Stuck With You, page 20
‘Oh my God,’ Hollyn says with a grin. ‘You truly like this woman.’
‘I do. More than I thought possible.’
‘Riv!’ She swoons. The girl is lovesick. So much so that I almost can’t wait for this wedding to be over. ‘This is so exciting! What should we make for her?’ she asks Dax.
24
JADE
‘Finally,’ Kai says excitedly after I announce that Conner and I are soon over. There’s just no way I can continue with how things are going, not to mention the fact that I’m feeling something for someone else.
‘She’s found her worth and is dumping Mr wishy-washy wannabe ER doctor, for status. A boy who never put you above everyone else unless you were putting out. Gross.’
That is gross. I can’t believe I was so blind to it. Love really does make you see things differently. If that’s what this even was, love. But I doubt it. I suspect he caught me at a vulnerable time, just like River suggested not long ago. I probably would have said yes to anyone.
‘Please, don’t settle next time. Wait for Prince Charming. You deserve that.’
‘In my defense, at the time, I thought Conner was that,’ I say as I furiously wipe down the counter.
Now I have to figure out how to dump him. I wanted to do it via text, but Laney thinks that’ll be too cowardly, considering we’re engaged. So, I guess I’ve got a phone call to make. But not yet because I’ve no idea what words I’ll use, and if I called him now, I’d probably stumble, he’d charm me, and I’d be in the same circle of dread I’m already in.
Adam rolls his eyes. ‘He was never that, Jade. Prince Charming will bring you flowers, chocolates, and gifts while telling you how pretty you are.’
‘Well, that guy has been proving difficult to find. I honestly don’t understand how so many people are coupled up in the world. How in the hell did they find one another? And how did they just know they were the one?’
A rattle at the front windows startles us.
‘We ain’t open yet,’ Adam yells from where he is, his back to the door.
‘Oh my stars,’ Kai says, looking towards the window.
I glance that way, and standing on the sidewalk out front is River, holding a giant bouquet while repeatedly knocking on the window with an adorable grin.
‘Huh, say his name enough, and I guess he’ll appear, like Beetlejuice, only less creepy. It would appear Prince Charming has arrived,’ Adam says.
Roman unlocks the door to let him in while Kai and Adam do their best to pretend they’re busy while hovering close enough to eavesdrop on every word. We’re before opening, so the overhead lights are on. It’s not nearly as magically tropical here as when we’re open. Right now, it looks like a plain old bar that someone filled with relics of oceanside establishments taken from previous vacations.
‘Mah lady,’ River says dramatically, setting the flower arrangement on the bar before me. It’s huge and filled with every tropical flower and greenery imaginable – palm leaves, Bird of Paradise, hibiscus, flowers I don’t know the name of, even lilies. It must have cost him a fortune.
‘I can’t even see you around them,’ I laugh. ‘But they’re beautiful.’
He sits on a stool where he can see me. ‘I know a guy. He’s pretty good with flowers.’
‘They’re amazing! I can’t even remember the last time someone brought me flowers. Thank you.’
He nods. ‘I’ve been doing some thinking. This might sound completely whacked but hear me out, alright?’
‘Alright,’ I say nervously.
‘Remember the seance we did recently?’
‘How could I forget that? We caused the whole building to evacuate at four in the morning. I can never show my face there again.’
He laughs. ‘Well, when you showed us your dream engagement ring, I almost shit my pants.’
I side-eye him. ‘Wasn’t that kind of the night’s “theme” for you?’ I joke.
His head drops, and he drags a hand down one side. ‘I forgot you’d seen me at my worst.’
‘And best, don’t forget that,’ I add. ‘I mean, I definitely didn’t complain about your underwear.’
‘You saw his underwear?’ Kai balks.
‘Sshhhh, we’re supposed to be secretly listening,’ Adam reminds her.
‘I don’t suggest you two become private eyes,’ River jokes.
‘Why did my choice of ring surprise you? Was it bad?’ I ask, wondering where he’s going with all this.
