by Vivian Wood
“None taken. I do know how to use a scalpel, after all.”
“Don’t worry about it, I know what I’m doing,” Addy hissed. “Did you get my email? Dad has to have the pills split into morning and evening doses, or they’re not effective. And the cleaners always come on the second Tuesday of the month, so don’t deadbolt the door on those days. Kenzie, are you listening? The whole house can’t fall apart just because—”
“Oh my God, yes, I get it, okay? And I got your freaking three-page checklist. Just… go have fun with your hot doctor husband, okay? Go bonk your brains out or whatever.” Kenzie gave a sudden laugh. “Maybe we’re more alike than I thought.”
“I wouldn’t take it that far,” Addy said, and Kenzie wrapped her arms around her.
“I’ll miss you,” Kenzie said, barely loud enough for Jack to hear.
“I’ll see you almost every day at the restaurant.”
“It’s not the same.”
Jack looked away. That kind of familiar affection made him nervous. It was foreign to him, and he felt like he’d stepped into something he wasn’t meant to see.
His family just didn’t do affection. He imagined what would happen if he hugged his mother the way that Kenzie has just hugged Addy. Distressed would be one way to put it, that was for sure.
He sat in the Jeep to wait out the goodbyes, and couldn’t help but think of his own family back in Melbourne. His own parents had never been in the same room as one another if they could help it. And after his dad died, his mother had seemed … almost relieved. He’d never attributed that word to it before, but that’s what it was. Like a weight had been lifted from her life.
“Ready?” Addy was at his window, a cautious smile on her face.
“I am. Are you?”
“I guess so. As ready as I’m going to be. This isn’t so strange, right?” she asked as she dropped her voice to a whisper. “I mean, in some countries, people get married and they’ve never even seen each other before.”
“Yeah. But I think a little more thought and preparation goes into arranged marriages compared to what we’re doing.”
He kept an eye in the rearview mirror as she followed him to his condo.
“This is where you live?” she asked, nervous. “This is where Jeremy lives.”
“Oh yeah? I think I’ve seen him around, now that you mention it. I had a pretty unpleasant run-in with him, and that was without the news of our marriage! Maybe it’ll be easier to make him jealous than I thought.”
She looked around as he picked up the two boxes from her car. She trailed him to the house.
“Well, this is it!” He pushed open the door with a flourish.
Addy wrinkled her nose and looked around. “Not much for decorating, huh? Or furniture?”
“I figured those could be some of your first wifely duties. Decorating and furniture shopping.”
“Ha ha,” she said, and took one of the boxes from him. “At least you got a couch. A new one. It still has the tag on it.”
“Oh, yeah, sorry ‘bout that,” he said. “It was just delivered a few days ago. Look around. I’d give you the grand tour, but that seems a bit formal.”
He grabbed a beer out of the fridge as he listened to her footsteps down the short hall.
“It’s just one bedroom,” she said, already done with the tour. She gave him an accusing look and opened her mouth, speech clearly prepared.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take the couch,” he said and held his hand up. “I washed the sheets on the bed and everything. It’s all yours, nice and clean.”
“Well. Okay,” she said.
Side by side, they went out to the cars to grab the next load of boxes, only to see Jeremy’s truck. It blocked in both their cars. Jeremy was en route to his own condo, but broke out with a laugh when he saw them.
“What’s so funny?” she asked. Jack hadn’t heard that kind of edge in her voice before. “Actually, never mind. I’m not surprised that you’d think marriage is a joke.”
“Marriage?” Jeremy asked, incredulous. He pulled down his sunglasses. “Yeah, good luck getting anybody to believe that bullshit. What, did the Aussie need a green card or something?”
“You—”
Before she could finish saying anything, Jack grabbed her and dipped her nearly to the ground. His lips met hers and even he was surprised by the magnetic pull between them. She let out a small gasp, and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue between her teeth. For a moment, he forgot where he was—or that it was all a ruse. She knotted her fist in his shirt and pulled him closer, afraid he might drop her, and the cuteness of it made his heart surge.
Finally, he pulled her back up and she let out another gasp for breath. Jeremy was silent before them, and Jack offered up a grin.
“Fuck off,” Jeremy said with a scowl. With hunched shoulders, he stalked to his building.
“That was Oscar-worthy acting,” Addy whispered to him.
They dumped the rest of the boxes on the counter and Addy headed for the fridge.
“I’m starving,” she said. “I was too busy packing this morning to eat. There’s nothing in here,” she said as she held the door open and looked at him.
“It was a bachelor pad until just now, remember? Don’t worry, I’ll order a pizza.”
“Um, yeah, because I’m not about to make a dinner of beer and … Vegemite? Seriously?”
“Americans have mac and cheese. We have Vegemite. Comfort food, what can I say?”
“Yeah, that’s all yours.”
“What about the beer? I know that’s on your Addison-approved list.”
She put her hands on her hips. “I meant real food. Besides, it didn’t exactly work out great the last time we had beer together.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll call the pizza place again.”
“Again?”
“Yeah, let’s … let’s just say they know me there. I’m already a regular, and I’ve only been in this country for about a week! That’s impressive, right?”
