“Your daughter has an amazing voice. I have to admit I was shocked at what came out of her mouth.” I overhear the lady with the stupid hat talking to my mom.
Hah. I guess she shouldn’t have been so quick to give me a dirty look.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Giselle standing close to Trevor. It’s possible I’m completely overreacting, and like Cassie says, it may not mean anything at all. Maybe that’s wishful thinking on my part, but it’s totally possible. Just the other night he told me there was nothing going on between them.
Somehow, I managed to make it through my song without looking at Trevor or Giselle. I really deserve an award for that performance. After today there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that I’m ready to go back to New York. I should have known better than to get caught up in this Trevor hype again. Every time I think I’m free of him, I get sucked back in. It’s like he has some kind of power or hold on me that I can’t seem to break free from. Although, now that Beatrice is gone I think I may finally have a chance to be free of him, forever.
“Okay, so what the hell is up with that?” Georgie asks, pointing in Trevor’s direction. “And why do you smell like you bathed in men’s cologne?”
I cringe. I guess I’m not the only one who smells it.
“Trevor hugged me and thanked me for coming. That was right before the service.”
She purses her lips. “And then his ex-girlfriend shows up and sits with his family.”
I shrug my shoulders. “It appears so.”
She shakes her head. I know Georgie better than I know myself and I can see that she wants to say something to him.
“It doesn’t matter,” I tell her. “Tomorrow, I’m heading back to my life in New York and I will be done with Trevor forever.”
She gives me a skeptical look. “Well, good. And Dr. Scott has some eligible single friends coming to the wedding. Maybe you will find your soul mate on our wedding cruise after all.”
I nod excitedly. “Maybe.”
Katherine planned a wonderful luncheon following the funeral service. I can only imagine what Beatrice is thinking. The thought of her reaction makes me smile to myself. I remember her telling me that her daughter loved any excuse to throw a party. But today really has been a beautiful day, nothing over-the-top, and I think she would be happy with it.
I’ve made it a point to avoid both Trevor and Giselle the entire time. Luckily, Katherine has kept Trevor busy talking with their guests and Giselle just follows him around, so I haven’t been forced into any awkward conversations with either of them.
“I’m ready to go. Can you break me out of here?” I ask Georgie, after picking at my food. “You’re still coming back to Cassie’s place, right?”
She nods. “I’m ready if you’re ready. Let’s go.”
“I just have to say good-bye to Katherine,” I say, as I look around the room. I notice Katherine and Trevor talking to a few guests.
Georgie is looking in the same direction. “You want to say good-bye to Katherine or Trevor?”
I turn to face her.
“Katherine,” I say firmly, and I mean it. I honestly don’t know what to say to him. Seeing Giselle with him has made me so confused.
As soon as I see that Trevor is busy talking to another guest, I quickly give Katherine a hug good-bye.
“Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this day.”
Tears well up in her eyes again. Why does it always seem like I’m making her cry?
“I’m the one who should be thanking you. I know my mother was happy that you were here.”
She gives me another ten hugs and thanks me over and over again.
On my way out the door, I turn around one more time and see that Giselle has returned to Trevor’s side. I glare at them. This just proves to me without a doubt that it’s time for me to go home.
Chapter 10
Layla screams and jumps on a chair as Mickey the mouse scurries across the floor. He doesn’t even bother me anymore, but Layla hasn’t gotten used to him yet. I guess he’s been around for a while now considering my old roommates decided to give him a name.
I’ve only been home for about two hours and all I want to do is go to sleep. I stayed up way too late last night with Georgie and my family. We had a very emotional good-bye this morning, but I know it was time.
This morning I got a text from Trevor apologizing for not getting the chance to say good-bye after the service. I haven’t texted him back yet. I guess I’m still sulking about him being with Giselle. I went out of my way to be there for him through all of this and he thanks me by allowing her to be by his side at that very important moment. Ugh. I sound so pathetic right now.
“So, the cabinets and the right side of the fridge are gluten and dairy free,” Layla says. “Help yourself to any of it.”
I grit my teeth. “Thanks.”
After staying at Cassie’s, I’ve had more than my fill of gluten-, dairy-, and taste-free food. Layla is talking a mile a minute, and I just want to unpack and get ready for my week. I’m actually looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow. I also really need to get focused on the reason I came to New York and start auditioning.
“I better start unpacking,” I say, getting up from the couch.
“Okay, and don’t worry about dinner tonight. I’ve got it covered,” she says excitedly.
I smile. “Great.”
