The Hard Way

by Katie Ashley

“I’d go with a dozen red roses with baby’s breath—classic, elegant, and very apologetic.”

  I eyed the price tag. “Uh, huh, looks like you also go for what straps my wallet the most too!”

  Maddie held up her hands. “All right, it’s your decision.” She gave me one last look over her shoulder before she strolled away.

  I sighed and rolled my eyes before I snatched up the bouquet of roses and went to pay.

  It was after ten when I dropped Maddie off at her house. “Are you sure your parents won’t be mad at you…and me?” I asked.

  Maddie shook her head. “I texted them to tell them what was going on. They were worried about you, so they told me to take my time.”

  “So, you can’t be alone in the house with a boy, but you can run away from church and stay out half the night?” I asked.

  Maddie cocked her head at me. “My parents knew what I was doing out with you.”

  Figures, I thought. “They trust you that much?”

  She nodded. “And why shouldn’t they?”

  “I dunno.”

  “I’ve never given them any reason to distrust me. Like I told you earlier, Noah, I’m not like other girls. I don’t sneak out of the house to hook up with random guys, and I don’t go to parties where there are drugs or drinking. I respect my parents and their wishes.”

  I held up my hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay, I get you. You’re a good, church going girl who gets her kicks inhaling ice cream sundaes, not Jello shooters!”

  Maddie smiled. “Hmm, once again, I sound totally boring.”

  I shook my head. “Trust me, Maddie. You’re anything but boring.”

  Her mouth dropped open in surprise. “Really?”

  “You’re selling yourself short. Trust me, Jake didn’t spend time with boring girls, and neither do I.”

  Maddie blushed. “Thanks, Noah. That means a lot to me.”

  “Well, you’re welcome. And thanks for tonight—I really appreciate you listening to me and helping me through all of this,” I said.

  She smiled. “You don’t need to thank me. I was happy to do it. And I had a good time, too.”

  I returned her smile. “So did I.”

  She hopped out of the Jeep. I watched her bounce up the walkway to the front door. She waved at me before heading inside. I then eased out of the driveway and made my way home. My palms were sweaty, and my skin felt clammy when I turned onto my street. I felt like an absolute pussy for having such a physical and emotional reaction.

  I clutched the bouquet in my hands as I tentatively stepped through the garage door. The house was quiet except I could hear the television on in the living room. When I got to the doorway, I saw Mom asleep on the couch. A quick glance into the dining room showed the uneaten dishes and empty plates. From the looks of it, she’d canceled on Greg after my bitch fit. That made me feel even worse that she’d deprived herself of having time with the man she loved all because she had an asshole for a son.

  I knelt down beside the couch. “Mom,” I said softly.

  She stirred, but her eyes stayed closed.

  “Mom, it’s me. Please wake up. I need to…I want to apologize.”

  Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, and she gazed over at me. There was a guilty look in her eyes that told me she still hated herself for hitting me. It was then replaced by one of relief. She was glad I was home. “Noah,” she said, as she as she pulled herself up on the couch.

  She started to say something, but then she saw the flowers in my hand. When she caught my gaze, I smiled. “These are for you.”

  “They’re beautiful.”

  I drew in a deep breath. It was now or never time. “Mom, I was a real jerk to you earlier. I wish I could take back what I said and did, but I can’t. I want you to know I didn’t mean it, I promise.”

  Mom refused to look at me. Instead, she kept her eyes on the flowers.

  “And I think it’s great that you’ve met a guy as nice as Greg, and I’m sure you’re going to be very happy.”

  Her head jerked up, and she stared incredulously at me. “You do?” Mom questioned.

  “Yeah.”

  She reached out and touched my cheek. “I’m so sorry I hit you, Noah. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  I shook my head. “Yes, you should have. In fact, you should have decked me one. I mean, I said a real shitty thing to you!”

  “Language,” she half-heartedly admonished as a smile crept on her lips.

  “Okay, it was a really crappy thing to say.”

