Facial Recognition

by Jennifer Peel

  He laughed loudly. “Darlin’, like I said, I do like you.”

  “You know, I think I might like you too.”

  ~*~

  Monday, I felt lighter than I had in the couple of weeks since Tom’s death-defying episode. It had me getting into work early to inventory and restock the shelves with our skin care products and healing oils. I was lining the bottles of moisturizer up perfectly on our tiered display case when Colette and Lorelai unlocked the front door and rolled in together. They happened to live in the same townhome complex not far from the spa. On occasion, I thought about purchasing one too, but living alone never sounded all that appealing to me. Besides, who would take care of Tom and Daddy?

  “Well, look at you, early bird,” Lorelai sang.

  I smiled over at my best friends, who always looked adorable in white scrubs with our logo on them.

  “So happy too,” Colette commented. “It must have been a good date.”

  I finished setting the last bottle out. “It wasn’t a date, but it was a lot of fun.” Surprisingly so. Julian was my kind of sports guy. He cheered loudly when our team did well, and he heckled the other team. He obnoxiously sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” Plus, he’d bought me a huge waffle cone sundae that we had ended up sharing. To top it off, he was a total gentleman. He’d opened all my doors, and when he had dropped me off last night, he’d walked me to my door and kissed my cheek.

  Lorelai sidled up next to me. “Uh-huh, honey. You have good date written all over you.”

  Colette peered at me from across the display case. “Are you going out again?”

  I bit my lip. “Yes. We’re going to that Zero Gravity place.”

  “He’s a daredevil.” Lorelai nudged me. “I bet you like that.”

  “He’s fun. That’s all.”

  “You’re still hung up on Brooks.” Colette guessed right.

  “I’m not hung up on him. I know Brooks and I will never be together. Same with Julian and me. I mean, the man has been divorced three times, and Morgan Bronson and I will never be related.”

  “Sister, you stick with that attitude,” Lorelai growled. “After meeting her one time, I could tell I’d rather slam all my fingers in the door and break my nails than be around her for one second.”

  “Wow. That’s saying something.” Lorelai loved having her nails done, and there was hellfire to pay if one got chipped.

  “Darn straight. I don’t usually like to judge people by one meeting, but that woman is the she-devil herself. Her beauty is all on the surface.”

  “Truth,” Colette chimed in. “And to be honest, if Brooks is that stupid, I don’t think I want you with such a guy.”

  “I agree. Still, I think I’ll have some fun with her brother in the meantime. You know, as friends only.”

  “Friends.” Lorelai patted her heart. “Darlin’, we’ll see how long that lasts.”

  “I give it one more date.” Colette wagged her brows.

  “Y’all are being silly.”

  “How many second dates have you been on lately?” Lorelai asked.

  “Well, none.”

  “Think about that.” Colette beamed. “Maybe you should ask Julian to your reunion.”

  “Oh no, no. I’m still holding out for the voice or, you know, a different voice.” Only Colette and Lorelai knew about my crazy voice.

  Lorelai took my hand. “Maybe it’s time to listen to your own voice. What do you want?”

  I thought for a moment. “I just want to be seen and loved. Is that too much to ask for?”

  “No, darlin’.” Lorelai squeezed my hand.

  “Oh, and no overly hairy feet and insurance seminars.”

  We all busted out laughing. When we stopped giggling, I looked between the best friends a girl could have. “Thank you, ladies. Honestly, I don’t know what I would do without you.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Tom’s going to need around-the-clock care when he comes home, so between the three of us, we need to come up with a game plan.” June patted both Brooks’s and my knees as she sat across from us in the hospital waiting room. She had the spark of the old Miss June I remembered. Her eyes were bright, and her take-charge attitude was back in full force. Or maybe it was her new spray tan. She’d always said if you want to feel good about yourself, get a spray tan.

  Tom’s surgery to implant a defibrillator into his heart went well. He was expected to be released from the hospital tomorrow afternoon. Unfortunately, he was still having a hard time walking and remembering some words. He had severe fatigue too.

