bone. I look over to see Lydia is just as drenched as I am, but the bright smile on her face warms me up instantly. “Florida,” she says, rolling her eyes. I chuckle, because yeah...Florida. It could be bright and sunny, then instantly turn into a torrential downpour. But the craziest thing is when it’s both at the same time. There was one time we were sitting out in the stables when we were younge
r and it was raining on one side, bright and sunny on the other. I remember Lydia joking around, asking, “What kind of weather would you like today? We just have to turn our backs on the other, and it’s like it was never there.”
Rachael comes around the corner, into the kitchen, cackling and carrying a couple towels for us. “Boy, am I glad we came in when we did. Y’all look a little wet.”
“More than a little,” Lydia giggles.
“Thanks,” I say, reaching for the towel in Rachael’s outstretched hand.
“We’re gonna head home as soon as it lets up,” Rachael tells Lydia. “You should probably head to bed soon anyway. It’s after eleven.”
“Oh, shit. Really?”
“Yeah. I mean, it was eight when Brody and them left. I didn’t realize it was that long ago, though. You know what they say, time flies when you’re having fun.”
“You ready to chase the storm, Sunshine?” A voice I don’t recognize, followed by a guy I definitely don’t recognize enters the kitchen.
“Hm. I always figured you’d end up with Julian, Rachael.” Everyone laughs, and my brows draw in. Clearly I’ve missed something.
“She did,” Julian says, walking into the kitchen. He wraps his arms around Rachael, and I go to apologize for assuming when the guy with the beanie leans over and kisses them both.
My jaw drops slightly and I just stand there staring, when Mary walks in with another guy I don’t recognize. After they make it into the kitchen, they split, Mary coming over to stand between me and beanie guy, and new guy walks around to Rachael and Julian’s other side. He reaches over and picks up Rachael’s hand. “Hey, sweetheart, we better get going. Rain let up enough to drive, but we all know that window might not be that long.”
Rachael smiles up at the man, “Okay, James.”
“You still cool to drive, Julian? I was thinking we should leave Rachael’s car here, and we should just ride into school together tomorrow. She’ll just have to sit on mine or Zack’s laps for the ride home tonight.”
“I was thinking the same thing. You want to run out and get the truck started, so it’s warm for her?” Julian replies.