by Vivian Wood
She could see Kenzie looking at her from the corner of her eye.
“No… not for me at least,” Addy said. “Kenzie?”
Kenzie bit her lip and slowly shook her head. “No, he’d want to be by Mom. And it feels weird to me, separating it like that—”
“Okay,” the funeral director said.
Addy shook her head at the swiftness of the process. She opened the closet in her old bedroom to find shoes, but realized all she had were beat-up sneakers.
Shit. All my decent clothes and shoes are at Jack’s.
But she’d be damned if she was going to call him up on the day of her father’s funeral and ask if she could come by for shoes.
“Hey, Kenzie!”
“You said twenty minutes, it’s only been ten!”
“I know. Do you have some shoes I could borrow?” She could swear she heard Kenzie audibly perk up at that.
“What kind?” Kenzie asked and popped her head into the room.
“Uh, black. Formal,” Addy said.
“Well, duh. Hold on.”
She listened to Kenzie rush to her bedroom and start to bang around in the closet. Kenzie was half a size smaller than her, but she could handle pinched feet for a few hours.
“These or these?” Kenzie asked. Both were at least six inches.
“Oh, lord, Kenzie. I guess the ones without the platforms.”
Kenzie shrugged and tossed the heels onto the bed.
Her sister looped her arm through hers as they arrived at the small, Unitarian chapel at the crest of the cemetery’s hill. Immediately, virtual strangers swooped down on them to offer their condolences. Some were vaguely familiar to Addy, but most she didn’t recognize at all.
“Did Dad really know all these people?” she whispered to Kenzie.
Her sister shrugged.
“Addison, Kenzie, I’m so sorry for your loss.” An ancient woman with blue-tinted hair approached them. “My late husband and I simply adored that restaurant when it first opened. Every Sunday, we went—”
Addy listened to the woman drone on as more strangers approached them, offered stiff hugs, and dished up memories of her parents that didn’t resonate with her at all.
When the host asked if anyone would like to say any words, Addy held her breath. When nobody stood up, the host turned to her.
“Let’s just move to the service,” she said.
A staff member whisked them to the graveside in a small golf cart. The simple casket hovered above an open grave with an arrangement of white lilies draped on top.
In lieu of a religious service, Addy had asked that a poem be read. It was the same one their dad’s best man had read aloud at their parents’ vow renewal all those years ago.
She had been ten years old when they renewed their vows lakeside, and remembered how strange she thought the poem was at the time. Now, Li-Young Lee’s “Braiding” finally made sense.
Addy had held it together for the past five days. She hadn’t cried once after they’d left the hospital, paralyzed in strength for Kenzie. But as the host read the poem in his soothing voice, she felt the saltwater slip down her cheeks and pool at the corners of her mouth.
Addy let out a quiet sob. Kenzie squeezed her arm gently, and a burst of heat warmed her to the bone from her other side. She felt Jack before she saw him—he didn’t have to say anything.
The host continued reading the poem.
Jack took her hand that wasn’t intertwined with Kenzie’s. His heat, his presence, pushed her over the edge. Finally, Addy felt that she didn’t have to carry the burden alone, to be strong enough for both her and Kenzie.
She let the tears fall freely, turned to Jack and buried herself in his dark suit jacket.
Addy hadn’t even faltered when Kenzie had reached for her car keys. She pushed them into her sister’s hands and trusted she would be surrounded by throngs of people who hoisted homemade casseroles at her.
For Addy, the post-funeral feast at home wasn’t possible. She’d given up all she could.
Her father was gone. What did it matter if she made small talk between bites of egg salad sandwiches?
Jack drove them back to the condo in silence. His hand rested on her thigh, loving without the raw sexuality that had bound them together for the past few weeks.
When she walked inside his condo, it felt right. It felt like coming home. And that was what made it so hard.
“We can’t be together,” she said as he came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her.
“I think it’s best to not make any serious plans one way or the other at the moment,” Jack murmured in her ear.
“I’m serious, Jack,” she turned around. “It’s got nothing to do with… today.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s us! You, you’re a world traveler. An adventure junkie. And I’m so not.”
“So what?” he asked. “If I wanted to date myself—”
“So I can’t hold you back from that. I won’t.”
“Addy.” He took her chin in his hand and tipped her head up. She’d kicked off Kenzie’s insane heels as soon as she walked through the door. Barefoot, she felt tiny and safe in his arms. “You’re a world traveler, too.”
“Jack, be serious—”
“You are. You just don’t know it yet.”
“I can’t—”
“You can. I asked you once what was keeping you here, remember? It was the restaurant, your dad, Kenzie. If it’s the restaurant you were worried about, guess what? You don’t owe anything to anyone. Sell it, give it to Kenzie if she wants it, it’s not your responsibility anymore.”
“And neither is my dad,” she said bluntly.
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you were thinking it.”
“So what if I was? It’s true. And Kenzie’s a big girl. She’ll figure it out. She needs to stumble without you there to catch her if she’s going to grow up.”
“Yeah,” Addy said slowly. “I know.”
