THE JUNIOR BRIDESMAID (26 page)

A true winner.

            “Is
that the only part of that sentence you heard?” her voice pitched higher.
“Jeeze, Dee! Try to focus,” she admonished.

            I
pursed my lips and did as she instructed. I grabbed the milk from the fridge
and dropped a dollop in Julia’s coffee. “Does Darcy know?” I don’t know why I
cared. The girl had spent the better part of her life tormenting me.

            I
turned to put Julia’s coffee in front of her and watched Julia’s mouth form a
straight line. “She knows. Didn’t you see the dirty looks she was tossing my
way the other night?”

            “I
thought those dirty looks were directed at me,” I shared leaning back into the
counter.

            “Nope!
All me,” she countered and then lifted her mug to blow some steam off. “In my
defense. Ryan was determined that night,” she put emphasis on the word
‘determined.’ “Not that I was protesting that hard. But I know I threw at least
one ‘we shouldn’t’ and I even suggested a ‘think about your wife.’ He didn’t
seem to care,” she sighed at the memory re-gripping her mug at the same time.
“I found out later Ryan was using me to get back at Darcy. Apparently, she had
cheated on him and slept with Griff. You know, before he was with Tiff,” she
added quickly as if I would be devastated having the intimate knowledge that
Griff had cheated on Tiff years ago.

            “How
is it that you never mentioned this before?” I had to admit my feelings were a
little bruised.

            “Let’s
just say it wasn’t my finest hour.” Clearly Julia regretted her choices from
that one night. Her eyes followed her mug, which she rested on the counter.

            Holy
beheebees. What the hell was going on in my hometown? I thought people were
screwed up in New York, with Stacey screwing Carson in a closet and Will
stalking me over a cup of coffee. “I, I, I don’t know what to say,” my lack of
inflection outlined my disbelief. I found my cup on the counter and took a
comforting sip.

            “Yeah,
well,” Julia nodded continuing on her original train of thought. “So, I doubt
Mason will call. He was probably using me, too. You know what your mama always
said. Once word gets around,” she swiped her mug from the counter and headed
for a kitchen chair.

            I
slowly followed behind unable to believe her line of thinking. “Julia, that was
three years ago. Having sex once every three years hardly gives people the
impression that you are the town sperm bank,” I stated the obvious. “Mason has
been in love with you forever. He’ll call,” I insisted. “And your assuming he
even knows about Ryan at all.”

            “Time
will tell.” Julia dropped into a chair and immediately pulled her legs up
seemingly unconcerned. She wrapped her arms around her shins and cradled her
chin in the v she created with her knees. “Could you make me some toast?” She
asked with her eyes closed.

            I
looked back into the kitchen as if my answer was written on the wall somewhere.
“Yeah. Of course.”

            I
found the bread and threw a piece in the toaster before I walked over to the
fridge to see what kind of condiments she had. The butter was easy to find
parked front and center. “Jelly?” I called out to her.

            “No,”
she answered. Whether the no meant she didn’t want it or didn’t own it didn’t
much matter.

            I
heard the ding of the toaster and pulled out the scalding bread with my
fingers. Receiving only a couple of second degree burns, I scraped the butter
on the toast spreading a nice thin layer. As I walked it back to her, I had to
admire my work. The butter had melted into the bread making the toast glisten.
It looked scrumptious. I placed it in front of her as gently as I could. “Here,”
I whispered.

            “Thanks,
Dee,” she murmured back.

            I
walked back into the kitchen to retrieve my mug just as I heard my phone begin
to sing. I had barely had a chance to take a sip of coffee when I placed the
mug back on the counter and ran to get my call.

            “Hello?”
I asked expectantly unable to wait to hear his voice.

            “What
are you wearing?” The deep voice rumbled and a shiver ran down my spine.

            I
giggled at his question. “I miss you,” I whispered wishing I could wrap every
limb around him.

            “Oh,
Baby, you have no idea,” he answered.

            “What
are you doing on this fine Saturday in New York?” I asked trying to feel like I
was a part of his new life.

            “Other
than trying to understand how you and I ended up in different cities again?” I
could tell by the way he formed his question that he wasn’t wallowing. He was
just stating reality. Our reality.

