by Beth Rinyu
“Well, I can’t say I blame you there. I’ve met Trudy and Clint Madsen before and they are not like us or our family.”
“That’s for sure.” She let out a deep sigh. “They aren’t even like Brett.”
“You should be thankful for that.”
“Oh, I am.” She giggled.
“Well, listen, I gotta head into work. Thanks for letting me crash at your place today. I slept great.”
“Anytime.”
“See ya, Carrie.”
“Love ya Jas, and please be safe.”
“I will.” I hung up the phone and smiled. Carrie always told me that when she would talk to me before going into work. Ashley never did. I stared into space for a brief second before snapping out of it. I needed to stop comparing Ashley to Carrie. The truth was, there really was no comparison. Carrie was loving, caring, and giving and in a few weeks, she’d be engaged to my best friend.
Chapter 12
Carrie
The week flew by in a blink of an eye and before I knew it, Friday was here once again, and that meant I was one week away from Houston and seeing Brett. But today was special too, it was Jason’s birthday. I always joked that being born exactly a week apart was the reason he and Brett were such good friends, but I knew it was so much more than that. Jason and Brett were a lot alike in some aspects, even though their childhoods were totally different. Brett went to a private school and was constantly in the limelight with his super wealthy family, and Jason was just your average kid like me. Sometimes I wondered how Brett could be so different than his family after having their values embedded in his brain from the time he was born, but I didn’t question it. He was a great guy and a great boyfriend, and that’s all that mattered to me.
I was just stepping out of my office to see if my next patient was there when I saw Ashley exiting Gwen’s doorway. I stepped back into my refuge, hoping she didn’t see me. I didn’t feel like being professional and talking to her, acting like I could care less as to why she was there when the truth was, it was bugging me, big time. I don’t know why. It wasn’t my business at all, but if it was ultimately going to affect Jason, then it was my business. Oh, who was I kidding? I wouldn’t have felt like talking to her regardless of where she was. Ashley and I were not the best of friends. Not even close, and if there was one thing I hated, it was being phony and pretending to like someone I didn’t care for. I always did my best when I was around her for Jason’s sake. I tried very hard to hide the thoughts I had of chopping off her perfect auburn locks or spiking her food with a million cups of sugar so she would pack on the pounds to her size zero body.
I threw my head against the wall, waiting for Gwen to get done with her rambling.
“Oh, Carrie!” Mary shouted, causing me to jump as she walked into my office. “What are you doing standing by the doorway?”
“Oh, I umm…..I had this terrible itch on my back.” I rubbed my back against the doorframe, hoping it was believable.
“Alrighty then?” She raised her eyebrow at me.
“Umm, is my next patient here?”
“Yes, dear, that’s what I was coming in to tell you.” I stepped out of my office and breathed a sigh of relief as I watched Ashley strut out the door, wearing a dress that looked like it was tailor-made for her, cute strappy sandals that I’m sure cost a fortune, and carrying an equally expensive purse to complete the ensemble. Suddenly, I was adding shredding all of her clothes to the list of things I imagined myself doing.
***
“Well, it’s about time!” Gia said, sitting on my couch with a glass of ice tea in her hand when I arrived home from work.
“Hey you!” I rushed over and gave her a kiss. Gia was visiting for the weekend, and we were going out to dinner with my mom, Ben and Jason for his birthday. I silently cheered when Jason told me Ashley had to work late and wouldn’t be coming.
“What time did you get here?”
“Oh, around noon. Mom came over and we hung out by the pool.” One of the big bonuses of my apartment complex, it had a community pool which I was so looking forward to, especially now with the warmer weather.
“Must be nice!” I teased.
“Yeah, this is my first day off in seventeen days!”
“Gia, you are taking on way too much!”
“It will all be worth it in the end, when I’m famous!” She flung her hair back and giggled.
“Well, I’ve got lots planned for us this weekend and I know Dad wants to see you while you’re here too.”
