by Nancy Adams
Marie took my left arm and Sarah the other and with me in the middle, we silently made our way through the building. Sarah and Marie, I thought to myself, were truly the definition of family.
Chapter Ten
I tried to smile and appear to be happy as I followed the wedding party back to the area where the reception was to be held. It had truly been a beautiful wedding. And of course, Marie had made a beautiful bride. I watched her greet her guests with a smile that never wavered. It was clear to me that this was the happiest day of her life and I wished her and Ezra the best. They seemed to be an unlikely couple, but as Marie went from guest to guest, holding the train of her gown so that it wouldn’t get covered in mud, I saw that she was wearing blue cowboy boots. I couldn’t help but smile, even though I had been smiling for hours for one picture after another and my cheeks were staring to hurt. If this is what it felt like to be a model, I thought to myself, then no wonder they earned the big bucks. And then I remembered that models didn’t actually ever smile. I was convinced that was because they were always hungry.
Speaking of which, my stomach started to growl and I looked around for food. I didn’t have to look far. It was cocktail hour, or whatever Marie had called it. Waiters were coming around with plates of Tex-Mex delights as we all entered the barn where the reception was to be held and I helped myself to one treat after another.
I was so busy stuffing my face that I didn’t notice the man next to me until I practically bumped into him. I looked up to apologize and smiled widely instead. “Hugo? What are you doing here?”
He smiled back, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “I couldn’t let you show up to the wedding dateless.”
“I’m not dateless. My grandmother’s my date.”
He shook his head. “Why am I always the first-place loser when it comes to you?”
I tilted my head to the side as if I was pondering something important. “Because you’re good at it?”
He smiled at my joke and said, “Will your friend the bride be upset if I sat with you during the reception?”
I laughed. “I doubt it. You’ve already crashed her wedding. What’s the worst you could do now?”
“Point taken. Care to join me on the dance floor then?”
I shrugged. “Why not?” As Hugo spun and twirled me on the dance floor, I couldn’t help but think of that moment in the pizza parlor when Ash had done the same. The memory made me sad, and I tried to keep my smile in place as Hugo danced with me, but I felt I needed to get away. I was ready to cry at any moment, and that fact was immensely embarrassing. I did want my happily-ever-after and I didn’t realize it until that moment. And to think I wanted that happily-ever-after with someone I probably would never see again hurt me to the core.
I had to get away. “Hugo, I’m sorry. I need a break.”
He looked concerned, and just as he opened his mouth to ask me what was wrong, I spotted Sarah trying her best to avoid the dance floor. I figured she could be my stand-in until I wasn’t so emotional.
“Hey Sarah!” I called. She smiled at me and came straight over. She looked at Hugo once and then again surreptitiously, and her cheeks turned red. I narrowed my eyes; was she attracted to him? And then I saw Hugo studying her. Slowly, Sarah raised her eyes to his and their gazes locked.
I had to clear my throat to get their attention. “Sarah do you mind dancing with Hugo while I get some air?”
“Oh, so you’re Hugo?”
He nodded and said slyly, “I see my reputation precedes me.”
She shrugged and responded gently. “It’s nice to finally meet you.” She then gave him another furtive look. He gave her a look of his own and I swear the tension between them grew to be almost tangible. There were sparks there, and I figured now was the time to make my exit.
But before I did, I added, “Don’t forget to tell her about Olivia.”
“Olivia?” Sarah asked him.
“My dog.”
“You have a dog? I have one too.”
And just like that, my presence was forgotten as they began swapping dog stories. Who knew that my newest friend would hit it off so well with my oldest friend? Maybe at the end of the day, Hugo had won after all.
I left the barn, where the reception was in full swing, and made my way to the main house. I walked in and found Tony manning the receptionist desk. He was reading a magazine, but when he heard the door open, he looked up at me and then jumped to his feet.
“There you are! I didn’t know if I should go find you or not. I didn’t know if you had wedding duties or something, but someone’s been calling for you.”
I was at a lost trying to come up with who it might have been. Grandma was here. Marie and Sarah were here. I groaned. I didn’t have reception at the resort and that was turning out to be a true pain in the butt. And who would know to look for me here anyway? I hoped it wasn’t one of the website owners that I had made an offer to; I had been neglecting work lately, and I hoped it wasn’t coming back to bite me.
I sighed and said, “Alright, who was it?”
“Hold on. I took a message. I wrote it down somewhere. It was some guy with a weird name. Something like Stone. Or Fire. Something weird…” Tony’s voice trailed off as he looked for the message.
My body went perfectly still. “Was it Ash?”
“Yes, that was it! Ash Jefferson!” He found the message and victoriously handed it to me. “He said it wasn’t urgent, but that he needed to speak with you.”
I looked at the note in my hand. “Did he say why he wanted to speak with me?”
Tony shook his head. Without another thought, I crumbled the note in my hand. I handed it back to Tony and told him to trash it.
Tony looked at me curiously. “If he calls again, just tell him I’m no longer here. Thanks, Tony.”
