Under the Oak Tree

by Victoria Ashlee

  Claire smiled at Gloria.

  He could see the hopeful look in Claire’s eyes that maybe they actually could be friends. He wanted that more than anything, for Claire to feel comfortable around his friends. Clay shook his head, laughing as he walked away.

  He moved through the crowd toward the bathrooms. His eyes caught sight of a very familiar face walking toward him. Kevin Cunningham. Which is one of the last people he wanted to see tonight, but he couldn’t avoid him, because Kevin’s eyes were set on Clay like he had been searching for him.

  His face was hard when he approached Clay, “I need to have a word with you.”

  Shit.

  “Ok.” Clay said, clenching his jaw.

  “Walk with me.” Kevin said, more like demanded. Clay didn’t very much like Kevin, but he was Claire’s father, and he knew he had her best interest, or more like what he thought was her best interest at heart. They stopped walking near a frozen banana stand, not many people were around.

  “What can I do for you, Mr. Cunningham?”

  “Have you seen my daughter tonight?”

  Clay never lies, so he had to answer truthfully, even though he knew Kevin’s reaction wasn’t going to be a pleasant one. “I have.”

  Kevin cleared his throat in more of an unpleasant grunt, “I see.” He watched a mom pushing a stroller pass by. “Do you not remember our conversation about staying away from her?”

  “I do.”

  “You clearly don’t take direction well.”

  Clay crossed his arms, his stance becoming wide, “What’s this about? Just spit out whatever you want to say to me.”

  Kevin locked eyes with Clay, “She’s my daughter, I want what’s best for her. You can’t give her that. I know she’s been sneaking off to see you. I’m not daft. I also know that Jason has had words with you. That’s her match, Clay. Not you. I have respect for your father, and that’s the only reason I’ve kept my cool for so long.”

  Clay rolled his bottom lip, then spoke, “I can assure you that I care more about your daughter than that sorry excuse that you call her match.” He laughed a sarcastic laugh, “And the thing is, Claire doesn’t have a match, she’s better than us all. So, please don’t confuse me with someone who is going to bow out just because you say so. I’m no puppet, Mr. Cunningham. None of you scare me.”

  Kevin looked Clay up and down, “You’re taking the hard route. I’m sorry to hear it.” He started to walk off.

  “Maybe next time don’t get drunk, and run into your fence, and your daughter won’t meet a guy that she chooses to disobey you with.” He knew he shouldn’t have said it, it was immature of him, but even though he respected Kevin because he was Claire’s father, he still thought he needed to be put in his place.

  Kevin looked at Clay with a hard response, his hands rolling into fists. Clay knew Kevin wanted to hit him for that comment, but he also knew he never would.

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Claire

  “So, you and Clay?” Gloria said with a small smile, watching the parade. “Such a random pairing.”

  Claire hesitated answering, “Yeah. It just kind of happened.”

  “He’s smitten with you, you know?” Gloria looked over at Claire. Brett was busy eating kettle corn, not paying any attention to the girls.

  She shrugged, “Maybe.” She wanted to believe Gloria, that he was smitten with her, but what Gloria didn’t know is that she told Clay she loved him, and he didn’t say it back. Twice. In the back of Claire’s mind she was afraid of what would happen if he got bored. Jason got bored after all, and he was going to marry her.

  “I’m sorry for what happened when we first met.”

  Claire laughed awkwardly, “I was rude to Natasha too. I shouldn’t have called her a whore.” She looked at Gloria nervously. “When we left I wanted to go back and apologize, but Clay wouldn’t let me.”

  Gloria raised her eyebrows shaking her head, “Clay is a smart guy. Nat would have clawed your eyes out. She was so upset that night.”

  “Upset? I thought she would be pissed, not upset.”

  “Well,” Gloria sighed. “Nat and Clay were a thing for a long time; never official or anything, but close enough. Pretty sure she loves him. He never felt the same way though, not to that extent.”

  “Loves him? Like as in currently?” Claire knew he had a relationship with Natasha, but she didn’t know how deep it actually ran.

