by Wood, Lauren
“Well, you've met Dina. I don't think there is any way to get around that. She is brutal when she wants to be.”
I was starting to see that as well, though I liked to think she was just sassy. I don't know what it was about a woman with a mouth on her, but it had always been one of my downfalls. It was so much easier to deal with someone when I knew exactly what they thought. I didn't have to worry about things being made up. With Dina, that certainly wouldn’t be a problem.
“Yeah, I saw her a little while ago in her room. She had to get her charger or something. She was just the same as I remembered, just grown up.”
I added the last part in, before my friend of years and years was looking at me suspiciously. If I wouldn't have added in the fact that she had to get her charger, I had a very strange feeling he would have asked what I was doing talking about his little sister like that.
He had never acted like this before, but his sister had certainly changed. Jack may have been her brother, but he wasn't blind. He could see the transformation that had taken place in his sister. I am sure he noticed it in the reaction of people around him as well.
I knew I was part of that problem. I had not been able to effectively stop the way I had reacted to her. He had not been there to see it, but if he had, he would have looked at me even more suspiciously than he was. She was beautiful, there was no denying it and Jack knew it. Everybody that looked at her knew it.
“She has changed, hasn't she?”
I felt like I was being set up with that question, and I just kind of nodded my head a little bit. “I don't know, Jack. It's still your little sister. Not much has changed. She still has one hell of a mouth on her.”
I was lying through my teeth, And I don't even think I was doing a very good job of it, but it was enough to make Jack feel a little relieved. I could see it across his face, and I wondered if he thought I was the only person in the world that didn't see Dina for what she was. She was a knockout and he had a big job ahead of him, if he was going to protect her honor now that she was of age.
“Yeah, and she always has. That much surely hasn’t changed. You would be surprised how many of my friends have tried to hit on her though. I had to get into it with Dean. He came over here to pick her up for a date and I about lost it on him. I can't believe that he would think it would be okay. It will never be okay for any of them to date her. Ever.”
I agreed, but at the same time, I couldn't meet his gaze. There was a part of me that wondered if he said it because he knew I was thinking about her that way. Then again, if he knew what I was thinking about his sister, we probably would be fighting right now. My old friend always did have a temper, and I don't think that part of him had changed. Some things never did change.
“I think you're just paranoid, man. Everybody knows Dina is your sister. Nobody is going to mess with that.”
“They better not. I got a lot of people coming in for my wedding, but that doesn't mean I won't take a couple of them down if I have to.”
He was looking at me now, and I have to say, there was not much mystery left in that. He had seen the way I looked at her or maybe something in my face had changed. Something had given me away, and now I was going to have to be even more careful, not to show how I really felt. As long as I stayed away from Dina, I'm sure everything would be fine, and Jack would never really know.
3
Dina
I hung up the phone with Jack. I couldn't believe that he waited until the last minute for everything. Well actually, I could believe it, but I was hoping he would get better. I know he loved Bella and he wanted to marry her, but at the same time, I don't think he understood what would happen if he came into the wedding with jeans and a T-shirt on. While Bella did love him, I don't know if she loved him that much.
I told myself I was going to spend time with my soon-to-be family. She was going to be my new sister-in-law after all. It felt like something that I owed my brother. He wanted me to get to know her and I promised him I would.
Bella was staying with her parents and I didn’t see her all that much. With everyone that was in town, I would have expected her to stay with a girlfriend who was her maid of honor. I didn’t know much about Bella.
I had run into Bella earlier at the grocery store, but I just said hello and congratulated her on her big day. I really had nothing to say to her. Now, I was going to have to have an even more awkward conversation with her, and basically, I was going to have to lie to her for Jack. It usually didn't bother me, but for some reason it did today.
She asked me if I had seen my brother, and I lied and told her that I hadn't. Bella wanted to know where he was and of course, I could imagine that she was freaking out a bit. I don’t know why though. Jack was infatuated with her and he wasn’t going anywhere.
“I wonder where he went to.”
“Most likely, he probably went with his friend John. I hear he just got in from California, and they haven't seen each other in a while. I'm sure that is where he is. Those two can really cut up when they get together. They might be gone a while.”
That seemed to calm her down, and she told me she was going to call him. Instead, I suggested we go out and get a drink. If I got her plastered, then we wouldn't have to worry about her not seeing my brother. Not to mention, I was a crappy liar, so it was better if I didn’t have to do it.
“No, I thought Jack told you. I don't really want to do that sort of thing. I don't want to have a bachelorette party. I am on the outs with my BFF, so I just called it all off.”
I had heard that was her choice, and I hadn't agreed with it when I heard it then. Didn't sound much better now, but I didn't have time to argue the point. I was just going to frame it another way. This was the only way I was going to be able to keep up my promise to Jack. I was a bad liar and only if we were drunk would my skills not matter in that department. I may spill the beans, but that was just something I was going to have to risk.
