A Perfect Fit, page 23
“Kat, you mean the absolute world to me and ever since I met you this summer, you have made me feel like I am the only girl in the world.” This was apparently the cue for the girl with the poster, and she held it up over AJ’s head as she continued. “I just want you to know,” she said, but paused as she choked up a bit. Ella felt her own tears flowing freely as she looked aside to Rebecca and Alex, who were also crying. After regrouping for a few moments, AJ reached out, took Kat’s hand, and kissed it before continuing.
“I want you and everybody here to know I love you. Would you now make me the happiest only girl in the world by going to prom with me?”
A few cheers went up with a whole lot of ‘aww’ permeating the atmosphere. Kat was crying again, for a completely different reason, as she nodded vehemently to deafening applause. The house lights came up and the spotlights went off as the girls embraced on the center court, just like something out of a movie...sans the awkward, but very much appreciated, dancing volleyball players.
“She’s just a star,” Rebecca said, wiping her eyes and turning to Ella. “You have done such an amazing job.”
Ella was truly touched at the sentiment. “Well, we’re a team, you know,” she said, nodding toward Alex. “But there’s definitely room for more members on this squad if you’re willing.”
Rebecca was now crying in earnest. She couldn’t do anything but embrace her, right? Alex mouthed ‘thank you’ over her shoulder.
“Let’s head down there and meet this girlfriend!” Ella said, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. Alex and Rebecca followed as she weaved her way through the throngs of people on the stairs.
The Chase family cheered their team on vehemently, but when it was obviously going to end in the fourth set, Parker couldn’t wait any longer. She had to find a bathroom.
“I have absolutely got to go pee. I’ll be right back,” she said in her mother’s ear.
Denise didn’t even turn around as she screamed encouraging words to the girls on the court. “Okay, just hurry. We have to go down on the court as soon as the match is over.”
Parker had no idea why she was emphasizing this fact. She knew her sister would be crushed and would need their support. She had every intention of getting back in time to console her.
As she climbed the stairs, she heard what must have been the final point as the home crowd went wild. She cursed under her breath but couldn’t put off the call of nature any longer. After completing the mission and washing her hands, she heard more cheering coming from beyond the door. When she walked back out into the gym area, the crowds were moving toward the exits. Her parents were still in the same place, probably just waiting on her to get back. As she made it back to her seat, she saw that her mother had been crying.
“Mom, is everything okay?” she said with concern. Her mother laughed as she blew her nose into a tissue.
“Did you miss all of that?”
“All of what?”
“The prom-posal!” she said, turning away as she and Carter made their way down the stairs. Parker could only follow. Denise kept talking, but with the crowd being so loud and her speaking in the wrong direction, Parker could hardly hear her. Denise grabbed her hand and pulled her up to them as they nudged, ducked, and shimmied their way down the stairs toward the court.
“Katie just got asked to prom!” she said as she and Carter wrapped up her little sister in their arms.
“Mom, stop calling me Katie. It’s Kat. Just Kat,” she said, red-faced and still teary from the extreme lows and highs of the night. Kat broke away from her family to hug Parker.
“Oh, Parker, did you see? Don’t I have the most romantic girlfriend ever?”
Parker, who was still somewhat confused, could only agree until more information was made available. “Yeah, for sure. I’m happy for you. I didn’t know you had a girlfriend!” she said, wrapping her sister up in another hug.
“I do! She goes to Benton, but she’s still good people, I promise,” Kat said with a laugh. “I’m so happy you’re here. Mom and Dad are meeting her parents for the first time tonight. And now that you’re here, they can meet my whole family, and, well, everything is just perfect,” she said excitedly, looking over Parker’s shoulder while waving and motioning for who she could only assume was her girlfriend and her parents.
