Practically Persuaded in Pittsburgh

by JB Schroeder

  Rita put her hand on Sadie’s knee and squeezed. “You can talk to me, you know, anytime.”

  Sadie opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. “I’m in love with your son.”

  Rita smiled. “That I already know.”

  Sadie looked down the street at this section of town she loved, then back at Rita. “I think I nearly always have been.”

  “I suspected that, too,” Rita said.

  “But right before he came home, I finally made up my mind to make a change. I signed on to go to Gumi, South Korea, to teach English.”

  Rita’s eyebrows rose.

  “For two years.”

  Rita’s eyes widened and she reared back a bit. “Oh. Wow.”

  Sadie nodded glumly. “I didn’t know,” she moaned. “I didn’t expect…all this.” She waved a hand toward the kitchen. “I didn’t expect Jake. And it all felt like it wasn’t real…like a dream. So I didn’t tell him right away, and then I kept putting it off, and now….”

  Sadie burst into tears. Yowza, she wasn’t a crier normally, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. She couldn’t tell Rita about the lies and the pretending part, but it was such a relief to talk to someone.

  Rita scooted closer and put her arm around Sadie.

  “Oh, honey,” Rita murmured.

  “I’ve ruined everything. I wish I could just stay here with Jake. And with you. And at the Children’s Museum. But I made this commitment, and I feel I have to honor it, and now I’m going to lose everything,” Sadie said, then sobbed.

  Rita made some soothing sounds but mostly just let her cry. Eventually, when Sadie had calmed slightly, Rita said, “Well, now I know why Jake’s such a bear and why he’s been sleeping at my house. Did you give notice at the museum?”

  Sadie nodded. “Yes. I wanted to give them plenty of notice. I leave in two months—mid-July—because the program director in Gumi suggested I arrive early enough to transition with the current teacher. I went for it because I figured I could both get my bearings and travel some in August before the semester begins.” She rushed on, needing to tell it all, needing perhaps to make it exist in reality. “They already sent my work visa and plane ticket and assigned me housing.”

  “I’m guessing the museum can’t exactly hold your job for you for two years.”

  Sadie shook her head. “They’ll have to hire someone. I know they’d hire me again if they could, but there may not be room for me by then.”

  “What if Jake went with you?”

  Sadie bit her lip. “Once upon a time, he might have. But now, he wants this.” She swept a hand toward the building. “He’s done with big cities and travel.” She smiled and nudged Rita with her elbow. “It’s your turn, anyway.”

  “Let me ask you this, honey,” Rita said. “What do you want?”

  Tears swelled again.

  Rita continued, “Inside. If nothing else mattered. If there was no right or wrong. No losing jobs or husbands or letting anyone down. Just speaking directly from your heart—if you could have anything, what would you want?”

  Sadie didn’t even hesitate. “I want to stay here. Right where I am. With Jake. Here at the diner and the museum both. I thought I had to go live life and do something, like everyone else, but really, I don’t want to go anywhere.” She took a deep, shaky breath. “But I’m not sure if Jake can forgive me. And I committed to this program. They paid for everything already, and—”

  “Hang on there with the buts,” Rita said. “First of all, anyone who knows you knows what kind of person you are. It’s a point of pride with you to show up and give a thing your all. Heck, in all these years, I think you’ve only missed a handful of days of work. Second, it’s a fact of life that things change. People accept jobs and then can’t actually take them all the time. I promise you there is someone just waiting to take your spot. Somebody else who is just desperate for the chance. As for the money—well, think on what can be done about that. There are always ways.”

  Sadie felt a stirring of hope.

  “And as for Jake”—Rita squeezed her shoulder—“forgiveness is essential to love and marriage. Part and parcel of any relationship worth keeping.” Rita stopped, chewing on her lip.

  Sadie sensed there was more, maybe a scolding or some words of disappointment. “You can say it.”

  “Well then, one last thing to consider,” Rita said. “No matter how spur of the moment or rushed this wedding was, don’t forget you committed to Jake, too.”

  Sadie’s heart actually hurt again. For the lies, for Rita, for Jake, for herself… She wiped her face and tried to fill her chest and breathe. Rita couldn’t know it hadn’t been real. Except it felt like the real thing. And Jake had admitted the same—in anger, sure, but he had. Oh, what a hellish mess.

  “Only you can make this decision, Sadie.” Rita pulled her tighter against her in a sideways hug. “Know that I love you either way. You are one of mine, and that’s not going to change. Okay?”

  Sadie managed a smile and whispered, “Thank you for that. For everything.”

  “Now, I’m going to go in and get your stuff and send you home, or for a long bike ride, or whatever you need to do,” Rita said. “You take the night to think and make a decision that feels right. Envision as clearly as you can what it’d be like to live that decision daily—and then sleep on it.”

  Rita made to get up, so Sadie jumped up and offered her a hand.

  Rita hugged her hard, then pulled back to look her in the face. “If your decision still feels right in the morning, you’ll have your answer. And then you can determine whatever actions might need to be taken.”

  “Okay,” Sadie said, and nodded.

