The Boyfriend of the Month Club (39 page)

“How are you?” he asked cautiously. He seemed somber. Not friendly, but not mad either.

“I’m okay,” she squeaked. “And you?”

“I’m fine.” He looked across the room. “We’re celebrating my mother’s birthday.”

“Please wish her a happy birthday from . . . me.” Not that Joe’s mother would have any clue who Grace was. Other than as his patient of course.

He seemed to catch on to her thoughts and shuffled from foot to foot. It was the first time Grace had ever seen Joe physically uncomfortable. “I saw Farrell outside on his cell phone. Are you two together now?”

“What? No! I mean, we’re
here
together. But not like you think. Brandon is a good friend, Joe. I told you that. The stuff on the radio, what Felix said? That wasn’t true.
Please
, you have to believe me on that.”

He nodded, like he did believe her, and Grace felt a second’s relief. At least that was one thing she didn’t have to defend herself on.

“Do you mind if I sit down? Just for a few minutes?”

“Of course!” Grace gestured to the empty seat across from her.

“I’m sorry I haven’t returned your calls. I meant to, but I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what to say.”

She didn’t know what to say either. Except that she was sorry and that she wished she could take it all back. “How did it go with your aunt and Phillip?”

Joe seemed surprised but pleased that she remembered his cousin’s dilemma. “It was . . . You were right. She was great. It was a big relief. For everyone.”

“I’m glad.” She thought about the best way to apologize but there was no best way except to simply come right out and say it. “Joe, I’m sorry about the boyfriend club.”

“You mean your women’s empowerment group?” Finally. There was the anger she’d been expecting. “What made you do it, Grace?”

“It started out as petty revenge for a date gone bad. Then it grew into something I couldn’t control. It was . . . it was stupid.”

“Why would you tell a roomful of strangers—” He shook his head, clearly at a loss.

“Why would I tell a roomful of strangers a bunch of personal details about us? About you? In my defense, I only told them the good stuff, Joe. The bit about you trying to pick me up at the Wobbly Duck? I told that to Sarah and Ellen and Penny, and Ellen thought you were my Mr. Wickham, and so she put that in the review. And I did tell everyone you snored, but that was because Melanie got me riled up.”

“That’s how you knew about Melanie being out of control. She was actually a part of this club too?”

“I wanted to tell you, but . . .” Her voice faltered. “I have no excuse, really. Except I’m sorry.”

He didn’t say anything, but then he didn’t have to. The look on his face told her what she needed to know. This was it. The end. If she’d hoped that there was a possibility that the two of them would be able to get past the events of the last few days, the expression in his eyes killed it. He wasn’t angry anymore. He was blank. Devoid of any emotion. And that was probably the worst of all. Grace felt like the earth had just tilted beneath her feet. She wished she knew how to push it back into place again.

“I’m sorry too, Grace, because I think we could have had something terrific here.” He cleared his throat. “And I’m sorry I didn’t introduce you to my mother when I had the chance, but I think there’s something you should know. Maybe, I don’t know . . . maybe it’ll help us both if I say this out loud.”

He looked nervous again, which only made Grace more nervous. She could feel her palms go damp.

“You won’t believe it, but my cousin Phillip has been seeing this counselor. This ex-marine type—”

“Don’t tell me. Jim the manly therapist?”

“Seems he’s a pretty popular guy. He’s been helping Phillip come to terms with his sexuality and a few other things. Like standing up for himself, taking control of his life, that sort of stuff. And now, because he’s been in therapy, Phillip himself thinks he’s Dr. Phil. Literally.”

Despite all that was happening, Grace couldn’t help but smile. Joe smiled too. But it was a sad smile.

“And I told him what went down between us, and he gave me some insight that I actually think is spot-on.”

“Like . . . what?”

“Well, considering the timing, our relationship was probably doomed from the start. You weren’t in a good place to begin with, and that might have influenced things. I’ll be honest, Grace, when I look back . . . at one point I thought . . . Well, it doesn’t matter what I thought. But there was something missing. Something that kept me from taking that final emotional plunge.” He stopped and shook his head. “Wow. I’m beginning to sound like a damn shrink.”

