“This was Lee’s other friend, right?” Tessa asked. “Zara mentioned that he was hard to deal with right now. I’m sorry you guys had run-ins with him.”
“You didn’t?” Jamie asked, pushing her tray away.
Tessa shook her head. “Didn’t even see the guy. He wasn’t with Zara at the Airbnb, and I left the diner right before Lee and his friends turned up—which I will never forgive Colin for.”
Jamie sighed. “Unfortunately, we’re stuck with him for the year. Lee says that Will’s here to finish up his undergrad degree. He’s going to be at Longbourn until the spring.” He’d also said that Will was going through it right now because he’d lost his job, or his pilot didn’t work out. Whatever. All Jamie heard was a good guy covering for his bad friend. It was a relief to know that Lee had flaws.
“I overheard that, too,” EJ groaned. “Lucky us.” She rubbed her neck the way she always did when something stressed her out. “Wait, why didn’t he just finish up remotely?” she asked.
The women paused thoughtfully. Tessa drummed on her chin with her fingers. “Eej, did Lee’s friend say what he did? Can you describe him?”
EJ thought for a minute. “He was Franz’s height, so medium tall. Asian American, black hair. Attractive but in a mean, bro-y way—kind of like a hot stockbroker. Or the young villain in a Korean soap opera.”
“Anything else?” Tessa whipped out her phone and was searching the internet for EJ’s clues. Jamie just looked on in confusion.
EJ finished her cannoli and went on. “Probably rich. Probably the most arrogant person I’ve ever met. Oh! Zara mentioned he had some huge public breakup. She had the impression that I already knew about it, so I guess he’s famous and his ex is megafamous? Kyrie? Kylie? No . . . Carrie!”
Tessa choked on her coffee “I think you were insulted by Will Pak.” She showed her friends the picture on his IMDb page.
EJ tilted her head and blinked. “That’s definitely him—and I know none of these shows.”
Jamie scanned the screen. “Same.”
Tessa groaned. “Oh, come on, guys. The Wolf Pack Trilogy made half a billion worldwide. Forensic Team: Hawaii is one of the top ten shows on TV.”
Jamie and EJ looked at each other and shrugged.
“Doesn’t make me feel better,” EJ said.
“Nor does it provide an excuse,” Jamie added.
“I know, but . . . you snobs!” Tessa cried. This broke the tension. “You have to at least know Band Camp. It was a musical. You love musicals, for some reason.”
EJ took a sip of her water and gave a half shrug. “We didn’t have cable before cutting cords was popular. My parents thought it was a waste of money when you had PBS or DVDs from Netflix. To their credit, everyone in my family plays piano and one other instrument. If that makes me a snob, oh well. Je ne regrette rien.” She gave a defiant shake of her shoulders.
Jamie chuckled. When I have kids, I’m going to make sure they get enough pop culture to hold a lengthy nostalgic conversation with their peers. “All right, EJ, we know; you spent your childhood under a rock for only the best of reasons. Now can we please focus?”
Jamie folded her hands and looked at Tessa in amazement. “How did you guess it was Will from the useless clues EJ was giving?”
Her bestie squawked in protest, but Jamie just laughed. “Honey, there’s a reason no one wants you on their team for Taboo.”
Tessa snickered before she spoke again. “I’m never one to shy away from praise, but the one useful clue she gave was kind of obvious. The only famous Carrie that had a big breakup recently is Carrie Dean, duh.”
Jamie suddenly had a vision of a blonde woman with blue lipstick sobbing on the beach with headlines like: Carrie Is Blue Crushed or An Ocean of Tears. That story had been everywhere, just a month ago.
“Even I know who Carrie Dean is!” EJ exclaimed. “Dia’s talked my ear off about her new album. She won’t stop playing it.”
Tessa, who’d been scrolling nonstop since Carrie’s name came up, gasped and pointed at her screen. “According to the Hollywood Rag, the second verse in her new song ‘Dumb Blonde’ is probably about Will; it calls him a boring snob she met on the job. Oof, I’d hide, too. Carrie fans are intense. Like a white-lady Beyhive.”
