Betting Jessica

by Deanne Wilsted

  “Yeah, now that you mention it, that is vaguely familiar,” Peter said. “Also, didn’t she keep trying to get you to join her book club or something?”

  “Uh huh… as if I’d join a reading group with twelve year olds!” Erik frowned. “Anyway, if she’s held a grudge for that long then she is more pathetic than I thought.”

  “So, what are you going to do now?” Peter asked.

  “I don’t know. I guess probably avoid her for a while.”

  Originally he had wanted to go to Tahoe to help keep Jessica out of trouble. God knew she needed someone to look after her. But last night she hadn’t seemed to be her normal, chaotic self. Maybe she would be fine there without him. And, when she lost the bet she would just have to deal with it and her bad feelings like a big girl… all on her own.

  “And I think going to Tahoe with you guys is probably a really bad idea.”

  “Maybe…” Peter jumped in. “But if you start avoiding her now doesn’t it seem like the kiss really got to you?”

  Erik thought about this for a moment. That was the last thing he wanted Jessica or anyone else to think.

  “So what should I do?” he asked Peter.

  “If I were you I’d try to act normal and make sure she knows it’s all in the past. Besides, Tahoe won’t be any fun without you. Not to mention, you did get her into this stupid bet to begin with.”

  Erik cringed thinking Peter didn’t know the half of it. Although it wasn’t really his fault she was dumb enough to make such a crazy bet, he still felt bad for her and wanted to try to help, or at least be there for her when she realized that she was going to lose. A fleeting image popped into his head of comforting her after Ian Drake dissed her, assuming she even got that close to him. He would play down the whole bet thing and not make her feel badly at all. Then it would all be over and he would be the hero. Decision made Erik tried to forget about the rest.

  “Well, then, I guess next time I see her I’ll apologize. She’ll probably yell at me and that will put things right back to normal.”

  Peter nodded, trying not to smile when he pointed out the obvious.

  “Sure… things will be right back to normal especially when she realizes you’re coming with us to Tahoe. In fact, I have a feeling Jessica’s thoughts of you at that point may reach a whole new level of normal.”

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Friday nights had become Jessica’s night to work on her plan. At first Becky had joined her, but now with Blaise demanding all of her attention Jessica was mostly left on her own.

  In the kitchen Jessica threw some leftover Chinese food in the microwave and poured herself a glass of wine. She felt strangely better after having talked to Becky earlier, so with renewed energy she got ready to tackle her to-do list.

  She brought her steaming food to the living room and piled some pillows on the floor next to the colorful milk crates she used for filing. Keb Mo, her favorite feel good music played in the background as she pulled over the green crate packed with all of her Ian Drake stuff. She didn’t have to dig far, her budget plan and to-do list were on top.

  Absently she speared some noodles while she looked over the expenses for the project. She had sadly underestimated how much the new her was going to cost. After being teamed up on by an adamant Becky and Katie she had finally agreed to invest a little money on her face. Apparently her night time Noxzema routine didn’t cut it anymore. “Like, what are you… fifteen?” Becky had teased her.

  Adding in the bi-monthly manicures Becky had insisted on and the highlights Katie thought would add just the right sophistication to her look, and Jessica suddenly found herself forking out another $500 from her budget. Tonight she knew she needed to do some creative financing to find more money in her budget for the apparently inconsequential stuff on her list; like the vacation rental.

  On a positive note though, the party had been so successful that Katie had called to tell Jessica they’d received a huge gratuity from Erik’s boss… plus the promise of at least two more parties to cater in the next couple of months. Jessica figured that might help pay for her part of the rent, but she was at a loss as to how to afford the new clothes Becky felt she needed. And, although Jess couldn’t really argue with the fact that Ian Drake probably wouldn’t date anyone in designer cast-offs from Target, she also didn’t have any money to spare on the real items.

  She fiddled with her pencil, adding decimals to the end of all her dollar amounts to make them look bigger. Sadly, cents weren’t going to get her new clothes. No, she thought, quickly straightening up in her chair, but sense would; specifically style sense. Katie was one of the best dressed women Jessica knew so if anyone could fix her existing wardrobe by adding only a little bit to it Jessica knew she could. She added a note to her to-do list, Call Katie to discuss new clothes…

  No time like the present she thought, picking up the phone with one hand and crossing the item off her to-do list with the other. She almost hung up again when Katie’s harried voice answered.

  “Katie’s Catering?”

  “Hey Katie, I’m interrupting aren’t I?”

  “What? Oh, no, not at all. I was just trying to figure out the right dessert to go with grilled cheese sandwiches,” she said. “And before you ask, don’t! It’s too long a story.” Katie laughed.

  “Sounds like a party I’d like to go to,” Jessica said, “if I weren’t on this diet that is. Anyway… that brings me to the reason I called. I was kind of wondering if you might have time to help me with a little shopping. Not too much but…”

  Jessica never even got to finish the rest of her sentence. The magic word shopping had clearly caught Katie’s complete attention.

  “Sure Jess, if you think I could help, I’d love to,” Katie said casually, trying not to scare Jessica off with her eagerness to revamp her wardrobe. “Is this shopping in general, or are you looking for something specific?”

