Closing Time (16 page)

“I know.”

“And call me
if you need anything. I’ll high-tail it out of there in a heartbeat.”

“Yeah, I know that too,” I said sarcastically.

“I mean it.”

“I get it.”
Talk about overkill.

“I’ll call you every hour to make sure you’re okay.”

“I sincerely hope you don’t have reception up there.”

He glared at me. “I want to take care of my wife. Wow, I’m such a jerk.”

“I know, but sometimes you go overboard.”

“Well, you knew that when you married me, so I don’t feel bad about it.”

Of course he didn’t.

He grabbed my hips and pressed his chest into my shoulder, staying clear of my stomach. “I just love you, okay? I’m sorry it’s annoying, but it’s my job to take care of you. You have no idea how hard it is to let you go, even for a weekend. Our baby girl is almost here and I want to make sure nothing gets in the way of that.”

How could I be annoyed with him when he was so sweet? I rested my head against his chest. “I know.”

“You forgive me?”

‘There’s nothing to forgive.”

He kissed my forehead. “Good. Because I’ll be this way for the rest of our lives.”

“I expected nothing less.”

12

Ryan

Janice and I were back to normal despite my cowardice attempt at doing the right
thing, or at least what I thought was the right thing at the time. Now I realize how stupid it was. My fiancé was right; I let my insecurities affect me when they shouldn’t.

“Looks like everything is ready,” she said. “Now we just have to get married.”

I sat beside her on the couch and patted her thigh. “Which I’m looking forward to.”  I waited for a snide remark for my behavior but it never came.

“Where are we going on our honeymoon?” she asked in excitement.

“It’s a surprise.”

She growled. “How will I know what to pack?”

“Don’t pack anything. You’ll be naked most of the time anywhere.”

She rolled her eyes. “Are we going to a beach?”

“We might be…”

“I’ll just ask Scarlet.”

“She won’t tell you a damn thing.”

“We’ll see about that.” She cuddled
into me on the couch and watched TV.

I couldn’t pay attention. The guilt was welling up inside me. “Baby, I’m so sorry…”

She sighed. “Ryan, let’s just move on.”

“But it was such a shitty thing to do.”

“It was shitty,” she snapped. “But I know you would have come back on your knees anyway.”

Yeah, I probably would. “That doesn’t make my actions right.”

“Ryan, let it go. I’m over it.”

“I’m still sorry anyway.”

“And I’ve forgiven you. Just don’t be a dumbass again.”

I chuckled. “Okay.” A commercial came on. “Why did you want me to pack a bag? Are we going somewhere?”

“I want to go hiking tomorrow.” She didn’t look at me.

“Hiking?” I asked incredulously. “You don’t strike me as a hiking type of girl.”

“Well, I am,” she snapped.

“Wh
ere are we going to hike at? The Statue of Liberty is the closest thing we’ll find.”

“Just shut up and watch TV.”

I didn’t argue with her.

A knock on the door interrupted our quiet evening at home.

“Who the hell is that?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I’m not expecting anyone.”

I looked through the peephole but no one was there. I opened the door and looked at the ground, expecting a package from Amazon.

“Let’s get this party started!” Cortland jumped in front of me and he wasn’t alone.

“Grab your shit and let’s go,” Flynn said. “We got everything ready.”

“What?” I asked.

Sean patted my shoulder. “You heard them. Let’s head out.”

We hadn’t discussed my bachelor party at all. I wasn’t even sure if I was having
one. “Seriously, no liquor and no strippers. I already pissed Janice off and I don’t want to do it again.”

“Just grab your bag and stop acting like a girl,” Sean said.

Janice smiled while she came over to me. “You heard them. Now go.”

Everything clicked. “That’s why you made me pack a bag?”

“Bingo. Now have a good time.” She put the bag over my shoulder.

“We’ll take care of him,” Sean said.

“Just make sure he doesn’t take off again,” she said darkly.

“Ooh,” Flynn said. “Burn.”

I deserved it.