  “I’m still running my gift basket business out of my house, which I can easily do from here, but that means in the evenings, I’ll need you two to fill in once you’re done with work.” Miss June had been making corporate baskets for years. The woman could whip up some of the finest tasting and prettiest cookies you had ever had. Not to mention she had this knack for making everything look amazing.

  “I’m available anytime you need me,” I volunteered.

  Brooks shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He obviously wasn’t thrilled to be at the hospital or with the prospect of helping his daddy. “My caseload is heavy right now.”

  His momma swatted his arm. “Brooks Thomas, there’s more to life than work. I know your daddy isn’t your favorite person right now, but he’s family, and from here on out we are going to act like a family and take care of each other.”

  Brooks pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine. I can help on Thursday nights.”

  “Well, how generous of you, son.” June rolled her eyes. “What about the weekends?”

  “Morgan usually has plans for us.”

  “Heaven forbid you miss out on a TED Talk,” June barked.

  I snickered, and Brooks snapped his head my way. I smirked at him. “Don’t worry, Miss June, I’m happy to fill in anytime. If I have a date, I’ll just bring him. Maybe we can all listen to TED Talks together online.” Miss June and I broke into fits of laughter.

  Brooks wasn’t amused. “You can gain a lot of valuable insights about improving your life and productivity by attending TED Talks and workshops.”

  “Whatever, darlin’.” His momma wasn’t buying it. “I find living in the real world and loving people will teach you a heck of a lot more than any workshop.”

  Brooks’s lip curled up into a snarl, but he didn’t argue.

  June stood and stretched her back. “They should be done examining him and changing his clothes. I’m going to go check on him. Maybe you two should grab a bite to eat,” she suggested, not so subtly. She was desperate for Brooks to ditch Morgan. She’d told me so last night when I had come to visit Tom. I’d told her and Tom it didn’t matter if Brooks wasn’t dating Morgan, he still wouldn’t be dating me. Brooks loved throwing around the F word anytime we were together. Plus, he and I were opposites in almost every way now, and we had completely different life goals. He wanted to rule the world, unmarried and probably childless, and I wanted to experience the world with a husband and half a dozen kids. Good news, the ovulation test I took the night before said my eggs were still popping. And my gynecologist had told me at my last appointment that I had beautiful mucus in my lady parts, which was kind of gross and maybe more than I wanted to know, but she said it was a good sign.

  Surprisingly, Brooks said, “I’m game.”

  I shrugged. “All right.” We were friends after all.

  Miss June beamed. “You two have fun and take your time.”

  I stood. “Do you want to try the new biscuit and limeade place nearby? I met Julian there for lunch today, and it’s fantastic.”

  Brooks grimaced when I mentioned Julian’s name.

  “Why don’t you like him? I mean, you could be related to him someday.” I grabbed my stomach at the thought.

  Brooks pushed himself out of his chair. “Neither Morgan nor I believe marriage is a viable institution,” he scoffed.

  “Right.” I walked off toward the exit.

 
; Brooks followed. “And it doesn’t matter what I think about Julian. The question is, Why do you like him? He has completely different ideals than you. He’s deathly afraid of having children, and he treats marriage like the jam of the month club. When he gets tired of one, he tries a new flavor.”

  “Good thing I don’t plan on marrying him.”

  Brooks looked visibly relieved at my revelation. “Then why are you spending so much time with him?”

  “Why do you care so much?”

  “Because we’re friends, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  If only he knew how much he had and was hurting me. “Julian and I are friends too, and he’s fun. A lot of fun. Besides, he understands all my General Hospital references, which is a huge plus for him.” And when I said a lot of fun, I meant it. We had done every ride at Zero Gravity, from bungee jumping to the skycoaster that had us zipping through the air at sixty mph. Not only that, he had been very gentlemanly and friend-like. No kisses other than a kiss on the cheek when he walked me to my door or each time we parted. Sure, he was flirty and so was I, but he hadn’t even tried to hold my hand.