  “Yeah. She came over to my house in tears when he ended things.” Gloria looked at her. “He did it right after he met you. She knew he was moving on.”

  Claire stared at a float as it passed. She felt like such a shitty person. As much as Clay might have ended her and Jason’s relationship, now she ended whatever Natasha and Clay had. It didn’t feel good to cause someone else pain, no matter if Clay was hers now.

  “I suck.” Claire said bluntly.

  Gloria laughed, rubbing Claire’s arm, “Don’t say that. It’s not your fault. They never would have worked out. Not the way love should work out at least.”

  “She’s going to be at your house tonight. All I’m going to think of is that I made her cry.”

  “Eh, Nat cries about a lot of stuff. Don’t worry.”

  “Really? She’s so intimidating, I couldn’t imagine her crying.”

  Gloria smiled, “Pretty sure she finds you intimidating too. We’re all just people, Claire. All hearts break the same.”

  “You two are annoying.” Brett said, chomping on popcorn. “Let’s talk about something else.”

  Gloria shot him a look, “What would you like to talk about, Dear?”

  “How I need more than just popcorn. I’m starving.” He looked around. “When is Clay coming back?”

  Claire looked over the crowd, realizing he had been gone for a while. “Maybe the line was long. I’ll go look for him.”

  “Ok.” Gloria smiled. “We’ll be right here.”

  Claire moved through the crowd. A few people stopped her to say hi; her mother’s friends. She finally got out of the busy part of the parade, and started walking down the food truck street. That’s when she saw Jenny paying for a sweet tea; Jenny’s favorite drink. Something as familiar as a sweet tea brought a ping of sadness to her.

  Jenny waved to the attendant saying thank you, and turned. Their eyes locked; Jenny looked like she wanted to be invisible.

  Claire gave her a weak smile. As much as Jenny clearly wanted to be invisible, Claire was wishing she could run, but instead her feet carried her toward her familiar best friend. She never wanted to admit it, but she missed Jenny more than anything. She wasn’t able to gush over how she has fallen in love, or how Clay makes her feel; the one person she wanted to tell was Jenny.

  “Hi,” Claire spoke first.

  “I was trying to avoid running into you.” Jenny spat out.

  Claire took a step back, “Ouch.”

  Jenny fiddled with the straw of her drink, “I didn’t mean it like that.” She looked down. “It’s just hard seeing you.”

  “Yeah.” Claire twisted her mouth. “How are you?”

  “I’m good. Work is keeping me busy. What about you?”

  “I’m ok.” Claire lied. She was falling in love for the first time, while her ex made a pact with her to stay together, who also hit her, then put his friends up to destroy the library, oh and she had sex for the first time, and she might not even want to be a lawyer anymore. It was a lot, and she wanted to tell Jenny all of it, which made her want to cry, but she held her emotions at bay.

  “I miss you.” Jenny admitted.

  Claire gave her another weak smile, “I miss you too.” A balloon popping took Claire’s attention, and she remembered she was looking for Clay. “I need to get going. We’re leaving soon.”

  “Ok.” Jenny mirrored Claire’s weak smile. “I’ll see you around.”

  Claire nodded, “Yeah...see you around.” She walked away, releasing the breath she didn’t know that she was holding. She wanted to
leave. She pulled her phone out to call Clay.

  “Hey,” He answered.

  She stopped walking, brushing her hair behind her ear, “Where are you?”

  “Walking toward you.”

  Claire looked up, and let out a sigh of relief, ending the call.

  Clay walked up and took her hand, making her walk back in the direction that she came from, “I’m ready to go.”

  “Me too. Brett was complaining he was hungry.” She glanced to where she and Jenny had been talking. Jenny hadn’t walked very far, her eyes caught Claire’s. She could only imagine what was going through her mind. Claire looked away quickly. It was kind of like telling her best friend, without using words. Jenny was a past life though, and she had to move forward.

  *

  Brett and Gloria’s house was a few miles past Clay’s property. Claire drove herself and Clay, following behind Brett. Their house was a long blue house with a pole garage nestled in the middle of the neighborhood.

