Out of His League

by Cathryn Parry

  Elizabeth had taken a vacation day for herself and then signed out Brandon midmorning. She didn’t like removing him from school, even for a “family wedding,” but he was still young and in a low grade, and his teacher was accommodating. She gave Elizabeth homework sheets for Brandon to complete, which he could work on during the plane ride.

  She also had made sure she got all the relevant permission she needed to take Brandon on a cross-country flight. Though Ashley’s counselor wasn’t pleased that Elizabeth was unable to attend family counseling with Ashley and their mother, Elizabeth had already completed intensive therapy sessions during medical school. She knew herself, and she knew that limited contact with her mom was all she could handle.

  But that wasn’t her biggest problem. She put her book away in her travel bag beneath her seat and glanced up in time to see Jon returning, coming down the aisle toward her, an easy smile on his face. This man just had an aura that drew people to him like magnets.

  He handed her a full can of sparkling water.

  “Nice flight attendants we have on this plane,” he remarked.

  “That’s because they’re female, and you’re a hot male.”

  He raised a brow. “You think I’m hot, huh?”

  She just smiled. As he opened the overhead bin to grab something from his stowed carry-on bag, she watched the sliver of skin that appeared between his waistband and the bottom of his shirt. Those pheromones hadn’t yet gone away for her—their force hadn’t even diminished. She was beginning to think they probably never would.

  She shifted in her seat, mindful to check on Brandon. Her nephew sat in the window seat beside Jon’s brother Bobby, his face glued to the window. It was the first time Brandon had flown in an airplane, and he appeared to be beside himself with joy. Elizabeth was grateful that Jon’s brother was such a good sport about it all. He kept Brandon busy by letting him watch television episodes on his iPad, and periodically giving him a running commentary of exactly what part of the country they were flying over, from the hills of New England to the crest of the Rockies, to the plains of the desert.

  It was surreal. They were all going away for the weekend together. The troubling part was that she was looking forward to it. Spending time with Jon was becoming more enjoyable than being alone with herself.

  * * *

  IT WAS STRANGE, but arriving at the wedding reception with Elizabeth and Brandon, Jon felt as if he was with his own little family. If anyone had said earlier in the summer that he would be in this position at season’s end, he wouldn’t have believed them. Everything in his life seemed to be turning upside down.

  Maybe his father’s marriage had thrown him for a loop. Jon only knew that he hadn’t wanted to face it alone. He didn’t want to think about what it would mean for his future. And the only person he could imagine accompanying him to get through it without having to interact with anybody too much was Lizzy.

  He led her and Brandon through the flowering cactus garden at the stucco village where Jon’s dad was marrying Mary Angela Curtin. The dry Arizona desert seemed as far away from New England as two places could be. But he was here, and he was going to try to accept it.

  He girded himself to meet his father’s new wife. His stepmother.

  But when his father introduced him to her, Mary Angela Curtin wore a huge, beaming smile. Thankfully she hadn’t gone all out with a big white wedding dress and all the bridezilla trappings, but instead had decided on hosting a small gathering with just his dad’s family and hers.

  Jon felt himself relaxing. He put his hand into Lizzy’s. It felt...right that she was with him. Though it was true Brandon was not his kid, it also felt right to have Brandon there with them.

  The boy tugged on Jon’s belt loop. “Can you show me where the men’s room is?”

  “Sure, buddy.” He turned to Lizzy and said, “Will you be okay while I go take care of Brandon?”

  “Yes, I’ll be fine,” she said. Jon settled Lizzy into a garden chair and excused himself.

  Inside the village clubhouse, cool in the air-conditioning, he found the restrooms and waited outside for Brandon, just as his brother Francis arrived.

  Cleaned up, Jon’s brother was shaved and his hair parted and combed back. Like Jon, he wore tan chinos and a short-sleeved dress shirt. He smelled faintly of aftershave.

  But it was the fact that Francis had a woman on his arm—a pretty redhead—that caused Jon’s eyes to pop.

  He clapped his brother on the shoulder. “Hey, Frank.” He smiled at Frank’s date, waiting for an introduction.