  Jessica was quiet for a second considering this. She didn’t tend to think about shopping in those terms. Typically she would go for months reminding herself and then forgetting again that she needed something like say, a black sweater. Then, finally she would either see one while she was out with Becky or she would use her pathetic half hour lunchtime to grab whatever she could find on the sale rack.

  “Well, umm, I guess I need to get some general things, and then… Oh, I don’t know, you know I’m no good at this,” Jessica said uncertainly. “The thing is... I’m thinking I need to dress a little bit differently when I am in Tahoe if I am going to get Ian’s attention.”

  “Definitely,” Katie said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

  “And I don’t have that much money,” Jessica hurriedly added. “So I thought, maybe, you could come over and see if there is anything that can be salvaged from the mess in my closet.”

  “Of course Jess. Don’t worry. I know lots of things we can do to make a big impact with not a lot of money.”

  Jessica laughed out loud. Only someone really into clothes would even think to say something like big impact.

  “Plus,” Katie continued “I think we should try some consignment stores.”

  Jessica was glad Katie wasn’t there to see her scrunched up face.

  “And before you shake your head and make a face…” Katie said perceptively, “probably half of what I wear comes from consignment. I mean, it’s not like I have a ton of extra money running my own business.”

  But Jessica hated consignment stores… really hated them. Even in a fancy store where they laid it all out for you she could never find the right outfit. Consignment to her was like a step below her own closet. But, she thought, if it was good enough for Katie it would be good enough for her. She figured Katie would know which stores to go to and how to find the right things.

  “Okay Katie, I need help so badly I’ll even go into one of th,th,those,” she stuttered out.

  “You don’t know how long I have been waiting to hear you say that,” Katie said w
ith a sigh and a laugh. And then quickly caught herself, “I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with what you wear now, but…”

  Hearing how flustered Katie was Jessica laughed.

  “Don’t worry; I realize I don’t have any style. Up till now I’ve been okay with that. I’m not like you Katie; normally I don’t really worry much about how I look.”

  “Thanks a lot,” Katie said with a huff.

  “No, no, I didn’t mean you’re vain or anything. I guess I’ve just never been interested before in looking as great as you usually do. But you know it’s all part of the plan. To be honest, now that I’ve lost a few pounds I guess I wouldn’t mind showing it off a little.”

  “I promise Jess, we’ll find awesome clothes for you. But, you have to promise me one thing,” Katie paused. “You have to let me throw away those horrible black pants.”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  At work on Monday morning Jessica sat quietly at her desk, checking off the actions left on her to-do list. The spiral-bound notebook which went everywhere with her was filled not only with her work notes, but also personal stuff like messages, ideas and grocery lists. In fact, pretty much anything that needed to be written down went into that notebook.

  For a while she had tried to stay organized by separating the notebook into sections for different topics, but she had found it was much easier to draw a divider on the bottom half of every page and use that for personal stuff.

  Of course, the problem with this was that her nosy boss had started looking over her shoulder at meetings trying to read what was in the notebook. Jessica figured even if she did write herself notes during the day while she was at work it was really none of his business. Unfortunately, her boss seemed to think everything was his business.

  So, as Jessica wrote schedule clothes shopping with Katie, her boss patted her on the shoulder and harrumphed.

  “Well, it’s nice to see you taking an interest in how you look for a change.”

  It was so like something her dad would have said that Jessica had momentary deja vu. Oh my God… I’ve gone to work for my father. She had always heard how girls wanted to marry someone like their dad but she had never heard of this. It was no wonder she hated all of her jobs.

  Her dad was totally crazy, so Jessica was grateful she wasn’t anything like him. Well, other than going into business, worrying about money all the time, and defining herself by her work…

  OMG! Not only was she working for someone like her dad…. she was turning into him as well.

  The expression of horror on her face at this epiphany clearly terrified her boss. He couldn’t seem to get away fast enough; nearly tripping over the waste basket as he backed away from her desk. Jessica watched him turn and practically run down the hall, shutting the door to his office as if perhaps she planned to chase him.

  Her mind was a whirl, trying to remember what had made her go into business in the first place. She thought of her college sociology report, still sitting on her desk from the night she had decided to take the bet seriously. Were there other directions she could have taken?

  Doodling, Jessica began to make a list of all of the things she liked to do: cooking, for instance; cleaning and making things beautiful for the parties she helped Katie cater; writing and teaching and acting and singing. And, she loved to help people. The problem was that none of these things seemed like work to her.

  On top of that she could almost hear her dad’s voice in her head, if you’re so interested in cooking why don’t you just get married.

  Weird. She was really good at channeling him. It was almost like he was right behind her.

  “Jessica. You okay, honey?”

  Spinning her chair around Jessica practically fell out of it when she in fact found herself face to face with her dad.

  “What’s so intriguing that you can’t stop to say hello to your old dad?” he said with a little half-laugh.

  “Dad! Sheesh, you scared me.” Jessica couldn’t get her mind to shift from imagining her boss as her dad and then seeing him there in person. “What in the world are you doing here?”

  “It’s not like I never come to visit.”

  Great, she’d obviously offended him.

