_________
Charlotte is the first call I make when the door closes. She picks up on the first ring with a knowing sort of tone in her voice that annoys me a little given the circumstances.
“So… did you guys do it?”
“Dear Lord, woman. You need help.”
“Actually,” she laughs, “Idoneed help. My sister called an hour ago, and apparently, she’s doing this shotgun wedding thing, and I need to summon a man that looks exactly like the man I’ve been pretending to date for the last two years.”
“Two years?” I laugh. “You’ve been fake dating a man for two years while giving me shit? How did I not know about this, and what does he look like?”
“Ugh,” she laughs under her breath, “he’s tall, brooding, inked, wears loads of flannel, and loves long romantic ballads and the beach.”
“That’s oddly specific and sounds a lot like Jake, minus the ballads and the beach. Also, what kind of flannel wearing man likes the beach?”
“You’re asking too many questions.”
“Don’t play dumb.”
“I’m not.” Her voice rises as she says, “I don’t know who Jake is, and clearly my fake boyfriend is multilayered. Jeez! Who’d want to hang with some one-note guy?”
“Right?” I laugh. “And I know you know who Jake is… because he reports his hours to you every week.”
“Oh,” she draws out the word, “that Jake.”
“Yup!” I say, popping the‘p.’“He’s also kind of your boss, right?”
“My boss is your father.”
“Technically, they have a joint venture, so they’re all your boss, and I’d bet dating them, even for pretend, is off limits.”
“Says the girl in love with her father’s best friend.”
“Just admit you’re into Jake.”
“No,” she snorts. “I’m just curious why I can’t be into Jake.”
“Well, for starters, I can think of one big reason,” I say as my cat jumps up on the couch next to me. She’s a black mix of some sort that I adopted from the shelter last year because we connected right away, though I have no idea where she was all night when I was making bad decisions. “Jake is an ex-con who had a major drug problem. I think he’s still on probation.”
“Your dad trusts him.”
“My dad isn’t dating him. Plus, I’m not saying the man isn’t reformed. I’m saying a guy like that comes with a lot of red flags.”
“I just need a fake date to my sister’s wedding, not a lifelong beige flag husband who’ll sit in front of the TV for eternity while I beg him to be exciting.”
“That was oddly specific.”
“It was… but that’s a story for a different day. How’d tonight go?”
I blow out a heavy breath and twist the ends of my hair as I talk. “I don’t know. We basically admitted we had feelings, but we know there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“Nothing?”
“It’s pretty set. Duke and my dad have spent years together. They were military buddies, and I can’t compete with that. I know Duke feels awful for even feeling the way he does. So awful that he’s moving, so he doesn’t make a mistake.” I sigh as I think about the reality of my life without him in it.
“Moving? Damn. Sorry, girl. I didn’t realize I was opening all that up tonight. I thought maybe you guys just needed a little push.”
I shake my head as I scratch my feline friend between her ears. “No, it’s good. It needed to happen. Now, I need to be a grown up and realize that you don’t get everything you want.”