  “This is Emily,” Frank said. He had a touch of pride in his voice. But when he saw Jon studying him, he tightened his jaw and looked red faced. “Emily, this is my brother Jon.”

  “I’m pleased to meet you,” Jon said to her.

  “Hi, Jon,” Emily said. “You don’t remember me? My older brother is Donnie Gagne.”

  “I remember Donnie.” He had been Jon’s third baseman on their high school varsity baseball team. It made Jon smile to think of him. “What’s he up to these days?”

  “Construction work with Frank.” Emily glanced shyly at Jon’s brother.

  Frank flushed red again.

  Emily squeezed his hand and looked back at Jon. “Donnie bounces at a bar in Quincy Market on the weekends.”

  Jon would have to stop by and see his old teammate sometime. When Emily excused herself to say hello to Mary Angela, Jon leaned into Francis’s ear. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing? Donnie will kick your ass if he finds out you took his sister on a weekend jaunt.”

  “Actually, I’ve been sort of dating her for a while,” Francis said.

  “Sort of? What does that mean?”

  “Check out her ring finger when she gets back.”

  Jon felt flabbergasted. “What—you asked her to marry you?”

  “Last Friday night.”

  Jon raked back his hair. His world really was coming undone.

  “Hello, Emily.” Dad came over and kissed Frank’s date on the cheek.

  “You knew about this?” Jon asked.

  “Of course I knew,” Dad said. “Emily is by the house all the time. She’s from the neighborhood.”

  It just went to show how much Jon missed, being out of town on the road all season long.

  Jon left them and found Lizzy by the garden. Brandon saw him and ran to his side. The boy’s new shoes were huge on his skinny feet, and made him look like a baby Frankenstein.

  Jon shared a look with Lizzy and leaned close, lingering to inhale the soft scent of her skin. He placed his hand on Brandon’s shoulder.

  But his whole family had followed him, and Jon was left with no choice but to introduce them all to her. “Lizzy and Brandon, this is my brother Frank and his fiancée, Emily. You’ve already met my dad.”

  They took turns shaking hands and greeting each other. Lizzy was doing well feigning the skills of an extrovert. He knew she felt awkward being here with other people. She was making this effort in order to be with him. Brandon, of course, was his usual, curious self.

  Lizzy smiled at him. Jon clasped Lizzy’s hand and pulled it against his thigh. Brandon took his other hand. And when the music of the Spanish guitar that played out in the cactus garden summoned them, Jon led his makeshift family to their seats.

  He was starting to feel that he could get used to this. And that seemed a dangerous way to feel.

  * * *

  OKAY, ELIZABETH THOUGHT, settling into her chair beside Emily, who had thrust out her hand at her. This was a girl thing, wasn’t it, to ooh and aah over engagement rings?

  She peered at the ring. She didn’t know much about diamonds. It had been one of those topics that she’d always deliberately steered away from. Her mom had never married, and neither had Ashley, even though Elizabeth knew they had both wanted to. In her family, the topic of engagement rings and weddings felt like...

  Like it hurt.

  But Emily didn’t know that. So Eliza
beth smiled gamely at her. She was trying hard to learn how to do this—to meet people with whom she had little in common. For a moment, she wished she was at home, or alone somewhere with Jon and Brandon, but that wasn’t going to happen any time too soon.

  “Your ring is interesting.” Elizabeth tilted her head. When the diamond hit the light, a rainbow of colors burst forth. Scientifically, she wondered at the way the cuts had been arranged to get this desired effect.

  “You should have seen Frank when he proposed to me,” Emily murmured. The guitarist was still strumming away, in the lull before the ceremony started. It was warm outside, and the woman in the chair in front of Elizabeth was fanning her face.

  “We’ve been together for months,” Emily continued, “but still, he caught me off guard. It was sweet.”

  “How did it happen?” Elizabeth asked.

  “He got down on one knee. He said I was his treasure. Isn’t that romantic?”

  His treasure? Elizabeth had given Frank that word, the night at Jon’s apartment.

  She glanced at Jon. He gave her a sheepish look, as if to thank her for being a good sport. Elizabeth did like that he hadn’t treated her like an alien species. He’d introduced her to his family and taken for granted that she was as normal as he was.

