Faithful

by S. A. Wolfe

  “Humph,” Cooper grunts and grabs my shoulders, pulling me in for a quick kiss, enough to nip my lips.

  Hot damn.

  Eight

  How does this keep happening?

  Is it really possible that my one drunken episode has caused this domino effect so that every time Cooper sees me he feels entitled to kiss me? It’s not like I’m fighting back or cursing him out. I realize I’m letting this happen. I keep talking friend-zone shit and boring myself to death with my pithy rationalizations, and then I let my tongue do whatever it wants when Cooper touches me.

  Leo looks unperturbed by the incident as he jumps in the truck and waits for Cooper.

  Cooper cups my cheek. “You’ll probably see me sooner than you think.”

  “I guess,” I concede since he’s clearly outmaneuvering me at every turn.

  While they drive off to go back to the Murphy estate, I trudge into the house, replaying the last few days with Cooper over in my mind. It was my kiss and bold behavior at the party that started this whole series of events. I changed our relationship from that of a standoffish acquaintance on my part to something more potent that’s brewing in both of us.

  I drop my purse on the front hall table and kick off my shoes before walking upstairs to the workroom where Lauren is finishing the designs. She’s quite a talented artist when it comes to drawing the details of each necklace pattern. She lays them out like a blueprint where each bead is marked with a code that correlates to a specific bead size and color. Her drawings look like paint-by-number pictures in that respect, and it makes it very easy for us to fill the bead trays and see what the actual necklace will look like before we string them on the various jewelry wires and add the hooks and closures.

  “You’re going to love what I got,” I exclaim as I take the items out of the bag and reveal the exquisite pieces to her.

  “They’re gorgeous.” She picks up the necklace with the largest black, faceted teardrop and fifty smaller carved black beads. It has some engraved silver balls interspersed and some muted, chipped gemstones. The clasp is broken and some of the beads are missing, but we’ll remove the good parts and incorporate it into some of Lauren’s new designs. That’s how each piece of jewelry we design becomes one-of-a-kind. We can’t replicate a single necklace with the exact same beads because we only have one of everything when it comes to the vintage pieces. When they are strung together with new Swarvoski crystals or vibrant gemstones, they become our own little masterpieces.

  “The broker there gave me this whole lot, all ten pieces, for seven hundred.”

  “You did great. I’m so excited about this new batch of designs. Sasha’s is going to love it. Seriously. I bet business will take off.”

  “I hope you’re right.” I sit down next to her, ready to get to work.

  “There’s something I have to tell you.” Lauren’s eyes have sort of glazed over, hiding whether she’s about to tell me something sad or if she’s holding back enthusiasm.

  “Is it bad?”

  A smile spreads slowly across her effervescent face. “No, it’s really good,” she beams. “It wasn’t planned, and it wasn’t exactly prevented, but now … I’m pregnant.”

  My jaw drops, a joke about protection immediately coming to mind, but then I see she is serious. My best friend is pregnant. Lauren is going to be a mother. If anyone plays her cards right in life, it’s Lauren. She doesn’t do anything half-assed, and frankly, I’m lucky to have a friend like her giving me advice and confiding in me; as a result, I have to be happy for her.

  Her face watches me with concern because I’m taking much too long to react. The longer I gasp in silence, the more it comes across as judgment.

  “Oh, Lauren,” I utter softly and reach over to hug her.

  She exhales in relief and squeezes me hard. “You’re going to be an auntie.”

  “Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’m going to be a step-sister,” I correct her, and she laughs against my shoulder.

  “There’s more.”

  “Oh, my God, you’re having twins?”

  “Leo and I are getting married in a month. We wanted to have a wedding at the end of summer, but the baby news has pushed it up. Since it’s early, we don’t want to tell people, other than our closest friends and our parents. So I want to get married before I start showing. We have four weeks to get it planned and organized, but I think I can pull it off.”

  “Jesus! I’m still on the ‘I’m pregnant’ part!”