‘No,’ he says. ‘Not at all bad. It’s gorgeous.’ River reaches into his jacket, pulling something from the inside pocket. ‘Oddly enough, we have similar tastes because it’s the exact ring I bought for Caitlin when I proposed.’ He sets an emerald-cut solitaire ring on the counter between us.
‘Shut. Up,’ I say in disbelief. I pick up the ring, and it sparkles under the bar lights, mesmerizing me immediately. ‘Oh, it’s even prettier in real life. Wow. This is the engagement ring, huh?’ It truly is precisely the same one I wanted. How strange is that?
‘Oh, Lord,’ Kai says. ‘He’s proposing!’
He shakes his head. ‘I’m not. What I am doing is loaning it to you.’
I look up at him from the ring. ‘Why?’
‘Before you dump Conner, I want you to wear this ring for the night and see what an engagement should feel like. Show it off, live it up, make up a story, and help me get my money out of that thing. Say whatever makes you smile.’
‘River, if I wear this, people will think we’re engaged.’ I motion between us.
‘Only these three. Everyone else already thinks you’re engaged, and they ask to see the ring you don’t have each time. How does that make you feel?’
I frown. ‘Not great.’
‘Perhaps you should experience what a big deal an engagement is?’ he suggests, taking the ring from me and sliding it onto my left finger. ‘After all, we are fake engaged.’
‘I couldn’t,’ I say, staring at the most gorgeous ring I’ve ever seen, and I’m wearing it.
‘Why not? It’s just another science experiment. You like those, remember?’
I laugh, nodding my head.
‘Plus, one day, this’ll make an awesome story.’
‘Awesome stories are kind of your thing.’
‘Maybe they could be our thing?’ he asks hesitantly.
I bite my lip, staring at the ring I now want to keep forever, even though I know it means bad things for him. ‘Are you sure you want to leave this with me?’
‘Positive. I thought about pawning it since it has zero sentimental value. But I think you’ll get more out of it tonight. When you’re done, bring it back to me, and I’ll get rid of it, finally breaking the curse of what was never meant to be. I’ll use the money from the sale to buy you all the Red Robin mudd pies to sink your feelings into after you dump that wad of a boyfriend. Hell, I’ll even deliver. Deal?’
My eyes move back to the ring on my hand. This stupid thing makes me smile even though I know the truth. ‘You’ve got yourself one weird deal.’
‘Perfect,’ he says, standing to leave. ‘Let me know how it goes.’
‘I promise.’ I nod, shocked he’s doing this.
‘Follow your heart, Jade. I hear it’s never supposed to be wrong.’ With that, he exits the bar, shoving his hands into the pockets of his grass-green colored skinny jeans as he walks by the windows, glancing back at me with a smile before disappearing into the night.
‘Uh, he’s into you,’ Adam says as if I don’t already know.
‘What gave it away?’ Kai asks, grabbing my hand and admiring the ring. ‘Perhaps the giant rock on her hand? Fuck-ing hell, Jade. I hardly know the guy, and I say marry him tonight.’
‘He didn’t propose,’ I remind them. ‘Besides, that’s almost as ridiculous as saying yes to a man proposing after two months.’
‘I know,’ Kai says. ‘But how romantic was this? He wants you to experience what you should have long ago.’
I won’t lie; it is romantic in a very River way.
‘Plus, he brought you flowers! For no reason. The last time I got flowers from a guy was because he’d slept with my roommate.’ She rolls her eyes.
‘You two really know how to pick ’em, don’t you?’ Adam says with a pathetic laugh before clapping his hands. ‘Back to work, you lovesick hula girls. We’ve got five minutes to opening.’
‘Holy Moses!’ a woman exclaims as I deliver their drinks. She grabs my hand. ‘Somebody loves you, girl. This is beautiful! When’s the big day?’
These are my first customers of the night, and already someone is gushing over this ring.
‘Uh, we haven’t set a date yet, but we’re thinking destination wedding somewhere tropical.’ This is just like making up how you got your tan, Jade. Dream a little; there’s nothing wrong with that.
