"It isn't really like him to not come and see how I'm doing," Eliza continued on. "Especially since my surgery is the day after tomorrow."
Chris tossed the empty cup into the trash but didn't face his mother. If she saw his expression now, she'd see the anger he's been carefully suppressing around her delicate state. Instead he stared out the window, watching the cars below moving like ants.
"I wish he would call me," Eliza said with another sad sigh. "I called his home phone but he never answers. You have his cell phone number don't you Chris? Can't you call-"
"No," Chris snapped quickly, then softened his tone. "Mom...he's probably busy with...stuff."
"Stuff?"
"Yeah."
"Chris, look at me."
Steeling his expression, Chris turned and finally faced his mother. Laying on the hospital bed in a pink gown, Eliza studied her son carefully before sitting up. She still felt under the weather these days because of her condition but at least she hasn't lost the ability to move.
"Mom," Chris said in warning. "Don't move around so much." He pushed away from the window and went to his mother who waved a hand at him with a laugh.
"Oh Chris," Eliza chuckled, "I'm perfectly fine."
Chris knelt down beside the bed and took her fragile hand with a frown. "Still...you shouldn't be pushing yourself."
"I'm fine," she assured him again. "Now, tell me what happened between you and Cal."
Ah hell. "Nothing," Chris replied smoothly but not smooth enough because Eliza clearly wasn't convinced. She raised a brow at him and he ignored it.
"You're telling me that this," she poked his furrowed brows, "isn't caused by whatever happened between you two? Christopher, I may be sick but I'm not blind."
Chris stood and released his hold on her hand. "Let it go, Ma."
She stared up worriedly at him. "Chris, what happened?"
"I said let it go."
"How can I let it go when my baby is hurting so much?"
Chris looked away from her soul-searching eyes and stared out the window. The sky was endlessly blue but he didn't see it. He felt so damn empty inside that he let his anger linger just to fill in that void.
"Christopher. Why are you hurting?"
"Mom, I'm fine." He started for the door. "I'll ask the nurse to get you your pain meds."
"Hold it right there Christopher Walker." Eliza's eyes narrowed at his back. "Don't walk away from me."
Cursing under his breath, Chris half turned and looked at his mother. She stared back at him for several seconds before her eyes softened. "Chris, you can be all scowly-faced at me but I know when one of my boys is hurting inside."
"What do you want from me, Mom?"
"I want the truth."
He chuckled darkly. "You and me both."
Eliza sighed. "You found out, didn't you?" When Chris didn't reply, she tried again. "You found out about Cal's...secret."
Chris stared at her for several seconds before chuckling darkly. "You know, it doesn't surprise me at all that you knew before I did, Mom. Hell, did Dad know too? Were any of you planning on telling me?"
"What are you mad about, Christopher?" Eliza asked, getting straight to the point. "That Cal is a girl or that she tricked you?"
"What the hell is the damn difference?" He snapped. "Cal lied. Period. He's...she's been lying to me all this time."
"And I'm sure she's sorry about that."
"Right Mom, that makes me feel a lot better."
"Holding onto that silly anger certainly won't."
"It's all I've got."
Eliza shook her head. "Because you don't want to forgive her."
"Why!?" Chris glared at her. "Why the hell should I forgive him? I mean her...I mean...shit!" He turned around angrily and closed his eyes. God damn it, he mentally cursed. Taking a deep breath, he let it out and waited a minute before speaking. "It's not that simple, Mom."
"Of course it's not," Eliza said softly. "Love is never simple, Chris. If you love her...and you do, don't you, Chris? That's why it's so hard for you to forgive her. You love Cal."
"I don't know who I love," he whispered hoarsely. "I don't even know the person I fell in love with."
"Nonsense! Cal is Cal. She may have lied to you about her gender but she's always been herself with you. She loves you Chris."
"Not enough to tell me the truth."
"She told you the truth."
"After lying for so long! She could have been honest with me from the start!"
Eliza's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Who are you really angry with, Chris? Cal or yourself?"
Startled, Chris looked sharply at her. "What?"