  “That’s better.” She reached over and hugged me. In her arms, I felt safe again like I had earlier with Maddie.

  “I love you, Noah,” Mom whispered in my ear.

  “I love you, too.”

  That night when I got ready to get into bed, my eyes fell on the bookcase across from me. More specifically, they honed in on the Sullivan family Bible. I got out of bed and slowly walked over to the bookcase. I pulled the ancient book off the shelf. As soon as I held it in my hands, the smell of age and dust filled my nostrils. I opened it and started thumbing through the pages. Suddenly, it flipped open to the Book of Genesis with the part about Noah, and an envelope fluttered to the floor.

  “What the hell?” I murmured. I quickly bent down and scooped up the envelope. Scrawled across the front was my name, and it was in Granddaddy’s handwriting. With trembling fingers, I opened it. The only thing inside was a check for five thousand dollars. On the subject line, it read, “Noah’s Treasure”.

  I stood dumbfounded in the middle of my room for a few minutes, just staring at the check dated two years ago. Then I threw open my bedroom door and ran down the hall to Mom’s room. I knocked on the door. “Come in,” she called.

  Propped up in bed reading, she stared at me in surprise. “Honey, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  I strode over to her bedside and thrust the check into her hand. “I-I just found this in the Sullivan Bible.”

  “Uh, huh,” Mom replied.

  My mouth hung open. She didn’t seem a bit floored. “Um, hello, it’s a check for five thousand dollars!”

  “Yes, I see that, sweetie.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Did you know about this?”

  Mom nodded.

  I snorted. “Then why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because Daddy told me not to. He wanted you find it yourself when you were ready—more precisely when you went searching in the Bible.”

  “And what if I hadn’t?”

  Mom smiled. “He knew you would.” She handed the check back to me. “And so did I.”

  I couldn’t believe it. “But it’s been so long. Won’t the check be void?”

  “No, Grammy has the money waiting on you.”

  “Grammy knew about it too?”

  “Of course, she did,” Mom said. She gave me a pointed look. “Where exactly did you find it?”

  “In Genesis with Noah.”

  The corners of her lips turned up in a pleased smile. “I thought he might put it there—course Romans was his favorite book. Do you know why I named you Noah?”

  “Cause it was Granddaddy’s middle name?”

  “Yes, but I also knew you were going to face a lot of struggles in life—not having a father and being what people would label ‘illegitimate’.”

  “More like bastard, isn’t it?” I questioned, with a grin.

  Mom rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I just wanted to name you after someone who was looked at negatively by the world but who was favored by God.”

  I shook my head. “Aw, Mom, you’re so deep,” I mused, trying to avoid the serious look that was creeping in her eyes.

  She smiled. “That’s right. Be a typical man and change the subject—anything to avoid the touchy feeling stuff, right?”

  “Maybe,” I admitted.

  “Okay, I think I’ll let you this once and not push it.”

  “Good.” I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek before heading into
the hallway to my room.

  When I finally collapsed into bed, my mind was whirling. It’d been a hell of a day, and I was pretty sure there was more to come.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The rest of the week flew by. Everything was winding down at school—talk of graduation practice and parties were on everyone’s lips. Then on Monday afternoon when I breezed through the garage door, I found our kitchen had been transformed into Wedding Central. I raised my eyebrows as Mom and a dude I’d never seen before were hunched over the kitchen table buried in a mountain of books. Grammy was sitting across from them furiously taking notes. I cut my eyes over to the stove where Greg stood, arms folded over his chest.

  I grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and went over to him. “Dude, what the hell is going on?”

  “Your Mom’s scaled back her hours for the next few months, and I traded with Dr. Sanchez to have this afternoon off to discuss… the wedding plans.”

  I leaned over and lowered my voice. “Um, who’s that?”

  Greg rolled his dark green eyes. “That would be Gerard, the wedding coordinator,” he grumbled.

  I eyed the guy in the pale pink suit with a fake rose in the lapel. “Wow,” I murmured.