  Brooks snorted. “He probably studied up on that show so he could impress you.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing. Heaven forbid someone try to impress me. But that’s not what he did.” He’d admitted during lunch that General Hospital was the one thing he could bond with his mother about. Besides that, it sounded like she was a taskmaster, always pushing him to be better academically and professionally. She’d pushed him to be an OB-GYN because they are well respected, and their family had a connection to make sure he was a partner in a practice straight off his residency. It made me sad and almost had me feeling sorry for Morgan. I was lucky enough that my momma always wanted me to do what made me happy. And we got to bond over General Hospital because we both loved it.

  “You know, I probably know more about General Hospital than he does, after the way you and Carly used to talk incessantly about it in high school.”

  “I doubt it. He’s well versed.”

  We walked out into the warm, muggy air. Summer was upon us. Memorial Day weekend was too.

  “Ask me a question.” Brooks was determined, it seemed, to best Julian.

  “No. This isn’t a competition.”

  “I still don’t get his appeal,” Brooks growled.

  “Of course not, because you’ve forgotten what it’s like to have fun.”

  He shot me a scathing glare.

  “Don’t look at me like that. It’s true. Now where do you want to eat? I’m starving.”

  “Not the biscuit place. Morgan and I are on a low-carb, no-sugar diet.”

  I refrained from rolling my eyes. “You just proved my point. All fun foods have carbs and sugar.”

  “There’s no such thing as fun foods. Food is for sustaining life. If everyone realized that, there would be less disease in the world.”

  He’d probably learned that from a TED Talk. I rubbed my hands over my cheeks. “I think maybe you should eat alone.”

  His shoulders slumped. “I’m not as bad as you think, Grace.”

  I took a moment to search his eyes. I noticed that the spark that used to be in them a long time ago was all but gone. “You’re not bad at all, simply different. And honestly, I miss the old you. Have a good night.” I turned and headed toward my car.

  He didn’t take the hint and followed after me. “We can go to the biscuit place, if it means that much to you. I’m sure they’ll have something there I can eat.”

  “They don’t.” It was empty carb heaven. I picked up the pace to my car.

  “We can go anyway. Please just stop.”

  I skidded to a halt and faced him. “What do you want from me, Brooks?”

  He looked up to the clear blue sky and sighed. “I want us to be friends.” He lowered his head until our eyes met. “I’ve come to realize how much I missed our friendship. You always brought out my fun side.” He gave me a half smile, which was quite charming even if he was profusely using the F word.

  “That was a long time ago. Maybe we should just admit we’ve grown up and grown apart. For your parents’ sakes, we’ll pretend in front of them that we like each other. You know, like when your momma used to tell you and Carly to pretend that you loved each other, but as soon as she turned her back, y’all were flipping each other off. I mean, we don’t have to do that part.” I laughed.

  Brooks stepped closer and tugged on my ponytail. “Grace, I don’t need to pretend. I do like you. A lot.”

  I swallowed hard, believing every word he said and trying not to get drunk on his amber scent and bedroom eyes. “Now that we’ve cleared that up, I guess I’ll see you later.”

  “I thought we were going to have dinner together.”

  I pursed my lips together in thought. “I have a better, more fun idea.”

  Brooks’s lip twitched. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

  “Are you in?”

  He debated for a second or two. “Okay.”

  “I need you to be more enthusiastic than that.”

  He rolled his gorgeous eyes. “Fine. Okay!”

  “That sounded like it hurt, but I’ll accept it. Now follow me. I’m driving.”

  “I don’t think so.” He grabbed my arm and tugged me back. “I remember how you used to drive. We can take my truck.”

  “Hey, I’ve never been in an accident or hurt anyone.”

  “Which is a miracle,” he quipped.

  “I only hit the trash cans two or three times, tops.”