Jamie winced. “I don’t think anyone deserves the attack of a stan army, but I’m going to save my pity for someone else.” She was still irritated with Will on EJ’s behalf. “Carrie Dean didn’t force him to act like an ass last night.”
“This is so disappointing,” Tessa said. “There are only so many Asian faces on TV. He has a responsibility not to suck.” She paused to eat a miniature chocolate chip. “Then again, he didn’t say anything about Carrie Dean doing that problematic geisha photo spread—and it was after they broke up! I guess he doesn’t care that much about representation.”
EJ started stacking her plates on her tray. “The only thing I need to know is that Will Pak has bigger problems than me and I’ve got bigger problems than him. I consider this done. Will’s easy enough to avoid. And please don’t hold grudges against this man for me, especially you, Jamie. You’ve got a relationship to grow.” EJ smiled warmly at her and Tessa, then squeezed Jamie’s shoulder.
And just like that, Jamie’s anger at Will melted away. She had her friends, and maybe, possibly, she might have a boyfriend soon. Because God had a sense of humor, as soon as this thought passed through her mind, Jamie’s phone chimed with a text.
Hey, gorgeous, want to hit up the farmer’s market later?
Show me how a real New Englander does fall.
Jamie couldn’t help her grin. She looked up from the screen to the knowing faces of her friends. EJ squealed. Tessa waggled her eyebrows. “I know who that’s from,” she said in a singsong tone.
Jamie giggled and texted Lee a flirty yes. Then she put her phone facedown.
“Enough about Lee, enough about Will,” Jamie began. “We need to know why you ran off during the best part of the after-party. What’s going on with Colin, T?”
Tessa dropped her head back and groaned. “Where do I even begin?”
EJ
It was a gorgeous fall day. The maples that lined the quad shimmered in deep reds and oranges. The gingko trees by the Administration Building were bedecked in buttery yellows and more strident goldenrods. Even the neatly trimmed bushes by the library had joined the spectacle in shades of plum. Since the weather was bound to be abysmal for the next four to eight months, days like this were to be savored. EJ had been forced to spend the morning inside: first doing some work on her capstone, which was progressing smoothly, then fulfilling her duties as a senior on the ballroom team teaching the newbies rumba and swing.
Done with everything she had to do, EJ hurried back to Bennet House to do something she wanted to: take a long walk in the nearby woods. It was sunny and warm, which kept her going even though the ground was still soft—and a little slippery in places—from several recent days of rain. She’d been walking for a good twenty minutes when her phone buzzed with a text from Jamie.
At the hospital. Can you come
She gasped and, fingers flying, texted Jamie. Even though they were in a really liberal college town in pretty progressive Western Mass, EJ always had a little extra tinge of worry for Jamie when her friend was off campus. It took one hateful lunatic, and there were a lot of them around, these days.
Sure thing, J. What happened?
Lacrosse ball + my head=possible concussion
Might have blacked out for a second
EJ almost collapsed with relief. She responded quickly.
OMG! On my way.
I’ll be ready to hold your hand.
Thx you know how much I hospitals
Lee is here, tho
Yay Lee. What a sweetie!
I just don’t want to go into my whole thing/phobia/whatevs
So I’m pretending to be bored, not terrified
Insisted on calling Malfoy, btw
&n
bsp; He gave us a ride over
& he’s still here
Boo Malfoy
I’ll be good—see you soon.
When EJ got to the emergency room, she found Jamie looking on as Lee made a fuss in the waiting area.
“It’s outrageous!” Lee fumed.
“It’s routine, Lee,” Jamie reassured him. Will said nothing to help, either, instead tapping idly at his phone.
“What’s up?” EJ asked, putting her things down next to Jamie.
“We’re looking at a three-hour wait,” Jamie replied, resigned but not surprised.
“How is that even possible?” Lee exclaimed. “There are only like twelve people here.”
EJ rubbed the back of her neck. His mood was not helping Jamie, who was successfully hiding her anxiety from anyone who didn’t know her well.