“And so it begins…everybody needs me!” We both began to laugh.
“Crazy girl! I just want to get changed and we can head out to the restaurant a little early to celebrate at the bar.”
“Sounds good to me!” Gia said.
***
Gia and I sat at the bar downing margaritas and were feeling pretty good by the time my mom and Ben arrived.
“How many drinks have you girls had?” My mom asked once we took a seat at the table.
“Enough.” Gia responded.
“Where’s the birthday boy?” I asked.
“He just texted me. He’s on his way.” Ben said just as Jason walked through the door, causing me to grin from ear to ear. That grin was quickly replaced with a scowl when I saw Ashley walking in behind him.
What the hell?! He said she was working late!
“Jeez Carrie, could you look a little more pissed off that she’s here?” Gia whispered.
“What are you talking about?” She raised her eyebrow at me and smiled. It was useless to try and pretend to Gia. She could always see right through me and vice versa. I think it was a twin thing. I forced my best smile. “Is that better?” I whispered back through clenched teeth.
“No, you look like you got bad Botox!” she teased.
I took a deep breath as they came closer.
You can do this Carrie. You can be civil.
As long as she didn’t do that stupid little fake trademark giggle that dropped her IQ by ten points. As long as she didn’t drape herself all over Jason like she was trying to prove a point that he was her boyfriend. As long as I avoided any unnecessary conversation with her, we would be okay.
“Hey!” She shrieked in a phony over-enthusiastic voice.
“Hi Ashley,” my mom and Ben responded in unison.
“Hey, back,” Gia said.
Ashley’s eyes finally focused on mine. “How are you, Carrie?” Her voice returning to its normal tone with a pinch of disgust added to it.
“I’m well, and you?” See? I could do this.
She took her seat and didn’t respond.
“Look at you! Are you a Rockette yet?” Jason asked as Gia stood up. He gathered her in a hug and lifted her off the ground. I was smiling on the inside and out. Ashley did not look amused in the least.
“Happy birthday, pal of mine!” Gia said, planting a kiss on his cheek. I knew my sister and although she was being sincere, part of this show was to get at Ashley.
“Yeah, happy birthday, Jas!” I shouted.
Ashley’s eyes darted to me and shot daggers at me before she put the phony smile back on her face when Jason took the seat next to her.
I remained mostly quiet all throughout dinner, letting Gia carry on most of the conversation as she told everyone about all of her auditions.
“Well, a cousin of mine was a dancer in A Chorus Line on Broadway a few years back, and despite what people think, it’s not enough money to make a living,” Ashley chimed in, taking a sip of her wine.
“Yeah, well, I’m not going into this with grandiose plans of making millions. It would be nice, but that’s not why I’m doing this. I just LOVE to dance; it’s my heart and soul. Any true artist, whether it be a painter, a writer, a singer, or a dancer does it for the love of the art first.” She raised her eyebrow at Ashley.
“Oh, yeah for sure! It’s just that every dancer out there thinks they’re the best and are going to get their big break. It’s just good to always
have a back-up plan because chances are…it’s never going to happen.” She replied snidely, raising her perfectly groomed brow.
I squeezed Gia’s hand under the table to prevent her from saying something she would regret. “Well, I have my degree in graphic arts, but there’s nothing wrong with dreaming!” Gia flashed her a phony smile. “And besides, if I become jobless and homeless, my sister said I can move in with her and become her cleaning lady.”
“Umm…I’ve seen how you clean.”
“Chef?”
“And I’ve tasted your cooking. How about you can just move in with me free of charge?”
“Sounds good to me!”
We both began to laugh while Ashley rolled her eyes, obviously not finding it as humorous as we did.
Once Jason and Ben took over the conversation, and I felt like Gia had calmed down enough to behave with Ashley, I got up to use the ladies room. I was just finishing up and washing my hands when Ashley walked in. Great. She couldn’t have just held it until I was done, sparing us needless conversation. I gave her my best smile as I dried off my hands.