  Or maybe he wasn’t normal, either. He was staring at Emily, listening to her romantic story as if Emily was the alien species.

  “Do you want to see my ring, Jon?” Emily thrust it before his nose.

  “That’s uh...yeah,” Jon said.

  Elizabeth covered her mouth before her laugh could escape.

  Jon glanced at her and smiled.

  “You don’t recognize it?” Frank asked him, seated on the other side of Emily. “It’s Mom’s ring, you know.”

  Jon’s smile froze in place.

  Uh-oh. Elizabeth felt a burst of indignation on his behalf. How clueless could some people be?

  “Could you excuse us for a minute?” Jon said to her and Emily. He rose, hooking Francis by the arm. “I need you to show me the bar. I have a scratchy throat and I want some water.”

  “But the wedding march will be starting soon,” Emily protested.

  Jon gave his brother a dark look. “Don’t worry. This will only take five minutes.”

  * * *

  JON INTENDED TO ask Frank just what the hell he thought he was doing. But they had no sooner left the garden where the wedding ceremony was set to begin, than both Bobby and their father joined Jon and Frank at the now-quiet bar.

  It was a trap. A trap to catch Jon.

  “You’re serious about Elizabeth,” his dad said to him. “You’ve never been serious about anyone before.”

  “Neither have you,” Jon retorted.

  “I’ve been watching you two together,” Bobby said, piling onto the ambush. “Elizabeth is good for you. She calms you down.”

  “That’s the last time I pay for your airline ticket.” Jon scowled at the three of them. “And weren’t all of you telling me not too long ago that you didn’t want me having a girlfriend because it would screw up my baseball career? Make up your minds.”

  The three of them glanced at each other. Dad sighed. “It’s nice having Mary Angela around,” he said gruffly. “The right woman can make life easier. Mary Angela makes everything worth it, and keeps me from screwing up too badly.” He shrugged. “What can I say? I’m going to like being married to her.”

  “Yeah,” Frank said. “Ditto.” He put his arm around Jon. “Don’t you care about Elizabeth? She’s a smart lady. I like her. And you must feel something for her too, or else why would you have flown her and Brandon all the way out here?”

  “Admit it, big brother,” Bobby said.

  Frank nodded.

  What was this? An intervention? “Of course I care about her,” Jon said, flustered. Why was it any of their business how he felt about Lizzy? “The easiest part of my day is having her with me. Not dealing with you jokers.”

  “Jokers, huh?” Bobby said. “I’ll remember that the next time you need your computer fixed.”

  “Okay, enough,” Francis told his dad and Bobby. “Go back in there and tell the ladies we’ll be right out. I want a minute alone with Jon.”

  “With me?” Jon sputtered. “You’re treating me like the screwup brother? Francis, I’m gonna kick your—”

  “No,” Francis said. “You’re not. This is my turn to help you. So let me do it.”

  “Frank—”

  “For old time’s sake, Jon. For Mom’s sake.”

  Jon closed his mouth. Frank had used the “mom” card. They didn’t do that in their family—ever.

  Slumping onto a stool, he glanced out the clubhouse window. Observed the sunny Arizona day.

  Francis reached over and poured them both water from a pitcher on the waitress stand. “We stuck together all these years. The four of us.” Frank put a glass before Jon, the ice cubes rattling. “I was talking with Dad about it the other night. Do you really think Mom would want us to grow old being hermits?” He drank his water, giving Jon a meaningful look over the rim of the glass. “I don’t. I think she would be happy for Dad.”

  “Come on, Frank. Admit it. You were upset when you heard about Dad’s wedding.”

  “Yeah, well, I did some thinking and changed my mind. But we’re not talking about Dad now—we’re talking about you. Do you love Elizabeth?” Frank asked him.

  “That isn’t fair.”

  “Why not? You brought her all the way out here to be with us. To be with you, because you’re terrified of this.”

  “You’re crazy.”

  “You’re terrified that she’ll leave you, too,” Francis insisted.

