Chapter Nineteen
Sadie
We spend the rest of the evening chilling at home, and Evelyn’s mood improves the more time she spends with my crazy parents.
Then Will and his boyfriend, Connor, get to the house after dinner, which instantly injects June and Evelyn with pure happiness.
They both have so many terrible experiences with men, so any good guy who earns their trust becomes a walking source of hope.
Thankfully, my family comes with three of those.
Maybe four, depending on how this thing with Connor pans out.
The girls hadn’t met him yet, and he just moved in with Will a few weeks ago. He seems like a good guy, though.
After introducing himself, Connor settles next to Will on the couch.
“What on earth are you talking about?” Connor says, laughing. “Die Hard isn’t a Christmas movie. Didn’t it come out in the summer?”
June leans forward, jabbing her finger in his direction. Her stare is intense, but there’s no glowing danger that suggests incoming death. “Release date doesn’t matter! It’s totally a Christmas movie.”
“What criteria does a movie have to meet in order to be considered a Christmas movie?” Will asks.
“If people watch it around Christmas,” June says. “Which I do!”
I nod and hold up a finger. “Okay, that’s one. I’d say another is that there has to be plenty of holiday references in the movie. Like Christmas day or Santa Claus.”
“It has to be set on or near the holiday,” Will adds.
“The characters have to be actively affected by the holiday,” I say.
“Christmas music has to play at least once,” Will says.
“Look, there’s only one major classification to label a movie with a specific holiday,” Connor says. “And that’s that the movie has to be about the holiday itself. Die Hard is about evil Russians and a cop who doesn’t know how to properly cover his feet.”
June is practically vibrating in her seat as she argues with an actively smiling Connor.
We let the conversation go on for ten more minutes before I jump in to cut them off.
Evelyn looks uncomfortable the entire time, as if she’s worried the argument will lose its lighthearted tone and turn menacing.
June and Connor, on the other hand, seem to have bonded over their disagreement.
Half an hour later, June pulls her phone out of her back pocket, a picture of her licking the side of Theo’s face flashing on the screen as she gets an incoming call.
Her shoulders relax and her lips tip up before she excuses herself.
I hear her say, “Hey, Tink,” before stepping onto the back porch.
“That her biker boyfriend?” Will asks.
I nod. “Theo.”
“It’s weird seeing her in love like that.”
“Yeah. But pretty great, too.”
We last another hour before everyone starts making their way to bed.
Since, apparently, I snore, June and Evelyn elected to share one room while I take the other.
It takes a while for me to fall asleep, a feat that isn’t made any easier by how often I turn on my phone and pull up my messages with James.
The girls and I spend the next day with Ma, first downtown, then at the beach for a few hours. By the time we get back, I’m so exhausted that I manage to sneak in a nap that’s cut short by a chubby little four-year-old cannonballing onto my stomach.
“Oof!” I sit up on the couch, arms instinctively going around the little body sitting on top of me.
Forrest, my oldest nephew, flops down to give me a hard hug, shouting, “Aunt Sadie!”
“Hey, kid.” I kiss the top of his head, getting a face full of shaggy blonde hair.
Erica, his mother, shouts apologies as she follows him into the living room, another little boy perched on her waist.
“Don’t apologize for my nephews.” Holding tight to Forrest, I stand from the couch, keeping him in my arms as I give Erica a one armed hug. “Dang, kid,” I say to Forrest. “Did you double in size since I last saw you? How are you this heavy?”
“I’m not heavy!” he disagrees.
“Then I’m just weak.” I set him down, then hold out my hands for Reese. Erica passes the baby over, but I only get to hold him for a second before he starts whining, his arms outstretched to Erica and his little fingers gripping the air. Sensing a full on meltdown, I quickly return him.
“Sorry. He’s been needy recently.”
“Yeah, he won’t leave her side. You may need to relinquish the Magnet title.”
I squeal at the new voice and turn to see my oldest brother, Desmond, walking into the living room.