Again, I thought about the plans I was going to have to ignore. I was supposed to go out with Alice tonight, a friend from school, but now I was stuck with up-tight Bella. I couldn’t see how this was going to turn out well.
“This isn’t going to be a bachelorette party. This is just two women that are going to be sisters tomorrow, getting a drink and getting to know each other. You're going to be part of the family, and I don't know much about you. My brother has kept you locked up and he hasn’t said much.”
Bella blushed a little bit and I was a little surprised by that. I had not taken her for someone that was so shy. My brother certainly didn't usually date shy chicks. I should have spent more time getting to know Bella, but I didn't think anything would come of it. Jack had changed since I’d met her the first time.
Bella agreed, but she was reluctant. I could tell she wasn't so sure about the plan, but I couldn't think of anything else to keep her away and not wondering about Jack, asking questions. Not to mention, I was starting to feel like I needed a drink. Since I ran into John, there was a string of all of those old emotions he made me feel, and I didn't like the feeling at all. I would much rather drink it away, so I didn't have to question everything. It was easier when I didn't think about it. I had learned that much along the way.
“So, it's settled. Let's go get a drink and we will worry about the rest of it later, okay?”
Bella smiled and agreed, and I felt a pang of regret and guilt. She thought I was trying to bond with her, and all I was doing, was lying to her for my brother. This could not be a way to start a relationship. I was sure of that.
* * *
Bella was apparently a lightweight. We were only about three drinks in and she was already to the point in her drunkenness that she wanted to over share everything.
“I just really love Jack. I didn't think I would find anyone like him. I thought he was way out of my league. You know that I used to have the biggest crush on him when I was younger, but he never gave me the time of day. It drove me crazy.”
&nbs
p; “No, I didn't know that about you and my brother. I guess it was because you lived next door to each other. I can relate to young crushes though. They can feel like the real thing.”
I was thinking of myself and John. It had certainly felt like the real thing with him.
“I don’t know what it was, but even then, I knew we were meant to be together.”
I could remember a little bit about Bella, but I didn't pay much attention to it. I had been dealing with my own issues for the last little while, getting ready for the next chapter in my life.
It was good to hear that I was the only one that wanted someone I couldn't have. That had been the way it was with me and John all this time. I have loved him from afar and he hadn't even known I existed. Not really. I had been too young to even be thought of, and I know that now. Back then though, it was hard to take. Even now, it was good to know that some crushes could work, even if mine had not gone the way I wanted it to.
I obviously had been drinking too much, because I needed to get away from that line of thinking. That is how I had broken my own heart so many years ago. I had been in love with him, sure that he would realize that we were meant for each other, but that had never happened. I had been delusional and just because it had somehow worked out for Bella and my brother, did not mean it would work out for me and John.
I didn't even know anything about him anymore, and I was going to be going to college soon. I wasn't sure where I was going yet, just that I was hoping for California. All of the best production colleges were there. I wanted to make movies and of course, the only place to do that was in Hollywood. All of that to say, something happening between me and John wasn’t even a probability in my mind.
It was only a coincidence that John lived there. I knew that my ambitions had nothing to do with John. I had just figured out a little while ago that he was there. At first, he had moved to Vegas with his father, but eventually they had migrated to California. My brother was the only reason that I knew that, and I wasn't even sure if I was going yet. I still had to be accepted.
“So, what are you going to do when you get out of here?”
“I don't know. I guess I'm going to go to college and see what happens.”
“You know, I never thought I would be back here. I always wanted to get out of Coloma Dina, but there is just something about this place that is special.”
“I think it is my brother that you’re talking about, not Coloma.”
I certainly did not feel that way about Coloma at all. It was too small of a town for me and there weren't enough people that wanted to do the same things that I wanted to do. I wanted to make movies and to bring stories to life, but most of the people around here, especially the girls my age, all they were worried about was getting a few classes at the Community College and waiting for their boyfriend to propose to them. I had different ambitions. For the longest time I wanted to be a scientist, but then I realized that if I really wanted to make a difference, I needed to entertain people and get at their hearts.
It was a hell of a jump and my family didn't quite understand it, but at the end of the day, I knew that it was the only way that would work for me. I couldn't pretend that I was somebody else, not anymore.
“I can't wait to get out of here and never come back. Except for holidays, because I promised my mother I would.”
Bella smiled and shrugged me off like I was being silly. She wasn't that much older than me and for some reason, it bothered me.
“Trust me, you will feel differently about it one day. Give it five or ten years and you will want to come home. That’s what happened to me.”
“I don't know about that, Bella. I think maybe you've had too much to drink.”
She was now on her fourth, and she was a giggly mess.