  When Claire stepped out of her car, she felt her stomach starting to do somersaults from nerves. The last time she was introduced to Clay’s friends ended horribly, and she was sure that everyone remembered the show that she put on.

  Clay took her hand, “You ok?”

  “I’m fine.” Claire smiled up at me.

  Gloria unlocked the front door, and they followed her in. Their living room greeted you, with two tan couches and a grey coffee table. The entire house smelled of cinnamon. Everyone walked into the kitchen one by one.

  Gloria tossed her purse on her kitchen counter, “Who wants a beer?”

  “Now we’re talking.” Brett said, taking her by the waist.

  She handed a beer over her shoulder to Brett, and then looked at Claire, “Do you want one?”

  “Um…” She wasn’t sure if she did. She never really liked beer, vodka was always her choice. She knew she could have one vodka sprite, and be good for the rest of the night. Beer always made her feel dizzy, and snuck up on her.

  Clay reached out taking one, he twisted the top, “Do you want it?”

  “Sure.” She took the blue bottle from him. “Thanks.”

  A little while later they found themselves out back under hanging bistro lights, sitting around a small fire. A few of their other friends arrived. Claire vaguely remembered some of their faces, but was reintroduced to them. Gloria was sitting on Brett’s lap, as she told a very eccentric story about how she fell up the stairs carrying coffee. Clay was seated in the chair next to her; he would steal occasional glances to check on her.

  It was a weird feeling being with Clay’s friends. Everyone was so relaxed and normal. She was more used to Jason’s friends who always tried to one up each other; it was like the competitions of the fuck boys when she was around them. She never admitted it, but she hated Jason’s friends.

  The back door opened; Claire’s eyes shot up. Shit shit shit! Natasha had finally arrived. She glided over with her beautiful shiny black hair and long tan legs. Claire suddenly felt very small, and out of place. These were Natasha’s friends as much as they were Clay’s.

  She felt Clay take her hand, breaking her attention from Natasha. He squeezed it giving her a warm smile, but she felt it was more of a pity smile. Like, oh yeah my beautiful ex just walked in, don’t worry I’m still going home with you smile.

  Claire chugged the rest of her beer, and stood, “I’m going to get another drink.” She whispered to Clay. He nodded.

  Natasha was making her rounds of saying hi to people. Claire walked the opposite way between two chairs, but she felt Natasha’s eyes on her as she left the circle. She closed the sliding glass door, and took a deep breath. The refrigerator still had the same beer in it. Her head was already feeling a little fuzzy, but her nerves were sky high, so she grabbed another. She twisted the top off, and leaned on the counter; her back facing the door.

  The door slid open, and Claire turned to see Gloria walking into the kitchen. “Are you ok?” She asked.

  “I’m fine. Just awkward.” Claire raised her beer in the air for a fake cheers. “Don’t worry about me.”

  “Nat is my friend, but so is Clay. You’re important to him, so I will worry about you.” Gloria smiled.

  “Well, thanks.”

  “Don’t forget that he’s smitten with you.” Gloria nudged Claire as she walked by, and turned down the hall.

  Claire stood there for a moment and smiled to herself. Even though Clay hadn’t said he loved her back, he did make her feel beautiful and special. Maybe she had nothing to worry about. She took a sip of her beer, and walked back outside.

  Her warm feelings faded when she got back to the fire. Clay was sitting in the same chair with his elbows resting on his knees looking at the ground, while Natasha was sitting in the chair next to him talking in his ear, exactly where Claire had originally been sitting. Now it was awkward.

  The group of their friends continued to talk, as Claire approached. She didn’t know any of them, and didn’t have a place to sit, so she stopped next to Brett’s chair to pretend to enjoy the fire. She took a larger sip of her beer, wishing tonight was over already.

  “Oh hey,” Brett looked up at her. “Do you want my seat?”

  “No I’m fine.” She looked at him, then back to Clay.

  Clay’s attention shot up across the fire from the ground, he was still leaning on his elbows; hands folded in front of him. His dark eyes held hers. That was the look that melted her core, the one that made her feel like they were the only two people in the world, the look that made her fall in love with him.

