I never really knew what happened, only that one minute I was dancing barefoot by the bar with my girlfriends, basking in Mason’s victory as if it were my own, and the next minute, Watson, Spence, and Parker were in a pile on top of Mason, and he was screaming in a way that made the ambulance, the arm broken in three places, and the surgery less of a surprise. But, still, what happened was unthinkable.
And then everything was over for Mason. His career. Our relationship. It was worse for him than for me, of course, but to just be abandoned like that… The way he threw me out of his life without a single word changed me. I longed for him the way only a teenaged girl truly can, spent nights crying myself to sleep and days moping around. I promised that I would never mourn for a man like that again. I sulked for a couple months of my senior year. Then I went to college. And, well, in the fun and the freedom and the buffet of boys, I forgot about Mason. I realized that we didn’t really know each other, that we had nothing in common, and that what we’d had wasn’t real. I’d never looked back. And I’d never let a man do that to me again. Not even Thad.
But I also couldn’t help but wonder if maybe refusing to truly let yourself fall in love all the way wasn’t really a way to live.
“I said that maybe now that I was graduating I could finally nail you,” Mason said, breaking me out of my thoughts after lighting another cigarette. “Then I’d throw you back into Dogwood and move on to all the hot chicks on the road.” He visibly winced as he said it. Then he whispered, “Sorry. I was a stupid kid.”
That night was almost half my life ago, but even still, it stung. But his contrition helped ease the sting a little. Maybe, somewhere, way deep down, Mason had felt something for me, something that was creating a small bit of remorse now.
“Lovely,” I said. But I still wasn’t sure where he was going with this.
“Parker got up in my face and said, ‘If you ever say something like that about her again, I will end you.’ ” He shrugged and looked down at the ground. “I wasn’t worried about it; I didn’t care. My punk-ass little brother wasn’t going to take me down. After that no-hitter, I was flying as high as I had ever flown in my life. I shouldn’t have kept at it. I honestly don’t even remember what I said. But it was about you—and it set him off.” Then Mason looked back up at me, the pain in his eyes so sharp and prescient that I had to look away. “And he did. He ended me. For you.” He took a drag of his cigarette and half smiled.
I felt sick all over. My stomach, my head. Mason’s life had been ruined because of me. Parker had ended his brother’s career to defend my honor. That broken arm had changed his life. I wanted to say something to make it better, but there wasn’t anything to say. Yeah, he’d been an ass, but even an ass doesn’t deserve to have his life ruined because of a stupid insult.
“Look,” he continued. “I know he didn’t mean it. We were all drunk, and when I took that swing at him, all those boys just came at me. I shouldn’t have said it.” He paused. “And I shouldn’t have disappeared on you. It just seemed easier.”
Mortifyingly, his words put back together something that had been broken inside for nearly half my life. But I just shrugged.
“At the time it didn’t seem to matter much what I did,” he said. “But now I’ve had a couple decades to think about it, and I’ve realized that the way we treat people is really all we have. Either way, yeah, my brother ruined my life. But his got ruined worse in the end. He was defending you with his life even way back then.” He smiled cockily. “And I do mean his life. Because I could easily have killed him with my bare hands. I just thought you should know he always thought you were the one for him.”
Then he literally turned and sauntered away, taking the last drag of his cigarette and flicking it into the bushes with a practiced hand, the same way I had seen him do about a million times as a teenager. Dropped a bomb and didn’t even have the decency to run.
Harris chose the perfect time to come down the front steps, Mom on his arm.
“You ready, babe?”
“Amelia,” Mom said, looking into my face. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
How could I possibly make her understand that I had?
Parker
THE SHALLOW END
AS THE DOUBLE SLIDING DOORS of the airport opened, I tapped my Fly Delta app and clicked “ticket change.” I don’t know what it was about that moment that convinced me, but I knew I couldn’t go back to Palm Beach. At least, not without Amelia.
I had been so sure that she would come talk to me before she left, that she felt what I felt, that we were finally on the same page. But she hadn’t. I had decided this morning to let it go, to move forward. Now, I had undecided.
The next flight to New York wasn’t until five p.m., which would put me in the city about eight. Amelia and Harris would arrive back in the city by two. That gave her six hours to forget about Cape Carolina and me and that kiss. It gave her six hours to start packing, to put wheels in motion toward a new life, a life that didn’t include me. What if I was too late?
I sighed. Maybe it was fate. I almost gave up, decided that it wasn’t meant to be.
But then it was like I could actually hear Greer in my head, telling me that she wanted me to be happy.
So, what the hell? Amelia might reject me. I might fall flat on my face. But I’d lived through worse.
I raced to the ticket counter and said breathlessly to a stern-looking woman with orange-red chin-length hair and a Delta-blue uniform, “Have you ever seen Love Actually?”
She raised her eyebrow. I would take that as a yes.
* * *
After an hour of infuriating, nearly stopped traffic, six blocks from Amelia’s apartment, I said, “Just let me out here, please.”
“No, no, a few more blocks,” the cabbie replied.
“Yeah, man, I know. But I want to get out here.” I tossed him cash and jumped out, running down the sidewalk, my wheeled carry-on behind me, everyone on the street looking.
My heart was pounding both from the fact that I hadn’t actually run in far too long and because I was panicking. I was doing my dead-level best to get there, but what if I was too late? Not that moving in with someone was saying marriage vows or anything, but it was big. And it was messy.
It wasn’t until I got to Amelia’s door, out of breath and, I’m sure, red-faced, that I realized I didn’t have a clue what I was going to say. Certainly, some grand profession of love would scare her off. But a lukewarm I know you’re moving in with a man you love, but I think I might like you probably wasn’t going to be compelling enough to make her want to walk away from the future she was creating with him.
Before I could decide, the door opened, and I was face-to-face with Martin. As I leaned over, my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath, he said, “Ew. You’re so sweaty.”
I looked past him into the living room and stood up again. “No boxes?” I practically panted.
“Lord. Come inside and sit down,” he said. “What is going on with you? You are a mess.” As I sat down, he said, “Ohhhhhh. You’re a mess because your second one true love is moving in with another man. Poor baby.”