  Lauren bursts out laughing. With her being overjoyed, I must tread lightly when it comes to my cynicism. A baby and a husband and a little business with me—she has everything she has dreamed of, and I feel genuinely happy for her. If she weren’t pregnant, I’d call in the reinforcements for an alcoholic celebration.

  “You’re having a baby and getting married …”

  “Wedding first, baby six months after, and I want you to be my maid of honor.”

  “Yes, I’d like that.” I laugh, trying to think of what those duties entail.

  “We’re skipping over the little parties. I don’t want you to plan anything like that. You’re my best friend, Imogene. I just want you by my side when I marry Leo and when I have this little human.” She’s almost in tears.

  “I can do that. I can.” I nod vigorously as if I’ve been asked to join a special task force. Truthfully, before this, I’ve only been a tipsy bridesmaid. I have never been asked to be the maid of honor, and I haven’t had any friends give birth yet. We’re entering a new phase in our adult lives, and it’s time for me to step up to the plate for my friend.

  “It’s going to be fine, right?” Lauren asks me, the least knowledgeable person on marriage and parenting.

  “Yes, just tell me what I need to do.”

  “Leo is telling Cooper right now. That’s why he decided to go with him tonight, so he could ask him to be the best man.”

  “Cooper is the best man?” I ask, envisioning him standing in a tuxedo at the altar with a sword.

  “Yeah, and we’re going to call Carson and Jess and Dylan and Emma when Leo gets back. We want all of you to be in the wedding party. We already told our parents this afternoon.”

  “Uh-huh,” I reply, realizing the others are married couples, and once again, Cooper and I will be the only single people in the group, except this time, we’ll be matched up with duties.

  “Since we’re pressed for time and you and I have a big deadline, the wedding plans will be simple. Leo wants us to do one last outing together before we get married, like a camping trip,” she explains, and this is where my mind goes into a foggy state of ‘oh fuckerooni’! Lauren rambles on about dance classes and some state park, and I only hear verbs: dancing, grilling, and hiking.

  “Did you say dance classes?”

  “Yes, we want to have a quartet at the church and to open the reception. Our first few dances will be waltzes, so Leo and I decided the wedding party, our best friends, will take dance classes together. It’ll be a blast!”

  “You don’t want to take the easy way out with a DJ and let people shake their booties any which way they want?” I ask, hopeful.

  “That will happen later. But I want to have classical music and start the dancing with that, and …” she trails off. “I see your big noggin spinning, Imogene. Can you handle being paired up with Cooper for this? He’s Leo’s best friend, and you’re my best friend.”

  It’s not like I can say no to her. “Yes, Cooper and I can boogie the night away and handle a little waltzing. Anything for you and Leo.”

  “Thank you.” Lauren hugs me. “I’m getting married and having a baby!” she squeals.

  “Yay!” I reply with some extra punch. As nervous as I am, I manage to drum up some enthusiasm. “So who’s delivering the baby, me or Cooper?”

  Lauren laughs. “This will be a hospital baby with all the highly qualified professionals on duty. I’d like you there when it happen
s, but we can talk about that later. Let’s deal with our big order for Sasha’s and the wedding first.”

  “Good.” I nod. “Excellent plan.”

  The more I think about it, the more a lump catches in my throat and tears pool in my eyes. I’m losing my best friend to that exclusive club of married people. Married people with babies is even more discriminating, too. I will be the pathetic outcast, invited to parties and questioned at length about my single status. I’ll have to start declining invitations and hang out with the senior crowd: Archie, Lois, and Eleanor. It won’t affect Cooper. There are plenty of single women who will escort him to parties as well as Pilates and yoga instructors who will want to bang the living daylights out of him to prove their prowess in bed and in all things domestic in hopes of snagging the most eligible bachelor in Hera.

  Kcuf!

  “Did you tell Imogene the great news?” Leo shouts, barreling through the door.

  “Oh, she sure did,” I exclaim. I stand up to give him a loving embrace, giving myself a chance to wipe my runny eyes and nose on his shoulder.

