by J. P. Comeau
My brother had found his soul mate.
As I waited for Jake to show up, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my social media newsfeeds. There were no news headlines that caught my attention, though. All I could think about was Jake's bachelor party tomorrow night.
"You're always running ahead of schedule.”
I looked up to see Jake smiling down on me.
"My man," I said, getting out of my car.
He pulled me in for a hug before we made our way into the shop.
"We're here to pick up our tuxedoes,” he said to the saleswoman behind the desk.
She did her best to flirt with him as he gave our names, but Jake couldn't have been less interested.
"Speaking of other women," I said when she walked away. "I have a bone to pick with you."
Jake rolled his eyes at me. "I told you, man. I don't want any strippers."
I leaned against the desk and looked him dead in the face, trying my best to convince him otherwise. "Look, I know it's going to be a combined bachelor-bachelorette party. But Julianna never has to know they are coming. When they show up, you can act surprised and blame it all on me.”
I pulled out my phone, but he interrupted me before I could even show him some pictures of strippers that I had in mind.
"It has nothing to do with Julianna," Jake said. "I'm not about that life anymore, Richard."
I smirked while putting my phone away. "That's right. You gave all of that up for Julianna." He shot me a dissatisfied look, but I held my hands up. "I'm just kidding. You know that I'm happy for you."
"How about you? Are you happy?"
I tilted my head at Jake, unsure as to what he meant. "Sure. I mean, I'll be happier once we get these tuxedoes and grab a bite to eat."
He laughed and shook his head. "You know that's not what I meant. Are you honestly looking forward to my wedding? Even though you don't have a date?"
Here we go.
The saleswoman walked back up with the tuxes. I knew damn well that I could have found an attractive, sophisticated woman to bring to his wedding. God knows I had plenty of numbers saved in my phone. I could probably dial any one of them, and whoever answered would adjust their schedule to attend. But it wasn't what I wanted.
"I don't need a date to enjoy your big day," I said.
"You should ask Annie," Jake replied matter-of-factly. "She's also going without a plus one."
I let out a sigh. "Annie isn't interested in me like that. I asked her out about a year ago, and she declined, which is cool, man. We're still good friends and…well, neighbors since River Valley is our home town, and she lives just a few miles from my house. I'm sure we'll talk to each other at your wedding."
"Define 'good friends,'" he said with a smirk.
I shrugged. "I don't know. We text, laugh, talk, just as good neighbors do.”
"Mhmm," Jake replied, looking over the tuxes before he turned to the sales consultant. "These are great, thanks."
I pulled out my black card and handed it over, putting my hand up before Jake could fight me on it. "Don't mhmm me. Focus on your own love life. Just because you found yourself a happy ending doesn't mean you can start becoming a matchmaker."
Jake gave me a sideways glance as I signed the receipt and nodded at the clerk. Turning toward the door, I followed Jake out to his car. He put the tuxedos in the vehicle. "Meet you at the diner?"
I nodded. "Gotcha."
We got into our cars and drove over to one of the local diners. Dozens of people were at the restaurant that afternoon, and the hostess quickly sat us down at a booth before having to start a waitlist.
"If Annie wasn't interested in you," he said as we read over the menus, "then she wouldn't be texting you in the first place. I know this for sure. She and Julianna are very much alike in many ways.”
With a deep sigh, I glanced over my menu at him. Still, I thought about what Jake was saying. On some level, I really could see myself dating someone like Annie. She was sweet, sophisticated, and had what seemed to be a successful business. Plus, she always looked so pretty in those flowery, floral tops that she loved to wear.
I couldn't admit that out loud, though, not yet. "You know me, Jake. I'm not a relationship type of guy."
"Neither was I until I met Julianna," he pointed out. "You're almost 45 years old, man. It's not too late to at least date and get to know a woman for more than a few days."
I swallowed my pride at his age remark. Deep down, I was concerned about getting older, not settling down.
"Even if I did decide to date instead of just sleep with a woman," I said, "Annie already turned me down. I'll consider what you're saying about my lifestyle, though. I won't be able to bed women as easily once I hit 50."
"Did you have to put that image in my mind before we eat?"
I playfully punched him in the shoulder.
He groaned, rubbing his arm. "Besides, things change. They have changed. I mean, look at me, for example. I'm getting married. And for all you know, Annie changed too."
"That doesn't mean we'd make a good couple," I pointed out.
"Are you kidding me? I see the way you two interact with each other. You're like peanut butter and jelly. Look, I'll drop it if you promise me that you'll at least think about it."
I nodded just to appease Jake. "Moving on. You'll never guess who I got a voicemail from the other day." I watched Jake as he looked at me quizzically before finally telling him. "Heather."
"Heather? Jesus, man. Between the thought of her and the image of my brother hooking up with women at 50, I've entirely lost my appetite."
They say that playboys are the way they are for one of two reasons. They either never want to settle down for fear of vanilla sex for the rest of their life, or they had their heart crushed by a woman. In my case, it was the latter.