* * *
Two weeks later, I arranged to meet with an investor for coffee at a little café that had recently opened in town. I wanted to expand my business, and although I’d avoided investors in the past, I felt now was the time to shake things up in my life. After Marie’s wedding, I had returned straight home and buried myself in my work. It wasn’t too hard, since I didn’t have any distractions. Marie was on her honeymoon. Grandma was still in Texas vacationing for an extended time. She had yet to tell me when she was coming back, and last I heard, Pearl was going to Texas too.
Sarah was opening up a new location for her pet kennel business, and she hadn’t been too forthcoming about whether or not she planned to start seeing Hugo. In fact, she avoided the subject completely. I figured her reluctance was because I’d dated him, but frankly, I saw Hugo as nothing more than a friend and I wanted Sarah to go for it. But as of yet, it didn’t seem like she would. I sighed to myself thinking that at least she could have her happily-ever-after if she really wanted it. Hugo was a catch. And being lonely was overrated.
If I were honest with myself, I would admit that I was lonely. In fact, I felt lonelier now than I did before Grandma butted into my dating life. I was deep in thought and was a little startled when the waiter came out and placed a cup of coffee in front of me. I looked at it, confused.
“I think you have the wrong table,” I began saying, only then noticing that I was the only customer. “I didn’t order—” I stopped abruptly when I finally raised my eyes to look directly at the waiter.
“I know. But you looked like you needed it.”
My eyes hardened instantly. “What do you want, and what are you doing here, Ash?”
“May I sit down?”
“No. I’m meeting a potential investor. He’s coming any minute now. Go away.”
He sat down anyway.
“Did you not hear what I just said?”
He nodded, but seemed unperturbed by my open hostility towards him.
“You haven’t returned my calls or my emails. I left you messages, sent you texts. I’ve done everything but smoke signals to reach you.”
“Okay. Why don’t you try s
moke signals then, and I’ll tell you if I see them or not. Until then, I have business to attend to, and frankly, you’re impeding the process.”
“Can’t you just hear me out?”
“There’s nothing you could say that I could possibly want to hear.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Trite.”
“I made a mistake.”
“No kidding.”
“Can we start over again?”
“You know, there’s a lot of traffic on this street. Why don’t you go stand in it?” And with that, I stood up and attempted to walk away. He blocked me and held up both of his hands as he pleaded with me to stay.
“Get out of my way, or I’m calling the manager.”
“I am the manager. I actually own this entire strip mall,” he said matter-of-factly.
I sighed in frustration. “Of course you do. And I bet you’re the ‘investor’ I’m supposed to meet.”
He shrugged sheepishly. “I didn’t think you would agree to see me any other way. Libby, all I’m asking is for you to just hear me out. That’s all. I owe you an explanation, even if it doesn’t change your mind about us—”
“There is no us,” I said darkly.
“But there could be,” he replied hopefully.
I moved to go around him, and he backed out of my way. “Please, I just want to tell you the truth,” he called to me as I walked away.
“You can keep your truth, Ash. I’m not interested.” And with that, I walked out of the door. I didn’t expect what happened next. I wouldn’t have expected it in a million years.
The next thing I knew I was in the air and hanging over Ash’s shoulder.
“Put me down! Have you lost your mind?! Put me down right now, Ash!” I screamed as he carried me like a sack back into the restaurant. He turned the open sign to closed—I noted—and locked the door.
“This is kidnapping! You’re holding me against my will!”
“I’m desperate.”
“You’re crazy!”
“Maybe,” he said, sitting me down on a bench and getting down on his knees in front of me.
My eyes grew wide. “No! I’m not going to marry you!”
His eyes grew even wider. “What?! I wasn’t about to propose, I was just going to beg. I’m down on two knees not one. I’m pretty sure a proposal is done on one bended knee.”
He had a point, and I blushed in embarrassment since I had jumped to conclusions.
“Oh, well, you might as well get up. We’re done. We’re over. Begging isn’t going to change that.”
“You’re sure?”
I had to bite back a laugh at his sorrowful tone. He looked so silly, kneeling on the bare floor with an apron tied around his hips.
“You look pitiful.”
“I feel pitiful.”
“Well, good. That’s what you deserve.” I folded my arms and glared at him.
He sighed and slowly stood up. It looked like the movement pained him, and as he took a step forward and reached for a chair, I noticed that he seemed slightly off-balance. I reached out to help him, reacting immediately as he caught himself before stumbling.
I grabbed his shirt, attempting to steady him. He outweighed me I guessed by at least a good eighty pounds if not more, but that didn’t stop me from trying to help him.
“Ash? What’s going on?” The concern in my voice was clear.
He shook his head and gingerly lowered himself into a chair.
“I need to tell you something, Libby, but I don’t want your pity. Understand?”
I nodded and sat down slowly. What was going on with Ash? What did he mean by not wanting my pity? Why would I pity him?