  Jon paused, the glass of water midair, the condensation cool on his hands. “Frank...”

  “I get it,” Francis said quietly. “In a way, I’m leaving you now. Dad’s leaving you. Someday, Bobby’s gonna leave you, too.”

  Jon had to admit, it kicked him in the gut a little bit to think of that. Everything was changing so fast.

  “And you know who left you first?” Frank continued. “Mom. She left you. Well, that’s what you think. I mean, I sorta did, too, so I know where you’re coming from. But I manned up...eventually.” His chin lifted. “How about you, Jon?”

  He drew his hand through his hair. He could not look at Francis.

  “I gave Emily Mom’s ring,” Francis said quietly, “and I hope that’s okay with you. But I loved Mom, too. I remember her, too. And so does Emily. She wants to wear Mom’s ring for me, and I think I’m pretty lucky for that.” He got up from his stool. “And once you’re ready to move on, there are other pieces in Mom’s jewelry box, if you want them. If there’s ever someone special you’d like to give something of Mom’s to.”

  Jon put his hand over his mouth. He was physically shaking.

  “I’m sorry to do this to you, Jon.” Frank’s hand clasped his shoulder. “But Elizabeth started it all. She told me not to live through you anymore. And I’m not. Actually, come to think of it, I should probably thank her for that sometime.”

  Before Jon could say a word, his brother walked off.

  Jon drank the rest of the water in the glass. He couldn’t stop the shaking. But Frank was right about one thing—he needed to man up. He’d promised he would be here for the ceremony, and he intended to keep that promise.

  He got back to his chair two minutes after Frank. Just as Jon seated himself next to Lizzy, the guitarist stopped playing. Everyone turned in their seats.

  Emily tugged on his pitching arm. “The bride is here! Doesn’t Mary Angela look so beautiful?” She sighed happily and pulled out her phone, setting it to videotape the ceremony.

  Jon rubbed at his pitching arm, feeling physically ill. He felt like walking out. But Frank was sitting on the other side of Emily, staring at him.

  The reverend launched into the wedding ceremony. Listening to the words, Jon felt doubtful at first. He cringed whenever the reverend talked about hus
band and wife, life and love.

  But then the reverend spoke of the power of love and renewal. Of the stages and cycles of life. Of death circling into beginning and rebirth. Like the cycles of springtime to summer on an oak tree, from seedling to stripling to mature oak, there were many facets to a man and a woman’s journey.

  The remainder of the ceremony was quietly simple but effective. The tension in Jon’s shoulders seemed to ease.

  By the time Jon’s dad kissed the bride, Jon had a slightly different perspective—he felt more relaxed, calm and maybe even optimistic.

  Inside, he didn’t seem to be fighting so much anymore.

  * * *

  “WHAT DID YOU think of the wedding?” Elizabeth asked Jon later that afternoon.

  “You’re alone with me in my bedroom,” Jon replied. “I’d rather think about you, instead.”

  It was early evening and they were in Jon’s very nice hotel room. She and Brandon were sharing a smaller room with two double beds across the hall. It was the first time she and Jon had been alone together like this in days.

  Brandon was down in the main courtyard pool with some kids he’d met at the cake-and-champagne reception—grandchildren of the bride. Their mother had reassured Elizabeth that her nephew would be fine. For a rare two hours, Elizabeth didn’t have to mind her nephew.

  She lay fully clothed on the bed with Jon. Not saying much of anything, he leisurely stroked her hair and played with her fingers. Elizabeth just could not help it—she loved being wrapped up in Jon’s arms while he held her close.

  She felt languid and comforted. Watching him at the wedding had given her a better understanding of him. He’d seemed...sullen at first, doubtful. But the reverend’s sermon made him sit up straighter. And by the end of the ceremony, Jon’s face had fewer lines in it, as if he’d let his cares be lifted and taken away.

  Maybe there was hope for him. That made her feel safer. And feeling safer was making her brave.

  Turning her head, she contemplated the bottle of champagne beside the bed. A gift from Jon’s new mother-in-law, the hotel had brought it up, chilling inside an ice bucket, along with a tray of chocolate-covered strawberries and two empty flutes.