Once, Heather had been the woman I saw myself marrying, except eventually she didn't like that I was following in my father’s footsteps. She moved to River Valley after college and stayed here for five years and learned to hate small-town life. To everyone else, they saw her dramatic exit coming, but I didn't see it. It was sudden to me at the time. One day she decided that she didn't want to be with a man who lived in his father's shadow.
I was proud of myself for not only learning everything that I knew from my dad but that he trusted me enough to help him run the company. I couldn't think of anything else that I wanted to do with my life. So when she told me that, it was a done deal.
Jake had even offered to help her pack.
"I've never deleted a message so fast in my life," I replied.
"Are you going to call her back? What could she possibly want after all these years?”
I could hear the concern in his voice. Even though I had made it clear that family comes first, Jake knew that I was head over heels in love with her when we were together.
"Hell no! Are you crazy? I can't think of a single thing that I want to hear from that woman. She's nothing but a time-waster."
Jake breathed a sigh of relief. After the waitress took our orders, we sat back and started discussing the wedding.
"I can't believe it's only two days away. It seems like only yesterday that I was proposing to Julianna in the park."
I nodded, remembering that day well. Annie, Caley, and I had been there too. "You know, you joke about me being an old man. At least I won't be an old, married man!"
I playfully punched him again, and Jake shook his head.
"That's true," he said with a grin. "But, I'm genuinely happy."
I smiled and looked at my baby brother, remembering all of the crazy stories I'd read about him online before he came back home. He used to have dozens of women at his penthouse suite. There was even a rumor that he had an affair with an associate's wife, although I didn't believe that for a minute.
"You do seem happier than you've ever been. I'm so proud of you, man. You're about to have it all, plus it's great having you back in town. I may not always
say it, but I love you, bro."
Jake nodded and reached across the table, squeezing my shoulder hard. "One day, you'll meet Mrs. Right, and all of those strippers will be nothing more than a memory. Especially when you meet a woman who can be even sexier behind closed doors… if you know what I mean."
"Ugh, it sounds so boring!”
Jake burst out laughing.
We ate our lunches discussing all of the details for the combined bachelor-bachelorette party, and I had finally gotten over the fact that Jake didn't want any strippers.
Right after I gave the waitress my credit card, Jake's cellphone started ringing. He pulled out his wallet, but I waved it off, encouraging the waitress to run it through for both of our meals.
"Hillard," I heard him say into the phone.
Hillard was Jake's best friend from San Diego. The two of us never expected him to be with Julianna for more than a few weeks, let alone move back to River Valley and get married.
My phone went off too, and I saw that it was a text from our father.
"I have to go to deal with business," I whispered.
Jake told Hillard to hang on a second. "Listen, enjoy the rest of your day, and I'll see you tomorrow night, okay? It's going to be one hell of a party!"
We gave each other fist bumps, and I left.
I got into my car and drove over to our father's house. It was where we ran the business from most of the time. Dad liked being able to wake up and go straight to work. In contrast, our mother was finding his everlasting presence a bit annoying. He was always at the office when Jake and I were growing up, so being together so much was a significant change.
I could hear them arguing as I walked up to the door.
"You turn the coffee machine off if the pot is empty," my mom yelled. "Otherwise, it'll crack, and this whole house could go up in flames!"
I laughed a bit as I headed in the front door, picturing her throwing her arms up in the air disgusted.
"Alright, alright," my dad said. "I'm sorry!"
"This is the tenth time that I've had to tell you this," she said in an even louder tone. "Sometimes I think you just want to burn this place down!"
"And how are Mr. and Mrs. Costanza?" I walked into the kitchen, hoping they'd get my cheesy Seinfeld reference, but it was clear they didn't get the joke.
My mom wrinkled her nose and asked, "Who are they?"
I just shook my head at her with a chuckle as I pecked her on the cheek. Then my father put his arm around my shoulders, and we walked into his office.
"I love your mother, but sometimes she drives me crazy." He whispered and took a deep breath. "Anyway, son. Only two days and your little brother ties the big knot!"
He sat down at his desk and began scrolling through emails.
"We were just talking about it over lunch," I told him. "We got a bite to eat after picking up our tuxedos. I've never seen Jake so happy, Dad."
He nodded as I took a seat across from him.
"Give it a few years," my dad replied with a smirk. "Unless he's smarter than me when it comes to home appliances."
I contemplated bringing up the next significant expansion in our business. Life had been so busy for us lately, between helping with the planning of Jakes' nuptials and working well over forty hours a week. "On a different note. I've been reviewing some emails about our next big expansion. Everything looks promising. It's just a matter of renegotiating the prices and signing the contracts."
I waited for him to reply, but he seemed a bit too occupied by whatever was on his monitor.
"After the wedding, son."
I knew that tone of voice well enough to let it go.
"There's something that I do want to discuss right now, though." He lifted a fire-safe box from underneath his desk that I had never seen before and pulled out some paperwork.
"What are those, Dad?"
He leaned back in his chair, took off his glasses, and looked at me. "Jake is doing quite well with his business, and I'm so proud of how well you've done with ours. And let's not fool ourselves, son. I'm no spring chicken. Even your mother, who would prefer that I stay out of her way all day, is telling me that I should retire soon."