Something missing
. It was the second time Joe had said that. Grace had felt it too.

“So after talking to Phillip and thinking about it some, I think I’ve figured it out. I don’t think you really ever gave me a chance, Grace. I knew things weren’t right when I found out about Florida Charlie’s being in trouble. You mentioned it in some offhand way, and when I wanted to talk about it, you brushed me off. But I know how you feel about that store. The idea of selling Florida Charlie’s has got to be eating you up inside. Maybe I could have been a good sounding board, if you’d opened up to me.”

“I told you about Craig cheating on Sarah. I’ve
never
told anyone that, Joe. Not even my closest friends.”

He considered that a moment. “Would you have told me if we hadn’t run into them at the restaurant that night? I think you were vulnerable, and you let your guard down. I don’t think you would have confided in me otherwise.” He lowered his voice. “I don’t want the kind of relationships my dad falls into. It’s not enough to be lovers. I want to be friends too. You were right when you accused me of being jealous of Farrell. It was obvious you had connected with him in a way you and I hadn’t.”

“Is this about the day at the hospital? Because, Joe—”

The sound of a man clearing his throat startled them both. She looked up to see Brandon. How long had he been standing there? Not long, or surely either she or Joe would have noticed him before now. The two men exchanged a curt greeting. Joe went back to his table and that was that.

“I’m sorry,” Brandon said. “Did I interrupt something?”

“Nothing I wasn’t expecting.” She looked over at Joe’s table and Brandon followed her gaze, staring for what was longer than had to be considered polite.

“Are you okay?” Grace asked.

“Sure . . . sure.” He shook his head as if to clear it. “I should be asking you that.”

“I’ll be all right.” Considering everything that had happened, Joe was being incredibly nice. She’d lied to him. And even though she hadn’t done it on purpose, the boyfriend club review had made him out to be some cold, calculating playboy schemer. It was a miracle he’d even bothered coming over to talk to her.

Brandon opened his menu. “What are you hungry for?”

“Honestly? I’ve lost my appetite. Sorry.”

“I’m not hungry anymore either,” he admitted.

“You want to come back to my place and watch a movie? We could make popcorn and drink cheap wine.”

“Why not?” Brandon motioned for the server to bring their check. “That actually sounds pretty good right now.” Grace was surprised at how easily Brandon had capitulated. He was probably just saying that to make her feel better. Despite what he’d said earlier, he really was awfully sweet.

Brandon pulled the car up to the front of the restaurant and opened the door for her. “So what movie are we going to watch?” he asked.

“Anything except
Titanic
. I’m not in the mood to get vested in another doomed relationship.”

“Me either,” said Brandon.

33

Reconciliation Is the New Confession

It was five p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. And way past time to face the music. Had it only been three days since the firing/big announcement? Pop’s car wasn’t in the driveway and Grace had to admit she was relieved, big coward that she was. Mami was in the kitchen, mincing an onion. Thin cuts of steak lay marinating in garlic and lemon on a plate to the side. Mami was making
Bistec Palomillo
, Grace’s favorite comfort food. She just wished she was hungry enough to want to eat.

“Where’s Abuela?” she asked her mother after giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Taking a nap.” Mami smiled wistfully.

Grace was glad that it was just the two of them. There were times in a woman’s life when, no matter how old she was, the person she needed most was her mother.

“Mami, what do you think about Charlie and Sarah? Honestly?”

Mami finished mincing the onion and wiped her hands on a dish towel. “Well, I wish they could have gotten married in the Church, with Father Donnelly saying the Mass and Charlie wearing a tuxedo and looking all handsome and Sarah in a proper wedding dress, but . . .” Mami shook her head. “It wouldn’t guarantee that the marriage would last. I’m happy. I think this is the real thing.”

“You don’t think it’s too soon after Sarah’s divorce?”

“I think it wasn’t soon enough. I don’t think you should put a timetable on happiness.”