“AJ! Come on, hurry up, bring them over,” she heard Kat say, but then her ears started to ring, and her vision got a little fuzzy around the edges as things came together in her mind. Kat’s girlfriend is AJ, who plays volleyball. Ella was supposed to be meeting AJ’s girlfriend’s parents tonight. Her stomach began to revolt, and her guts began to churn. Parker was sure she was going to faint. She didn’t want to turn around.
“Mom, Dad, you know AJ, of course,” Kat began. Parker reached out to steady herself, but there was nothing to grab on to. “These are her parents. This is her dad Alex and his girlfriend Rebecca and her mom, Ella.”
There it was. The final nail had been hammered in. All the blood had either rushed to her head or drained to her feet, Parker wasn’t sure which. She hoped she was at least still breathing.
“Mr. and Mrs. Gardner, Ms. Bridger,” Kat continued, “these are my parents, Carter and Denise Chase. And I am so excited to announce that my sister has joined us tonight. Please meet my favorite person in the world, my sister, Peeka. But now since I am no longer a baby and can pronounce it correctly, we’ll just call her Parker.”
Ella, Alex, and Rebecca made it to AJ and took turns embracing and congratulating her, not only for playing an amazing game, but for an astounding, thoughtful gesture. AJ spotted Kat and her family across the floor and urged them along.
Kat waved openly to them after releasing the embrace she had on someone who was probably commenting on how sweet the prom-posal had been. As Ella approached, she saw that Mr. and Mr. Chase were probably in their late forties and very distinguished. But she was quite used to being much younger than AJ’s friends’ parents. They both wore broad smiles and appeared very welcoming.
As the girls got on with the introductions, she saw that the woman Kat had been hugging earlier hadn’t turned around or moved from her spot. She had beautiful, flowing raven hair that made her think of her Parker. Wow, I must be in love. She shrugged it off before moving in to shake hands with Kat’s parents. Then, Ella was sure her hearing had failed her. Kat said her sister was there. And she used that childhood nickname. Peeka. Surely that was just a coincidence. But then, she was almost sure she heard the name ‘Parker’ over the blood rushing in her ears. She held on to that as long as she could, until her new girlfriend turned around to face them.
Ella couldn’t make her vocal cords work. Nothing would come out except a small croaking sound. Parker was white as a sheet and looked like she just might fall on the floor at any moment. She held out her hand to Ella, who just looked at it dumbly as if she couldn’t remember what hands could do.
“Nice to meet you,” she said as Ella took her proffered sweaty left hand with her right hand, shaking it with an unwieldy up and down motion. She still couldn’t talk, nor could she avert her eyes from Parker’s. The others were looking around at each other trying to decipher what was taking place. AJ muttered ‘holy shit’ somewhere in the background. It was something Ella felt palpably.
“Mom, you already know Parker, right?” AJ’s voice sounded like it was booming through a speaker. It was too loud and rang like feedback in her ears. Ella winced at the sound. AJ reached out and placed her hand on the small of her mother’s back. Ella whipped her head around, startled at the contact. AJ nodded at her. There was no judgment in her eyes, just an indication that she needed to deal with the situation at hand.
“Yeah…yes,” she said, clearing her throat as very little sound was coming out. “Yes, I do. We know each other quite well.” She finally released Parker’s hand and watched it fall to her side. She still looked like she was halfway between vomiting and fainting. Ella looked at the floor before clearing her throat to get rid of what felt like gravel in her vocal cords.
“How do you know Parker, Ms. Gardner? Do you frequent her club?” Denise said and laughed good-naturedly. Her husband joined in. Kat was laughing. Alex and Rebecca were laughing. AJ winced. Parker and Ella were not laughing. Parker put her hands over her face, and Ella slowly closed her eyes and ran her tongue along the back of her teeth. They didn’t know it, but they were effectively laughing at her. Why would a teenager’s mom try to pick up twenty-five-year-olds at a bar? This one, this one right here, she thought to herself and sighed.