I thought about what my dad was suggesting, but I didn't want to admit that he was getting older. As hard as it could sometimes be, I loved working with my father. The thought of doing it without him wasn't something that I wanted even acknowledge. "What are you getting at, Dad?"
He arranged some pieces of paperwork in front of me and leaned across the desk. "Jake has his empire to lead, and ours needs an heir. That heir will be you, Richard."
I shook my head. "You're not going anywhere anytime soon, okay? I'm not ready to discuss this yet."
My father nodded and put the papers back in the fireproof box. "But it's a conversation that we need to have, son. Sooner rather than later."
I shrugged my shoulders, even though I knew he was right.
3
Annie
This evening it was just the three of us at Julianna’s house. Crystal, Julianna, and I were all getting ready before leaving for the bachelor-bachelorette party. I headed into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of Dom Perignon from the refrigerator. Julianna had insisted that we keep the pre-party low-key, but there was no way we were drinking anything less than the best.
“Who’s ready for a toast?” Crystal and Julianna walked into the kitchen.
I handed each of them a champagne flute and then popped open the bottle.
Julianna raised an eyebrow. “Where was that bottle?”
I smiled while filling up Julianna’s glass with bubbly champagne.
“Relax,” I said. “I hid it in the back of the fridge.”
“You deserve good champagne, Julianna!” Crystal smiled as we all clinked glasses. “To Julianna!”
I laughed as Julianna just about chugged hers.
“Easy, girl,” I said.
She laughed and held her glass out for some more. “I’m just nervous. Jake and I have been living together, have a son together, and we do go way back to our high school days, but marriage is such a big step.”
“Just as long as you’re sober enough to get through the rehearsal dinner, you’ll be fine,” I told her.
“Nothing to worry about, sis. You know that I can hold my alcohol."
The rehearsal dinner was going to be at Richard's house, and everything had been planned out carefully in advance. But most of all, Julianna had been so busy that she hadn’t mentioned Richard and me going to the wedding together since the dress shop, thank God!
“So, after dinner at Richard’s,” Crystal explained, “we’re going to head over to the Twisted Lemon for drinks? That sounds like fun!”
“Yes, but we had to hire guards,” Julianna replied, rolling her eyes. “This town is so small. Virtually everyone knows about the Truman brothers and are aware one of them is getting married. Unfortunately, they are very well known to the press and media.”
Crystal nodded. “And the other is an attractive, eligible bachelor.”
I felt myself get a little bit jealous at Crystal’s comment, which was ludicrous. There was no way that anything romantic would happen between Richard and me. Plus, I knew that she wouldn’t have said such a thing if she knew that I liked him even if I couldn’t admit it out loud.
“He's a serial bachelor,” I told Crystal. “Quite attractive, though. Anyway, the guards will keep any paparazzi, and people in general, at bay. It’ll be as normal as it can be… if that’s even possible with the Truman brothers.”
I topped off our champagne glasses and held mine up in the air.
“Another toast?”
I nodded at my sister. “Julianna, I truly couldn’t be happier for you. You’ve found the love of your life, a man to come home to every day, and one who has blessed us with your son. Seeing you happy makes me happy, and I know this is just the beginning of a wonderful journey for you guys. To a happy, healthy, and prosperous future!”
All three of us clinked glasses yet again, and as we finished our champagne, I started to wonder if I’d ever find the love of my life. Or was I destined to always be ‘the bridesmaid instead of the bride’, as the old saying went? Part of me knew, though, that was my own fault. Fear would always hold me back.
The rehearsal dinner at Richard’s house went well. I was seated next to him, and we spent most of the evening discussing that past year and how quickly the wedding had come.
“I remember the moment I knew he’d end up marrying Julianna,” he said to me, staring down the table at them. “It was the morning after they’d spent the evening at our father’s cabin by the lake. You, Caley, and I were waiting for them at a diner. The look on his face when he saw Caley was the moment I knew. They're a family.”
I smiled and thought back on that day, too. Julianna, Jake, and Caley did look like a family.
Speaking of family, Richard and Jake’s parents were sitting at a table across from us. I saw a lot of Richard in his father’s face. They both had the same nose and eyes, but he had inherited his mother’s lips.
“Aunt Annie!” I looked down to see Caley smiling up at me, her big, beautiful blue eyes lighting up as she stretched her hands out.
I grunted as I pulled her up on my lap. “You are not a little girl anymore, remember. You’re heavy.”
She wrinkled her nose. “My brain isn’t, but I’m still skinny…Or at least that’s what my mom says.” I laughed and glanced over at Julianna. Caley wiggled excitedly. “Oh! Did you see my new phone?”
I gasped and smiled dramatically. “No, who got it for you?”
“Jakey!” She jumped off of my lap and ran toward her chair to grab it out of her tiny purse.
Jake heard her and chuckled. “Julianna resisted, but I won out. Phones are a necessity for school kids these days. But rest assured, there are controls on her internet usage around here.”
Richard and I laughed and nodded as we watched her grab the iPhone and then come racing back with it, showing me her game apps. Richard watched as I peered over her shoulder as she played.
