A Bridge of Her Own

by Heywood, Carey

  She was aroused from her daydream by a young man swimming over to where she sat. She contemplated jumping up and running back to her lounge chair, but he was already too close to her for her to get away in time.

  “Hello,” he began, leaning against the side of the pool.

  “Hi,” Jane returned.

  “I’m Caleb,” he said, putting a hand out.

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Jane."

  They spoke for a couple of minutes, and all Jane could think was he seemed nice, but he had nothing on Wyatt. He asked what she and Lacey were doing later and mentioned that he and his friends were having a barbeque if they would like to come. Jane told him she would check with Lacey and let him know. With that, he swam back over to his friends, and Jane got up to go lay back down.

  “Hey, I saw that guy talking to you,” Lacey said as she opened her book. “What’d he want?”

  “We have been invited to a barbeque they are having tonight,” Jane replied.

  “Do you want to go?” Lacey inquired excitedly.

  Jane gave her a look like “What do you think?”

  Lacey shrugged. “Come on. I think it would be good for you."

  “I’ll think about it,” was the best Jane could do. “Can we please go inside now? I think I might melt." Jane moaned.

  “Fine, but first let me go find out a little bit more about this shin-dig,” Lacey said, sashaying back over to the guys.

  Jane packed her and Lacey’s stuff up then walked over and waited for her by the exit. Lacey, seeing her, headed over and gave her the details on the way back up to her apartment. Jane really wasn’t interested in going but could acknowledge staying in and obsessing about what went wrong would not assist her in moving on. She didn’t want to admit to Lacey that she did not want to move on. She was at least able to recognize how desperate or sad that made her appear. Lacey had absolutely seen her at her worst, but even then, Jane was too embarrassed to say that out loud.

  Lacey and Jane took turns showering and then shared a bag salad with roasted chicken morsels for lunch. After that, Lacey took a nap feeling very drained from the sun. Jane, taking advantage of time when she was not being watched, went to check her email. She was secretly hoping to have some sort of communication from Wyatt. Unfortunately, the only new email was from her mother. It mentioned trying to get a hold of her via cell phone multiple times.

  It made Jane realize she had not even seen her phone since she got to Lacey’s. She tore through her bags and it was nowhere to be found. She raced out of the apartment down to her car, and when she opened the driver’s side door, she spied her phone in the door well. When she went to check it, she groaned, realizing it was dead. Shutting her door and beeping her car, she raced back up to Lacey’s apartment and attached her phone to its charger.

  It was so drained it would not even turn on. It just gave her a message that, once there was enough of charge, it would automatically turn on. She sat on the sofa switching off from watching Lacey’s bedroom door to see if she was awake to checking her phone to see if it had turned on yet. She remembered a saying about a watched pot never boiling, so she went back to the computer to finish reading the email her mother had written.

  It went on to say that Wyatt had been trying to reach her and had actually even called her parents trying to track her down. Her mother was dumbstruck that Jane would treat Wyatt this way, as he was trying to fix whatever had happened at the beach. Jane was in agony. Her phone was still charging and finding out that Wyatt had tried to reach her and she had been unavailable to him killed her inside.

  He would never believe that her phone was in her car this whole time. He might not forgive her now that he had to think she was ignoring him. Her manic pacing must have woken Lacey up because she was now coming out of her room rubbing her eyes.

  “What is all this noise?” She was struck by the look of sheer distress on Jane’s face. “Jane, what’s wrong?” she asked, concerned.

  Jane pointed to the email from her mother, still open on the computer. Reading it, Lacey felt her shoulders sag. So Wyatt was trying to get Jane back, she thought mentally preparing herself for her friend to once again be removed from her.

  “Where was your phone?” she asked.

  “In my car,” Jane replied. “It’s charging right now, but it was so dead that it still will not turn on."

  “Well…” Lacey began “How do you feel about what happened with Wyatt?”

  Jane furrowed her brows in confusion. Didn’t Lacey understand this was the solution to all of her problems? “What do you mean?” She answered.

  “Are you sure you and Wyatt are right for each other?” There. She said it out loud, Lacey thought, cringing as Jane stared at her open-mouthed.

  “That is the craziest thing I have ever heard. Of course we are right for each other."

  “I mean are YOU really happy with Wyatt?” Lacey went on.

  “I’ve only been unhappy right now without him,” Jane cried.

  “Are you going to ditch me again if you get back together?”

  Jane exhaled. She could not deny that she had absolutely chosen Wyatt in her life over Lacey. But doesn’t that happen with a lot of couples? You start dating someone seriously and have different interests as a couple than you once had as a single person. Maybe it was just inevitable that she and Lacey would outgrow each other. However, she could not deny that when every other person in her life had failed her, it was Lacey that she ran to.

  The long silence was enough for Lacey

  “Forget about it. Do what you want." She muttered.

  “Wait!” Jane replied. “I don’t know how it will work, but I can tell you one thing. If Wyatt and I do get back together, I will not allow our friendship to be affected like I did before. I promise. Besides, Wyatt probably will not want anything to do with me. He must think I’m ignoring him."

  Hopeful, Lacey asked “You don’t think he would believe you didn’t have your phone on you?”