“How long will I be gone for?” I asked.

“The weekend,” Cortland answered.

“What are we doing?” I asked.

“Just shut up and let’s go,” Sean said.

I turned to Janice and kissed her. “I guess I’ll see you when I get home.”

“Have a good time.”

“I love you.” I looked into her eyes while I said it.

“I love you too.”

“Please be here when I get back.”

Her eyes softened. “I’ll always be here, Ryan.”

“Okay.”

Sean pulled me out the door then handed me his phone. “Your sister wants to talk to you.”

I took it. “Yo.”

“I’m sorry I can’t come, Ryan. But I really wanted to be there.”

I was a little disappointed but I wouldn’t admit it. “I understand, Scarlet. I’m not sure
where we’re going, but it’s probably not a good idea for you to come along.”

“It’s not,” she said. “But we’ll do something—just the two of us.”

“I’d like that.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, sis. Take care of my niece.”

“I will. I’m sitting on my ass and doing nothing just like my husband ordered.”

I chuckled. “He’s a good guy, Scar. Listen to him.”

“I know. Have fun.”

“I will.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.” I ended the call then handed the phone back to Sean. “I’m surprised you’re coming.”

He shook his head. “Don’t even get me started…”

Cortland and I drove in his car while Sean and Flynn rode in his Ferrari. Flynn had never been in it so he insisted he ride with Sean, and Sean was insistent on taking his own car just in case he needed to get back to Scarlet.

“So, now will you tell me where we’re going?” I asked.

“Fishing,” Cortland answered, driving alongside a lake.

“Fishing? Seriously?”

“What? Scarlet said that’s what you wanted to do.”

“I’m just surprised you actually listened to her,” I said with a laugh.

“Do you want to do something else instead?” Cortland asked, panicked.

“No,” I said quickly. “This is perfect, exactly what I want.”

He breathed a sigh of relief and clenched the steering wheel.

We pulled up to the lake house, which had it’s own dock with a small fishing boat. I rolled down the window and smelled the fresh air. I was used to the pollutants of New York City. It was nice to smell something else other than liquor and urine.

“It’s nice,” I said.

We got out and carried all our stuff into the lake house. The guys packed plenty of food and even more beer. There were two couches in the living room and two bedrooms, but only one shower.

That might be a problem.

“It’s the nicest thing they had out here,” Sean explained.

“It’s great,” I said. “I love it.” I walked outside and saw all the fishing gear. It was perfect.

“What are we going to eat for dinner?” Flynn asked.

“Beer and burgers?” Cortland asked.

“Sounds good,” I said.

Sean flipped the burgers and prepared the dinner while we set up the poker table. I already had two beers because I didn’t drink much when I was at home. Sean passed us the plates and pretzels and we dug in while we started a round.

“Mike couldn’t come?” I asked.

“No,” Sean said. “He’s staying with Cassandra and looking after Scarlet for me.”

That was understandable. “Do you have any names for the baby?”

“Actually…” Sean folded his car
ds on the table. “Yes.”

“What?” I asked.

“Skye.”

Cortland smiled. “I like it. It’s cute.”

Flynn agreed. “Pretty.”

“Pretty for a pretty girl,” I said. “Skye.” I kept imagining my niece and I couldn’t hold back my excitement. I was thrilled to be an uncle. When Scarlet lost the first baby, I took it pretty hard. My sister was too good of a person to go through heartache like that.

“I can’t wait until she gets here,” Sean said. “Seeing Mike with Trinity makes me jealous.”

“Except when he wears that damn satchel,” Cortland said with a laugh.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Sean asked. “He wears that around the office?”

“And to meetings,” Cortland added.

Sean laughed. “God, he must look like such a dork.”

“The girls swoon over him even more.” Cortland rolled his eyes. “If only Cassandra knew…”

Flynn laughed. “It’s impossible to keep the girls away.”

I remembered what Flynn told me last week. “Wait. Did you propose?” I can’t believe I forgot about it.