  Rita rubbed Sadie’s arms. “If it doesn’t feel right, you make the opposite decision.”

  21

  Jake had retreated to his mom’s place after the big blow-up with Sadie. He couldn’t lie in bed next to her when he was still so thoroughly pissed off. Even separated, though, he hadn’t been able to turn his mind off and had slept like shit two nights in a row. Up way too early and facing down the empty hours, Jake felt like a caged animal. No out from his careening thoughts. No escape from anger and frustration. And certainly, planning for the new house wasn’t going to distract him. There was little point.

  Sadie was going to Gumi, South Korea. For two years.

  Going. To. South Korea.

  He had to keep repeating it to himself, knocking himself upside the head with the reality of it. She had lied to him and she was leaving.

  For one moment, he considering calling that guy in Barcelona and accepting that job as a means of escape from his wrecked heart and crushing disappointment. Just as quickly, he discarded the idea. He didn’t want that life. He wanted this life. Not that it would ever feel right without Sadie in it.

  He was staying in Pittsburgh and sticking with the diner. He wasn’t bailing. Period.

  And his mom? Come hell or high water, she’d go on that round-the-world trip of a lifetime. He hoped it wouldn’t be a battle now that he’d be solo, but if it was, he’d find a way to convince Rita to go. Hire somebody. Beg, bribe, or something.

  Benny had the early shift at The Wanderlust, so Jake didn’t need to go in until about eleven. He thought about calling his brothers for a game of pickup basketball, but they’d know immediately something was wrong, and he didn’t want to explain or pretend. Besides, he was so ticked that he might get unnecessarily physical.

  Rain threatened, but he changed into gym shorts and a t-shirt and grabbed his windbreaker anyway. He drove too fast over to Schenley Park, hoping a long run might help.

  He ran too fast. Pushing himself. Trying to expel the feeling of betrayal that burnt him so badly. Taking his stupid choices out on his body.

  What an idiot he’d been to think that just because he’d fallen in love—head over foolish heels—that Sadie had, too. What a dolt he was that he hadn’t said anything. It would have killed him to find out she didn’t feel the same, but at
least he’d have known sooner. He could have chosen to enter a farce of a marriage to keep up the charade for his mom. Or maybe self-preservation would have saved him.

  Finally, Jake came to a stop and bent over, hands on knees, as he gasped for air. It wasn’t just the hard run. He was spent, mentally and emotionally.

  When he stood, he spotted a bench and made his way over to it. He collapsed there, ignoring its wet surface. He sat and stared at nothing, letting grass and trees and people blur into something he barely saw, until a young couple crossed the path directly in front of him. Pressed tightly together, the man held an oversized umbrella over them both and said something to the woman. She laughed, rosy-cheeked and very pregnant. In love. Obviously.

  Jake looked away, chilled by cooling sweat, a damp seat, and bone-deep disappointment.

  He shoved his hands in his pockets. Something poked his finger, and he pulled out the Pirates ticket from the game he’d attended with Sadie. The one where she’d said yes to his grand plan. He’d kept it on purpose, thinking someday it’d be a helluva memento.

  Why? Because he’d been so hopeful—sitting at PNC Park with a woman whose kiss he couldn’t forget and a future of shiny possibility stretching out before him. Because that visit to True Springs was so fresh in his mind. The hotel manager who’d claimed that the natural spring water had some sort of magical quality, that the establishment owners spiked everything they made with it, that he might just find true love…

  Jake had scoffed at the time. He’d only been looking for a change, not for love. But through a twist of fate and a big idea, he’d rediscovered Sadie. Love had found him, or so he’d thought.

  He couldn’t have been more wrong.

  Jake tore the ticket in half, in half again, and then in as many pieces as the stiff paper would allow. Then he hauled himself up and shoved it unceremoniously into the nearest trash can.

  He’d have to do the same to his marriage. Get it annulled.

  It wasn’t real anyway. Not to Sadie.

  22

  Sadie slept late the next morning as a result of tossing and turning half the night. But when she woke, she knew. Just as Rita said, Sadie knew that what she’d envisioned was both what she truly wanted and the best choice—because it felt right.

  The question now was what to do about it.

  She winced. No, the real question was: could Jake forgive her?

  Sadie wasn’t scheduled at the diner this morning, but she knew Jake was. It didn’t matter that she had hours before his shift ended; she felt a strong urge to hurry.

  She popped a shower cap over her head, peeled off her pajamas, and hustled into the shower. She worked some magic on her slept-on hair with her favorite Mixed Chicks product, brushed on mascara, and dressed in the skirt and pink t-shirt Jake had liked so much—this time with a bra. She made herself eat a granola bar and drink a glass of milk for fortification, then pedaled over to The Wanderlust.

  She thought hard the whole way about what she’d say and how best to approach him. It could be busy, and she didn’t want to cause a big scene. On the other hand, she didn’t want to wait until he got off shift. She didn’t want to wait another minute.

  After locking up her bike, Sadie slipped in the back door and snatched her apron off the hook. She ducked back out and went around to the front entrance.

  Rita was hostessing, and raised her eyebrows when she saw Sadie.

