Sway

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

An x-ray, arm sling and some pain medication later, the doctor told the worried parents that Aiden would be fine but he needed to rest for two to four weeks. The doctor reset the bone but it was still fragile. Back at home, this caused a massive argument between Mari and Charlie.

“There’s nothing for me to do here,” Charlie said to Mari. “Aiden only needs one of us. I’ll go to STK and you can stay home with him.”

“Of course you get to be the one to go.” Mari slumped into a chair and crossed her arms, a mulish expression on her face. “Whenever there’s work to do, men always weasel their way out of it.”

Charlie threw his hands in the air. “You’re his mother. He’ll want you more than me.”

“But what am I going to do?” Mari said. “I’ll be stuck here while you guys have fun without me. I’m the one who wanted to go to STK so bad.”

“Eric’s my friend,” Charlie countered.

“What about the nanny?” I asked.

“She’ll have Landon,” Mari muttered. “That’s already a full time job.”

“I’ll stay.” As one they looked at me. “You guys go, I’ll stay with Aiden.”

“Ava, you don’t have to do that,” Charlie said. “He’s not your responsibility.”

“I’m his aunt,” I said. “I wasn’t going to dinner anyway.”

“But don’t you have plans?” he asked.

“It’s no big deal.” Lexi would understand—our night was just a sham anyway.

Mari leaned forward in the chair. “Ava’s right.” Charlie tried to interrupt but she spoke right over him. “She should stay. Her plans weren’t anything special. We have a reservation. With Eric Wentworth!”

“He’s just my buddy from school, Mari. Don’t go all fangirl on him.”

“Besides,” Mari added, getting up from the chair, “Ava isn’t his mother so she won’t feel his pain like I would if I stayed.”

I turned my head so she couldn’t see me roll my eyes.

I texted Lexi to cancel and Mari and Charlie were out the door in less than an hour. I grabbed some yogurt and some snacks and headed to Aiden’s room. Lying beside him on the bed, we watched his favorite movie and ate popcorn and gummy worms. I tried to lose myself in the movie, but I couldn’t stop thinking about their dinner at STK. About Eric, closer to me than he’d been in years. Did he still look the same, act the same? Would he ask about me? Would they talk about me?

My cell phone rang just as Aiden was falling asleep. “Hello?” I whispered, tiptoeing from the room.

“Why are you whispering?” It was Lexi.

“Sorry.” I raised my voice to a normal level. “I didn’t want to wake Aiden.”

“How’s he doing?”

“He’d rather be running around, but he’ll be fine.” Heading to my bedroom, I left the door open in case Aiden woke up. “How’s Elle?”

“The usual. Tantrums most of the day, followed by moments of extreme cuteness. It helps me forget the screaming.”

“Well, she’s two.” Like I knew what I was talking about. I propped my pillows against the headboard and then sank into bed.

“I’d gladly trade my crappy day job for listening to those tantrums all day. Except, guess what?”

“What?” I asked.

“There’s a new guy at the office. He’s going to make coming into work a lot more interesting.”

“What does he look like?”

“Tall, dark, handsome—totally my type.” She moaned. “And his voice! It’s all low and smelty, like James Earl Jones. Or Barry White.”

I laughed. “Is smelty even a word?”

“I dunno but it should be.” Her laugh echoed through the phone, joining with mine. “He should do a duet with Eric. Join his smelty bass with Eric’s smooth tenor.”

Baritone, I corrected in my head. My laughter died. We were both quiet.

“Do you wish you’d gone?” Lexi asked after a few seconds.

I twisted the white bed sheet through my fingers. “To dinner tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“No.” I hated to admit it but I was scared to see Eric again. I didn’t know how he’d react, or how I would handle it.

“You’ll have to see him sometime,” Lexi said.

“Who says?”

“It’s inevitable. It’s going to happen whether you like it or not, so you should prepare yourself.”

“How? With a hot outfit and a manicure?”

Lexi laughed. “Exactly. Show him what he’s missing.”

I stared down at my hand, at the bare finger where a ring had lived for a few short weeks. Eric wasn’t missing anything—his life had become everything he wanted. Even the hottest outfit wouldn’t make a bit of difference to him.