  Greg nodded. “I totally understand that Maggie has waited her entire life to have the wedding of her dreams, but him,” he paused and gave me a look like he wanted to hurl at any minute. “I don’t get him.”

  Stifling a laugh, I nodded. “Dude, I feel your pain.”

  Greg grinned as he held out his fist for me to bump. Normally, I would have thought he was a total douchebag, but I rethought my strategy and decided to give him a chance to try to be my future step-father. I knocked his knuckles with mine and smiled.

  Mom glanced up from the pile of papers and magazines to see me. “Noah, come here and let me introduce you to Gerard.”

  “Okay,” I said, reluctantly before shooting Greg a look.

  As I walked over to the table, Gerard jerked his head up to take me in. A smile widened across his lips shimmering in pink lip gloss. “Now look at this fine piece of male specimen!” he exclaimed. He turned to my mom. “Maggie, when you told me you had a seventeen-year-old son, you didn’t tell me he could’ve hopped right off the runway at Fashion Week!”

  Mom beamed in appreciation of his compliments of me. I, on the other hand, wanted to slap the shit out of him. I didn’t like the way he was ogling me—like I was a pretty piece of flesh or something. Ugh.

  “Noah, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Your mother is one of the most promising clients I’ve had in years. Why her wedding just might make it into Atlanta Brides or another magazine,” Gerard drawled.

  “Oh, um, wow. Great. Thanks,” I muttered since I was totally unsure of what to say.

  He gingerly shook my hand, and then he turned back to my mom. “Isn’t he going to look absolutely divine in his tux, and when I think about him giving you away—” Gerard flapped his hand in front of his eyes, trying to calm himself. “I just want to weep at the moment!”

  Dumbfounded, I stared in surprise at Mom. “You want me to give you away?”

  She smiled. “Of course, I do. You will, won’t you?”

  Wow, I hadn’t expected that at all. My heart did a funny flip-flop in my chest. “Yeah, course I will. It’s just you hadn’t mentioned anything, and I don’t know—I guess I thought Uncle Mark might do it since he’s your oldest brother.”

  Mom shook her head. “Nope, it’s you all the way, sweetheart.”

  “Oh, that’s just precious!” Gerard gushed.

  I glanced over my shoulder at Greg who was doing his best to stifle his laughter behind a dish towel. He removed the towel and held his hands up in self-defense.

  “Okay. I’d love too,” I said.

  “And I’m sure there’s probably a hundred girls vying to be your date at the wedding, you yummy little dream,” Gerard said.

  Then he did the unthinkable. He. Pinched. My. Cheek. He better be damn glad it was the cheek on my face and not my ass, or he would have been picking himself up off the floor. Involuntarily, my fist curled, and I had to fight not to smack him regardless. When I shuddered violently, Greg turned a laugh into a cough. I shot him a death glare to which he winked in response.

  Mom tried not to laugh at the expression on my face. Instead, she cocked her head. “So, who are you going to bring?”

  I was still contemplating my revenge on Gerard. “Huh?”

  “You don’t have to bring a date, but I was just thinking you might.”

  A date? Huh, I hadn’t even thought of that. The truth was even though I was more accepting about the wedding, I still wasn’t too thrilled to think or talk about it. But I’d probably look like a big loser showing up dateless to my mom’s wedding.

  “Yeah, I’ll find someone.”

  Mom smiled. “Oh good.” Then she bit her lip like she always did when there was something she wanted to say but wasn’t sure she should.

  “What is it, Mom?” I questioned.

  “Well, I was just going to tell you that I’ve asked Pastor Dan to marry us.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “You have?”

  Gregg nodded as Mom replied, “Yes, we did.”

  “But you barely know him,” I countered.

  “That’s true, sweetie. But after Pastor Phillips died last year, I really haven’t connected with any of the other ministers at our church, and I don’t know, there was just something I really liked about him that night at the Nelson’s. Plus, he’s so good to visit the sick, and he always comes to the hospital to pray over the new babies.”

  I didn’t really know what to say. “Then I think that’s a good idea.”