‘Oohhh, destination weddings are the best. My ex-husband proposed with a ring out of a vending machine, and we got hitched at the courthouse on a whim.’
‘Hence the ex part,’ her friend says with a laugh.
‘Yeah, River, he’s the perfect guy. He knows me well, I guess.’ After the words leave my lips, I realize I didn’t say Conner. I said River. I’m acting as if I’m engaged to River. Not Conner. And it feels… incredible? Anxiety fills my insides like a beehive when I think of marrying Conner. We’d probably have divorced within a year if it had happened at all.
Holy hell. This was the point of me wearing this thing. To prove who it is that has my heart, and somehow he knew it would be him.
‘Did someone say ring?’ another of their party asks as she walks from the bathroom. Her gaze follows her friends’ and she beams a smile. ‘Wowee! Have you gone dress shopping yet?’
I shake my head. ‘No.’
‘My advice is the perfect dress feels a little bit like the man who gave you this ring did. You’ll just know, and you won’t be able to imagine any other one being quite as perfect. Go with your gut, just like you did the man.’
I laugh nervously, realizing this feeling in my gut may be me ‘just knowing’.
‘She just got married,’ one of her friends updates me.
‘I did; if you need recommendations, I have loads. Hit me up,’ she says, handing me the business card she’s just pulled from her purse.
‘Thank you,’ I say, walking back to the bar, feeling like I’m floating on a cloud. I had no idea this was what this would feel like.
The rest of my night goes pretty much precisely like the way I bet River expected. Women ooh and aah over the ring and ask about the lucky guy who gave it to me. Men are buying me celebratory shots and asking if I have a sister. I handed out Laney’s number twice; I know she’ll approve of both. And Kai asks to see it whenever I’m back at the counter.
No one did this when I mentioned Conner and I were engaged. Everybody frowned like they didn’t have hope he’d pull through, and they were exactly right. He didn’t. He probably never would have, either.
‘Another congrats drink,’ Adam says, sitting a flaming shot before me.
‘I’m starting to slur my words,’ I say, unsure if another shot is a good idea. Yet I down it anyway, holding it up towards the guy who sent it while the table cheers after it’s gone.
Usually, when people would question me on a story I was making up on the fly, I’d give a different answer, whatever came to mind. This time, my story never changed, and I’ve now got a list of islands for a destination wedding, along with recommendations on where to stay, what to do, dress shops, and photographers. If it has to do with a wedding, I’ve heard all about it tonight. I could sit down and plan this fake wedding in an hour with all the information I have.
Yet, with Conner, I didn’t even know where to begin. I was afraid to even ask about wedding plans because he always shut me down with the stupid ‘long engagement’ thing. How is it so easy to make this big of a mistake with someone?
‘Well, I think you got your results,’ Kai says at the end of the night, referring to the science experiment remark. ‘What are you going to do?’
‘First, I’m going to need a ride home. Then tomorrow, I’m headed straight to my dad’s to hear his thoughts, and I think this time, I may even listen,’ I say with a giggle, my belly full of booze and my head full of wedding bells that don’t really exist. Follow my heart, he’d said. For the first time ever, I think I know what it’s telling me to do.
25
JADE
‘Dad?’ I call out as I open the door to my childhood home. A house we moved into when I was seven, so when I think of ‘home’, this is where my mind goes. Since Mom’s been gone, it feels different. Heavier, yet I feel her here the most. It’s not a huge house, just a three-bedroom, two-bath, ranch-style home in the burbs outside of Portland.
I follow the sounds of the TV, stopping at the top of the three steps leading into the sunken family room that was once our garage. After Laney and I became teenagers, Dad converted it into his ‘man cave’. There was a time when he jokingly hung a sign at the entrance that said ‘no girls allowed’. Too bad for him, we pretended it didn’t exist, and he always welcomed us.
‘Jadeybug.’ He stands from his chair, happy to see me. The TV blasts some YouTube show about motorcycles.
All those tears I’ve held back over this Conner thing decide now’s the time, and they fall freely, worrying my dad instantly.
‘Is uh – is your sister alright?’