“If you know, then say yes.”
“Yes to what?” she asked. Addy probed his eyes with hers.
“To the future.”
“I don’t know. You’re not just an adrenaline junkie. You’re hardcore, beyond anything I’ve seen before. The money doesn’t help,” she said pointedly.
“Okay, you got me there. If this adventure stuff really bothers you, I’ll try to tone it down. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try. And that’s something, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” she said, tearing up. “That’s something.”
“Come here,” he said, wrapping her in his arms. “I love you. You do know that, don’t you?”
“And I love you. I really, honestly do,” she sighed. “Even today, when I’m overwhelmed with grief. Even when you make me mad.”
“I’ll repeat myself, then. Just say yes. That’s all you have to do.”
He stared down at her, his eyes shining with sincerity. She looked up at him for a long moment, then nodded.
“Yes.”
And that was all she had to say. He pressed his lips to hers, and she kissed him back.
Tomorrow, or the next day, they would strip each other down and do unspeakable things. But today she was content to have said the words, just to let him hold her. Today, it was enough.
31
A small pang tugged at her heart as she packed up the last of their dad’s belongings. Kenzie dropped the box she’d been working on in a huff.
“Ugh, how could Mom and Dad have so much stuff? It didn’t seem like it at the time.”
“I guess that’s the thing about lives. They accumulate so steadily, you don’t even see it happening.”
Addy ran her finger across the framed photo of the four of them at Disneyland when Kenzie was just three years old. Addy clutched a massive cotton candy. Their parents grinned at the camera, each in a pair of mouse ears.
“I can’t believe it’s been a month,” Kenzie said. “It still seems weird
, but also kind of normal. You know what I mean?”
“I know what you mean.”
“And I’m not gonna lie, I thought I’d be kind of sad when the Goodwill people hauled away his recliner but I was so relieved. That thing stunk.”
“Remember the movers are going to be here at eight in the morning to take the boxes to storage. You’ll be here, right?” Addy asked.
Kenzie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you’ve only told me a million times.”
“Just making sure.”
“Hey, what time is it?” Kenzie asked.
Addy pointedly looked at the clock that hung next to the bookcase. “Fifteen ‘til one. Why? You have somewhere to be.”
“Fifteen ‘til—crap. Hey! I have an idea. Let’s go get gelato.”
“Gelato? Kenzie, I’m not hungry, why don’t you call one of your friends—”
“No, like I’m really craving it. Let’s just go, just to the place down the street.”
“Just go yourself, I’m going to take a shower—”
“Please, Addy. There’s no gas in my car. I’ll buy.”
“I’m not worried about who’s going to pay, Kenzie.”
“Please, Addy.”
“Oh my God, okay! What’s wrong with you? You better not be pregnant. I swear to God, Kenzie, this better not be a pregnancy craving.”
“I’m not preggers, you know I have an IUD.”
“Alright, well can I shower first? I’m—”
“No, you look super cute. Like Rosie the Riveter, or whatever she’s called.”
“I don’t care how I look, Kenzie, I feel gross—”
“Just come on, you can shower afterward.”
“Wow, okay, but just so you know you’ve become really demanding now that you’re the head of this house.”
Kenzie grabbed her hand and dragged her out the door.
“Hold on! Let me lock up.” Kenzie shifted from side to side.
“I’m just really hungry,” she said.
“Then maybe we should get you something besides gelato,” Addy said as she locked the front door.
“No, I only want gelato.”
“Youngest child, much?” Addy said under her breath.
Kenzie fell into the passenger seat and slid on her sunglasses.
“Drive faster, Grandma,” Kenzie said as Addy drove down the gravel driveway.
“I’m trying not to ding the car if you don’t mind.”
The historic downtown area was bustling with families and couples—or at least as bustling as the small town could be.
“There’s a spot, right there!” Kenzie yelled.
“Okay, I see it! Calm down.” Addy parallel parked while Kenzie squirmed next to her, desperate to get out of the car. “This better be some freaking amazing gelato. You’re driving me crazy.”
“Oh, it is. It totally is.”
The second Addy put the car in park, Kenzie was out the door.
“Come on!” she yelled.
“I’m coming!” Addy chased after Kenzie and as they rounded the corner of the little brick building, they almost ran directly into Jack.
“Jack!” Addy said. “I thought you were working today.”
“Oh, no, I—”
“You better not tell me you lied just to get out of helping us pack,” Addy said jokingly. “Not that I’d really blame you.”
“No, I was at the hospital, but I got off early to take care of something.”
“Hi, Addy.” Rosalie came up from behind Jack.
“Hi…” Addy looked at Jack questioningly.
She hated this. Nothing about Rosalie suggested that she was still into Jack—or him into her—but every time she saw her she was hit by just how gorgeous she was.
“Is that Philip over there?” she asked. Addy shaded her eyes and squinted.
Across the street, Philip lurked by a newspaper dispenser. He seemed to be staring at them, but didn’t wave or smile. When Addy finally raised her hand in greeting, he awkwardly returned it.