So everyone had seen the Charlie/Sarah connection a
lot
sooner than Grace had. And here Sarah was supposed to be her best friend, the person whom she knew better than anyone. It seemed Grace didn’t know Sarah at all. Not if Sarah had been harboring some secret love for Charlie all this time. As for Charlie . . . In retrospect, it made sense. There were tiny signs here and there that Grace had seen but chosen to ignore. Mainly because it was futile, Sarah being a married woman and all. But they’d been there.

“Is Pop really mad at me?” Grace asked.

“He’ll get over it. He’s mainly angry at himself.”

“Why would Pop be angry at himself? He hasn’t done anything.”

“That’s
exactly
why he’s angry. He thinks he should have paid more attention to the store.” Mami shrugged. “I think he’s still a little angry at me too, for the constant hovering I’ve done the past couple of years. But he’ll get over it.”

“What do I do now?” Grace asked. It felt surreal, going to her mother for advice at age thirty the way she’d done when she was a little girl and had messed up something.

“About what? About your job? About the thing on the radio? Oh, I heard.” Mami shook her head. “What were you thinking, starting up this boyfriend club?”

That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it?

“I honestly don’t know.” She thought about the way it had affected the people in her life. Like Charlie and Brandon. But most especially Joe. “What if Pop and I never get over this?”

“You mean, what if he stays mad at you forever?” Mami smiled in the way mothers did when they thought their adult children were being silly. “Grace, your father worked for his father for the first ten years of our marriage. Do you really believe they never fought? Your grandfather fired your father at least three times before you were even born.”

Grace was stunned. “Why haven’t I heard that before?”

“Working with family is never easy. There’s a line that gets crossed so often, after a while you don’t even see it anymore. The last time your father got fired, he had to come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t the only one with a good idea. That maybe your grandfather knew a thing or two about the business and that he should shut up and listen and learn. I’m not saying that you and your father can work together. I don’t even know if that’s what you want. But believe me when I tell you that, while your father might be unhappy with you right now as an employee, it doesn’t change the way he feels about you as a daughter.”

She poured some olive oil into a hot pan and fried up one of the steaks, then slid it into a plate and covered it in onions. “You’re too skinny. Sit down and eat this or we’re going to have to start calling you Cucumber instead of Tomato.”

Sarah’s car was parked in front of Grace’s town house but there was no one in the car, which meant she was inside, waiting. It made perfect sense, since Sarah had her own key to Grace’s place. Sarah wasn’t waiting alone. She had reinforcements in the way of frozen margaritas. She’d even taken the time to rim their glasses with salt.

“Am I going to need that or are you?” Grace asked, taking the margarita Sarah offered.

“We both are.”

“Sounds ominous.”

“I listened to Speedway,” Sarah said, lifting her margarita glass to her lips. The movement brought Grace’s attention to the humongous diamond ring on Sarah’s left hand. When had
this
happened? Grace tried not to stare. Was Sarah going to show it to her? Or should Grace mention it first?

What was the proper etiquette when your best friend ran off with your brother and didn’t even have the decency to give you a heads-up?

“I think all of Daytona Beach listened to Speedway,” Grace said.

“Grace, I’m so sorry about everything. Especially about losing your job.” Sarah paused. “Your mother told Charlie, and he told me.”

“I deserved it. Joe and I are through too.” Grace tried for a bright smile, because this martyr gig really wasn’t her thing. “It was inevitable. The St. Valentine’s Day Curse, right? And you tried to warn me the boyfriend club was a bad idea. I just wish I’d listened.”

“You don’t really believe you’re cursed, do you?”

“Why not? Someone has to be cursed.” She downed some more of the margarita. Maybe she’d get drunk again tonight.

“Do you think Ellen has left her house yet?” Sarah asked, in an obvious attempt to lighten the conversation. “The last I heard, Speedway had upped the bounty on the panties picture to three hundred bucks.”

“For three hundred bucks I’ll take a picture of Ellen’s panties myself. I need the money now that I’m out of a job.”

They both laughed, but it felt fake.

Have you told Sarah yet? Because she deserves to know the whole truth. The two of you will never be right until you do.

Joe was right about one thing: She and Sarah weren’t right. Only it wasn’t because Grace hadn’t opened up. This time, it was Sarah who was hiding something. Something big.