It's a Waverly Life

by Maria Murnane

  Jake laughed out loud.

  “You like?” I grinned.

  “Not bad. Not bad at all.”

  “Thanks.” I took a tiny bow.

  “That was much better than your peanut joke.”

  I pointed at him. “Hey now, I love my peanut joke.”

  He put his hands up. “Okay, I’m backing off. I know how fired up you can get about these things.”

  I laughed. “Oh my God, that reminds me, I totally forgot to show you something.” Over dinner I’d told him all about my idea for Waverly’s Honey Shop, but I’d left out my favorite part.

  “You forgot to show me what?”

  “Check this out. A Honey Tee about something else that fires me up.”

  I unzipped the hoodie I’d been wearing and held it open to reveal a black tank top that said, “Do Not Post What You Ate for Breakfast on Facebook.”

  He laughed and nodded. “Not bad.”

  “Thanks.” I zipped the hoodie back up. “It’s my way of trying to stop the madness.”

  “You look really pretty tonight, by the way.”

  “I do?”

  “You do. Very pretty.”

  I blushed. “I’m glad you think so.”

  “While we’re on the topic of breakfast, want to hear what else I think?” He leaned toward me and lowered his voice.

  I felt my neck get hot.

  “I think I’d like to have it with you tomorrow…in bed,” he said quietly.

  I swallowed. “You would?”

  He smiled. “I would. What do you think?”

  I gazed into his blue eyes and got lost for a moment.

  Then I smiled back.

  “I think…I think that can be arranged.”

  We crossed the hotel lobby in silence, holding hands and savoring the anticipation of what was about to happen. When we reached the elevator, I stood in front of him and leaned my forehead against his chest. Once again I was intoxicated by his scent.

  I looked up to see what floor the elevator was on. Hurry up! I wanted to shout.

  Finally it arrived, and we stepped inside. I pushed the button for the sixth floor. Just as the doors were about to shut, a man in a suit jumped inside and hit the button for the third floor. We took a step backward, and Jake put a hand on my neck and slowly began to caress my ear. I sighed and closed my eyes.

  When we reached the third floor, the man tipped his head politely before exiting. As soon as the doors closed, Jake leaned down to kiss me.

  “You’re beautiful,” he whispered.

  We didn’t stop kissing until the elevator stopped again. The doors opened, and I took his hand and led him down the hallway toward my room. I fumbled for the card key as he put his arms around me from behind, distracting me so much that I nearly dropped my wallet. Finally I fished out the key and slid it in into the lock.

  It didn’t work.

  I pulled it out and tried again.

  It didn’t work.

  I tried a third time.

  Nothing.

  “Are you kidding me?”

  Jake laughed and gestured for the key. “Let me try.” As I handed it to him, he kissed me gently on the lips. Then he turned to face the door and slowly inserted the card into the lock. The green light lit up.

  “You can thank me later.”

  I pressed a finger against his chest. “Don’t get an attitude, now.”

  I pushed the door open, and he followed me inside. As soon as the door closed behind us, I turned to face him in the darkness.

  “I want to see you,” he said.

  I turned on a small lamp near the bed, then tossed my tote bag and the card key on the nightstand.

  I held my palms up. “Here I am.”

  He smiled and leaned down to nuzzle my neck. Then he gently removed my hoodie and set it on a chair. He reached for my left hand and began kissing it, slowly working his way up to my elbow, then to my shoulder and neck.

  “You smell good,” he whispered.

  “You do too,” I whispered back.

  He pulled my tank over my head and laid it over the back of the chair. Then he put his warm hands on my bare waist and leaned down to kiss my collarbone.

  “Your skin is so soft.”

  He caressed my neck with his lips while slowly running his hands over my shoulders, then down the sides of my waist to my stomach. He slid a finger under the top of my jeans, which I suddenly wished I wasn’t wearing.

  “You okay?”