‘Yeah,’ I sniffle. ‘I mean, I think she is, I don’t know. Probably.’ I fall onto the couch dramatically, dropping my purse to the floor.
‘What’s going on?’ he asks, standing over me, clearly distressed at my current mood as he strokes his beard. ‘You can’t just cry and not talk. We’re in it now; let’s hear what happened.’
With a heavy sigh, I wipe away the tears and force myself to sit up. ‘I don’t want to marry Conner, Dad.’
He sits on the coffee table before me, resting a hand on my knee. ‘Jade, sweetie, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to…’ His voice trails off as he grabs my left hand, lifting it closer to his face to inspect it. ‘Wait a second. He finally bought you a ring, and now you don’t want it?’ His face screams that he didn’t think Conner would pull through. And he’s spot on.
‘No.’ I cry again.
‘Jade, you’re wearing an engagement ring.’ He holds my hand in front of my face as though I don’t know. ‘If your fiancé didn’t give this to you, who did?’
‘River.’
‘River?’ He strokes his beard.
‘We’re just friends, remember? At least, I thought we were, but my heart is telling me something different.’
‘Is it telling you to marry him?’ he asks, his eyes wide as he awaits my answer.
‘I don’t know, but don’t worry. He didn’t give me this ring romantically or anything. It’s more of a “borrow to prove a point” thing. I just wasn’t prepared for what his “point” would do to me. When I put this thing on last night, people were so happy for me. The more I talked, the more I realized I wish River had given me this ring, for real.’ My crying slows as I focus on the guy I do like as opposed to the one I’m about to dump. He just makes me happy in a way no one else ever has.
‘Does he know you feel this way?’
‘Not completely, but he knows I feel something. And I know he feels something for me. But I need advice. I don’t know how to dump one man and tell the other I’m falling for him. Tell me how to do that, Dad. I promise this time I’ll listen to whatever you say.’
Dad chuckles. ‘Sure ya will,’ he moans playfully.
‘I didn’t mean to befriend River the way I did. How could I have ever known we had some kind of attraction to one another deep down? I thought it was just me, but he’s been a better boyfriend than Conner without even trying.’
‘I thought you said you weren’t cheating on Conner the other night?’ Dad seems surprised. ‘I’d expected this of Laney but never you, Jade…’ He says it so seriously.
‘I’m not cheating,’ I insist. ‘At least not physically. It’s more in my head, and possibly, here?’ I point to my heart, sniffling away my earlier emotions. ‘It’s never been “romantic” with River. But I can’t quit thinking about him. He’s so handsome, he makes me laugh, he sang me a Neil Diamond song, he loves all of Mom’s favorite eighties movies, his mother is mom’s favorite singer, and he put up with Laney for an entire night. He’s bought me flowers and is just the perfect guy.’
‘His mother is who?’
‘Penny Candy.’
Dad’s jaw drops. ‘We had our first dance to one of her songs at our wedding. How old is this perfect guy?’
‘Twenty-nine. Dad, you’d love him. He gives me advice I don’t want to hear but need to – just like you would. He thinks I’m pretty and says sweet things when I least expect them. For a long time, I’d never seen him as anything more than a friend, and then when I was ready to tell him I was interested, things didn’t go my way, and my world imploded not long after. I stayed the night taking care of him while he was sick recently—’
‘Can we return to when this River gave you the engagement ring?’
I tell him all about my pretending to be River’s fiancée. Then Penny finding out. I spill the story about the coronary burger poisoning, Laney’s boyfriend burning bonfire, Conner’s bullshit, the Office Max roller chair experience, and every embarrassing detail in between.
‘He wanted to show me what getting engaged should’ve felt like before dumping Conner.’
Dad shakes his head. ‘How would you wearing a random engagement ring show you what an engagement should feel like?’
I laugh. ‘That’s exactly what I thought.’ I wipe away tears that are finally under control. ‘Dad, it was like magic. The second I put that ring on, people noticed. They oohed and awed and congratulated me like it was a big deal. I wish they’d reacted like that when I told them weeks before, but back then, their only response was checking for a ring and not seeing one.’