            “Yes,
other than that,” I matched his exuberance.

            “I
just got back from the supermarket. I bought some deli meat and I just made
myself a sandwich. Not terribly exciting,” he admitted. “Have you heard back
from Norstride?” He asked with the first bite of his lunch garbling his
question. “They have to know they made a mistake.”

            Since
I was still hoping to surprise Hugh with my return to New York, I hadn’t shared
that I had spoken to Charles or to Steven. So I had to continue with the
charade if I wanted my plan to work. “No,” I sang trying to convey surprise.
“Weird, huh?”

            “Maybe
Monday,” he offered. “Don’t worry. I’m sure it was just a mistake. It will all
work out in the end. You’ll see. You up for some phone sex later?” He asked out
of the blue.

            I
couldn’t help but smile at his question. Although Hugh couldn’t see me, I
shrugged my response. “It might be late. Julia has a hangover. So I’m thinking
dinner is going to be pushed back a couple of hours since she is just having
breakfast at…” I checked my phone to see the time, “1:15.”

            “I
can wait,” he revealed and my smile grew wider.

            “I’ve
never had phone sex,” I admitted sheepishly.

            I
heard an exaggerated inhale feigning surprise. “What! A virgin?” He jested with
another half mouth full.

            Another
giggle erupted at his dramatic reaction. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you
shouldn’t talk with your mouth full?” I joked.

            Hugh
laughed out loud in response and it was the most beautiful sound I had ever
heard. “Call me when you get in later,” he responded through a chuckle.

            “I
will.”

            “Love
you, Babe,” he said clearly.

            “I
love you, too,” I whispered back.

            I
had spent the better part of the day packing all of my things. Julia spent a
better part of the day jumping from her chair fearing she was about to vomit.
When she wasn’t scrambling for a toilet, she sat at her computer hopping from
one social media page to another looking for dribs and drabs to build a story
on. This was accomplished with a lot of belching, salivating and audible
swallowing. After a whole lot of nothing she decided a nap was in order as her
head was beginning to hurt her again. She retreated to her bed while I
retreated to her coffee pot.

            I
poured a fresh cup and sat on a stool at her kitchen counter. As I waited for
the caffeine to invade my blood stream, I heard a faint knock on Julia’s front
door. It was so delicate, I thought maybe I was hearing things. I stood slowly
and made my way to the front door expecting to see absolutely nothing outside.
But instead I found quite a surprise. Ryan.

            My
chin tucked back at the sight of the unexpected visitor and I opened the front
door to see what brought Ryan to Julia’s doorstep.

            “Hey,
Ryan,” I said with a hint of a smile as I tipped my chin up to look at him.

            “Hey,
Delilah,” he slid his hands in his pockets. “Can I come in?” He asked.

            “Uh,
sure,” I said a little surprised. I pushed the door open wider so Ryan could
pass. “What’s goin’ on?”

            I
heard him swallow loudly. “Is Julia here?” He asked while his eyes wandered her
home.

            “She’s
not feeling great. She went to lie down. Is there something I can help you
with?”

            Ryan
looked pensive. Clearly something was bothering him and I was having trouble
figuring out what it could possibly be. Was he still holding a grudge about
what Stacey did to his daughter and wanted to share his dismay? Was I totally
off base and he was curious about Julia’s presence because he wanted to tell me
something completely unrelated but in private? Or was he actually looking for
Julia?

            “Um,
no. There’s nothing you could, um…” Then, clearly unable to contain himself, he
changed his mind. “Was Mason here last night?” he asked instead.

            Oh,
man. I was wrong. Way wrong. Ryan’s visit had nothing to do with me. He was
jealous. Didn’t see that one coming.

            “You
know, Ryan, I am not comfortable talking to you about Julia’s friends or their
comings and goings, for that matter. But if you’d like you are welcome to hang
out with me and wait for her to get up. I could get you a cup of coffee,” I
gestured toward the kitchen.

            Ryan
was conflicted. I knew this because he demonstrated the exact same mannerisms
that Hugh did when he was conflicted. It was one of the few things that solidified
any doubt that they were related. “I, shit, I wish I could but I can’t,” he
stated hesitantly confirming my suspicion that he was in fact conflicted. His
hand went to his forehead to try to rub the frustration away with the tips of
his fingers. “Just, uh, tell her I stopped by, um…yeah.”