  “I told Cooper and gave him the run down on our plans,” Leo says to Lauren.

  I grab a tissue and blot my eyes then toss the box to Lauren who is blubbering away. As Leo hugs her, I take in how perfect they look together.

  They’ve been dating for a year and a half, living together for most of that time. I’ve never seen these two hold a grudge or say cruel things to one another. No flying dishware or dramatic exits from the house. Their disagreements have been civil, miraculously always ending in compromises and sealed with embraces. A marriage ceremony and a child are the next logical step for people like them.

  I compose myself and sigh, exhausted.

  “Oh, I forgot,” Leo says and bolts out of the studio. He runs downstairs and returns with an armload of velvet trays. My heart has a spasm as I recognize the black velvet shadow boxes holding the treasures I was coveting earlier at the estate sale.

  “What the…?” I say, standing up as Leo places all the trays on the worktable.

  “Cooper bought all of this. He said you were eyeballing them.”

  “I thought he just bought that stupid sword,” I say, reaching for an expensive Georgian locket.

  “He told me he paid for all of this while you were buying your things, but he didn’t want to tell you. He said you’d blow a gasket, so I’m supposed to tell you both that this is a wedding gift for Lauren’s share of the business,” Leo says apologetically to me.

  “Oh, really?” The snark is back.

  “My God, this must have cost a small fortune,” Lauren whispers, touching as many beautiful beads and lockets as she can.

  “He bought six lots. This cost a few thousand dollars,” I snap. “They even gave him the kcuffing trays!”

  “The what?” Leo asks, confused.

  “She’s trying not to curse,” Lauren explains quietly as an aside. “Kcuf is fuck backwards. Don’t ask.”

  “Oh, all right. Good for you,” Leo says warily.

  While I lean on the table, studying the assortment of jewelry, the only thing missing is the steam coming out of my ears. “That sneaky …”

  “It’s a gift, Imogene,” Leo reminds me.

  “Don’t start a war with Cooper, at least not until after our wedding,” Lauren warns in an authoritative tone. “This was very generous of him, and you and I both know this is really going to help.”

  These are non-returnable items. How clever of him, I think. He’s put me in a position once again where I feel appreciative of his benevolence, although then there’s the downside in that I’ll have to thank him and continue to be charmed by him. He is good friends with Lauren; therefore, maybe this was all for her benefit. However, the part of me that is a little enchanted with Cooper is telling my ego that he’s on more than a friendship crusade with me.

  “I’m going to call and thank him,” Lauren announces.

  That feels wrong. It is my responsibility to thank him since I was the one ogling all the jewelry at the auction.

  “No, I’ll do it,” I say. “Put his number in for me.” Pulling out my phone, I hand the phone to Leo, who quickly obliges.

  “Well, that’s new,” Lauren says, eyeing me with suspicion. “You’re not going to give him a hard time, are you? You two have to dance together, and you have to look happy,” she demands. “I don’t care if you have to fake it for the next month.”

  I sigh, take the phone from Leo, then head downstairs for some privacy on the front porch where I settle into one of the wicker chairs and call Cooper.

  “Hey, sunshine,” he answers in a sexy, deep voice.

  “Don’t call me that. How did you know it was me? Or did you think it was one of your acrobatic girlfriends calling?”

  Even through the phone, his velvety chuckle tickles my ear. “I figured you’d be calling to chew me out.”

  “I thought about it, but Leo and Lauren seem to think you’re fantastic!” I say mockingly. “So I’m supposed to thank you.”

  “I knew you’d be a little angry at first since you don’t like me giving you things, but I thought you’d get over it and feel relieved to have some work.” He sounds guarded and maybe a little hurt by my reaction.

  “Cooper, I’m sorry. I was rude, and you have been … You’ve been very nice and extremely generous, and I really do want to thank you,” I say into the phone, a slight, nervous tremor zipping through me. This guy is starting to go to my head. I may end up in another ignite and burn situation, which would be bad for the wedding, the business, and me.