  “I don’t know,” Jane said, still looking at her phone miserably.

  “Well if you do get back together, what needs to change so that a repeat of whatever happened at the beach doesn’t just happen again?” Lacey asked.

  She had a point, Jane thought. She did love Wyatt but had no such attachment to his parents. Plus, they had all actually considered she had been making advances to random people on the beach. How could he ever think that? And, if she could not trust him, what hope would they even have in getting married?

  She still had not told Lacey everything that had happened down at the beach house. Besides, if she told her now it would possibly poison her opinion of Wyatt or his family. She decided to wait and see what Wyatt had said, if anything, once her phone was charged. Her phone chirped with life as it turned itself on. She watched it go through all of the startup functions. Leaving it still plugged in, she checked her voicemail first. Multiple messages. The first was from her mother. Delete. She already knew what her mother wanted.

  The next one was from Wyatt, and he had called on the day she had arrived at Lacey’s. He had said that he was upset at the way they had left things, and he felt he had acted rashly in asking her to leave and to call him. The next message was from Wyatt again about four hours after the first message. He had reiterated wanting her to call and had even apologized this time.

  The next message was also from Wyatt a day after his first two messages. He was becoming put off that she had not called back, yet he still seemed apologetic and asked her to call. The tone of the next call was of a marked difference to the others. It was more of a: who did she think she was to not have called back by now? Oh no. The next message was from her mother, half-concerned for her because they had no clue where she was and half letting her know Wyatt had called, and she would not be the girl she had raised if she did not call that nice, young man back pronto.

  That was the last message. Next, Jane went to check her text messages. There were a bunch and all from Wyatt and none providin
g any new information. And worse, there were no messages following his last voicemail. She cringed and dialed his number. He answered on the second ring. She went on to explain where she was and how she had not had her phone.

  Chapter 10

  Lacey walked into the kitchen to get a drink and observed the tension in Jane’s voice, hearing the hope that Wyatt would forgive her. She shook her head thinking how backwards this situation was. He was the one in the wrong. No one in his or her right mind who knew Jane could believe she could have done what he accused her of. Now her beautiful, brilliant friend was doing everything in her power to reestablish a relationship with someone who seemed hell-bent on her becoming a Stepford wife.

  Wyatt was able, with little effort or admittance of wrongdoing, to get Jane back. He told her that, upon further mediation of events at the beach, he was willing to believe her version of events. Jane was so relieved that everything could go back to normal that she accepted whatever he said. Lacey sat there, shaking her head at their conversation. How did you convince someone the man of her dreams did not deserve her?

  Time moved on, and the only true marked difference between Jane and Wyatt after the brief break up versus the couple prior was Lacey. Jane was not going to lose her friend this time. Wyatt, sensing this alteration in Jane, didn't push it. Jane also did not move in with Wyatt their senior year, which surprised everyone. She never wanted to feel like she didn’t have her own place again. She and Lacey rented an apartment in a historic row house.

  Their apartment was a two-bedroom, three-floor walk-up with no elevator, so there was a built in workout just coming home each day, they joked. The bathroom had a beautiful claw foot tub and separate shower. This was the first place the girls had where they had actual bedrooms in addition to the living area, plus a full kitchen versus the dorm fridge-microwave setup they were used to.

  As Wyatt grew to learn to tolerate Lacey, she again learned to deal with him. Now that they had their own bedrooms, from time to time, he would spend the night at their place. With him in the picture, there was no talk this year of planning or taking a New Year's trip, which seemed to work out in the long run, as they were all very busy with their classes, being their senior year.

  Wyatt had been applying to graduate schools across the country. He was going to be an engineer. He and Jane had multiple conversations as to which program would work best for both of them. Jane was not intending on going to graduate school but was looking into future employment or intern opportunities in the locations Wyatt was applying.

  Lacey was participating in multiple local productions and was very busy. Wyatt and Jane were also very publicly visible for a current campaign, as his father was seeking a higher office. His name was even being brought up as a possible vice presidential running mate in the next general election. Jane's next step in her ongoing transformation to Stepford, as Lacey sometimes called it, was significant.

  She had regular hair and nail appointments. The majority of her clothes and accessories were designer labels. Wyatt was even hinting at buying her a BMW for her birthday, even though she already had a nice Audi. But since it was a hand-me-down from her mother, in his eyes, it was not new enough. She was his perfect accessory to any formal dinner or function.

  For Jane, the second go at her relationship with Wyatt was less stressful than the first. She had Lacey and her own space to work in. Whatever changes he wanted in her had already mainly happened. She knew what to wear and how she was expected to handle herself. Wyatt was even growing complimentary towards her. She felt as though they had made it through the difficult parts, and they were now on course for the long term.

  As the holidays approached, Wyatt and Jane's families were going to celebrate together at the Huntington's home in the mountains. Their mothers were inseparable as Mrs. Huntington enjoyed being fawned over. Their fathers were not as close. Mr. Huntington was busy with work and Mr. Martin just didn't like him. He was polite of course, but distant and spent most of the trip by the fireplace with a book.