He began rubbing his leg, almost as if to massage it, and grimacing as he spoke, said “I guess you know that I used to play pro soccer.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I heard you retired because of an injury.”
He laughed bitterly. “I wish. I started getting tired and sore more than usual. I couldn’t keep up. I couldn’t do the things I used to do with ease. My muscles just felt like they were getting weak. I thought I had a B-12 deficiency. You know I mentioned that I was vegan at one point, and I’d heard that some vegans experienced that. Or, the worst-case scenario, I thought maybe it was an iron deficiency. So I went to the doctor…”
I held my breath scared about what he might say next.
“They ran some tests. They couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Long story short: They sent me to a specialist and I was diagnosed with CMT. Have you ever heard of it?”
I shook my head. “Is it life threatening?”
“I would say no. Well, it depends on the type you have. For me, it isn’t. It’s a disease that severely damages the nerves in your legs and arms. And apparently, at least for me, playing soccer aggravated the disease. It put too much stress on my already weak joints and muscles. I had to have physical therapy and even considered surgery. But it didn’t matter—my body wasn’t what it used to be, literally, and just like that my soccer career was over.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize unless you’re responsible for my genetics,” he said wistfully.
I didn’t know what to say. Now didn’t seem the time for jokes.
“So you broke up with me because you have CMA?”
“CMT. Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.”
“That’s a mouthful.”
“Tell me about it. And no. I mean, well partially.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Explain.”
“When you saw me with my ex that day in the country club we were actually meeting with our lawyers to work out details of my alimony payments to her. It’s an annoyance, but I try to keep things as civil as possible.”
“So what was she doing in your place that night when you called?”
He looked confused. “What are you talking about?”
“When you called things off with me, there was a woman in the background.”
“Oh, that was Tessa, my attorney, arguing with my ex’s attorney on the phone.”
I nodded and said, “Well, that explains one thing. But still doesn’t explain why you called things off between us…”
“I thought you said there was no us,” Ash retorted.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t push your luck, Ash.”
“Alright, alright. Well, I hate to say it, but I let Elizabeth get under my skin again. No one besides my brother knew CMT played a role in my marriage breaking up. Yeah, she was unfaithful, but she outright told me once I was diagnosed that she wasn’t interested in staying married to a man who could potentially lose his ability to walk.”
What a horrid person, I thought to myself before asking, “You might not be able to walk in the future?”
“With the proper treatment, I should be fine. Muscle weakness will happen, and I might need a brace in order to walk, but I’ll still do my best to get around.”
“I guess she didn’t mean the part of your vows that said for better or for worse?” I stated humorlessly.
“Clearly. I’m pretty sure she thought our vows were optional,” Ash said with a laugh.
“So continue…you said she got under your skin?”
“Yeah, you see, it’s a hereditary disease, except in rare cases.”
“And you think you inherited it?”
“I think so. And I’m scared of passing it on to my children in the future. That is, if I ever have children.”
“But it’s not debilitating right? Is the life expectancy for someone with CMT shorter than someone without?”
“No. Not at all. But things can become difficult for a person who has it. And that’s what Elizabeth rubbed in my face this time when we met up. She saw you as competition and got into my head. Told me I was being irresponsible for starting something new with you without giving you all the details of my disease. She said it wouldn’t be fair to you to go into a relationship blind. And she made it seem that if I did tell you, it would me
an the end of us.”
“And so instead of telling me, you just decided to end it between us?”
He nodded. “It was stupid. I knew that immediately after I did it. But the damage was done. And I convinced myself that it was for the best, because if we did, you know…if things did progress between us to the point where we discussed marriage and children, I didn’t want to think about the possibility of me passing this disease on to my kids. And it’s a choice I didn’t want you to have to make either.”
I sat there in silence, thinking of everything he’d said. And as I mulled over everything, I realized that honestly, none of that mattered to me. None of it changed my perception of him or what he had started to mean to me.
“First of all, thanks for not letting me make my own decision.”
“I…What?”
“You heard me. I’m an adult, fully capable of making my own decisions, and it burns me up that you let your ex-wife persuade you to ditch me. She didn’t even have to open her mouth to speak before I knew what she was up to. I could tell she was a jealous, manipulative jerk face as soon as I met her.”
“Jerk face?” Ash said, trying not to smile.
“Yes, a jerk face. And you’re one too. It bothers me so much that you would allow that woman’s conniving to break up something I thought we were trying to build together. And that’s something I can’t forgive, Ash. What goes on between you and I is strictly our business, what business is it of hers? You should have told her to keep her opinions to herself. And you should have spoken to me directly if you had your doubts over whether or not I would still want to be with you after knowing about your disorder.”
Ash shook his head, I assumed at his own error in judgment. “You’re right. But honestly, I think she was just the catalyst. I’m going to be honest with you, Libby. I liked you since Kitty first introduced us. I didn’t volunteer as the assistant coach because I had nothing to do. If you can’t tell, I have more than enough to do. It was all a ploy to be around you, to get to know you better. And when we finally started dating, I fell for you. Hard.”