“The truth is that we did meet there initially,” Parker chimed in, finding her voice out of nowhere. “But, uh, we’ve been—” She stopped to look at her sister, who looked back and forth between her and Ella and then to AJ, who put an arm around her girlfriend and pulled her off to the side and out of earshot. “We’ve been seeing each other.”
The Chases gasped while Alex looked at Ella with an intense protectiveness, like he wanted to just change into his superhero suit and whisk her away to safety.
“Seeing…each other? What does that mean, ‘seeing each other?’” Denise said.
“Mom, we’re a couple,” Parker said before looking back to Ella for back-up. Ella looked away and ran her hand through her hair.
“How old are you, anyway? And what are you doing in a bar? You know she’s only twenty-four, right? You’re a mother, for goodness’ sake,” Carter said. Ella looked completely stricken while tears started to stream down Parker’s cheeks.
Alex, however, stepped up and put his hand on Ella’s shoulder. “There’s no need to be rude, Mr. Chase,” he said, fire behind his ice-blue eyes. “They are both adults, so let’s leave them to their adulting, shall we?” Alex’s fingers flexed reflexively on her shoulder. Ella placed her hand on his, hoping to draw some of his strength, because what little she possessed was fading quickly.
“Hey, let’s just all go home and cool off and we can all talk about this in the clear light of day,” Parker said. Her parents simply turned and started toward the exit.
Alex squeezed Ella’s shoulder one more time before looking between her and Parker. She nodded to let him know he could go. He bent forward to give Parker a quick hug. “It was nice to meet you, Parker. I look forward to getting to know you in the future,” he said, directing the last few words at Ella. Her best friend always knew what she was thinking, and he knew what she was getting ready to do.
Parker looked up at him and smiled through her tears. “I hope so, too.”
Alex took Rebecca’s hand and led her toward the exit. Parker wrapped her arms around herself, and Ella gnawed at her nails nervously.
“So,” Parker started. Ella looked up to meet her eyes, but quickly looked at the gym floor. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea right now,” Ella replied, putting her hands in her back pockets.
“You don’t,” Parker said, nodding to herself and looking at her shoes. “What do you suggest then?”
Ella stared at the ceiling for a few moments before finally looking back at Parker’s tear-streaked face. “I think we probably need to take a little time and get used to all of these new…developments,” she said, searching for the right word for the predicament they were now in.
“So, you’re just going to walk away again after you promised me you wouldn’t,” Parker said.
“Parker,” Ella started, shaking her head, but Parker cut her off.
“No, don’t Parker me. You promised me! No one could have seen this coming. But we can’t run away from each other now.”
“Yeah, well, maybe I want to,” Ella said, sounding harsher than she meant to. When Parker’s face dropped, Ella stepped forward with an instinctual need to pull her into her arms. Instead, she stopped short and grabbed her shoulder in a very platonic gesture.
“I’m sorry, I just…I need to talk to AJ, and I think you need to talk to your family. We just need to revisit this when the dust settles.”
“And how long is that going to take, Ella? A day, a week…a year? You heard them. They’re upset and will probably try to do everything they can to try to keep us apart. Now is when we need to have a united front. Now is when we need to be strong. Together,” she said.
Ella felt a tear spill down her cheek, but she scrubbed it away and shook her head. “I don’t think I can be strong, Parker. Not right now. I just…I’ve got to go,” she said, doing an about-face and turning her back on the only woman she had ever truly loved.
Chapter 22
Ella called in to work the next day, hoping the school had sufficient time to find a substitute. Last night, after leaving Parker standing in the middle of the gym, she walked directly to her car, drove straight home, and went to bed. She had been there ever since.
AJ texted to let her know she was going to stay with Kat overnight, but she didn’t say much else. Ella sent back a thumbs-up and that was the end of her phone activity for the night. She was quite surprised that she hadn’t heard from Parker and was currently processing the dichotomy of being relieved and being overcome with a soul-shattering sadness that made it hard to even exist.