‘I do. More than I thought possible.’
‘Riv!’ She swoons. The girl is lovesick. So much so that I almost can’t wait for this wedding to be over. ‘This is so exciting! What should we make for her?’ she asks Dax.
24
JADE
‘Finally,’ Kai says excitedly after I announce that Conner and I are soon over. There’s just no way I can continue with how things are going, not to mention the fact that I’m feeling something for someone else.
‘She’s found her worth and is dumping Mr wishy-washy wannabe ER doctor, for status. A boy who never put you above everyone else unless you were putting out. Gross.’
That is gross. I can’t believe I was so blind to it. Love really does make you see things differently. If that’s what this even was, love. But I doubt it. I suspect he caught me at a vulnerable time, just like River suggested not long ago. I probably would have said yes to anyone.
‘Please, don’t settle next time. Wait for Prince Charming. You deserve that.’
‘In my defense, at the time, I thought Conner was that,’ I say as I furiously wipe down the counter.
Now I have to figure out how to dump him. I wanted to do it via text, but Laney thinks that’ll be too cowardly, considering we’re engaged. So, I guess I’ve got a phone call to make. But not yet because I’ve no idea what words I’ll use, and if I called him now, I’d probably stumble, he’d charm me, and I’d be in the same circle of dread I’m already in.
Adam rolls his eyes. ‘He was never that, Jade. Prince Charming will bring you flowers, chocolates, and gifts while telling you how pretty you are.’
‘Well, that guy has been proving difficult to find. I honestly don’t understand how so many people are coupled up in the world. How in the hell did they find one another? And how did they just know they were the one?’
A rattle at the front windows startles us.
‘We ain’t open yet,’ Adam yells from where he is, his back to the door.
‘Oh my stars,’ Kai says, looking towards the window.
I glance that way, and standing on the sidewalk out front is River, holding a giant bouquet while repeatedly knocking on the window with an adorable grin.
‘Huh, say his name enough, and I guess he’ll appear, like Beetlejuice, only less creepy. It would appear Prince Charming has arrived,’ Adam says.
Roman unlocks the door to let him in while Kai and Adam do their best to pretend they’re busy while hovering close enough to eavesdrop on every word. We’re before opening, so the overhead lights are on. It’s not nearly as magically tropical here as when we’re open. Right now, it looks like a plain old bar that someone filled with relics of oceanside establishments taken from previous vacations.
‘Mah lady,’ River says dramatically, setting the flower arrangement on the bar before me. It’s huge and filled with every tropical flower and greenery imaginable – palm leaves, Bird of Paradise, hibiscus, flowers I don’t know the name of, even lilies. It must have cost him a fortune.
‘I can’t even see you around them,’ I laugh. ‘But they’re beautiful.’
He sits on a stool where he can see me. ‘I know a guy. He’s pretty good with flowers.’
‘They’re amazing! I can’t even remember the last time someone brought me flowers. Thank you.’
He nods. ‘I’ve been doing some thinking. This might sound completely whacked but hear me out, alright?’
‘Alright,’ I say nervously.
‘Remember the seance we did recently?’
‘How could I forget that? We caused the whole building to evacuate at four in the morning. I can never show my face there again.’
He laughs. ‘Well, when you showed us your dream engagement ring, I almost shit my pants.’
I side-eye him. ‘Wasn’t that kind of the night’s “theme” for you?’ I joke.
His head drops, and he drags a hand down one side. ‘I forgot you’d seen me at my worst.’
‘And best, don’t forget that,’ I add. ‘I mean, I definitely didn’t complain about your underwear.’
‘You saw his underwear?’ Kai balks.
‘Sshhhh, we’re supposed to be secretly listening,’ Adam reminds her.
‘I don’t suggest you two become private eyes,’ River jokes.
‘Why did my choice of ring surprise you? Was it bad?’ I ask, wondering where he’s going with all this.