  “No, I just meant….”

  “I happened to be downtown and wanted to see what my little girl’s doing at work these days. Was that your boss I saw walking away from your desk?” It was just as well her dad interrupted her; she wasn’t sure how she would have finished that statement.

  “Yep,” Jess tried to say, but her dad again steamrolled right over her.

  “Seems a bit harried, if you ask me. He should try to better manage his time, maybe delegate a little more responsibility to you, Pumpkin. That’s what I’d do.”

  Jessica rolled her eyes. Sure, he would. Her dad barely trusted her to drive him around town when he visited. It took her about one second to realize he had a new nickname for her, Pumpkin. Don’t get into a huff, she reminded herself. Just because she was wearing an orange blouse today it didn’t mean anything. It was a common enough nickname.

  “Umm, so are you in town all day or only for a while?” she asked with fingers crossed. She hoped she wouldn’t have to make him dinner. She had way too much project work to do still; not the least of which was figuring out how to actually find Ian when she got to Tahoe.

  “Oh, I’m in for a quick meeting.” Her dad glanced at his watch. “But, how about I buy my best girl a cup of coffee before I head back?”

  Her dad’s idea of coffee was just that, a simple cup of coffee in a cafeteria or diner. Recently she had introduced him to all of the different variations from her local coffee house. He had been a little confused by it all until she had explained it was like the coffee he used to get in France when he was stationed there in the army. The thought of her dad in a foreign country made her feel a little nicer toward him. She linked arms and dragged him towards the elevators before her boss could return and start talking with her dad; something that would assuredly ruin her day.

  “So, Jessie, how’s your little vacation coming along,” her dad asked as they walked down the busy sidewalk.

  Frustrated, Jessica sighed and for the millionth time began to explain again the reason she was going.

  “Dad, it’s not really a vacation. You know I’m going for a purpose.”

  The pained look on her father’s face stopped her. It really wasn’t worth getting into again.

  “Forget it,” she mumbled. “It’s not important. The plans are going well. I got a neat condo rented and Becky’s convinced Blaise to come along; so with the two of them and Peter we’ll have a full house.”

  Jessica’s dad stood in front of the large chalkboard at the coffee house obviously trying to decipher the many choices.

  “I don’t know how you’ll have room for five of you in a little condo babe,” he answered distractedly. “Why didn’t you try to find a house or something?”

  “Oh sure, like I have that much money lying around,” Jessica laughed wryly. “Anyway, there are only four of us; I told you, me, Becky, Peter and Blaise.”

  “What about Erik, though?” her dad said transferring his confused look from the chalkboard to her. “Isn’t he going to stay with you?”

  “Erik? Why would you think he’s going to be there? He’s what started all of this.” Jessica laughed and then watched her dad’s face get a sort of panicked look on it. She got a horrible sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach.

  “Oh no! He wouldn’t go, would he Dad? Dad, why would you think Erik is going? He’s not going is he?” Now she was the one who was panicked.

  “Uh, gosh,” her dad said with an overly large laugh. “Oh look, our coffee is ready.”

  Her dad grabbed his coffee and started walking to the door, ready to escape. One look at Jess’s face, though, slowed him.

  “You know, it was probably some other trip that Peter was talking about. Don’t worry, honey; I must have been confused when he mentioned Eri
k’s name. I’m sure it will just be the four of you.”

  Silence descended like a hot air balloon emptying its gas. Jessica’s face was the color of her dad’s latte. Oh my God. Peter wouldn’t do this to her would he? How could he? How could Erik? How could he even consider going on the trip.

  In her heart though she knew it was true, and she even knew why; Erik wanted to be there when she failed so he could rub it in. It was that idea that stung the most.

  She was suddenly too tired for words… certainly too tired for bailing out her father who was now looking at Jessica with the same expression of pity he usually reserved for her job changes.

  “Honey, you’re not looking very well. Maybe you shouldn’t go back to work if you’re sick.”

  Jessica nodded her head. It was 3:00 in the afternoon and she was sick… sick-hearted. That certainly would have to be a good enough reason for leaving work early, because the last thing she wanted to do was go back and sit at her miserable desk, with her miserable boss and all of her colleagues looking at her pathetically.

  “No, you’re right Dad. I don’t feel too well. I think I’ll grab my stuff and go home. Maybe the milk in my coffee was bad.”

  Jess’s dad nodded his head in agreement though inside he must have known he’d really blown it.

  “Oh, I almost forgot” he said, obviously trying to cheer her up. “Your mom told me to remind you that she’s making your favorite meal for Sunday dinner this week, so don’t be late.”

  Jessica stretched up on her toes to kiss her dad goodbye and headed into the office to make a quick escape.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Five hours later, having polished off a pint of ice cream, Jessica lay on the couch with one arm over her eyes and the other hugging her stomach. She was trying to work up the energy to get her head around what to do next.

  Her grief and anger over Erik’s plans to join them had been replaced by apathy and resignation; feelings similar to those she’d had before making the bet. Her new outlook on life must have been pretty flimsy, she thought to herself with disgust. One setback and it ended up discarded on the floor like so many outfits on a Saturday night.