“Carrie?” she called, just as I had my hand on the door, almost making my getaway.
“Yeah.” I turned around to face her.
“You and your sister can play this loyal stepsister thing with Jason, but just remember who he’s fucking.” Damn. She gets straight to the point!
“Excuse me?”
“I think you heard me loud and clear.”
“Really, Ashley I don’t care who he’s fucking! All I care about is that whoever he is fucking doesn’t hurt him! So for that, I will not only play the loyal stepsister and friend, I will go out of my way to make sure the person who is hurting him doesn’t do it ever again!” She narrowed her eyes before I turned around and walked out of the bathroom. I stood just outside the door, trying to pull it together. I didn’t want to ruin Jason’s birthday by giving him any indication I was at odds with his girlfriend. I made my way back to the table once I felt composed enough, wondering how on earth I was going to be able to even feign civility with this bitch once she returned from the ladies room.
“What’s wrong?” Gia whispered, noticing my unease right away.
“What? Oh, nothing.” I forced a smile. She raised her eyebrow at me. “I’ll tell you later,” I whispered. As I looked over at Jason, I realized he was paying close attention to Gia and I. “So, how does it feel to be a quarter-century old?” I asked Jason, as he looked at Gia and me questioningly.
“What?” he asked. I could tell he was a million miles away and didn’t hear a word I just said.
“How does it feel to be twenty-five?”
“Oh, no different than twenty-four, I guess.” He seemed out of it tonight, not like himself at all and part of me wondered if it was his girlfriend being here that caused him to be that way.
“Oh, babe, I’m so sorry but I just got called into work.” Ashley said as she returned from the bathroom. It took everything inside of me not to shout out in glee.
“On a Friday night?” Jason asked.
“Yeah, apparently a big client in Australia wants to do a video call in an hour to have us pitch this ad campaign we’ve been working on for months. My boss thought we had a few more weeks, but they totally blindsided him so I have to go in and help with it.”
Jason nodded. I could tell he wasn’t very happy.
“Geeze, don’t these people know it’s Friday night and no one should be working?” Gia tried to joke.
“Well, Gia, I’m not sure if you realize this, but there are time differences in other parts of the world. It’s almost noon on Saturday in Australia.” Ashley snapped.
Jason shook his head at Ashley while my mother and I glanced at Gia, waiting in angst for her reaction. We both knew Gia would not stand for being spoken to like that. “Yes, Ashley, believe it or not, I was taught that in school! But I’m sorry I don’t have an international time clock built inside my brain to know the exact time in every country. Guess we just can’t all be as smart as you.” Gia responded back just as sharply. I squeezed her hand to stop her from going any further.
Ashley leaned down to give Jason a kiss. “You don’t have to walk me out,” she said when he started to get up. “I’ll call ya later, if I don’t get home too late.” She said her goodbyes to everyone while I remained looking down, pretending to be interested in something on my phone. I finally lifted my head as she was walking away and met Jason’s eyes. I gave him a half smile, hoping that he wasn’t able to read my thoughts. She was straight-up lying. I knew it deep inside, but I couldn’t come out and accuse her of it without looking like a troublemaker. I was hoping it was just my paranoia that would sometimes rear its ugly head when I thought a girl was doing Jason wrong. I was so overprotective of him, and I knew I needed to stop, but I cared for him so much and the thought of anyone hurting him drove me nuts. I brushed off the thoughts I had in my mind for the moment and was finally able to relax, putting a genuine smile on my face once it was how it was meant to be; just me, Gia, Jason, my mom and Ben.
I looked over at Jason as Gia, Ben and my mom were laughing away at something. “Happy birthday, buddy,” I whispered. For the first time all night his beautiful smile appeared. He took my hand over the table and brought it up to his lips, taking my body and my heart a little off guard.