“Not quite the word I’d use. Tomorrow, I’ll stop by the store after my shift. Man cannot live on pizza alone.”
“The store? So, are you saying … are you …”
“Am I what? Capable of grocery shopping?”
“I mean, are you any good at cooking?”
“I’ll have you know that I learned from my mother, who used to cook everything at the restaurant before she…” Addison’s eyes started to water and her words faded. “Anyway, what do you want? For dinner tomorrow, I mean?”
“Um… how about… cheeseburgers?”
“Yeah, I get enough cheeseburgers at work. Besides, aren’t you a doctor? Don’t you know they’re heart attack bombs? How do you feel about lasagna?”
“Great? I guess? What do you want on the pizza?” He hadn’t seen this authoritative side of her, at least not directed at him. And he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
“Anything but pineapple. You know the whole Hawaiian pizza thing was originally designed as a joke?”
Jack dialed the number, the third most recent call in his log. He sipped on a beer while he watched her unpack, but couldn’t quite figure out what most of the stuff was. She moved so fast as she zipped between rooms that it made him dizzy.
“Slow down, express train. Pizza’s here,” he said when he heard the knock at the door.
“Where do we eat?” she asked as she emerged from the bathroom. She’d tied her hair up in a messy knot on top of her head and her cheeks were flushed from the unpacking. Something about it, complete with that little tank top and cut-off jeans, made her look carefree and innocent in a way he hadn’t noticed before.
“How about my bed?”
“Excuse me?”
“I meant the couch. You know? My bed?”
“Yeah, you’re so funny,” she said, but she accepted the plate he handed her and pulled out a generous slice.
“You know?” he asked as they sat side by side and stared out the win
dow. “I’ve never really lived with a girl before.”
“Never really? Or never-never?” she asked.
“Never-never. Maybe I should get to know you a little better to make the experience… not so freaking weird. So you were born here, right?”
“Yep. Don’t be jealous.”
“Didn’t you ever want to get away? I mean, before college?”
“Only every single day of my life. It got worse when my mom was diagnosed… well, let’s just say that my wanderlust hasn’t died.” She grabbed another slice and propped her feet up on the boxes, a makeshift coffee table.
“So, why don’t you go?” he asked. “I mean now, especially. What’s keeping you here?”
“You’ve seen my sister,” Addy said with a laugh. “Would you leave her in charge of everything? Anything?”
Jack thought about it. “She’s not so bad. She’s a kid. I mean, think about it. You could be… I dunno, hiking the Himalayas! Something.”
Addy shot him a look. “Do you know it costs over sixty thousand to climb Mount Everest? And that’s just to try, there’s no guarantee you’ll make it to the top. You grew up with money, didn’t you?”
“I, uh, I guess so. Why?”
“Because sixty thousand is a lot of money. Just walking away from everything to spend weeks ‘finding yourself’ or whatever costs a lot of money. And if you don’t have it… well, you get used to looking at the scenery around you. And you keep your head down. If you’re from my family, you thank your lucky stars that you made it to twenty-three. I knew, growing up, that life was a precious commodity—”
“I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. Let’s change the subject. Tell me something you like.”
“Something I like?”
“Yeah, anything.”
“Strawberry ice cream.”
“Quite the discerning palate. But I agree.”
“You tell me something you like.”
“Base jumping and deep-sea diving.”
“Very frugal choices.”
“Hey, I don’t judge you, you don’t judge me. Your turn.”
“Photography,” she said, without pause.
“Looking at photographs or taking them?”
“Both. Your turn.”
“Race cars.”
“Watching them, or owning them and racing them?”
“Both,” he said a bit sheepishly. “Your turn. One more.”
“Art,” she said, and gazed into the distance.
“That doesn’t count. Photography is art.”
“I’m glad you think so,” she said with a small smile.
“You should really go to Rome and Paris. And Barcelona! And Medellín, the Botero statues around the city are amazing—”
“Your privilege is showing,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
“Maybe we’ll go there together.”
Addy sat up, stiff. “Let’s not … like, make plans and stuff. This isn’t real, remember?”
“What? If we’re faking a marriage, we can fake a honeymoon? It’s no big deal. I’d go anyway, and I’d enjoy the company—”
Addy stood up and picked up the discarded napkins and dirty plates.
“I’ll take those,” he said. Jack grabbed the plates and dumped them in the trash.
“What are you doing!?”
“We’ll buy new ones,” he said with a shrug.
“That’s wasteful. And arrogant,” she said with a scowl.
“Sorry. So, what do you want to do? I can stream Netflix on—”
“Actually, I’m tired. I think I’ll just go to bed.”
“Bed? But it’s just ten o’clock!”
“Some of us have the opening shift.”
She disappeared into the bedroom with a solid click of the door.
Damn. Are all women this touchy?
6
Addy groaned as she kicked off her scuffed black Dansko clogs in the small employees’ room tucked behind the kitchen. Even the slow season in Tahoe tested her with each shift.
For the past eight hours she’d been on her feet as she rushed from table to table or expertly folded cloth napkins around flatware.