  “Mm, you have no idea.”

  He unbuttoned the jeans and helped me step out of them, kicking them away from us as he pulled off his shirt. I moved my eyes slowly from his sculptured chest up to his blue eyes.

  “Have you ever noticed that you have a ridiculous body?” I whispered.

  He smiled but didn’t say anything. Instead he took my hand and led it to the button of his own jeans, which I slowly unzipped. He stepped out of them and moved toward me, pulling our bodies together. He kissed me on the mouth, gently touching my tongue with his. My whole body heated up, and I felt like I was…floating.

  Finally, we broke apart. My heart was beating fast, my breath heavy.

  “Waverly?” He smoothed my hair with his hand.

  “Mm?”

  “Thank you for finding me,” he whispered.

  “Thank you for helping me find myself,” I whispered back.

  “A Ralph Lauren swimsuit! It’s adorable! Thank you so much, Shannon.” McKenna, about to pop, was graciously opening a huge stack of gifts for her daughter, who at the age of negative two weeks was already sporting a wardrobe way more stylish than mine.

  Andie leaned toward me and lowered her voice. “Want to bet on how many Diaper Genies she gets? You know there’s going to be at least one in that stack. There’s always at least one.”

  I laughed. At every baby shower I’d ever been to there was a discussion about the wonders of the Diaper Genie. Sad, but true. Guys don’t know this stuff. At least there were no games at this shower. That’s because Andie and I were hosting it, and we hated shower games. We hated showers too, but we loved McKenna more than we hated showers.

  I stood up to refill my punch glass. Neither my place nor Andie’s was big enough to host a proper baby shower, so we were throwing tradition out the window and having it at McKenna and Hunter’s new house up in Mill Valley. It was a two-story Victorian with hardwood floors and high ceilings. Pale pastel walls subtly changed shades with each room, and the matching furnishings made the whole place look like something straight out of a Pottery Barn catalogue. It was gorgeous and perfect, but also warm and inviting, with enough framed pictures and flea market antiques to make it look like a real home and not a generic showroom. The Kimball family was well on its way to suburban bliss.

  “Is there alcohol in that?”

  I turned around to see that Andie had followed me into the kitchen. “I need a drink. I love McKenna, but kill me now.”

  I pointed at her. “Be good.”

  “I know, I know, I’m trying.” She leaned her hip against the counter. “I just hate showers. Bridal showers, baby showers, I hate them all. Why don’t guys have to go through this hell? It isn’t fair.”

  “Now that is a question without an answer, sort of like, Why don’t the heat lamps at outdoor restaurants in San Francisco ever work?”

  She laughed. “That is SO true. You should totally put that on a Honey Tee.”

  I laughed too. “It’s always the same story. Oh, we JUST ran out of propane. We’re so sorry for the inconvenience. Yeah, SURE you did. Can you lend me a blanket please?”

  Andie refilled her punch. “I just want to get back to the city. Nick’s taking me to see Wilco at the Fillmore tonight.” Nick and Andie had been dating since about a day after they’d met at my apartment. I don’t know why it had never occurred to me to set them up, but that was probably a good thing, because I was done with meddling in other people’s social lives. At least those of my friends, that is. I was still excited a
bout reviving the Honey on Your Mind column on my soon-to-be launched website for Waverly’s Honey Shop, which was coming together nicely. Scotty even thought it might be a good fit for a future Today Show feature. If that happened, things could really take off.

  “Waverly? Hello?” Andie waved her hands in front of my face.

  I blinked.

  “I’m sorry, did you say something?”

  “What time does Jake get in?”

  I blushed at the sound of his name. “Not until eight.”

  “Are you totally dying?”

  I smiled. “You have no idea.” I hadn’t seen him since my trip to Buenos Aires nearly two months earlier, but we’d Skyped nearly every other day. His stint with Deportivo Libertad had finally ended, and he’d gone home to Atlanta for a few days before packing up again to come to San Francisco. He was planning to stay for a whole week, and I couldn’t wait to see him.