“Lee,” EJ began with quiet firmness, “it’s a small public hospital on a Sunday afternoon. Not a high-danger time. Twelve patients are a lot. We”—she gestured to those in the waiting room—“are a tour bus pulling into a McDonald’s at two a.m. They are slammed, but they are doing their best. May I suggest you accept things you cannot change? Take a lap around the floor if you need to?”
She sat next to Jamie and drew her friend close. She just needed to keep Jamie calm. Lee gave her an embarrassed smile. “My yelling isn’t helping your head, is it?” He looked around. “I think I saw a soda machine when we came. Let me see if they have any Diet Dr Pepper.”
“You remembered!” Jamie said happily.
“You did just mention craving one during our walk,” he replied. “I don’t think I get brownie points for that.”
EJ smiled at the obvious warmth between them. “Hey, now,” she interjected. “I was a Girl Scout until middle school, and I say the brownie points are yours.”
“Can I get you anything, Eej?”
EJ thought it was cute that he already used her nickname. “I’ll have the same, thanks,” she said.
“No problem,” Lee said before jogging down the hallway.
“Thanks, Lee,” the young women sang after him.
“How are we doing, J?” EJ asked, gently moving Jamie’s hair out of her face.
“Hanging in there.” Jamie rested her head on her friend’s shoulder and sighed. “I know it’s an unlikely, unlucky mistake, but you remember Aunt Pauline. She’s never been the same.” EJ shook her head. She remembered thinking those stories about doctors leaving their keys in people were kinda funny. It never occurred to her that sometimes the patient almost died for no reason. That was exactly what had happened to Jamie’s aunt—who, even though she got a nice settlement from the hospital, still had stomach trouble from her medical accident. Jamie said she hadn’t looked at a hospital the same way since.
EJ gave her friend a squeeze. “I came as soon as I could.”
“Clearly,” Jamie said, looking pointedly at her friend’s clothes.
EJ looked down too, shaking her head. “I didn’t think I hit that many mud puddles.” She stood and stretched. Then she unzipped her Longbourn hoodie, revealing a clingy yellow T-shirt, leggings that were similarly stained with grass, then dirt, and then mud. Her sneakers were more mud than shoe.
“You are phenomenally dirty,” Will said bluntly.
“Excuse me!” EJ flinched, startled by his presence. She’d been so focused on getting to Jamie that she hadn’t noticed that she was standing in front of Will. Why was he even talking to her? Her head whipped around, a frown etched into her brow. Something in her expression caused him to backpedal.
“But it works,” he added hastily. “You look earthy and refreshed—like a wood sprite.”
EJ looked to Jamie. “Well, damn. That must be the charm that made him the toast of the Teen Choice Awards.” She tossed her hoodie down on her duffel and retook her seat.
Will looked around, alarmed. “Lower your voice, please.”
EJ couldn’t help her snort of laughter. She opened her mouth to say something cutting but noticed Jamie’s discomfort and changed her mind.
Will continued speaking to her for some reason. “So you’re familiar with my work.”
EJ shrugged. “Not really, no. But my friend recognized you by description. She said you did some teen werewolf something. I wouldn’t know; I don’t watch much television.”
“It was a movie,” Will corrected. “Three, actually.”
“How nice for you.” EJ coated her words in honey, switching tactics. She wanted to adopt the particular brand of southern passive-aggressiveness her mom had perfected during her Tennessee upbringing. EJ had seen it deployed with everyone from annoying family members to useless store managers to great effect. There was a long silence, and then Will finally returned to his phone.
She turned back to Jamie and mouthed, “I’m being good.” Then she explained her appearance. “I was walking through the nature preserve when I got your text. The shortcut back to campus was still muddy from all that rain last week. What can I say? I’m messy but I’m here.”
“And I’m grateful,” Jamie replied softly.
“I even brought distractions.” EJ grabbed her duffel and began fishing out her offerings, one by one. “I’ve got Rent on Broadway on my laptop. I’ve got a bunch of theater-nerd podcasts queued up on my phone. And I found that issue of i-D you lost in my car.” EJ fished each item out of her duffel bag as she named it.