Ella was pretty sure she had only managed small naps throughout the night, but those seemed to end around four in the morning. She couldn’t cry. She could barely breathe around the knot in her stomach. She stared at the ceiling while sad music played from the speaker on her bedside table. Morning eventually happened as the sun peeked through the curtains. She was going to have to get up and get some water.
In the kitchen, she debated back and forth with the idea of coffee on an already sour stomach and opted for some chewable antacids instead, grateful that she had the house to herself. Ella knew she would have to face AJ soon, but she wasn’t quite ready to take that on. Then, she heard the front door open and close. Oh well, here’s to ripping off the bandage, she thought.
AJ tiptoed into the kitchen, obviously trying to sneak in without having to face her mother. But now they stood face-to-face for a very uncomfortable few beats of silence.
“Hey,” Ella said breathlessly.
“Hey,” AJ said, twisting her hands in front of her. Neither moved nor said anything for a moment. Suddenly, Ella couldn’t stifle the tears that had evaded her all night. She sank to her knees, incapacitated and inconsolable. AJ put her keys on the table before dropping down to embrace her mother while she sobbed.
AJ ran a comforting hand up and down Ella’s back as she held on for dear life while she cried. After a few minutes and with everything in her completely spent, Ella wiped her eyes and looked at her daughter apologetically.
“I didn’t know. I’m so sorry,” she practically choked out. AJ, who hadn’t shown any signs of being angry at her, nodded her head sadly.
“I know, Mom. I didn’t know either,” she said.
“Did you not see family pictures at their house when you were there? I know you only saw Parker over that video call, but I just don’t understand how you didn’t know.”
“They took all the family pictures down after they had that big fight,” she said. “God, I didn’t even know her real first name. I thought it was a strange name, but I wasn’t questioning it. She explained to me last night that she started calling her Peeka because she couldn’t say Parker when she was little,” she said, as Ella quoted the last part along with her. AJ looked at her surprised and then with sympathy.
“I guess you got the story, too, huh? From Parker?”
Ella nodded, sniffed, and wiped her face with a paper towel. “Yeah, she started calling Kat ‘Keeka’ as a way to bond. According to Parker, they never use their real first names unless they are mad at one another.” AJ now quoted the last few words along with her mother. They shared a chuckle before returning to the mood at hand. Another long beat of silence hit before AJ sighed and helped her mother to a chair, then she moved to make coffee.
“What did Kat say to you? Does she hate me?” Ella squeaked out.
AJ shook her head vehemently. “No, no. Not at all. I mean, she was confused. We both felt dumb that we didn’t figure it out beforehand, but I want you to know that if you’re both happy, Kat and I are all for it.”
Ella’s head snapped up to look at AJ almost hard enough to give her whiplash. She couldn’t stop herself from rubbing the back of her neck as she thought about her daughter’s words.
“I will admit it is kind of weird. I’m not going to lie. But, last night, I was telling her that I had never seen you so happy,” she said, and Ella started sniffling anew at her sweet, supportive words.
AJ put a hand on her shoulder. “She said that when they were having that family meeting yesterday, she saw something different in Parker. She seemed stronger and more confident than she had ever been. Mom, that’s because of you. You guys make each other happy and bring out the best in each other, you know?”
Ella sobbed harder into her hands. AJ held her again. Once Ella had settled somewhat, AJ stepped back to pour herself a cup of coffee. She offered one to Ella, who just held up her hand in refusal.
“Wow, you know things are shitty when you don’t want coffee,” AJ said, trying to lighten the mood.
Ella tossed her a sympathy smile in appreciation for the attempt at levity. “What about Mr. and Mrs. Chase?” she said.
AJ froze momentarily before resuming her coffee prep. “Well, they were angry with Kat and me because they didn’t understand how we didn’t know. But I guess we looked convincing in our explanation because they kind of relented in the end. They absolutely blasted Parker, though. It was awful,” AJ said, shaking her head sadly. Ella listened raptly as her heart broke a little more for her love.
