“I’m better now. Thank you, Beck.”
Luckily, our food arrives and ends any further explanation of my work with pussies.
8
An incoming call interrupts the music playing in my earbuds, and I groan when I see who it is. Frustrated, I put my colored pencil down from sketching a room I’m drawing, remove my earbuds and reluctantly answer. “Hello, Dad.”
“Hi, I just called to remind you of the engagement party on Saturday, and we expect you to be there with a smile on your face to support our dearest friends.”
“Dad...”
“Romi, I’m done playing around. I tried to let you work it out on your own with Allen and Rebecca. You won’t even try, so now, you’ll have to deal with it. We will be seeing a lot of them as a family this year with both Marty’s and Allen’s weddings. Sometimes in life we have to do the hard things to take positive steps to move forward. Now, go buy a new, pretty dress for the party, and I’ll see you in Austin.” The phone disconnects before I can say another word.
This whole thing is insane, for Pete’s sake. There has to be something that I can do. I have to stop this swirling whirlpool that I’m about to drown in. Unable to sit still, I pace the floor of my bedroom, trying to think of anything that will help me get through this weekend.
I’ve got it.
It’s a crazy idea.
Could it work?
It’s my only hope.
Without any thought, I pick up the phone, search for the number I’m needing and make the call. After one ring the front desk answers, I set an appointment for just a few hours from now and my plan is in motion.
The next thing I know, I’m sitting in a sterile room with a metal table in my line of sight. It’s a little chilly in here, and I cross my arms, rubbing them, trying to keep warm. I here charts sliding in and out of the wall holders on the other side of the door, anticipating the door to the patient room I’m in to open any moment.
“Hello, Mrs. Winters,” he greets, walking into the room with his head down and his eyes focused on the chart he’s reading. Silence brings his head up. “What the fu…?”
“Hi.”
“Hi, is Roxy okay?”
“Oh, yes, she is, and I have finished the project at the Winters’ without any other mishaps.”
“That’s good. Then, why did you set all this up?” He swipes his arm in front of himself to point out the empty room.
“So… I have a little situation. Well… I guess it’s not a situation. Yeah, really, it is a pretty big situation.” He walks fully into the room, leans up against the countertop, one leg rests over the other with his strong arms crossed in front of him and a questioning look on his face with his head cocked to the side patiently waiting for me to spit this out. “Okay, here’s the deal. I have this event I have to attend, and I’d like to see if you would go with me to it.”
“Oh, are you asking me out on a date?” As he questions, he still looks cool and unfazed by my request.
“Yes, and I’m sorry, but...” Now he stands up straight and paces back-and-forth visibly on edge.
“I don’t know. I’m really busy.”
“I’m sure you are. I'm sorry to ask. I just don’t know what else to do.”
“What do you mean, I don’t know what else to do? Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“No, nothing like that. Oh, this is going to sound really strange. I’ve never actually said this out loud before. It’s just… My father’s best friend’s son is getting married. Well, that son is my ex-fiancé. The very man I caught banging my ex-best friend in a closet on our wedding day. You see, those two came out of the closet, literally, that day, and announced just a few weeks later their love for each other. Apparently, they had been seeing each other behind my back for the previous two years of our relationship. My father is pressuring me on two different things. One is to attend their engagement party this weekend in Austin, and the other is to stop persuing my own interior design business and go back to work for him. My parents have a warped view on life and believe women should do as little as possible in the workforce for themselves, marry and then just be the arm candy and socialite for the man. That’s what put me in this predicament. So, with all that said... would you be my fake boyfriend and go to this engagement party with me?”
He stops his pacing and just stares at me.
“I know this is asking a lot to do this for me. I just really don’t want to show up alone and pathetic. You seem like a nice and safe guy. I mean, who wouldn’t be a safe guy helping animals the way you do. I noticed how you held Roxy and were so caring when you gave her a bath.” He’s looking at me intensely, and I can’t tell if he’s thinking about accepting my crazy plan and going along with it or is going to shut me down and send me packing.
“Damn, Romi, that sucks.” Clay saying my name sends a shiver through my body, and it’s not because of the chill in the room. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
“Please think about it, I know it’s an insane plan, and I should not have asked you. I was just hoping to go and not feel like the dog that was trampled on and then kicked to the curb, like I was at my wedding.”
“Do you still love this guy?”
“No way in hell, the pain I felt when I left the church that day in my wedding dress, was more about embarrassment and the trust I had in them being broken, than the heartbreak of a relationship. We grew up together, and I always thought he had my back and was going to be there for me. That was all shattered in a moment, but what hurt more was the fact that he never felt that way towards me. That safety net and comfort that I thought I had with him was false and was really never there to begin with. Not to mention the pain of my bestfriend, that I had known since high school, was stabbing me in the back. Every party, dinner or outing we were together replayed in my head for a long time, and I questioned every second of when I walked out of the room and left them alone to be real.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know if I can get away. Where and when is this party?” He seems to be interested, just unsure if it’s doable.
“It’s tomorrow evening in Austin. We would leave in the morning, drive down there and then return Sunday afternoon. So, you will only have to be gone a day and a half. How about I leave you my number.” I pass him my business card. “Think about it and let me know. Either way, I have to attend. There’s no getting out of it for me, so my bags will be packed.”
“Alright, I’ll think about it. I’m sorry,” he says and opens the door, inviting me to walk out before him.
9
Sitting at our usual table at Jackson’s, I watch Hayden and Summer dancing to Harley’s song about living life to its fullest. Hayden’s words play on repeat in my head. It would be nice to have someone to come home to. But, what, to be called right back out an hour later to another emergency? What kind of life would that be for either of us?
“Cold beer and lifelong friends, that’s what’s good in life. That’s all I need,” I say out loud, trying to believe my own stupid thoughts.