"I know you son, I know that you're a fair man so I'm sure you would have tried to put yourself in Cal's shoes. You've thought about it right? How Cal must have felt all these months, pretending to be a guy all because she was afraid to lose you."
That was true but damn it, Chris clenched his hands into tight fists. Why couldn't she have been honest with him!?
"I trusted Cal," Chris told his mother. "Yeah, I'm a jerk for mistaking her for a guy but I gave my trust. Hell," he laughed without humor, "I was turning gay for her! I would have given up everything for Cal...everything."
"Oh Chris," Eliza began sympathetically.
"No," Chris held up a hand. "Listen. When I thought that Cal was a guy, it drove me crazy!"
He began to pace as he talked, hands on his hips and eyes glaring at the floor. "I kept thinking that something must be wrong with me because I've never liked men romantically! Never...until Cal. I should have known...I should have known that "he" was actually a she but hell, Mom!" Chris threw up his hands with frustration and faced his mother. "I thought that Cal was just one of those feminine looking guys like Abel!"
He raked his hair back with his fingers and sighed. "God...what a mess."
"And you're the only one who can fix up this mess," Eliza said. "Get Cal back, Chris."
"I don't think I can ever forgive him." Chris winched. "Her. Forgive her."
"Then don't." EIiza sighed. Really, her son was just too stubborn. "Don't forgive her but for goodness sakes, Chris, get her back! She's such a special girl and I like her."
"Brenda-"
"Ha!" Eliza waved a hand. "Forget Brenda. I know she's not the one for you. You need someone like Callie. Chris, if Callie can make you think that she's a guy and you still managed to fall for her than that means that she has an inner beauty that most women don't have."
She held out her hand. "Chris, come here."
Chris solemnly stared at her outstretched hand before taking it. Kneeling beside the bed, he stared up into his mother's eyes as she smiled down tenderly at him. "Oh, honey," she whispered and patted his cheek with her free hand. "Don't you see? Callie is your soulmate and if you let her slip away...you'll feel hollow for the rest of your life. You'll never feel complete."
She lowered her head and bumped her forehead against his. "Chris, love isn't easy. It comes with a lot ups...and a lot of downs but at the end of the day you never want to be separated from your beloved's side. Your father and I drove each other mad back when we were young and we still do but look at us. We're still together because we can't ever see each other with someone else. Being away from your father for too long hurts. That's true love."
Eliza sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Oh Chris, I just want you to have what your father and I do...and I'm so afraid that you're going to let it get away."
"Mama don't cry." Chris cursed softly and helped wipe the tears from her cheeks with the brush of his thumbs. "Mom, don't cry. I'm sorry."
His mother grabbed his hands and held on tight. "Promise me, Chris," she demanded with a shaky voice. "Promise me that you won't let her get away."
"Yes, Chris," Abel's voice said from behind him. "Don't let Callie get away."
Startled, Chris looked back and found Abel leaning against the wall beside the closed door. He and his mother must have been too distracted to notice Abel enter.
"When did you get here?" Chris asked with a frown.
"I just got here." Abel shrugged. "But that's not the question you should be asking me."
"What?"
Abel straightened away from the wall and crossed his arms. "Baby brother, you should be asking me where Cal is."
For some odd reason Chris's heart skipped a beat and he felt himself stiffen with attention. His eyes narrowed at Abel. "What are you talking about?"
"If you're going to beg Callie to return to you, you won't be doing it at her apartment. She's not there."
Chris stood and stalked over to his brother. "What the hell are you talking about Abel? Where's Cal? Why wouldn't he...she be at her apartment?"
"Because she's gone," Abel replied simply, unintimidated by Chris.
Chris looked confused. "Where is she then?"
"Well wouldn't you like to know?" Abel taunted.
"Abel!" Chris growled.
"Abel," Eliza called from her position on the bed. "Stop teasing your brother and tell him where Callie is."
"Are you going to make things right with her?" Abel asked Chris. "Cause I'm not telling you squat if you're just going to torment the poor girl. She left just to get away from you."
