Stretching, I surveyed my apartment, my eyes drifting over the half-unpacked chaos that still cluttered every corner. It had been a few months since I moved back to Savannah, and the city was finally starting to feel like home again. Ryan was in his own apartment down the street, and across town at a safe distance, Janelle had made herself quite comfortable not only as Savannah’s newest Instagram Queen, but as the social media manager for O’Malley’s and Jordan and Doyle’s wine and artisanal cheese shop, Cheese, Please!?
Since my brother came back from Atlanta a few months ago, he and Magnolia had been absorbed in talks about moving in together. It felt like their plans dominated everything, including whatever plans we had made for the bar. With a sparkling new ring on her finger, wedding preparations had consumed every spare moment she had. So, for the most part, the small renovations we could afford with the little cash I had were left entirely up to me.
Everything had shifted the moment Dane came back. Magnolia wasn’t the fiery, wild spirit she used to be. When I’d drop by Momma’s, I’d find them all lost in deep, drawn-out conversations about floral arrangements and color schemes. She’d even started dressing in a way that reminded me of Momma—swapping her raggedy sweats and jeans for tailored blazers and cigarette pants in perfectly coordinated colors.
They planned a lavish wedding in Forsyth Park where they had taken their first stroll for Valentine’s Day. At first, I felt my blood boil over it, remembering all of the moments Magnolia and I shared in that very same park, in front of that very same fountain, but I had to let it go.?
If this was what she wanted, I couldn’t stop her. No one could.
But I couldn’t, for the life of me, stop thinking about that kiss by theriver. Or any of the five million that came before that one.?
We’d spend what little time she offered me going over paperwork and figures, and when she was done with me, she flitted off to Dane or Momma, and I stayed behind to compare paint swatches or look over the renovation plans. She decided to stay in her apartment until after the wedding, citing Pickle as an excuse, and that was the only small comfort I had, catching glimpses of her now and then.
I stopped by Cheese, Please! to pay off a balance, then dropped in to see Charlie next door. He was still working on the piece for Maggie but had slowed down a bit to focus on some custom holiday gifts.?
“Hey, man,” I called out.
He stuck his head around the corner of his studio and waved me back.?“What’s up, brother,” he said, pulling a couple of beers out of his fridge. He twisted one open and handed it to me. “I haven’t seen you in a few days. How’s Janelle?”?
“She’s great,” I fibbed. “We’re going to dinner in a bit.”?
“She’s really awesome, Lee. I’m glad she’s here,” he said halfheartedly.
I let out a puff of a laugh.?“Bullshit. She’s a pain in the ass, and we both know it.”?
He shook his head, chuckling. “She’s not so bad. Sutton can’t stand her as far as she can throw her, but she’s a tough one. She only likes her boys and Magnolia.”?
My heart skipped at the sound of her name. There was a void, and I couldn’t, no matter how hard I tried, fill it with anything. Even seeing her while we worked wasn’t enough.?
“Are you ready for the big engagement party tomorrow?” I wanted to change the subject to an even worse subject, apparently.?
“Are any of us ready for this fake shitshow? At least we know the food will be good. Sutton’s been driving me nuts with the menu plans. I’m like, cook the chicken, bake the pie, we’re all going to be drunk anyway.”?
I grinned and took a seat on one of the paint-speckled stools, admiring the installation he was working on. He’d been fussing over it for months—the famous Bird Girl statue, only it was fashioned out of hubcaps and old wine bottles from next door.?
“She’s really going through with it, huh?” I finally blurted out.
Charlie sighed, sitting across from me. “I mean, at this point, I think it’s to spite us all. But the worst part is the wardrobe—those stiff skirt suits and buttoned-up jackets. She looks like she’s auditioning for the role of ‘Corporate Overlord Barbie.’”?
I practically spit my beer out. “She actually had on a brooch today. She stopped by Momma’s before she went to drop off some bottles of gin off at the bridge club building. At least she’s not actually playing bridge. Yet.”?
“That’s my sister. When she’s hellbent on doing something, she will do it no matter what anyone else thinks.”?
I shrugged. “I mean, I guess I feel like I’m doing all of this for nothing. What’s going to happen after they get married? I have this sinking feeling that Dane’s going to dig his claws into her and sell off the bar right from underneath her. Or worse, convince her it’s the right thing to do. Where does that leave me?”
Charlie thought on it for a minute, then slowly rose from his stool to adjust a bottle dangling off his piece slightly to the right. It didn’t make a difference to me, but I wasn’t the artist. “My guess is she’s just happier that you’re here than if you weren’t,” he offered.
I hadn’t told anyone about our kiss. I knew that Sutton had been privy to the information because she got hammered one night and pulled me aside to try to get me to talk Maggie out of marrying my brother, citing the kiss as one of the many reasons why Maggie didn’t, in fact, want to go through with it.?
I’d shot her down, walked her home, and we didn’t talk about it again.?
“She’s been around a little bit more these days, between the holiday parties and the historic trolley tour. I don’t know, it’s just not the same.”?
“By the same, do you mean she’s not shooting heart eyes across the room to you, especially when you play your gigs?” Charlie ribbed.
“Very funny. But yes,” I smirked, but it really wasn’t funny at all. My mind flickered back to the way she barely looked at me anymore, her eyes colder than I remembered them ever being. There used to be warmth there—a spark that felt like home. Now, it was like she was building walls with every glance, and I couldn’t tell if I was supposed to climb them or leave them be.
“Dane’s leaving the day after tomorrow anyway,” Charlie said before finishing off his beer and meticulously saving it for some later project. “Magnolia said he’d be gone throughout the holidays, so perhaps she’ll be around the bar moreoften and you two can resume your tortured ex-lovers routine”.