  “It was more than that. Not to mention you almost made the drivers’ ed teacher retire. I heard the poor man had to start taking tranquilizers after you took his class.”

  I playfully smacked Brooks’s arm. “You’re lying. It was one Valium. And it wasn’t my fault that squirrel ran out onto the road. I only swerved into the other lane for a few seconds. The oncoming car wasn’t even close to hitting us.”

  Brooks chuckled deeply. “I don’t think anyone else in that car remembers it that way.”

  “You can’t believe everything you’ve been told. Don’t they teach you that in law school?”

  “Among other things. So where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “Why do I have a feeling I might regret this?”

  “If you do, I’m going to be very disappointed.”

  We stopped at the edge of the sidewalk before we went across the parking lot.

  Brooks smiled at me. “The last thing I want to do is disappoint you, Grace.”

  My insides shivered, even though I knew in the end, being disappointed was exactly what I was going to be. Yet, I proceeded. “Let’s go have some fun, old friend.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I can’t believe you talked me into this. I should be prepping for client meetings tomorrow.”

  “Don’t you have a paralegal to take care of that?”

  “I have one paralegal and two legal assistants.”

  “Wow. Color me impressed.”

  “I wasn’t bragging.”

  “Well, you should. I’m proud of you.”

  Brooks’s tan cheeks turned a nice shade of blush. It was adorable.

  “But there is more to life than work. Look around you. It’s a beautiful night, you are surrounded by the best people in the world, and you’re getting ready to watch one of the most classic movies of our generation, Back to the Future. Not to mention, we have strawberry spinach salad—dressing on the side—for you, and peanut butter cups for me.” I was taunting him. Peanut butter cups used to be his favorite candy, but they were on the no-fly list with Morgan. I swear she was trying to control every aspect of his life. I felt like I needed to save him.

  Brooks looked around at the park near Pecan Orchard’s town square. The park was filled with happy families sitting on blankets, all celebrating the end of the school year. A movie in the park was a tradition on the last day of school. I hadn’t been t
o one in forever. The older I got, the more they kind of depressed me. I had thought by now I would have had some of my own kids in school.

  “This place never changes.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  He shrugged and grabbed a fork out of the bag.

  Before I could tell him that a lot of people still cared about him in this town, the point was made for me. Our neighbor from down the street, Miss Ellen, spotted us. She was as cute as a button, wrinkly, and all of four feet, ten inches tall, with dyed pink hair. I wanted to be like her when I grew up.

  She waddled over with her hand across her heart. “Look who it is. Brooks and Gracie together again.” She threw her tiny arms around Brooks. Since he was so tall and she so short, there was hardly a height discrepancy with Brooks sitting down. She kissed his head. “Hubba, hubba, did you get so handsome. How are you, darling boy? We’ve missed you on Poplar Street. I still tell everyone to this day, no one ever mowed my lawn better than you.”

  Brooks seemed at a loss for words. I had to help him out. “He became a big-time lawyer.”

  “Just like your daddy. Bless his heart, we’ve all been praying for him. How is he?”

  Brooks cleared his throat. “He’s coming home tomorrow.”

  “It’s a miracle. Thank the Lord for your quick thinking, sweet Gracie.” She looked between the two us. “It’s so good to see you kids. I always had a feeling you would end up together.”

  “We’re not together,” I spluttered.

  “We’re friends.” Brooks loved throwing around that word.

  Miss Ellen patted his head. “That’s how it starts.” She gave him another big squeeze. “Don’t be a stranger, and don’t let this one get away either,” she said, pointing at me. “I’m off to see my grandbabies. Bye-bye.” She scooted off before we could respond.

  “Sorry about that. I hope it doesn’t cause any trouble with Morgan.” Miss Ellen, though wonderful, was a gossip.

  Brooks flicked some grass off our picnic blanket. “Don’t worry about it. Like I said, Morgan and I aren’t exclusive. She doesn’t believe in labels.”