“I have definitely had too much to drink, but I'm having a good time. Thank you for taking me with you. I didn't think I'd be so stressed. I really love your brother, but…”
“It's a big step.”
She agreed and for a moment she was looking a little too hard into the distance. I was trying to help my brother keep her occupied, I certainly didn't need to start with my anti-marriage rhetoric. She didn't want to hear it and I didn't want to ruin things for my brother. Whether I believed in marriage or not, I knew Jack loved Bella, so I wanted to get her mind off of whatever had her looking that way.
Silence came over us for a few moments and then it was clear that she wanted to talk about something else. It was uncomfortable at the moment, and I was with her on the need for a subject change. But when she brought up the next subject, it was just as bad as the one that we were trying to avoid, as far as I was concerned.
“So, tell me, you must have a boyfriend. You're beautiful Dina. I can't imagine you being single, but you don't have a plus one for the wedding and your brother wouldn’t answer me when I asked.”
“I am single. I don't really have time for dating right now. I am more focused on my studies. I need to get into a good school and then get my degree. After I get a good job and land a couple of movies, then I will worry about dating.”
She just kind of shook her head at me. I know it didn't sound very romantic. I had always gotten grief for my five and ten-year plan, because well, I even had one. Most girls my age were not worried about such things. They were far more worried about their hair or their outfit. I did not worry about matters such as that and that made it hard for me to fit in with other women. Bella did not seem to be that way. She’d always seemed a little different and I was thankful for it now. I didn’t need a judgmental chick that I was used to.
“Let's just say, the person I want is someone I can't have.”
That seemed to perk her up almost immediately and she wanted to know who it was. The problem was that I was in love with my brother’s friend. She had most likely already met John, and that would not turn out well. So, I had to make something up.
“It was just a friend of the family. He was older than me, way out of my league. I don't know what I was thinking, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about him since. It's weird, but I always thought we would get together one day.”
“Who's to say that you won't?”
I waved her off and told her that I was happy her and my brother had found happiness. But I knew it wasn't the way it went for everybody.
“I don't think you realize how lucky you two are, Bella. Love like that, doesn't usually happen anymore.”
Bella was three sheets to the wind, so she just kind of smiled in response. I was happy for them; I really was. But there was no sense in pretending something like that could happen to me. I knew better.
John had always just been a fantasy. Just because he was back in Coloma for a couple of days, didn't mean anything. He was just as unattainable as always and anything happening between us, was just as impossible as before. Maybe even more so now that there was such a distance between us. He would go back to his life and in a few months, I would go back to school. And then from there, who knows? I am sure that he was with somebody else by now. Jack was never a man that stayed single for long.
“Are you okay?”
I shook my head and told her I was fine. “I just have a lot on my mind Bella, that's all.”
“Well if you're thinking too much, someone really smart told me that you just need to drink your problems away.”
That got a genuine smile from me.
“I think that sounds like a good idea.”
4
John
It took us literally almost five hours, but we finally found a tuxedo that would work for the wedding. Bella had picked grey and baby blue as the colors of the wedding, which sounded good and looked good from the pictures that she had shown me, but it had been complicated to find matches for. It felt impossible at one point. I was starting to question if we would actually find any, but we did.
We were on our way back to the small town and Jack was trying to tell me that he was done for the night. It wasn't even dark
out yet and I looked at him like he was crazy.
“There is no way that we're going home right now. We finally got all this taken care of and it's time to go have a drink. I know that I sure as hell need one. How many places did we even go to? I swear to God if we would have gone in one more store, I might have lost my mind.”
Jack just kind of smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “I knew I had to get it done, but I was just putting it off. It's something I need to work on. Bella is always bitching at me.”
I didn't want to talk about his procrastination, because it didn't matter now. Now we were done, and we could finally talk about something that was far more important, the bachelor party.
“Well, we at least need to get Scott and Steve and Dennis. The rest of them, I don’t really care about, but I at least want to drink with them. There is no telling when all of us are going to be in town together again.”
Jack agreed. “I haven't seen them in forever. It has been nice to get everybody back here. I didn't think you were ever going to come back to Coloma. You said you would at some point, but I knew you wouldn't. You hadn’t so far.”
I actually felt bad for a moment, because it looked to me like Jack felt abandoned and that wasn't the way I wanted it to go. I had for all intent and purpose, figured that I would be back in Coloma. That was the plan, but things happened. My father got ill and once he wasn't able to run his company any more, naturally I took over the daily running for him. That's what he was grooming me for, and it just happened a little sooner than I would have wanted it to.
“I tried to come back. Really, I did.”
Jack agreed and shrugged his shoulders. “I know what happened. It’s not like there was anything you could do about it; I just miss you. I have a few friends still here, but it's not the same. It hasn't been the same since you left senior year.”