His face fell in sadness. “Yes and no…”

Cortland’s face was contorted in shock. “She said no?”

“No. I didn’t get a chance to finish asking her.” Flynn threw his chips into the pile. “That piece of shit ex of hers showed up right in the middle of it.”

“So what did you do?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he snapped. “I couldn’t keep going like nothing happened. That’s not how I wanted to propose to her. I didn’t bring it up and neither did she.”

Sean cringed. “That sucks, man…”

“Fucking blows,” Flynn said with a sigh.

“What are you going to do now?” Cortland asked.

Flynn shrugged. “I’ll ask her again but now she’s expecting it. I’ll have to do it in a way where she’ll have no idea.”

“Hmm…” That was a toughy.

We played a few rounds, and Sean won the pile. Since it was my bachelor party, all the money I bet was returned to me. It was a silent rule we developed. When it was around one in the morning, I was done. “I’m going to bed.”

“Me too,” Cortland said.

Sean called Scarlet and checked on her—for the eighth time.

“Dude, she’s fine,” Flynn snapped. “Let her sleep.”

Sean glared at him. “Mind your own business.”

“He’s sensitive about this topic,” I said. “Just let him be.”

“Apparently,” Flynn said sarcastically.

We left the table in the center of the room then retired to bed. I got the master bedroom because it was my party. When my head hit the pillow, I pulled out my phone and texted Janice.

Night.

Night.

I was used to saying good night to her before bed. It felt weird not to do it now. I closed my eyes and fell asleep quickly, thinking about how lucky I was. When I came home, Janice would still be there, whereas most women wouldn’t.

I was up at four in the morning, ready to catch the fish. The morning was the best time to put your line in the water. Of course, all the guys were dead asleep.

“Wake up, assholes.” I shook Flynn until he stumbled off the couch.

“Fuck the fish,” Flynn said as he rubbed his eyes.

I moved to Cortland next and slapped his cheek. “Up.”

He groaned then sat up. “It’s still dark.”

“The su
n will be here in a few minutes.”

He ran his fingers through his messy hair then sat up, his eyes still half-closed.

Sean was the only one who was awake.

“Wow. I thought I’d have to drag you out of bed.”

“Nope.” He stood up then looked at his phone.

Now I knew why he was awake. “Worried?”

“I’ll never stop worrying.”

“Dude, if you want to go back it’s not a big deal. I totally understand.”

He shoved his phone into his pocket. “No. I want to be here, man. I’m sorry for being rude.”

“You weren’t being rude. I know how much you love my sister.”

“I do.” He put on his baseball cap then walked out.

We packed the boat then shoveled off. It was dead silent. There were no ripples on the lake, and no one was in sight. We were alone, just
us and nature. It reminded me of my childhood. My dad died far too young, but I remembered him as vividly as I remembered Janice’s face every time I went to bed.

He took me to the lake every year, teaching me to fish. It was something only he and I did. Scarlet stayed home with Mom and we talked about life and sports. Sometimes we didn’t say anything at all.

Every one knew how to fish but Cortland, but that wasn’t surprising to me. I showed him the reel and how to cast a line. He picked it up pretty quickly.

When Sean cast his line, the pole started to drag. “Wow, I caught one already.”

“No,” That was impossible. “Your line is caught on something.”

“No.” He stood up, excited. He reeled in the line until it emerged from the water. It was a batch of moss.

We all laughed.

“That’s a nice fish you got there,” Flynn said sarcastically.

Sean pulled everything off then sighed. “Fishing is harder than it looks.”

My line got a nibble so I reeled it in slowly. “I got a small one.”

“You probably got moss too,” Sean said.

“Nope.” I fished enough to understand exactly what was on my line. I pulled out the small fish and it flopped around. “That’s how you do it, boys.” I put the fish in the cooler then prepared my hook again.

“Show off,” Cortland muttered.

“My dad is the best fisher I know. He does the Connecticut competition every year. He’s won five years in a row,” Sean said.

I smirked. “Well, your dad and I should have a go.”