‘No,’ he says. ‘Not at all bad. It’s gorgeous.’ River reaches into his jacket, pulling something from the inside pocket. ‘Oddly enough, we have similar tastes because it’s the exact ring I bought for Caitlin when I proposed.’ He sets an emerald-cut solitaire ring on the counter between us.
‘Shut. Up,’ I say in disbelief. I pick up the ring, and it sparkles under the bar lights, mesmerizing me immediately. ‘Oh, it’s even prettier in real life. Wow. This is the engagement ring, huh?’ It truly is precisely the same one I wanted. How strange is that?
‘Oh, Lord,’ Kai says. ‘He’s proposing!’
He shakes his head. ‘I’m not. What I am doing is loaning it to you.’
I look up at him from the ring. ‘Why?’
‘Before you dump Conner, I want you to wear this ring for the night and see what an engagement should feel like. Show it off, live it up, make up a story, and help me get my money out of that thing. Say whatever makes you smile.’
‘River, if I wear this, people will think we’re engaged.’ I motion between us.
‘Only these three. Everyone else already thinks you’re engaged, and they ask to see the ring you don’t have each time. How does that make you feel?’
I frown. ‘Not great.’
‘Perhaps you should experience what a big deal an engagement is?’ he suggests, taking the ring from me and sliding it onto my left finger. ‘After all, we are fake engaged.’
‘I couldn’t,’ I say, staring at the most gorgeous ring I’ve ever seen, and I’m wearing it.
‘Why not? It’s just another science experiment. You like those, remember?’
I laugh, nodding my head.
‘Plus, one day, this’ll make an awesome story.’
‘Awesome stories are kind of your thing.’
‘Maybe they could be our thing?’ he asks hesitantly.
I bite my lip, staring at the ring I now want to keep forever, even though I know it means bad things for him. ‘Are you sure you want to leave this with me?’
‘Positive. I thought about pawning it since it has zero sentimental value. But I think you’ll get more out of it tonight. When you’re done, bring it back to me, and I’ll get rid of it, finally breaking the curse of what was never meant to be. I’ll use the money from the sale to buy you all the Red Robin mudd pies to sink your feelings into after you dump that wad of a boyfriend. Hell, I’ll even deliver. Deal?’
My eyes move back to the ring on my hand. This stupid thing makes me smile even though I know the truth. ‘You’ve got yourself one weird deal.’
‘Perfect,’ he says, standing to leave. ‘Let me know how it goes.’
‘I promise.’ I nod, shocked he’s doing this.
‘Follow your heart, Jade. I hear it’s never supposed to be wrong.’ With that, he exits the bar, shoving his hands into the pockets of his grass-green colored skinny jeans as he walks by the windows, glancing back at me with a smile before disappearing into the night.
‘Uh, he’s into you,’ Adam says as if I don’t already know.
‘What gave it away?’ Kai asks, grabbing my hand and admiring the ring. ‘Perhaps the giant rock on her hand? Fuck-ing hell, Jade. I hardly know the guy, and I say marry him tonight.’
‘He didn’t propose,’ I remind them. ‘Besides, that’s almost as ridiculous as saying yes to a man proposing after two months.’
‘I know,’ Kai says. ‘But how romantic was this? He wants you to experience what you should have long ago.’
I won’t lie; it is romantic in a very River way.
‘Plus, he brought you flowers! For no reason. The last time I got flowers from a guy was because he’d slept with my roommate.’ She rolls her eyes.
‘You two really know how to pick ’em, don’t you?’ Adam says with a pathetic laugh before clapping his hands. ‘Back to work, you lovesick hula girls. We’ve got five minutes to opening.’
‘Holy Moses!’ a woman exclaims as I deliver their drinks. She grabs my hand. ‘Somebody loves you, girl. This is beautiful! When’s the big day?’
These are my first customers of the night, and already someone is gushing over this ring.
‘Uh, we haven’t set a date yet, but we’re thinking destination wedding somewhere tropical.’ This is just like making up how you got your tan, Jade. Dream a little; there’s nothing wrong with that.
‘Oohhh, destination weddings are the best. My ex-husband proposed with a ring out of a vending machine, and we got hitched at the courthouse on a whim.’