  Sadie smiled tremulously and put a finger to her lips. “I have a plan. Sit me like a customer, out of view of the kitchen. Tell Denise not to mention me to Jake, okay?”

  Rita inclined her head, led her to table eighteen (a booth by the front window as far from the kitchen as you could get), and handed her a menu. Then she reached out and squeezed Sadie’s hand. Rita knew what her being here meant.

  Sadie was making a play for Jake. For keeps. She was staying.

  If he’d have her.

  Jake was busy dumping veggies on an omelet, chocolate chips in a pancake, and burning some bacon for a Black and Gold. Nearly lunchtime, but everyone still wanted breakfast. It didn’t matter to him. He was just trying hard not to think, grilling and frying like an automaton.

  Rita clipped a ticket up and slid it over. She walked away, and he reached for it.

  As soon as his fingers touched the paper, he got a shock and snatched his fingers back.

  No—not a shock, more like a zing. From paper. He shook his head at the oddity. Man, he thought, he really was off today.

  He peered at the ticket, ready to throw together whatever was needed. But the words weren’t the usual diner lingo and abbreviations he expected. Jake slid both the omelet and the pancake to waiting plates, then pulled the strange ticket from the clip to look more closely.

  It wasn’t Rita’s writing…

  It was Sadie’s.

  He sucked in a deep breath—hope rising so swiftly that his head nearly swam—and read:

  * * *

  RUSH ORDER:

  1 REAL marriage, hold the travel

  1 perfect husband, with a side of Diner Boy

  1 honeymoon to True Springs—or chef’s choice

  Unlimited helping of true love

  * * *

  Jake’s skin tingled and his blood rushed. His heart felt like it could soar.

  Sadie was here. And Sadie wanted to stay. She was asking to marry him—to stay married to him—for real. And he needed to give her an answer.

  He was nearly at the door and then remembered the bacon. He dashed back to the grill and shoved it onto a plate. That order could wait. This one couldn’t.

  Jake yanked off his apron and, order ticket in hand, bolted from the kitchen. As soon as he came through the doors, he found Sadie seated at a far table, her hands clasped and her posture tense.

  He strode from behind the counter directly to her. She stood and met him halfway. They didn’t break eye contact.

  “I’m not going abroad. It’s only you I want. I love you. I don’t want to be anywhere you aren’t,” Sadie said, rushing as if she needed to get the worlds out first thing. She took a deep breath. “If you’ll still have me?”

  “I will.” Jake grinned because it reminded him of their wedding day. “I love you too.”

  “Thank God,” she said, and dove into his chest. Jake wrapped his arms around her, dropped his head to hers, and closed his eyes as he breathed her in.

  She pulled back enough to look up at him. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I should have told you right off.”

  “Me too.” Jake took her face in his hands and kissed her. “I should have told you I loved you way back when I realized it.”

  She rose on tiptoes and kissed him again—a hard press that told him she would never tire of hearing those three words.

  “Let’s start over,” he said.

  “For real this time,” Sadie said, and her face glowed with happiness.

  “For real,” Jake said with the same joy blazing in his chest.

  Ticket still in hand, Jake picked her up and spun Sadie around. Neither even registered the clapping.

  Thank you for reading!

  Here’s what’s next up in the Ticket to True Love series:

  Hailey and Adam were supposed to chase their dreams together, but at the last minute, he balked. Hailey would have sworn she was over him … until she saw him again and everything changed.

  One click THAT NIGHT IN NASHVILLE now!

  * * *

  She needed an escape from the paparazzi, not a magical tonic to find love. But now that she’s fallen for a guy who cherishes his privacy, how long do they have before he discovers her true identity?

  One click AMOROUS IN APPLETON now!

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  To find even MORE great Ticket to True Love stories:

  One click TICKET TO TRUE LOVE now!

  Why this story?

  I hope you enjoyed my foray into contemporary romance and a visit to my hometown. Yep, yours truly grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh! Even w
ay back then the Strip District was cool, but now it’s simply amazing, and I’ve long wanted to include it in a story! I had such fun writing there that you’ll see two more Pittsburgh stories soon featuring Jake’s brothers. The first will be Good Vibes at the Vine, featuring Jeremy, who will, of course, discover he’s not a True Springs reject after all. The second—well, I’m still working on Jonah’s story.

  I bet you are wondering, however, why the collaboration… Well, I’d been looking for an exciting multi-author project I could join to grow my readership and connections. I had a contemporary romance gathering dust (not this one—one called Montana Seduces Miami, which you will see before long!) that I wanted to build into a larger series with other states and cities. I became excited about the alliterative title thing and desperately wanted to do all twenty-six letters of the alphabet... Except how was I going to write that many books fast enough to keep readers intrigued?

  Hellooooo lightbulb moment! I could—and would—create my own collaboration with other amazing authors! We’d visit exciting places—and yet tie them together with a small town that readers could learn more and more about with each story and a special legend that would give this series some extra special zing!

  There you have it! The story behind the stories of Ticket to True Love!

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  To read more by JB Schroeder, please visit

  www.jbschroederauthor.com

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