  Chapter 11

  Wyatt snowboarded while Jane tried her hand at skiing. She had hoped he would teach her, but he did not want to. She ended up in “Snow School” with a large group of elementary school students. She caught Wyatt laughing each time he passed their group. That compelled her to try even harder to be successful at this. When they were released from the school, she managed to make a couple of passes without falling.

  She seemed to be most afraid of getting on and off the chair lift. She had visions of face-planting in front of the line of people behind her. As she queued up, Wyatt took the spot next to her.

  "Looking good out there," he said, sounding amazed. "Never took you for the outdoor type."

  She blushed under the praise.

  "Wanna see if you can keep up with me down the trail?" he asked.

  She shook her head no. He had been snowboarding for years.

  "Come on, you can do it," he assured her.

  It wasn't so bad at first. Either he was going easy on her or she was better then she had thought. Wyatt, competitive by nature, picked up speed. But Jane, not wanting to race, pulled back. When she finally caught up to him, he had wiped out near the base of the trail. He seemed to be in pain and was holding his arm. She rushed over to him, and he glared at her.

  "Are you hurt?" she called out.

  "Clearly," he replied curtly.

  "What can I do?" She asked, stepping out of her skis.

  He had her carry their gear as they made their way to the first aid office. Along the way, he was stressing, certain his arm was broken. When they got there, they were seen immediately. The office, being attached to such a swanky resort, luckily had mobile x-ray equipment on hand. It was not a break but a sprain. They set Wyatt up with some painkillers and a sling and told him to follow up with his primary physician once he got home.

  Jane was relieved and arranged that their gear be taken back to the Huntington's home. They were within walking distance, so they headed home. Along the way, Wyatt blamed Jane for his fall. He said once he got towards the bottom of the trail, he realized she was no longer with him and turned back to look for her when he fell. Jane apologized profusely explaining she was just too slow to keep up with him.

  His mother met them at the door. The lodge had called to make her aware of his fall. He told his mother it was Jane's fault he fell. If her eyes could shoot daggers, Jane would be dead. Jane started to explain herself, but his mother abruptly raised her hand, stopping her. Jane stood there open-mouthed as his mother walked with him up the stairs.

  She pulled off her boots then followed them. Upstairs, their mothers were cooing over him and again he said it was Jane's fault that he fell.

  Her father, unable to keep his mouth shut, said, "I'm not sure if I understand what you are saying, young man. Was Jane anywhere near you when you fell?"

  "No. As I said, I was looking for her when I fell," Wyatt huffed.

  "Well, as I see it, unless she pushed you down or tripped you, it's your own fault you fell."

  You could have heard a pin drop as every eye in the room was on Jane's father. Silently, she agreed with him but knowing Wyatt would not like it, she said, "But, Daddy, I really should have let Wyatt know that I couldn't keep up."

  That seemed to placate everyone for the time being. After dinner, Jane's father quietly pulled her aside to give her his opinion whether she liked it or not. He made it clear that any man who needed to blame something as simple as a loss of balance on his partner would not be likely to accept responsibility for other actions as well.

  Seeing the concern in her father’s eyes made Jane feel awful. He just couldn’t understand this was how Wyatt was, and she was okay with it. She wished she could say something to make him feel better, but there was nothing. She could tell he paid additional attention to Wyatt from that moment on. She could feel Wyatt sensed it too and saw that he avoided her father. It also made her wish she was with Lacey instead, going to see the houses from t
he Tacky Light Tour. She was really sad that they had missed that this year.

  The rest of the vacation went smoothly, and they were back at school. Being the last semester of their senior year, they all had their heads down as they focused on class work. Finals would be there before they knew it. Wyatt had already been receiving some notifications of acceptance for graduate school. They were all in the happy positions of knowing they were passing. The decisions they had to make once they were outside of the comfort zone of university were the most stressful part.

  Wyatt's decision was mainly which school to attend. Lacey was contemplating moving to New York to try to make it on Broadway. Jane was just waiting for Wyatt to decide where he was going to, so she could plan her move as well. All she could do in the mean time was wait.

  Wyatt was increasingly distant. Jane did her best to try to engage him, but she just could not figure it out. She finally gave up and hoped he was stressing over which school to pick. By finals, she wasn't really speaking to either Wyatt or Lacey. They were all ships just passing each other on different paths. Wyatt and Jane both had class-organized late-night cram fests. Lacey studied solo, and since a portion of her final was performance, did her best to rest her body and voice.

  Once finals were all over, there was a feeling of euphoria in all of them. Wyatt seemed back to his old self, so Jane was relieved. Packing for all began in earnest. Wyatt had selected a very prestigious grad school in Chicago. Jane was going to spend the summer with her folks before moving out there to be with him. She was doing her best to have an internship at a museum set up before graduation.

  Lacey had been cast as a lead in a local production of “Arsenic and Old Lace,” so she had put off any consideration of moving until its run was complete. Jane, reliving their first summer together, helped out with the set creation until Wyatt voiced his concern at her being around so many artsy types. Lacey tried talking Jane into staying with her over the summer, but since Jane knew Wyatt wouldn't like that, she declined. Besides it's not like they weren't going to hang out, with her parent’s house being so close.