“So, when are you going to ask this new guy out?” I asked Lexi, changing the subject.

“I’ve gotta break the kid news to him first, then see if he’s still interested.”

“He better be, or I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” Lexi broke in with a laugh. “Have words, lots of words?”

“Exactly.”

We hung up a few minutes later, still giggling.

* * * * *

“You missed such a fun night, Ava,” Mari said the next morning. She sat at the kitchen table with a bowl of Lucky Charms while I sipped a green smoothie. “Why didn’t you ever tell me how amazing Eric Wentworth is? He’s so funny, and super-hot. And his voice—wow!”

I stared out the window, sadness creeping through my chest like a disease.

“We had the best time,” she continued, not noting my lack of enthusiasm for the subject. “We—”

“Mari,” I warned.

“Okay, sorry. But you should know…”

When she didn’t finish the sentence, I looked at her. She squirmed in her chair. “Know what?”

She leaned over her bowl of cereal. “Lacey really likes him. She’s worried about what you’ll say but I could tell. She’s got it bad.”

“Isn’t Lacey seeing someone?” I asked.

Mari shook her head. “She was dating some construction worker but they broke up a few weeks ago. Good riddance.”

“Why?”

“Because he was so gross!”

“What do you mean?” I was instantly worried. Lacey was so naïve, it would be easy for her to fall prey to a pervert or a wife beater or a fortune hunter.

“He was always dirty and smelly, and the way he talked…” Mari shuddered. “Like Joey from Friends but totally not as cute. And his salary was ridiculous.” Milk from her cereal dripped down her chin but she didn’t notice.

I sighed.

“Eric is a way better catch,” she said. “If you’re okay with it.”

As if I had a choice. It wasn’t my business anymore. “Does he like her?” See, I was totally fine with it. The words weren’t even hard to say.

“It seemed like it. He was really flirty with her.” Mari eyed me, seeing how I would take this news. I sipped my smoothie with a blank expression.

The doorbell rang. Mari jumped from her chair and wiped her hand across her mouth. “Who’s that?”

“Eric,” Mari said. “Didn’t I tell you?”

I froze. “What?” My earlier nonchalance evaporated like an echo.

“Charlie talked his ear off about some video game.” Mari rolled her eyes, but her lips were wide in a grin. “He invited Eric to come over and play co-op. He didn’t think you’d care.”

“I… I don’t.”

Mari left the kitchen but I didn’t move. My mind panicked. I wanted to run, or hide, but what was the point? Lexi was right, I couldn’t avoid seeing him forever. There was no better way to show everyone I didn’t care about Eric than by facing him. I might as well get it over with.

I stared at my empty glass. My heart pounded in my throat. My fingers tapped loudly on the table. My knee bounced. I was twitchy. I needed to get up and do something.

I mechanically cleaned off the kitchen table. Dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Milk and juice back in the fridge. Lucky Charms in the pantry. Wiped the table down with a cloth. After that was done, I had nothing left to do but take deep breaths, my hands gripping the counter. Voices drifted from the front hall. Then footsteps. Coming nearer.

I was wrong. I couldn’t do this. I had to get out of there. Too late to go out the door—maybe the window?

“Want something to drink?” Charlie came into the kitchen first and went straight to the fridge.

Too late. I turned my back, moved out of the way, unconsciously tugging my shirt down over my hips. So much for a hot outfit, I thought, looking down at my v-neck and cut-off shorts. At least I had gotten dressed. That was something.

“The graphics are incredible,” Charlie was saying. “And with the head tracking software, it’s like you’re there, right in the thick of it. You won’t want to stop playing.”

“Maybe some water.”

Eric’s smooth baritone slid over my skin. I knew that sound so well I could pick it out of a voice line-up. I trembled.

“Are you sure?” Mari asked. “We’ve got Coke, juice, milk, purple stuff…”

“No, water’s fine.”

My sweaty hands shook. I had to turn around. Standing with my back to him was rude. I told myself not to be such a coward. To get it over with. My heart thumped. I couldn’t swallow. I took a deep breath, then another. Then turned around.