  Natasha noticed his attention had been taken from her, and she sat back in the chair clearly annoyed.

  Clay stood, and walked around the fire toward her, he rubbed her arms, “You were gone for a while.”

  “Just a few minutes. I was talking to Gloria.”

  “She likes you.” Clay said, kissing her forehead.

  Claire smirked, “I can be pretty likeable if I want to.”

  He wrapped his arm around her waist, facing the fire, “Whatever, you’re always likeable. I definitely like you.” He squeezed her side.

  “You like me because I do that thing you like.” She smiled into her bottle, and took a sip.

  “Oh, yeah? And what might that be?”

  Claire raised her eyebrow, “Want me to show you?”

  “Mmm. You’re feisty tonight.” He laughed. “You can show me later.”

  *

  The party continued by moving inside. Claire was caught in conversation with Gloria while they sat around the fire alone. She was starting to feel like she might have an actual friend in Clay’s friend group.

  “Glor, the icemaker is shooting out ice again.” Brett yelled from the back door. “I don’t know how to fix it.”

  Gloria laughed, rolling her eyes, “I’ll be right back. I swear he’d never survive without me.”

  Claire was the only one left by the fire, the glow of the embers kept her gaze. She wondered what her parents were doing, or where they thought she was. They would see Jason, and know that she wasn’t with him. She told them that she was going over to a friend's house, and he was meeting her there later. The more lies she told them the more she felt like they knew. Especially tonight, there was something in her father’s response that made her wonder. He was so abrasive.

  “I think we should talk.”

  Claire jumped, “You scared me.”

  Natasha was standing over her, “You were in some pretty deep thought.” She sat down in the chair next to her.

  Claire thought she was going to throw up, no one was around to save her from Natasha's wrath if this conversation turned south. She could hear laughter inside, but no sight of anyone coming outside.

  “I think we got off to a wrong start.” Natasha admitted. “I shouldn’t have been so rude.”

  Claire pinched her mouth together in a flat line, “And I shouldn’t have called you a whore.”

  Natasha laughed, “Yeah, but I migh
t have deserved it. I was kind of a bitch.”

  “I’d be a bitch to me too if I was you.” Claire stared back at the fire.

  Natasha took in a breath, “Still not an excuse.”

  Claire looked over at her, wondering if she was about to ask the wrong question, “Do you love him?”

  “I do.” Natasha gave her a sad smile. “He’s hard not to love when you know him.”

  It was like a punch in the gut to hear her say it, Clay wasn’t Natasha’s, but the fact that someone else loved him before her made her jealous. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

  “Do you? Do you love him?” Natasha asked, holding Claire’s eyes like she was staring into her soul.

  Claire nodded yes, “More than anything.”

  “He’s never looked at me the way he looks at you.” Natasha leaned back in her seat. “Not even once.”

  Claire stared back at Natasha not knowing how to respond.

  Natasha continued, “I know you don’t like me. I know things about Clay that you haven’t learned yet; that makes you jealous, but you’ll know him in ways I never would. You have his heart.”

  “I’m sorry.” It was all Claire knew how to muster up. She felt bad, she felt Natasha’s pain.

  Natasha laughed, “Damn, you’re hard to hate.” She looked up at the sky. “Gloria told me you wanted to apologize that night at Tenpenny’s” She looked back at Claire. “You don’t have to apologize. Just promise me one thing?”

  “What?”

  “Take care of him. He’s hard on the surface, but he has his fears that he doesn’t show anyone.”

  “I promise.” Claire placed her hand on Natasha’s arm. “I never meant to hurt you.”

  Natasha looked at Claire’s hand then met her eyes, “You are disgustingly nice, and I hate it.” She stood. “I’m glad we had this talk, I’m going to get extremely drunk now.”

  Claire laughed, “Ok.”

  The sliding glass door opened, as Clay stepped out. He froze in his steps when he saw his past and his future next to each other. Claire felt this weird triangle bond, of who Clay was and who he was becoming.