I let out an exasperated breath. “Was there something you needed, Kate? Or is this just a Roast Jane Call?”
“Oh, yes,” she says like she suddenly remembered this call had a purpose. “Do you remember when you told me you’d help me with whatever for the wedding? I need to call in a favor for it.”
“And what favor would that be?”
“I need your help with a gift registry for the shower.”
I grimace. This sounds like the least fun task out of every terrible wedding planning task. “I’m confident there are websites with starter lists or something.”
“I know but I wanted to go in person.”
I pause. “Where are we supposed to go that still does in-person registries?”
“Walden’s. Duh.”
Ahh yes. The bougie department store. It’s so out of my budget that I honestly forgot it even existed.
“Don’t they have a website you can use for an online registry?”
“That takes all the fun out of it. And I wanted to be able to feel the towels and pillows and things before I put them on.”
“I’m not sure fun is the word I’d use to describe this experience,” I mutter. Lola gives me a confused look and I make a face to sayI’ll explain in a second. “Plus, I feel like this would just be much better with you and Jason at home by yourselves enjoying a glass of wine as you add stupid expensive butter keepers and steak knives to your wedding website.”
“I thought you promised me the best wedding ever.” I can hear the pouting in her voice and a crack forms in my resolve.
“Yeah, wedding, not gift registry. What do I know about creating a registry? Shouldn’t you ask Charlie or Elise?”
“Charlie said he’d rather die than do another registry in his lifetime.”
I sigh. “He is so dramatic.”
“I know.”
“Elise?” I try.
“Working.”
“Lydia? She is your maid of honor after all.”
“She’s not interested.”
“I’m not interested either.”
“Jane, come on,” she pleads. Another crack webs. “No one else will help me with this. Please? It’ll be so much more fun if you’re there. Please, please, please,please.”
The last please shatters my resolve like an opera singer shattering a wine glass. I squeeze my eyes shut. She knows exactly how to get to me.And now here she is, calling in a favor, using the “fun” card on me. And I am ashamed to admit that it works on me, like it always does.
“Fine,” I snap.
I can already hear that little logical voice in my head, asking me why I didn’t say no, why I felt the need to appease my sister, why I keep tamping down my own feelings to make sure she’s happy when it’s never reciprocated. And, as always, I never have an answer. So instead of working through it, I push all those thoughts aside, sure that I’ll have to unpack them eventually, and sigh.
“When and where do I meet you?”
Armed with a cup of coffee from the Corner Cafe the next morning, I pull open the door and step into Walden’s. The store smells like expensive upholstery and rich leathers. The first room at the entrance is for living rooms, so I step into an array of massive couches staged with pillows and fluffy rugs and tall, bright floor lamps.
God, I feel so out of my element here. Most of the furniture from my apartment is hand-me-downs or from Black Friday sales from already discounted overstock sites. My eyes snag on one of the price tags dangling off a gray sectional as I walk past and I nearly choke on my coffee at the numbers on it.
I round the corner to meet Kate and Jason by the next display of living room furniture and stop dead in my tracks when instead of my sister, I spot Reid eyeing the price tag on a wooden end table. As if sensing my presence, his head lifts and he looks my way. My fingers tighten around the coffee cup so hard that my lid pops. When he realizes it’s me, he lifts his head toward the ceiling and lets out a dramatic groan.