"Where the hell is she!?"
"Are you going to make things right!?" Abel snapped back, eyes blazing. He really didn't feel sympathetic to his brother at the moment. When Callie left, she had left a crying mess.
"Please," Chris finally said with solemn eyes. "Tell me where she is." Because he just had to know...he just had to.
"She went back to her hometown," Abel informed him. "And I suggest you go after her before she gets back together with her ex-fiance."
Chris paled. "Fiance?"
Abel nodded. "That's right. I won't blame her if she just falls right into his arms to get over you." He sighed dramatically. "Tragic. Just tragic."
"Chris!" Eliza cried, "don't let some other guy take her away from us! Go after her!"
Chris glanced back at his mother, feeling tormented. Inside his feelings were conflicting with one another. One half wants to forget Cal ever existed and the other wants to go after her...
"So what's it going to be Chris?" Abel asked, drawing his attention. "Are you going to let Callie go or are you going to stop wallowing and go after her? The choice is yours, brother. The choice is yours."
"And Chris," Eliza called his name out and waited until her youngest son looked at her. She stared back at him, gaze tender yet unwavering. "I hope you make the right choice."
Chapter Nineteen
Three days after his mother's surgery, Chris found himself lounging lazily on his leather black couch, right arm propped against the arm of the couch with a cool Budweiser in hand. His blue eyes remained glued to the flashing images on the flat screen before him but he wasn't really paying any attention to it.
His mind was miles away...and the center of his thoughts? Cal.
After three miserable days of just focusing his attention on his sick mother's health, he was finally able to relax at home, certain that his father would take good care of the most wonderful woman in their lives on his own. Eliza still hasn't woken up after the surgery but all three men were certain that she will awake any day now with a bright sunny smile on her lips.
Sitting on his living room couch, Chris finally let himself think of Cal and where they stand. It's been almost two weeks since he'd last seen her and damn it if he didn't miss his 'buddy'. Now that he finally let himself think about her, she was everywhere.
Chris's gaze dropped to the empty space beside him, the space Cal had occupied so many times before. He could picture it...Cal sitting beside him in her ridiculous purple pajama, bright chocolate brown eyes fixed on him with what he once mistaken for as hero worship.
But it hadn't just been hero worship, Chris admitted to himself. It had been something more. How could he had not seen the love in her eyes shining so brightly at him? Why hadn't he seen it?
Chris closed his eyes and pressed the cool beer bottle against his forehead. He had probably not wanted to see it. In the far corner of his mind he knew that something was off about his new buddy "Cal" but he had brushed the strange suspicion aside, preferring to ignore those nagging feelings.
He was as much the blame as Cal was.
No, Chris thought. Callie. Her real name was Callie. Still, she'll always be his Cal. The only difference now was that he knew that she was a girl...and he had walked out on her.
Cursing under his breath, Chris shot up and began to pace. He told himself that his anger had been justifiable. She had lied to him and he had trusted "Cal", bearing his soul to her even though he had thought that she was male. He had never acted the way he had around other men or women the way he had with Cal. Never. So the betrayal of her lie had been so much more painful. He felt like he had been toyed with.
Chris stopped pacing and scanned his dimly lit apartment, noting that there was nowhere that Cal hadn't been. She was miles away yet she had left an everlasting impression, her memory, her mark...in his soul and his bachelor domain.
His eyes landed on the table, where Cal would sit on the chair and watch him cook as if watching him prepare their meals had been the most fascinating thing that she'd ever seen. He remembered now with more detail the way she'd watch him with longing in her eyes. He hadn't seen it as longing...he'd only seen it as loneliness.
Chris found himself walking in his room, remembering the day he had tried to teach Cal how to dance and how he had been so amused with the penguin waddle she tried to pass off as dancing.
Setting the beer bottle on the table beside the bed, Chris laid down on his back on the bed, propping both hands under his head as he stared up at the ceiling. It seemed like it was just yesterday that he had woken up to Cal cuddled close to him, looking so young and innocent in her sleep. Though she had still been masquerading as a man, Chris had thought that "he" had looked oddly cute.