When I get to my room I sit on the edge of the bed and prepare myself. I really hate unpacking almost as much as I hate ironing, almost. As I slowly empty my bag, I find the folder my mom gave me of my grandmother’s papers. I look at the sheet music my grandmother wrote. I sit down at my keyboard and start to play the notes. Wow, I stop playing for a few seconds. The tune is very enchanting, almost mesmerizing. My grandmother never ceases to surprise me. I think about the dream and her message to me, always telling me to follow my heart. I look around my teeny New York City apartment and that’s exactly what I did when I made the decision to come here. I left my family, friends, and a wonderful boyfriend to do something I always wanted. It was great being with my family over these last several days, but I know I’m not done with New York just yet.
~*~*~
“Great job today,” I announce. I just finished my lesson with Francesca, one of my favorite students. I know we aren’t supposed to pick favorites but she totally is. Her dream is to attend Juilliard, and I’m helping her prepare for her audition.
“Thank you so much,” she says, giving me a big hug. “Do you think I’m ready? I’m so nervous.”
I squeeze her hands. “You’re more than ready. Don’t worry about it one bit.”
After Francesca leaves, I head to my office. I love my office. When I first moved to New York I wanted to actually live in my office because it’s nicer than my apartment and even bigger than my bedroom.
I sit down at my desk and grab my phone to check my messages. I’m surprised to see I missed a call from my friend Sophie; we used to work together at Do-Re-Mi Studios and we became good friends. But, like Beatrice, we lost touch for a while. However, every once in a while, we catch up and she gives me the update on all the sordid gossip at the Do-Re-Mi (which there rarely is). I hope she didn’t hear that I was home and didn’t contact her. Although, it’s not like I was on vacation.
“Hello?”
“Hi, stranger,” I say.
“Very funny,” she says sarcastically. “You’re the one who ran away to the big city.”
I laugh.
“How’s everything at the studio?” I ask. Anything is better than talking about me leaving town, especially because I’m doing the same thing here as I was back home. I actually love to hear the gossip about Lucy and her crew. Even though things didn’t end on the best terms with us, I still admire and respect Lucy.
“Oh, that’s why I called you. I have some huge news,” she says dramatically. I’m expecting there to be a drumroll that comes out of nowhere.
“Guess who qui
t Do-Re-Mi yesterday?”
Lucy hired a few more instructors after I left but I know Sophie isn’t talking about one of them. The only two other instructors I know are Lilly and Ash. Ash was always Lucy’s little shadow, and we couldn’t stand each other. That’s actually putting it nicely. Most of our issues were because she tried to take my students, and then copied some of my performance ideas. She would never leave or . . .
“No way,” I exclaim. “Ash?”
“Yep.”
“What happened?” I shout. I didn’t realize I was so loud, so I quickly run over to close my office door.
“I’m not really sure,” she says. “Of course, she could never be bothered with me. I had no idea there were any problems going on between her and Lucy but apparently there were.”
“Wow,” I exclaim. “There has to be a reason she would leave. She had it made at Do-Re-Mi, especially after I left.”
Sophie gives me the rundown on everyone else at the studio, and then she asks me about my love life or lack thereof.
“I still don’t understand why you’re not with that Trevor guy. He was so damn hot.”
I cringe. Sophie actually caught Trevor and me in an intense moment. We were both involved with other people at the time, but we were still fighting our attraction to one another.
“Yeah, well, sometimes things aren’t meant to be,” I say doubtfully.
“Mmhmm.”
I don’t even bother to tell Sophie about being in town for Beatrice’s funeral. Although, it’s interesting that she would bring Trevor up. After our big recital last year, she told me she had some kind of sixth sense and she thought Trevor was interested in me. Anyway, there’s a lot of water under the bridge since then.
“I have to get ready for my next student. Keep me posted if you hear anything else about Ash.”
When I hang up, I feel a little homesick. As much as I love working for Selena, I really miss working with Sophie. Oh well, life moves on.
~*~*~
I’ve been working extra-long days since I’ve been home in the hopes of replenishing my bank account. Tomorrow, I have my lunch meeting with Liv and I can’t wait. I practically go into shock when Liv texts me and asks me if I want to do tea at the Plaza instead of the little Italian place she originally chose. I very calmly respond with “sounds great,” but of course I’m dancing around my apartment.
Now that we’re going to the Plaza, I have a big beauty regiment planned for tonight, including a face mask and eyebrows. Liv is really classy, and if she’s got some big project she wants to share with me, I need to look the part. I open the fridge to see a note taped on a plastic container.
Spaghetti squash for dinner, help yourself!
Layla really is a nice girl and I shouldn’t have such a bad attitude. I decide to try some of her food.