She pulled the tips out of her pockets and apron. Addy had been scheduled for the past ten days straight, not counting the day she’d called off with the hangover to end all hangovers.
Thank God the two new girls I hired will be starting soon, she thought.
“Hey!” Her sister stood in the doorway, fresh-faced and ready to take over the transition from lunch shift to happy hour. “Have you seen Dawn?”
“Yeah,” Addy said with a sigh. “I think she went on a dumpster run a few minutes ago. Wasn’t that supposed to be your job, Kenzie?”
Her sister wrinkled her nose.
“Sorry, I was running late,” she said. “I had to stop for coffee, you know. Can’t exactly work the night shift uncaffeinated.”
Kenzie held up her staple six-dollar coffee.
“We have coffee here, you know. For free. Have you counted the tills again? Make sure all the menus are switched to dinner, too. And don’t forget about the—”
MacKenzie rolled her eyes and turned away.
“Yeah, I’ll get to it! Geez, just go home already. All these morning shifts are making you cranky.”
“Kenzie!” Addy called to her sister’s retreating back.
She jumped up to go after her and heard the clang of change fall to the floor.
“Damn,” she whispered under her breath, but shoved her aching feet back into the shoes. She called out again as she bolted down the hall to catch her sister. “Kenzie!”
“What?” Kenzie asked, annoyed. “It’s just a restaurant. It’s not like it’s brain surgery or something.”
“You know why this is so important! And it’s not ‘just’ a restaurant. It’s Dad’s restaurant. Mom and Dad’s restaurant…”
Kenzie sighed and put down the coffee.
“I know that,” she said slowly. “You think I forgot? And it’s not like it’s the first time you’ve reminded me.”
Addy crossed her arms.
“Do I think you forgot? Maybe. You forgot three times last week about some pretty basic opening and transition tasks. Luckily for you it isn’t brain surgery.”
“Addison Marie Fuller,” Kenzie said as she cocked her head sideways. “Are you saying you don’t think I’m smart enough to be a brain surgeon?”
“I just don’t know why you have to make everything a struggle for me,” Addy grumbled.
Kenzie leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, just like their mom used to do.
“You worry too much,” Kenzie said. “It’s not good for you. Premature wrinkles.”
She flashed Addy that golden smile that worked on everyone else before she shot out the saloon doors toward the front of the house.
“You forgot to count the tills again,” Addy said quietly.
They were still stacked neatly with Addy’s precise handwriting on the point of sale tape rolls. She drew in a deep breath and began counting them again herself.
There’s no way Dawn can do it, she thought.
Addy and Kenzie had learned quickly that while Dawn could charm her way into making the most tips out of any of them, she was useless when it came to math.
“Oh my God! Addy! Hey!” Kenzie stuck her head into the back.
“What is it now?” Addy asked. “Seriously, I’m not going to help you with—”
“Shh!” Kenzie said in a stage whisper. “Jeremy just came in.”
“Jeremy?”
“Don’t look,” Kenzie said.
“Don’t look? Why would you come back here to tell me he’s here if you don’t want me to look!”
“I just wanted to let you know. In case, you know, you wanted to go out the back…”
“Why would I sneak out the back like I’m the one who did something wrong?” Addy asked.
She was suddenly aware that she must look like hell and smell like a fryer. S
he hated herself for it, but she instinctually reached up to gauge how messy her ponytail was.
“Well…” Kenzie shifted from side to side and glanced over her shoulder.
“Kenzie, what is it? Do I really look that bad?”
“It’s just that, you know, he’s not alone.”
Addy looked at her sister, scrunching her face up. “What do you mean?”
“He’s got someone with him,” Kenzie said to the floor.
“You must mean Shannon.” She reached for a stack of cups that were put away haphazardly, and righted them. “I know about them already.”
“I’m sorry.” Kenzie said. “I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s just that I saw him—with her—and I didn’t want you to—”
“It’s okay, it’s not your fault,” Addy said. “Coming in here like this, with her…”
“What a dick move,” Kenzie said. The little sister in her came out strong, ready to go to battle for Addison. “He’s an asshole.”
“Yeah, well. She’s not much better,” Addy said.
It had been five years since she’d graduated high school, but seeing Shannon in person after all those years instantly took her back to being eighteen. She’d had classes with Shannon since they were in sixth grade.
They’d never been friends, but sometime around their junior year of high school Shannon had decided Addy was a target. She could still remember the taunts that trailed after her down the hallways.
“He looks bad,” Kenzie said. “I think he’s going prematurely bald.”
“His hair’s buzzed, Kenzie,” Addy said.
She hated herself instantly for sticking up for him. Especially after how they’d broken up.
They’d dated for a year, and for the past couple of months Addy had thought they’d simply transitioned to the more complacent stage of their relationship.
The honeymoon stage hadn’t been the kind of fireworks she’d always heard about, but Jeremy had been two years ahead of both her and Shannon in high school.
Quarterback of the football team, he’d been his class’ homecoming king every year and of course prom king by the time he was a senior. She still remembered the surprising weight of the crown when he’d let her try it on six months ago.