“It’s almost one!” Kenzie said as she looked at her phone.
“Kenzie, calm down about the time, you sound like a cuckoo clock. What’s Dawn doing here?” she asked suddenly. “She’s supposed to be on the lunch shift!” She spotted Dawn across the street, near Philip, but Dawn refused to look at her.
“Dawn!” she called.
“Hey, leave her alone,” Jack said, and grabbed Addy’s hand.
“What’s going on?” Addy looked from Kenzie, to Jack, to Rosalie.
“Oh, God,” Rosalie said. She dropped her blonde head into her hands. “I’m a really, really terrible dancer.”
“What?” Across the street, Philip took an old-school boom box out of a duffel bag and put it on the bench.
As Bruno Mars’ “Marry You” started to blare, Addy noticed scores of people stream onto the pedestrian-only street in formation. Some she recognized from the hospital, many were regulars at the diner.
“What’s going on?” She gripped Jack’s hand tighter, but he pushed her away.
Addy felt her face flush neon pink as the flash mob sashayed to the music. Jack mouthed the words, and Rosalie was right—she really was a terrible dancer. The bystanders who weren’t in on it stopped and stared open-mouthed. A few of them took out their phones to record it.
Philip flipped off the stereo with a flourish as the song came to an end.
“What is this?” Addy repeated as Jack approached her. He was flushed from the dance, boyishly handsome.
“It’s a proposal!” he said. “Weren’t you listening?”
“Jack, I—”
“Will you marry me, Addy?” he asked.
Jack dropped to one knee and pulled a Tiffany box from his pocket. He propped it open to reveal a rose gold halo engagement ring with a jaw-dropping center diamond.
Addy looked around.
“But we’re already married,” she hissed to him.
“Marry me again,” he said. “I want to do it over, do it right this time.”
“Have a party this time!” Kenzie called from the crowd.
“Jack, is this… I don’t understand.”
“Addy, I want to travel. I’m not going to give that up. But I only want to travel with you. I need someone, I need you, to help balance me out. You know, plan all the adventures, make sure the itinerary’s in shape.”
“Sounds like you need a travel agent,” she said with a laugh.
“No, I need you.”
Addy looked around at the crowd, at their friends with smiles plastered across their faces.
“Is this for real?” she whispered.
“It’s for real. Unless you’d rather do Reno again—”
“No,” she said quickly, with a laugh. “Not that I remember it, but I’m not sure I want to.”
“So say yes.”
“You’re serious?”
“Of course I’m serious. I love you, Addy. I’ve loved you for a while. Why wouldn’t I want to spend the rest of my life with you?”
“I love you, too,” she said as tears began to well in her eyes.
“So that’s a yes?”
“That’s a yes.”
Jack rose to his feet as he slipped the diamond on her finger. It overpowered with ease the fake one she’d worn for the past few weeks and carried a weight with it that anchored her.
His lips met hers and she heard the cheers all around them, but in that moment it was just the two of them. Jack pulled her close and nuzzled into her neck.
“Your first task, plan a wedding.”
Addy gulped, but she had to admit that her wheels were already turning.
“Anything, big or small, anywhere you want. No limits,” he said. “And task two? Plan the honeymoon.”
“You have no idea what you’re in for,” she whispered.
Addy had held back slightly when it came to her Type-A planning, even in the thick of their fake marriage. Even she didn’t know what would spring up with the real deal.
>
“I think I have an idea,” Jack said.
“Hey! So are we going to celebrate, or what?” Philip asked. “I got here early, just so you know. Already some old couple called the cops on me thinking I was some creeper loitering on the corner.”
“Uh, sure!” Addy said with a laugh. Kenzie grabbed her hand to examine the ring.
“So much better than the last one,” she said. “You can thank me for that.”
“Kenzie took me shopping,” Jack said with a shrug.
“Yeah, and I only want to shop with someone who says the sky’s the limit from here on out!” Kenzie said.
“Well, let’s celebrate,” Rosalie said. “What’ll it be?”
“Gelato?” Addy asked.
Kenzie laughed.
“What? You’ve been talking about it nonstop for the past half an hour!”
“Gelato sounds good,” Jack said. “Venezia?”
“Uh, the sign says Alotta Gelato,” Addy corrected.
“No! I mean the best gelato is in Venezia, Italy. I have a plane at the hangar and our passports in the car. You want to go?” he asked. “It seats twelve, so if anyone wants to grab their passport and meet us there in an hour, you’re welcome.”
“Kenzie, can you take care of the restaurant?” Addy asked her with a smile.
“Hell, no! Drive me back to the house, I need my passport.”
Addy laughed, then whooped aloud when Jack scooped her off her feet, carrying her toward the car. “Only if you can keep up!”
THE END
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Rock Me
1
Serena Woods stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, relieved that her eyes didn't give away the pounding that was happening behind them. She would have splashed some water on her face, but her mother surely would have had some kind of adverse medical reaction if she so much as thought of smudging her carefully applied makeup. Perhaps a heart attack, or maybe a stroke.