He should have known then what Cal truly was. Should have known then just how much Cal had come to mean to him as he watched her sleep for thirty minutes straight before she had opened her eyes. He should have known...
"Chris?" Abel walked in his room, wearing an outrageous purple suit that only Abel can pull off. Realizing that he must have drifted off if he hadn't heard Abel enter his apartment, Chris pushed himself up from the bed.
Abel crossed his arms and watched Chris sit on the edge of the bed, noting the bed head, wrinkled grey shirt and blue jeans. His brother looked worn out.
"Is mom awake?" Chris asked.
Abel shook his head. "No, I came here for another reason."
Chris rubbed his face tiredly. "What is it?" He really didn't feel up to listening to Abel's lectures.
"I'm going to a wedding tomorrow."
Chris frowned up at his brother. "Uh...good for you?"
Abel rolled his eyes and tossed the envelope he had been holding. It landed beside Chris, who stared at it thoughtfully. He looked up and quirked a brow. "I'm invited too?"
"Read it." Abel waved a regal hand to the pink envelope.
Sighing, Chris picked up the envelope and slipped the invitation out. He scowled when he read what it said. "What the hell is this?"
"Hmph!" Abel placed his hands on his hips and tapped his foot impatiently. "What do you think it is, Chris?"
Chris read the invitation again. We Cordially invite you to Ms. Picket and Mr. Emerson's wedding on...
He couldn't make himself read on. Chris felt a sudden burning lump in his throat as he tore his eyes away from the invitation. Abel watched his reaction, completely satisfied that he had finally snapped his brother out of it.
Chris swallowed, a burning ache consuming his stomach till it reach up and squeezed at his heart. All the while he thought; She didn't wait...she didn't wait for me.
"Chris?" Abel inquired. "Well?"
"Why?" He asked hoarsely. "Why didn't she..."
"Wait for you?" Abel asked. "Sometimes peop
le get fed up with waiting."
"She could have waited longer," he bit out. "She should have known that I needed more time to think! To take in all this."
"Well you have twenty-four hours before Ms. Picket walks down that aisle." Abel turned to leave. "I suggest you be there before she says 'I do'."
"Well?" Mizz Ivory asked as soon as Abel stepped out the apartment. She wore a purple glittery dress that matched Abel's suit. She bounced up and down with impatience, short brown wig bobbing with her. "Well? Did you give him the invitation? What did he say? How did he react?"
Abel closed the door and smiled. "He's coming around."
"Ahhhh!" Mizz Ivory dramatically placed the back of her hand against her forehead and pretended to swoon. "I can't take it! He has to go get our Callie back."
"There, there," Abel patted his dramatic friend, "Chris will get her back."
"I feel so wickedly guilty for misleading him."
Abel's eyes twinkled with mischief. " It's not like I specifically said that Callie is the Ms. Picket that's going to be married in twenty-four hours. So I never really lied." He grinned impishly. "Sometimes a little deception is necessary."
"Here! Here!" Mizz Ivory cheered.
"Now m'lady." Abel crooked his arm and let Ivory slip hers through it. "Shall we prepare for a wedding that's probably going to end up in disaster thanks to yours truly?"
Mizz Ivory grinned. "You know it, suga."
***
Miles away Callie sat in a fashion boutique dressing room watching Sarah prance around in her wedding gown. The dress was mermaid style with beautiful lacing and embroidery. The slim peach colored wedding dress definitely defined Sarah's slim shape very well, hugging those delicate slim curves that Callie knew she'd never have.
She may have lost weight but she was far from being model slim like her sisters and mother. Oddly Callie was content with that. She was comfortable with her new body. She may not be stick skinny but her soft voluptuous curves (as Abel had called them) suited her just fine. She may be still twenty-five pounds overweight but she carried it well.
"I feel bloated in this," Sarah complained.
"You look beautiful," their mother, dressed in a slim green suit told her.
Big Fat Liar 3 (Big Fat Liar #3) Page 5