  “Everything seems to be falling into place, doesn’t it? McKenna with her new house and the baby, you with your new business and Jake. Even me, dating a completely normal guy. I never thought that would happen.”

  I took a sip of my punch. “It’s sort of fun, isn’t it? Feeling a bit more grown up? Makes me wonder why I was so scared of it.”

  “Hey now, don’t you go getting married and pregnant too. I mean, I’m all for your newfound love of change, but let’s not get crazy or anything.”

  “Ha. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I think my life is going just fine as it is.”

  “I’ll drink to that, even if it’s not spiked.” She held her glass up to mine.

  We took our punch back into the living room, and after McKenna had opened five hundred more outfits her daughter would probably never wear, the shower was finally over.

  She got three Diaper Genies.

  “Thanks so much for everything. You two are the best.” McKenna hugged me and Andie close. We’d cleaned up and bid farewell to the guests, and now we were saying our own goodbyes before driving back over the Golden Gate Bridge to the city.

  “We’d do anything for you,” I said. “Look at Andie here, spending the Saturday of the Union Street Fair at a baby shower in Marin. That’s like, her biggest nightmare.”

  Andie nodded. “I should really be in a beer tent on Union Street right now.”

  McKenna laughed. “I hope you realize how much I appreciate that you’re not.”

  “I do,” Andie said with a nod as she walked down the driveway toward my car.

  McKenna grabbed my arm and lowered her voice. “I want to tell you something.”

  Andie was already pulling out her phone, probably to call Nick. “Hey, Andie, I’ll be right back, okay?” She gave me a thumbs-up, and I followed McKenna back into the house.

  “What’s up?”

  She took my hands in hers and squeezed. “I know I haven’t been around much lately, but it’s not because I don’t love you. You know that, right?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “You’re like a sister to me, and I feel terrible that I haven’t been there for you because of, well, her.” She put her hand on her enormous belly. “And this.” She looked around her new house.

  “It’s okay, Mackie, really. I’ve grown up a lot in the last year, and maybe that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. I think it was good to have to figure things out on my own for once.”

  She leaned forward and hugged me. “I love you, Waverly.”

  I hugged her back. “I love you too.”

  She wiped a tear from her cheek. “I have some news.”

  “News?”

  She nodded. “Hunter and I…we’re going to name the baby Elizabeth…Elizabeth Waverly Kimball.”

  My eyes opened wide. “You are?”

  She smiled. “Are you okay with that?”

  “Are you kidding? I’m more than okay with that.” I leaned toward her belly and whispered. “Elizabeth Waverly Kimball, I can’t wait to meet you.” Then I stood up and pointed at her. “No frilly headbands, right? You promised.”

  “I promise. Can you believe I’m going to be a mom?”

  “I believe a lot of things now.” I hugged her goodbye. “But I will never, ever, believe that anyone looks good in skinny jeans.”

  She laughed. “Bye, Waverly.”

  “Bye, Mackie.”

  It was nearly five by the time I dropped Andie off at her apartment. I was looking forward to taking a quick nap on the couch before getting ready for Jake’s arrival. I found a parking spot on Clay Street right by Fillmore, then popped into the corner store to buy a small carton of chocolate milk, which for some reason I’d been craving all afternoon.

  I poked a straw into the carton and headed down Fillmore, then took a right on Sacramento and smiled to myself. I couldn’t believe in a few hours I was finally going to see him again.

  Then I stopped walking.

  I already was seeing him again.

  I squinted, and yes, there he was.

  Jake McIntyre, sitting on my doorstep.

  Suddenly I got nervous and flustered and excited all at the same time. I also started walking faster. What is he doing here? Do I look okay? Can you see the punch I spilled on my dress?

  When I got about twenty feet away from him, I stopped.

  “Mr. McIntyre? Is that you?”