Running forward, I launch myself into his arms, and he happily accepts the bear hug.
He isn’t as athletic as Will, but he’s the tallest member of our family and gives the best hugs.
“For someone who refuses to live near her family, you sure do seem like you miss us.”
“Not wanting to live here doesn't disqualify me from missing my family.”
“We miss you too, Magnet. Happy birthday.”
My friends wander in then, greeting my brother and sister-in-law.
Ev ruffles Forrest’s hair, then excuses herself to the kitchen, where she insists on helping my mom prepare dinner.
June sits next to Forrest and is quickly locked into a half-unintelligible story about a rocket ship and his friend at daycare.
Thirty minutes later, we settle around the dining table, where a feast, including all of my favorite foods, is laid out.
“You outdid yourself, Ma,” Des says.
“Yeah, this is amazing. Thank you,” I say, kissing her cheek.
“Oh, it was nothing. And I had a fantastic sous-chef.” She winks at Ev, who waves her hand in the air as if to bat away the compliment.
“To our birthday girl!” Will says, lifting his glass in the air. Everyone toasts, then we dig in, easy conversation filling the space.
After Evelyn has finished half her food, she offers to take Reese so Erica can eat her own meal.
“It’s fine,” Erica says. “He won’t let anyone else hold him.”
“Kids love Ev,” I say. “Let her try.”
Erica looks unconvinced, but she passes her son over anyway. We watch as Reese seems to struggle between acceptance and wailing. Then, to everyone’s shock, he settles against Ev.
“Told you. It’s her superpower.”
“Kids are like dogs,” June says. “They have that sixth sense that tells them whether someone is trustworthy or not.”
“I’m just used to being around children,” Evelyn says.
“Well, you can keep him as long as you’d like,” Erica says. “I don’t think I’ve gone more than thirty minutes without him glued to me in weeks.”
“Sadie was the same,” my mom says. “Our little magnet baby.”
“Forrest was never like that. As soon as he could crawl, he never stopped moving. The kid does his best to get into trouble.”
“That’s why we get along,” June says, booping Forrest’s nose, who demanded to sit next to her.
“So, now that you’re shacked up, can we expect a baby announcement soon?”
“Mom!” I exclaim. “You can’t ask people that. And don’t say ‘shacked up.’”
“Why not? I just need to know when I can expect my next grandbaby.”
“What if June doesn’t want kids?”
“Well, do you?” she asks June, whose cheeks have filled with a soft blush.
“I, uh… We haven’t really talked about it.”
“Don’t put that conversation off, dear. You should know what kind of future you’ll have before you give the biker more of your time.”
“He has a name, Ma,” I say.
“I never thought much about having children,” June admits. “I’m not sure that’s something Theo wants.” Her voice is dropping as the conversation continues, and I remember why the topic of children would be a difficult one for them.
Theo already had one child. And he lost her in the worst way imaginable.
Mom opens her mouth to respond, and I quickly cut in, my tone harsher than I’d normally allow, “Drop it, Mom. Seriously.”
A silence follows my words, making everyone shift slightly in their seats.
“It’s okay,” June says. But I can see the pain and discomfort in her eyes. June may never have met Theo’s daughter, but she still feels the loss and grief.
“If and when any of us decide to have children, we will tell you. Until then, please leave those kinds of discussion to the partners involved, okay?” I try to sound pacifying, hoping to move us past the awkward moment.
Thankfully, my mom seems to pick up on the subtext. She gives June a soft smile and a nod. “I apologize.”
“Really, it’s fine,” June says.
After another few seconds of silence, Will clears his throat and says, “I got to fall off a four story building yesterday.”
“William, I wish you’d stop starting stories like that,” Dad says.
“Well, it’s true!”
“There was a giant crash mat at the bottom, babe,” Connor says.
“Doesn’t change the fact that I fell off a building.”
“It’s literally your job,” I say.
With the tension cracked, the rest of the evening proceeds smoothly.
