Jenny punctures my heart with her innocent doe-eyes. “First off, ouch. Second off, what? I am. But Sir Woofington Wagglebottoms the third here, well, he’s a hopeless romantic.”
“Sir Woofington Wagglebottoms?”
“The third.”
“That’s a ruff name, poor guy.”
Sir Woofington Wagglebottoms… the third… covers his eyes with his paws. “So was that pun, but my Maddie would have loved it.”
“I hate to tell you this,Pixie, but your Maddie is dead. It’s Madeline now.”
“Okay, so let’s say I give up on the Maddie thing with you; I still think it’s time we talk about you putting yourself out there again, bucko. It’s been three years, and you’re a good-looking fellow. Maybe you should ask someone to the Winter Formal. I scored us both invitations, you know.” She walks towards the puppet rack to put Sir Woofington in his appropriate spot before her grabby fingers find a wooden snake to bend and twist. I nervously fidget while she’s a safe distance away.
Maybe I could tell Jenny how I feel. While I don’t love the idea of risking the only friendship I have in my post-football era, there’s something—I don’t know if it’s the jealousy of seeing her with Connor or the frustration of that run-in with Madeline, but, I want to shout in this toy store,I love you, I love you, I love you. And she did just say I was a “good-looking fellow,” so I have that going for me too.
“Yeah, so, Jenny, about that.” I rub my neck and shift my beanie. She pulls back a tiny metal bus. It zooms across its display and crashes into a Lincoln Log cabin that doesn’t survive the collision. Jenny’s eyes widen, sidestepping away from the crime scene. Marching towards the display, I fix it up before returning to the counter to the sound of multiple boxes crashing. “Get over here,” I whisper. “I’m trying to tell you something, and there are children in here minding their hands better than you are right now.”
“Oh! Hey! Did you get the romance book you wanted?”
“No—and that’s not—” I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. This is why I’ve never told Jenny how I feel, because every time I work up the nerve, she becomes chaos incarnate. “Satanic Barbie got in the way. I’ll go back in a few days. Not a big deal.”
Romance novels became my saving grace as I was recovering from knee surgery and the other injuries I suffered. It started because it was the only thing within reach at my mom’s house when she went out to run an errand, but the guarantee of a happily ever after hooked me. I needed it after my disastrous ending with Kennedy, her engagement ring still burning a hole in my sock drawer upstairs.
“What I wanted to say to you, Jenny, was, well, I’m wondering—would you maybe want to go to the formal with me?”
“Like as friends?” she asks, yanking something out of the bin of small toys meant for stocking stuffers. The store lights flicker again to curses of the failing Texas power grid, and Jenny meets the worried look I can’t control with a frown. “Oh, Seth,” she whispers. “That’s not what you mean, is it?”
I shake my head, the tone of that follow-up question telling me everything I need to know.
“Aww, that’s so cute, and I’m flattered. But—” She twists her hands and grimaces. “Oh, this is awkward.” My stomach churns at the fake tone lacing her every word. It’s a condescending tone that Kennedy perfected, and I’ve heard out of Madeline’s mouth many times, but never Jenny’s. She’s too genuine to use a tone like that. “Connor’s going to break up with Maddie soon, and I’m planning to go to the formal with him.”
“You’re going to let him do that to your Pookie?” I ask. Images of Madeline forlorn on a bench and dateless for the formal tug on my heartstrings. It shouldn’t bother me; she deserves it, but for some inexplicable reason, I can’t stomach it.
Jenny sighs, not meeting my eyes.
“I mean, it’s not like she wouldn’t do the same thing to me.”
“But Jenny, you’re not Madeline—that’s the difference.”
“True, but I don’t know. Connor said something in the bookstore, and I’ve been thinking about it on our walk, and maybe it’s time to do something for myself. Let Maddie be the one to know what it’s like to be left behind for a change.” Finally, she returns my stare, but the lack of warmth in her eyes sucks the air out of my lungs. “Anyway, I hope this doesn’t make anything awkward between us, Seth, because our friendship is important to me, and—”
“Consider everything status quo.” I offer, searching for the comfort that’s held me for all these years.
But the icy reflection that greets me belongs to someone else.
“Oh, good. Get the toys for me, and I’ll get us some drinks from Cup of Jo’s. Your treat?” she says with a giggle, booping my nose.
I dip my head and nod, pulling out my credit card and hoping there will be sufficient funds for her. “Get yourself something. I’m fine.”
“Thanks! You’re the best!” She tosses her arms around me, wrapping me up in a big hug, and I return the gesture half-heartedly. The nervous flutters I’ve grown accustomed to when we touch mix with a pang of dread and remorse.
Yeah, definitely fucked.
Chapter four
Scrooged
Maddie