‘Hence the ex part,’ her friend says with a laugh.
‘Yeah, River, he’s the perfect guy. He knows me well, I guess.’ After the words leave my lips, I realize I didn’t say Conner. I said River. I’m acting as if I’m engaged to River. Not Conner. And it feels… incredible? Anxiety fills my insides like a beehive when I think of marrying Conner. We’d probably have divorced within a year if it had happened at all.
Holy hell. This was the point of me wearing this thing. To prove who it is that has my heart, and somehow he knew it would be him.
‘Did someone say ring?’ another of their party asks as she walks from the bathroom. Her gaze follows her friends’ and she beams a smile. ‘Wowee! Have you gone dress shopping yet?’
I shake my head. ‘No.’
‘My advice is the perfect dress feels a little bit like the man who gave you this ring did. You’ll just know, and you won’t be able to imagine any other one being quite as perfect. Go with your gut, just like you did the man.’
I laugh nervously, realizing this feeling in my gut may be me ‘just knowing’.
‘She just got married,’ one of her friends updates me.
‘I did; if you need recommendations, I have loads. Hit me up,’ she says, handing me the business card she’s just pulled from her purse.
‘Thank you,’ I say, walking back to the bar, feeling like I’m floating on a cloud. I had no idea this was what this would feel like.
The rest of my night goes pretty much precisely like the way I bet River expected. Women ooh and aah over the ring and ask about the lucky guy who gave it to me. Men are buying me celebratory shots and asking if I have a sister. I handed out Laney’s number twice; I know she’ll approve of both. And Kai asks to see it whenever I’m back at the counter.
No one did this when I mentioned Conner and I were engaged. Everybody frowned like they didn’t have hope he’d pull through, and they were exactly right. He didn’t. He probably never would have, either.
‘Another congrats drink,’ Adam says, sitting a flaming shot before me.
‘I’m starting to slur my words,’ I say, unsure if another shot is a good idea. Yet I down it anyway, holding it up towards the guy who sent it while the table cheers after it’s gone.
Usually, when people would question me on a story I was making up on the fly, I’d give a different answer, whatever came to mind. This time, my story never changed, and I’ve now got a list of islands for a destination wedding, along with recommendations on where to stay, what to do, dress shops, and photographers. If it has to do with a wedding, I’ve heard all about it tonight. I could sit down and plan this fake wedding in an hour with all the information I have.
Yet, with Conner, I didn’t even know where to begin. I was afraid to even ask about wedding plans because he always shut me down with the stupid ‘long engagement’ thing. How is it so easy to make this big of a mistake with someone?
‘Well, I think you got your results,’ Kai says at the end of the night, referring to the science experiment remark. ‘What are you going to do?’
‘First, I’m going to need a ride home. Then tomorrow, I’m headed straight to my dad’s to hear his thoughts, and I think this time, I may even listen,’ I say with a giggle, my belly full of booze and my head full of wedding bells that don’t really exist. Follow my heart, he’d said. For the first time ever, I think I know what it’s telling me to do.
25
JADE
‘Dad?’ I call out as I open the door to my childhood home. A house we moved into when I was seven, so when I think of ‘home’, this is where my mind goes. Since Mom’s been gone, it feels different. Heavier, yet I feel her here the most. It’s not a huge house, just a three-bedroom, two-bath, ranch-style home in the burbs outside of Portland.
I follow the sounds of the TV, stopping at the top of the three steps leading into the sunken family room that was once our garage. After Laney and I became teenagers, Dad converted it into his ‘man cave’. There was a time when he jokingly hung a sign at the entrance that said ‘no girls allowed’. Too bad for him, we pretended it didn’t exist, and he always welcomed us.
‘Jadeybug.’ He stands from his chair, happy to see me. The TV blasts some YouTube show about motorcycles.
All those tears I’ve held back over this Conner thing decide now’s the time, and they fall freely, worrying my dad instantly.
‘Is uh – is your sister alright?’