***
Jason
After dinner, I went back to Carrie’s place and hung out with her and Gia. It was a great night, reminiscing about all the good times and near trouble we would almost get into when I would visit them while they were in college.
Gia went to bed, but not before taking a round of teasing from me about her not being able to hang, leaving me alone with Carrie.
“Is everything okay? You seemed kind of off tonight.” Carrie asked. I let out a deep sigh. “Teigan came to the youth center today, high as a kite.”
“Oh, no.” She threw her head back on the couch in defeat. “He was so upbeat and positive when I talked to him on Tuesday. He got a part time job at the deli and he just started talking to the girl in his English class he likes. I was really feeling good when he walked out of there.” I hated seeing her beat herself up over this. She had worked wonders with him in just the short amount of time she had been seeing him. “How’s his dad handling it?”
“He was upset. I don’t know who I feel worse for, Teigan or him.”
“Well, this is just a setback. I’m not going to give up on him.”
“You’re pretty awesome, Carrie.”
“Well, so are you. So we make a good team.” She flashed me a quick smile. “So, I was hoping we would have some time alone together.” She got up from the couch and went into the closet, returning with two gifts. “So I could give you this.” She said, placing them on my lap.
“Carrie, why did you-”
“It’s really nothing….just open them!”
I did as she said and couldn’t control my laughter when I found a pack of birthday cake Oreo cookies under the wrapping paper. “You know me so well!”
“Yeah, I do and don’t you forget it!” she smiled. “I have memories of you that I’ll use to embarrass you in front of your kids.”
“Hey, just remember I’ve got some dirt on you too, so watch what secrets you’re giving away.”
“Yeah, I know! Do you remember that night?” She let out a slight giggle. “When I threw myself at you?”
"Yup, I do. How could I forget? My dad busting in my room the next morning."
We both began to laugh until tears were rolling down her face.
"Yeah, too bad I couldn't laugh about it like that back then. I was scared to death that my mom was gonna kill me!"
"You never did tell me....how much trouble did you get in for that?"
"Not much at all. My mom was surprisingly pretty cool about it. My dad, well.... he eventually got over it."
"That was a classic."
"Do you ever regret not taking me up on the offer of being my
first?"
"No." I lied. I regretted it every day. I wanted to be her first, I wanted to be her last, and I wanted to be everything in between. We were so young back then. It would have never lasted, and Carrie and I wouldn't have the strong relationship that we do now if we had taken that step. We both needed time to grow, to experience new things with different people before we made that type of commitment. Now, here we were, older, wiser and both committed to someone else.
I wasn’t sure if I was seeing sadness or relief in her eyes with that response, whichever it was, she played it off well. “Well come on! You got another gift to open!” she demanded.
I lifted the lid on the box and pushed back the tissue paper, letting out a loud chuckle when I looked at the perfectly framed photograph of Carrie and me from our high-school ski-trip. “I found it on an old memory card. I still remember it like it was yesterday.”
“Yeah, me too.” I lifted it up to get a closer look. I also remembered what happened about five minutes after that picture had been taken: Carrie and I shared our first kiss. “This is really great, Carrie. I can’t thank you enough.”
She waved her hand in a dismissing manner. “Ah, it was nothing.”
“Yeah, it is something. It’s a lot. Everything you have given me tonight has so much meaning to it, Carrie, and I really appreciate it.” I pulled her into a hug and found myself staring down at her. As I looked into her eyes, I was brought back to that night at the ski lodge all those years ago and what it felt like to have her warm, soft lips on mine. I inched closer, inhaling the powdery scent of her perfume. She swallowed hard as she looked up at me, and I wasn’t sure if she was nervous or anticipating what was going to happen next as she stretched her neck toward me ever so slightly and closed her eyes. I took a deep breath and moved in closer with my lips skimming hers, just as the ringing of my cell phone stopped us both from doing something we would probably regret. She looked at me and let out a deep breath, grabbing her glass of wine from the coffee table, taking another sip while I pulled my phone from my pocket.