            I
pressed my lips together waiting to see if he was going to change his mind.
When he nodded once and seemed confident in his message I nodded my
understanding and walked with Ryan towards the door. I was a little confused by
this exchange. If Julia hadn’t slept with Ryan in three years why would Ryan
care if Julia was starting something with Mason? He seemed awfully invested
for someone who got laid on a torrid one-night stand three years ago and then
never called again. Or so Julia said. Or was it me who said? Then it occurred
to me. Did I read into what she told me? I mean, she definitely inferred it was
a one-night deal. Of that I was certain. But it was me who said she hadn’t had
sex in three years. And she didn’t confirm that little tidbit of information.
She avoided it.

Holy crap.

Could Julia and Ryan’s little
affair have been more than a one-time deal? That’s when it occurred to me.
Maybe, just maybe, I had gotten it wrong and their tryst had been ongoing.

           As
I closed the door behind Ryan my head turned toward Julia’s bedroom door as if
it had the answers to all the questions that were dancing around in my head.
But it wouldn’t be for a few hours that I would get my answers. And when Julia
and I finally had the Ryan conversation I was shocked.

            I’m
not quite sure what I was more upset about. The fact that Julia allowed herself
to be in a no win situation or that she was stupid enough to think that it
could possibly work out in her favor. “What did you think? He would leave Darcy
for you?” I yelled at her. “They have three children together.”

            “No.
I didn’t,” her tone betrayed her. That’s totally what she thought. Julia sat on
the couch with her elbows to her knees and her hands cupped around her eyes.
Argumentatively, Julia knew she didn’t have a leg to stand on. I could tell by
her inability to exercise her customary level of hostility.

“Well then can you
explain your reasoning to me, Jules? Because I can’t seem to understand how you
determined that carrying on a long term affair with Ryan Rowen was a good
idea.” I didn’t share with Julia that I didn’t understand how she determined
having a one-night stand was a good idea, but for some reason, in my mind, this
was far worse.

Apparently I’d
pushed too far because Julia finally snapped. “I fell for him, Dee!” her hands
jerked from her forehead to outline her loss of control. “It wasn’t my
intention. I was lonely. I’m all alone here,” she gestured with her eyes and
showcased the room with her hands. “If you hadn’t noticed my phone isn’t
ringing off the hook,” she paused to try to calm herself. After she gained a
modicum of control she started again. “I told myself it was one time deal and
no one would know. I wasn’t planning on falling for Ryan, Delilah. It just
happened,” there was another pause but this time when she continued I thought
my head was going to explode. “Anyway, it all started because of you.”

Holy shit. Was she
blaming her affair with Ryan on me? “I beg your pardon?” I asked not begging
her pardon at all.

She pointed her
pointer finger at me accusatorily and squinted her eyes before she scolded me.
“Ryan bought me a drink that first night as a peace offering. He said he was
sorry that Darcy was such a bitch to you and me when we were younger!”

I inhaled an
audibly outraged breath. “You have lost your ever loving mind!” I barked back
at her. “I am not even going to respond to that ridiculous accusation!” I
countered. Then I remembered Hugh’s words on our first date back in New York. ‘
Ryan says thank you
.’ I had assumed he
was referring to my tossing my tits at Hugh and Darcy’s wedding, which we all
knew was the catalyst that ended their big day. But he was referring to my
pseudo introduction to Julia. I subconsciously shook my head unable to believe
the irony.

There was a bit of
silence while Julia intertwined her fingers and pondered her next response. For
her sake I was praying that she said something rational. Because blaming me for
her affair with Ryan was beyond absurd. The entire mood in the room slowly
changed as the silence between us loomed. I could see Julia’s expression
change. She was becoming more remorseful (about time) and subsequently I became
more sympathetic. Julia continued her explanation more calmly. “I’m sorry,
Dee,” she shook her head. “That was a ridiculous comment,” she admitted. Well
at least
she
said it or I would
definitely have to throw that in her face later. “I know now he is never going
to leave her,” she admitted. “It’s time for me to move on. I guess that was why
I made a play for Mason last night.”