It was like I had stepped into the past.

Eric’s hair was shorter, the blond a little darker. His face had filled out. So had his body, he wasn’t as lanky as he used to be. His shoulders looked broader, his chest more defined in the light blue shirt he was wearing. But he was still the same. He still looked like my Eric. Except he wouldn’t look at me at all.

I tried to smile, but couldn’t. “Hi.”

Eric’s eyes were still the same mysterious blue. He smiled, but it looked tight, painful. It disappeared as quickly as it had come.

“Hey.”

Silence descended on the kitchen. Charlie, with his head still in the fridge, had stopped moving. Mari leaned her elbows on the counter, watching us as if she expected a show.

“So…” I fumbled for something to say. “How are things?”

“Fine.” Eric’s voice was as sharp as an elastic snap. He turned to Charlie. “You ready to get whooped?”

My heart sank.

Charlie finally emerged from the fridge with a bottle of water for Eric and a couple of beers for himself. They left the kitchen.

I closed my eyes.

“Awk-ward,” Mari sang. I turned away from her. “Maybe I’ll go watch them play for a while.”

I listened to her footsteps fade away.

Alone in the kitchen, I slumped over the counter. My body felt exhausted and weak, like I’d run a marathon. It was over. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about that first meeting again. In fact, I was pretty sure I didn’t need to worry about a second. Because clearly, he didn’t want to see me.

The truth hurt more than I wanted it to. After eight years, he still hadn’t forgiven me.

* * * * *

A few hours later, I sat in a chair by Aiden’s bed, reading a book while he napped. Eric, Mari and Charlie hadn’t emerged from the den all morning. It must have been a really good video game.

When Mari popped her head in the room, her eyes widened.

“I was wondering where you were.” She went to Aiden’s side and brushed a strand of chocolate brown hair off his forehead.

“The nanny’s busy with Landon so I thought I’d stay with Aiden for a while,” I replied.

Mari perched on the edge of the bed facing me. “You should’ve come to the den. Charlie even let me play for a bit.”

I smiled to myself. Mari had never cared an ounce for video games before.

“Eric just kept killing me over and over so eventually I gave up.” Mari yawned. “It’s no fun to lose all the time.”

Eric had never cared for video games before either. At least not when I knew him. But I didn’t know him anymore. Eight years could change many things.

“He was so nice though,” Mari went on. She raised her chin. “He kept asking all these questions about me.”

“Great,” I murmured.

“Yeah. We’re BFFs already,” she said.

I snorted.

“Okay, maybe not, but he and Charlie are like high school kids together. You’d think it had only been days since they’ve seen each other.”

I was happy that their friendship had remained intact, just as mine with Charlie had never faded, even when he married my sister. I couldn’t let the awkwardness between Eric and me get in their way.

“You should have heard what he said about you though.”

I jerked my head up, my hands gripped the book. “What did he say?” I cursed myself for caring.

“I can’t remember exactly.” Mari waved her hand. “He just said you’ve changed since high school—you’re so different he never would have known it was you.”

My grip loosened and I absently smoothed out the crinkles in the pages. So. That’s what he thought of me. So different he never would have known me.

“I started to tell him about Juilliard and all that,” Mari continued. “But he cut me off like he didn’t want to hear it.”

I shrugged like it didn’t matter but I knew that was a lie. Her words, his words, were more than I could bear. I couldn’t be here right now, couldn’t let Mari see how unsettled I was.

I escaped to my room and stared at my reflection in the mirror. I didn’t look so different from high school. My brown hair was highlighted now, and a bit healthier because I took better care of it. My eyes weren’t as soft as they used to be. My face was more angular. I had faint lines across my forehead that probably weren’t there eight years ago. Not much was different, but I did look older. I didn’t have that youthful glow anymore. No more bloom.

So different he never would have known me? I didn’t know if he meant that literally, or if he said it just to hurt me.

Whatever the reason, there was nothing I could do. We were strangers to each other now. No, worse than strangers, because we would never talk again, or spend the time to get to know each other again.

Now we’re strangers and it’s killing me.