I put my face mask on and heat up my super healthy dinner when my phone rings. It’s Kyle. I haven’t talked to him since I got the news of Beatrice being sick. I answer the phone and put the speaker on.
“Hello,” I answer.
“Hey, Maris.”
Right away I know something is off with him. It just doesn’t sound like the upbeat and positive Kyle I know.
“Hi. How are you?”
“I’m in the city. I was wondering if you have time to get together tonight. I know it’s kind of late. Could I stop by your place?”
I look down at my sweatpants and old T-shirt that says, “My friend went to the Bahamas, and all they brought me was this T-shirt.” My hair is up in a messy bun, and I have a green gooey mask all over my face.
At the same time, it’s Kyle and he’s seen me at my absolute worst. He sounds like he really needs to talk to someone, and it’s the least I can do for him. I tell him to give me a half hour to finish what I’m working on (i.e. my beauty regiment).
Kyle is extremely punctual, so I’m not surprised when he shows up exactly thirty minutes from the moment I spoke to him. I managed to remove the face mask and scarf down some of Layla’s surprisingly good spaghetti squash. Who would have thought it would be this good? I don’t even bother to change my clothes or do my hair because . . . well, it’s Kyle.
As soon as I answer the door I can tell that something is bothering him.
“Hi.”
As soon as I say hi, he practically runs through the door and hugs me.
“Thanks for agreeing to meet me,” he says glumly. Oh wow, I don’t even know what’s wrong and I already feel depressed.
“Of course. Is everything okay?”
I close the door behind him and follow him into my tiny living room.
“I don’t know. I guess I’m just going through a rough patch.”
He sits down on the edge of the couch and clasps his hands together.
I lean against the arm of the chair. “Can I get you something to drink?”
He smiles. “Vodka rocks, and make it a double.”
“I’ll see what I can find.”
I make my way to the kitchen and grab a bottle of Merlot. This is as good as it’s going to get for him.
“Sorry,” I say, holding up the bottle. “Wine is all I have.”
I place the bottle down on the coffee table and pour him a glass. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Kyle begins his rant about work and the amount of travel (especially to New York). And how his promotion wasn’t what he thought it was going to be. To be honest, I thought it might be something more serious.
“I think I’m just unhappy, with everything,” he says finally. “I feel like my life is incomplete, like something is missing right now.”
I nod. It’s funny because this was exactly what I was feeling when I was trying to decide if I should move here. I knew I loved Kyle, but I don’t think that was enough at the time.
He leans over and takes my hand. “One thing I know I’m missing is having someone by my side.”
Oh crap.
“I really miss you, Maris. I think one reason my life feels so incomplete is because we aren’t together right now.”
I look into Kyle’s warm eyes and I know with all my heart that I care about him, but . . . Just then I hear keys in the door and Layla walks in, struggling with a bunch of shopping bags.
“Hey, roomie. I got . . . oh no.”
Kyle jumps up to help her before she drops her bags and armful of beautiful fresh flowers. He’s always been such a gentleman.
“Thank you,” she says, almost out of breath.
I take a few of the bags out of her hand.
“Layla, this is Kyle. Kyle, meet my new roommate Layla.”
They politely greet one another. All I know is that I could kiss Layla right now for interrupting what could have been a very awkward moment between Kyle and me. I don’t want to hurt his feelings, but I know I don’t feel the same way. At least, I don’t feel this way anymore and haven’t for a long time. I did try to give it another chance when he started visiting me, but it has never been the same.
“Maris, what did you think?” Layla asks, pulling me out of my thought.
“About what?” I ask absently.
She snorts. “About the spaghetti squash. I notice there’s a bit missing here.”
I smile. “It was surprisingly good.”
She claps excitedly. “I knew you’d love it. And let me know next time you want to do yoga, we should just go together.”
Kyle gives me a curious look. “Oh, shut up,” I say, punching him in the arm.
“I’m sure you’re making Cassie proud,” he says sarcastically.
Thankfully, Layla’s arrival has distracted Kyle from our conversation. Somehow the three of us start talking about cooking and different types of recipes. I actually have fun and I think Kyle does, too. That’s the thing, I really do enjoy spending time with him but as friends.
A little while later, I walk Kyle to the elevator.
“Thanks again for letting me come over. It was nice to just hang out and not worry about anything.”
/>
I smile and rub his arm.
He puts his hands on my shoulders. “I would still like to finish our conversation.”
Damn it.
“We will, but not tonight.” I pause. “I really need to get to bed. Let me know when you’re back in the city.”
He hesitates for a few seconds, but just then the elevator door opens. Instead of saying anything, he leans over and kisses me on the cheek.
See You Later Broadway (Broadway Series Book 2) Page 6