Oliver family dinners can either be the best nights ever or filled with the kind of chaos that starts civil wars.
Thankfully, this one is the former, and after we finish dessert, blueberry pie, we move to the living room to play cards.
Des and Erica only make it another hour before Forrest starts acting up, signaling that it’s past his bedtime.
Will and Connor excuse themselves not long after, giving each other the kind of look that makes me pray the walls in this house are still as thick as they were when I was a teenager.
“I like him,” Ev says, referring to Connor.
“Me too. He seems good for Will.”
There must be something in my voice, because Ev nudges her shoulder against mine and says, “You’ll get that too one day.”
My lips roll together, and an unwanted image of a giant redhead fills my mind.
“So will you,” I say. Something about her answering silence makes me wonder if Evelyn has her own asshole living rent free in her mind.
If so, he’ll either be the best thing to happen to her or the next name on June’s list of prey.
~
It’s nearly midnight on Sunday by the time June drops me off at my apartment. Luna had to leave a few hours before, so after taking Soot on a quick walk, I flop into bed without unpacking or taking a shower. Then I spend most of Monday trying to avoid picking up my phone to see if James has texted.
He hasn’t. And he’s not going to. Why would he?
I also check my messages with Bowie. It’s been a week and a half since he confronted me outside of my apartment, so the likelihood that he’ll text me back is growing smaller every second.
This fake dating to spy on him scheme was my idea, and I didn’t even make it to the second date before I fucked it up.
Which is why I find myself driving to the Mexican bakery where I orchestrated the random meeting with Bowie after work. I roll my shoulders back, then climb out of my car and head inside, equally hoping and dreading he’s here.
I’ve already ordered and am walking out when I see him.
His brows rise when our eyes meet. His hair is slicked back and he’s wearing a sharp suit that makes him look like he’s cosplaying as a gentleman.
“Bella.”
I swallow, my grip on my to-go bag tightening. “Bowie.”
“What are you doing here?” He smirks, like he already knows the answer.
Summoning every ounce of indignation I can, I hold up the bag. “What does it look like?”
“So you’re not here looking for me?”
“Not everything is about you.”
“Of course, it isn’t. But am I to believe this is purely coincidental? Running into you here for a second time?”
“Contrary to what you think, I don’t come here for you. I come here because I like the food.” Thankfully, I do actually like the food. “How do I know you’re not following me?”
“This is my territory.”
“Your territory?” I try to sound disbelieving, like I have no idea that Tucson is divided between the Fivers’ territory, the Saints’, and neutral ground. “Do you own this shop, then?”
His smile grows. “You are very good.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Is that why you texted me asking to meet? Because you have no idea what I’m talking about?”
“You made some odd claims the last time we spoke. I won’t lie and say I’m not curious.
And after talking to…” I trail off and shake my head, as if mentally berating myself for saying those last few words.
“But you made it clear you have no intention of explaining. Which is fine. We had one date, you don’t owe me anything. ”
“What would you like to know, bella?”
I open my mouth, then shut it again, glancing around. I look at the men standing behind him, the young family in line, and the workers behind the counter.
“Would you prefer to go somewhere more private?” he offers.
YES, I think.
But I can’t sound too eager, so I say, “I have somewhere to be.”
“How about we get dinner and you can ask all of your questions, as long as you don’t mind me asking some of my own.”
“Why now? You’ve ignored me for a week.”
He shrugs. “Perhaps seeing you has reminded me why I enjoyed your presence in the first place.”
My cheeks burn and I look down at the bag in my hands. “Somewhere public,” I say.
“Of course. I would not want you to be uncomfortable.”
I mentally scoff. He clearly loves seeing me uncomfortable. Forcing myself to look back up and meet his eyes, I ask, “When?”
“How about Thursday evening? I can pick you up.”
I shake my head. “I’ll meet you there.”
“Whatever you wish. I’ll text you the address.”
I nod and stand stock still when he leans down and presses a kiss to my cheek.
“See you Thursday, bella.”