‘Yeah,’ I sniffle. ‘I mean, I think she is, I don’t know. Probably.’ I fall onto the couch dramatically, dropping my purse to the floor.
‘What’s going on?’ he asks, standing over me, clearly distressed at my current mood as he strokes his beard. ‘You can’t just cry and not talk. We’re in it now; let’s hear what happened.’
With a heavy sigh, I wipe away the tears and force myself to sit up. ‘I don’t want to marry Conner, Dad.’
He sits on the coffee table before me, resting a hand on my knee. ‘Jade, sweetie, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to…’ His voice trails off as he grabs my left hand, lifting it closer to his face to inspect it. ‘Wait a second. He finally bought you a ring, and now you don’t want it?’ His face screams that he didn’t think Conner would pull through. And he’s spot on.
‘No.’ I cry again.
‘Jade, you’re wearing an engagement ring.’ He holds my hand in front of my face as though I don’t know. ‘If your fiancé didn’t give this to you, who did?’
‘River.’
‘River?’ He strokes his beard.
‘We’re just friends, remember? At least, I thought we were, but my heart is telling me something different.’
‘Is it telling you to marry him?’ he asks, his eyes wide as he awaits my answer.
‘I don’t know, but don’t worry. He didn’t give me this ring romantically or anything. It’s more of a “borrow to prove a point” thing. I just wasn’t prepared for what his “point” would do to me. When I put this thing on last night, people were so happy for me. The more I talked, the more I realized I wish River had given me this ring, for real.’ My crying slows as I focus on the guy I do like as opposed to the one I’m about to dump. He just makes me happy in a way no one else ever has.
‘Does he know you feel this way?’
‘Not completely, but he knows I feel something. And I know he feels something for me. But I need advice. I don’t know how to dump one man and tell the other I’m falling for him. Tell me how to do that, Dad. I promise this time I’ll listen to whatever you say.’
Dad chuckles. ‘Sure ya will,’ he moans playfully.
‘I didn’t mean to befriend River the way I did. How could I have ever known we had some kind of attraction to one another deep down? I thought it was just me, but he’s been a better boyfriend than Conner without even trying.’
‘I thought you said you weren’t cheating on Conner the other night?’ Dad seems surprised. ‘I’d expected this of Laney but never you, Jade…’ He says it so seriously.
‘I’m not cheating,’ I insist. ‘At least not physically. It’s more in my head, and possibly, here?’ I point to my heart, sniffling away my earlier emotions. ‘It’s never been “romantic” with River. But I can’t quit thinking about him. He’s so handsome, he makes me laugh, he sang me a Neil Diamond song, he loves all of Mom’s favorite eighties movies, his mother is mom’s favorite singer, and he put up with Laney for an entire night. He’s bought me flowers and is just the perfect guy.’
‘His mother is who?’
‘Penny Candy.’
Dad’s jaw drops. ‘We had our first dance to one of her songs at our wedding. How old is this perfect guy?’
‘Twenty-nine. Dad, you’d love him. He gives me advice I don’t want to hear but need to – just like you would. He thinks I’m pretty and says sweet things when I least expect them. For a long time, I’d never seen him as anything more than a friend, and then when I was ready to tell him I was interested, things didn’t go my way, and my world imploded not long after. I stayed the night taking care of him while he was sick recently—’
‘Can we return to when this River gave you the engagement ring?’
I tell him all about my pretending to be River’s fiancée. Then Penny finding out. I spill the story about the coronary burger poisoning, Laney’s boyfriend burning bonfire, Conner’s bullshit, the Office Max roller chair experience, and every embarrassing detail in between.
‘He wanted to show me what getting engaged should’ve felt like before dumping Conner.’
Dad shakes his head. ‘How would you wearing a random engagement ring show you what an engagement should feel like?’
I laugh. ‘That’s exactly what I thought.’ I wipe away tears that are finally under control. ‘Dad, it was like magic. The second I put that ring on, people noticed. They oohed and awed and congratulated me like it was a big deal. I wish they’d reacted like that when I told them weeks before, but back then, their only response was checking for a ring and not seeing one.’