  I hear him exhale slowly. “Imogene, I know you’re stubborn and strong and resilient, but my gift doesn’t diminish your strength in any way. It’s just a gift. I like you, and even if you don’t want to admit it, you like me.” I can hear the smile in his tone.

  “I don’t know where you come up with these ideas, but for the sake of Lauren and Leo, I’m going to be nicer to you. We’re going to stick to this wedding agenda they have planned for all of us, and then we’ll be free to go back to being ourselves.”

  “Jesus, woman. You’re so hard on me,” he laughs. “First of all, I’ve always been myself with you. And, secondly, it’s not just a wedding, baby. You and I are walking down the aisle together, we will be dance partners, there’s the camping trip we’ll have to discuss, and you and I will probably end up in the delivery room with their newborn.” He’s laughing, but I’m still thinking about the way he said we’ll be walking down the aisle together. Camping?

  “Wait, did you say camping? What camping trip do we have to discuss?”

  “Ah, you didn’t hear about Leo’s grand plans for the wedding party? Since Lauren’s pregnant and can’t really party, he wants to do something different and decided we’re all going on a camping weekend together. Carson and Jess, Dylan and Emma, Leo and Lauren, and that leaves you and me, so—”

  “Are you kidding? I’m not a camping person. Exactly how is this going down?”

  “I’m pretty sure it’s tents, which means couples in tents, doll.”

  “Blech, don’t call me doll. Couples in tents? What about you and me?”

  “Exactly,” he says smugly, his grin clearly evident once again.

  Nine

  I missed my opportunity to interrogate Leo on this camping trip idea of his because he and Lauren were already in bed by the time I got back upstairs. I didn’t want to walk in on any embarrassing celebration sex, so I went to bed and stared at the ceiling most of the night, concocting various excuses to get out of this camping debacle.

  The next morning, Leo was still asleep when Lauren and I left for the diner; as a result, now my plan is to corner him at lunch or at the furniture factory and get this issue of me, tents, bugs, and Cooper resolved.

  “Why camping?” I drill Lauren on the way to work.

  “Because Leo loves it. He grew up in a family that went camping all the time, and he thinks it will
be a nice way to bring us all together for a relaxing weekend without phones and other electronic devices. It will be really fun. Campfires, walks in the woods, fishing—”

  “Fishing? Who fishes? Not me.” I’m not a morning person, and putting on my grease-stained apron from the day before, which I forgot to wash, only makes me crabbier than usual.

  “You don’t have to fish if you don’t want to. We’ll make s’mores, sit around, and gossip with the girls.”

  Lauren parks her dumpy little car behind the diner, and when we enter through the back kitchen door, we’re greeted by my parents and grandmother. All three are standing expectantly at the door, fairly jubilant for six in the morning before the arrival of the demanding breakfast crowd.

  “Surprise!” says my mother, Pam. “Nina and Garth told us the wonderful news!”

  “My parents are pretty thrilled.” Lauren shines with the news that her parents have been calling everyone about the wedding yet discreetly leaving out the pregnancy bit.

  My grandmother gives Lauren a big, squeezy hug, the painful kind. “Girls, we’ve decided we’re giving you your notice. Your last day is this Friday.”

  While Lauren’s face drops, I don’t know whether to be happy or cry.

  “I don’t think we’re ready to leave,” Lauren says desperately. “I have wedding expenses, and Imogene and I can’t live off our business yet.”

  “We’ve taken that into consideration,” my father adds. Mark Walsh is a quiet man, a sweet father who makes decisions after giving them a lot of thought. I trust him, but at this moment, he’s scaring the shit out of me. I wonder if dementia is setting in early in his forty-nine-year-old brain. “We’re giving you the break you need, the kick in the pants to get you moving along.”

  With that, my mother holds out two envelopes to us. Lauren and I reluctantly take them and rip them open.

  “It’s a check with four zeros,” I say, looking at them and then at Lauren. This is a shitload of money for me and my family.