  He looked up and smiled.

  “Miss Bryson, yes it’s me.” He stood up and held his arms out, and I practically jumped into them, nearly spilling my chocolate milk all over the sidewalk. He wrapped his arms around me.

  “I thought you weren’t getting in until later. I was all ready to pick you up at the airport.”

  He stepped back from me and turned toward my building, then leaned down to pick up a large paper bag on the front step.

  “I wasn’t, but then I remembered something you once said.”

  I tilted my head to one side and looked at him. “I say a lot of things. Can you help me out here?”

  “You said that you’d always dreamed about coming home one day and having a guy sitting on your doorstep, waiting for you, with flowers.” He reached into the bag…and pulled out a bouquet of hyacinths.

  My eyes immediately filled with tears. “I told you that?”

  “Well, not to me directly, but you mentioned it once in your column.” He handed me the hyacinths and set the bag down.

  “You’ve been…reading my column?”

  He nodded. “Always. So I changed my flight, and these, Miss Bryson, are for you.”

  I set my chocolate milk on the ground and took the bouquet. I held them close and inhaled, staring at them for a moment before lifting my gaze to meet his.

  “They’re beautiful, but hyacinths? Are you trying to…apologize for something?” I would never forget the hyacinths in my debacle of a trip to Atlanta. Ugh.

  He nodded again.

  “But what do you have to apologize for? You haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “Actually, yes, I have.”

  He leaned down and reached his hand into the bag again. This time he pulled out a bouquet of roses, red roses, and handed them to me.

  “Oh Jake, they’re gorgeous.” I leaned my face into them and closed my eyes. They smelled fresh and sweet and…wonderful.

  After a few moments I opened my eyes, and as I did so he took a step closer. He put his arms around my lower back, which immediately overheated. He leaned down and lowered his voice. “I’m apologizing because I forgot to tell you something in Argentina…something important.”

  “You did?”

  “Yes, I did, so I brought these roses along to help me say it, because I speak a little flower too, you know.”

  I raised my eyebrows and smiled. “You do?”

  “I do.” His blue eyes stared intently at me, suddenly turning from playful to…serious.

  I swallowed, feeling a little wobbly.

  “What are they…what are they saying?”

  He held me close, then whispered into my ear.
<
br />   “They’re saying…I love you.”

  They’re saying he loves me?

  “They are?”

  “They are.”

  My voice cracked. “You…love me?”

  “Yes, I do. I love you, Waberly Bryson.”

  I laughed and hugged him.

  “I love you too, Jake McIntyre…so muck.”

  Somewhere, far, far away, a radio had to be playing “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey.

  Late the next morning, Jake and I left my apartment hand in hand. I planned to spend the day showing him around San Francisco. I wanted to share with him what life was like there, what my life was like there.

  I smiled to myself as I realized that I was no longer afraid to let him in.

  We were nearly to the front door of the building when I stopped. “You know what? There’s someone I want you to meet.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Papa Bryson?”

  I pushed him in the shoulder. “Not my dad, although now that I think of it…”

  “I’d love to meet your dad. Show him how I can beat you in Scrabble.”

  “I’ll send him an e-mail about it. Or maybe I’ll write on his wall. It’s only a matter of time before he’s on Facebook and tweeting too.”

  Jake laughed, then pulled me toward him and kissed the top of my head. “So who do you want me to meet?”

  I nodded toward the stairs. “Mr. Springfield…I mean Red…he lives on the second floor. He’s the nicest man. I don’t know how he does it, but he always seems to say exactly the right words, exactly when I need to hear them. I think you’d really enjoy meeting him. And I know he’d love to meet you.”

  “You want to see if he’s home?”

  “Sure.”

  I’d never been to Red’s apartment. Actually, I’d never been to any apartment in my building besides mine. At the top of the stairs I pointed to 2A. “There it is. You think it’s too early?”