  A pleased expression came over Mom’s face. “Oh good, I’m glad you think so.”

  Gerard clapped his hands. “So sorry to interrupt this family moment, Maggie, but we’ve really got to press on with the details. We’re on a tight schedule here you know.”

  “Hey, people who are already pregnant get married all the time!” I exclaimed, jumping to Mom’s defense.

  Trying to hide a smile, Mom shook her head. “Gerard wasn’t talking about my pregnancy, Noah. He’s talking about how Greg and I have moved up the wedding because of our schedules,” she explained.

  “Oh,” I murmured. Gerard raised his eyebrows at me. “Sorry,” I said.

  He smiled. “No problem, sugar.”

  On that note, I started backing out of the kitchen. “Where are you going?” Mom asked.

  “I-uh, I gotta see about my date,” I replied.

  She nodded, and I gratefully escaped out the door. As I climbed into the Jeep, I couldn’t help thinking about how Jake would have reacted to Gerard. At the insane things he might’ve said or done, laughter started bubbling out of my mouth. As I wiped the amused tears from my eyes, I couldn’t help thinking that Jake would be proud for Mom. He would have certainly enjoyed partying at the rehearsal dinner and wedding. He also would have probably made some lameass excuse that he should be made my baby sister’s godfather—like any of us would want that. With my spirits raised, I headed over to Maddie’s.

  When she answered the door, I couldn’t help myself, and I broke into a goofy grin. “Hi!”

  “Hi Noah,” she said. Her expression was strained, and suddenly, I felt like an idiot for just showing up on her doorstep.

  “Um, I’m sorry for not calling. Is this not a good time?”

  Maddie hesitated. “It’s just, um, Josh had a treatment today, and he’s not-”

  A small voice interrupted her. “Is that Noah?” Josh called.

  “Yeah, it’s me,” I answered.

  “Tell him to come in and visit me,” he said.

  I looked at Maddie, and she nodded. She stepped aside, and I walked into the foyer. In the living room, Josh stretched out on the couch. He was so pale he could’ve passed for an albino. I hesitated at first, and then I sucked it up and headed over to him.

  I eased down on the couch and
smiled. “Hey Little Man, how’s it going?”

  “Not good.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Maddie stood behind the couch. “Hey, how about some ice cream?”

  “Yeah,” Josh replied, with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

  Maddie smiled. “Okay, I’ll go fix you some.” She headed into the kitchen leaving Josh and me alone.

  “So treatments suck pretty bad, huh?” I asked, trying to make conversation.

  Josh widened his eyes. “You’re not supposed to say words like that.”

  “Oops, sorry.”

  He grinned. “That’s okay cause they really do suck!”

  I laughed. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a dollar. “How about you taking this money instead of the cuss can?”

  “Really?”

  “Sure.”

  “Okay,” he said, and he grabbed the dollar out of my hand. “I haven’t gotten anything for a treatment in a long time.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Mommy and Daddy used to buy me a present for each treatment I had to do. But they can’t afford it now.”

  “Why not?”

  “Cause we don’t have a lot of money now cause my medicine and stuff costs so much.”

  “Oh,” I murmured. Damn, not only did the Parker’s have to deal with the emotional pain of Josh’s illness, but they also had to get kicked when they were down with the financial part. It just wasn’t fair.

  A panicked look entered Josh’s eyes. Before I could ask what was wrong, he jerked forward and puked all over me.

  I sat in shock as my mind processed what had just happened. Part of me was utterly disgusted and wanted to race out the door and never look back. Then another part felt awful for Josh—especially after the expression of pure horror came over his face at the sight of me drenched in his vomit.

  Maddie rushed back into the room. “Oh no!” she cried.

  “I-I’m s-sorry, Noah,” Josh stammered.

  My heart dropped at the sight of tears pooling in his big dark eyes along with his chin trembling.

  “Hey, Little Man, don’t cry. It’s okay.”

  “N-No, it’s n-not,” he whimpered.