“The thing about Rent is that the whole show falls apart once you realize all their art is bad,” Will offered without looking up from his phone.
EJ forced a laugh. “Hey, look: a man with an opinion no one asked for. Haven’t seen one of—”
Before she could say more, Jamie pulled EJ down into the seat next to hers. She took the magazine, eagerly.
“You are the best,” Jamie said with a small smile.
“Yes.” Will had decided to chime in again, for some reason. He tapped at his phone and spoke distractedly. “It’s clear that you’re a good friend, dropping everything to rush over here.”
“Thank you,” EJ replied with a new quizzical frown. She braced herself for a barbed insult and was confused when it didn’t come.
Lee had just returned to the group, a soda can in each hand. “I could say the same thing about you, Will.” He distributed the drinks and then settled on the other side of Jamie. “Thanks for the ride. Will’s always been there when I need him, ever since we were kids.”
EJ gave a short smile to Lee but then shot a skeptical look to Jamie. It was nice of him to try and remind them that Will had good qualities—even when they weren’t anywhere to be seen. Will didn’t seem to notice Lee’s efforts on his behalf.
“No big deal,” Will said, gaze still fixed on his phone. “I live in town, and I wasn’t busy. Besides, your friendship is its own reward.” He offered this sentiment in the same bored monotone one generally reserved for a bank’s automated phone system. Even Lee didn’t seem quite sure if Will was being sarcastic. He, Jamie, and EJ exchanged looks.
No matter how confusing Will was being, EJ needed to change. “Lee, are you good to hang out with Jamie for a bit?” she asked.
“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away.” He took Jamie’s hand and gave it a warm squeeze.
Look at this mensch! EJ beamed at him. “Great! Since my dear friend and your dear friend have pointed out exactly how gross I am, I’m going to change. I have my ballroom practice clothes in here.” She patted the duffel.
As she stood to look for the women’s restroom, Will piped up, again. He looked up from his phone with interest. “Ballroom?” he echoed. “I love the Viennese Waltz. Do you do that?”
EJ rubbed her neck. She was too internally perplexed to answer with anything but honesty. “It’s my second-weakest dance, but yeah. I have a respectable V. waltz.” What is with this guy ? she wondered. Boorish and insulting one moment, quiet and awkward the next.
Will nodded to himself. “Good to know,” he said before returning to his phone.
She b
linked at Will, then turned and looked questioningly at Lee. He shrugged.
“Okaaay.” She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to shake off the whole exchange. “Like I said, going to change.” EJ turned toward the hospital lobby and walked rapidly away, all the while thinking, Will Pak is a fucking weirdo.
Will
A week or so after he gave Lee and his love interest a ride to the hospital, Will invited his friend over for Scrabble and pizza. Lee shot back a text that said:
Yes, we need to talk.
Will groaned and sighed. Lee was going to try and pry the truth about Carrie out of him. He’d been hiding behind Carrie’s brutal NDA to avoid discussing the subject. The truth was the whole thing was still too painful to talk about.
That evening, after he’d trounced Lee but before the food arrived, Will noticed his friend looking distinctly uncomfortable.
“Okay, do you want to talk about Carrie?” he asked Lee, who was sprawled on the adjacent leather love seat. The younger man visibly tensed but shook his head. Lee was hideously conflict averse due to living through his parents’ divorce—and the many years before it, when they should have stopped being married. It took Lee several false starts before he got out his first sentence. Will knew he must seem in bad shape since Lee was treating him like a Fabergé egg.
“It’s just—you’re my best friend. You’re lonely, Will, and you’re sad, so I have trouble saying no to coming over anytime. I’d be lying, though,” Lee continued with difficulty, “if I said I didn’t feel torn between you and my school life.”
He glanced from the coffee table to Will, then back to the coffee table. “I need you to start making friends who aren’t me.”
Will nodded, silently absorbing the fact that despite his best efforts, he’d become a burden to Lee.
“And you need to stop actively pissing people off,” Lee continued.
The Bennet Women Page 5
