23. The Present
The Present
Carla
I stare at my phone,willing it to make a noise.
No dancing dots. No response. No ring.
I sigh and scroll for Roger’s number instead.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Rog. Can you explain why I’m staring at a sign on the gym door that says, ‘Closed for vacation’?”
“We’re closed until Monday. You didn’t know?”
I sigh again. “Wouldn’t be standing here if I did.”
“Ah, Carla, I’m sorry. I thought TJ told you.”
“And why are we closed?”
“TJ closes this time every year. He goes on vacation.”
“Vacation?” I can’t help the surprise in my voice.
“He never takes off save for these same three days each year.”
“Where does he go?”
A loud screeching sound, something like a cross between a pterodactyl and Godzilla, pierces my eardrum through the phone.
“Gotta go,” Roger says. “Fatherhood calls.”
I smile but it quickly fades. I snap a picture of the sign and send it to TJ in a text that says, Thanks for the heads up.
Today makes five days since the abruptly-stopped make-out session in TJ’s truck. During those five days, he avoided me with the skill of an experienced CIA agent. I’ve racked my brain to pinpoint what happened that day.
Was it me? Did I misread his signals? I distinctly remember him kissing me back. I jumped on top of him like a spider monkey in heat … maybe I was too aggressive?
Whatever his reason is for giving me the silent treatment this week, it’s not an excuse to treat me like I don’t exist.
Maybe I should look for another job.
“This is the last one.”I grunt as I plop the box onto the floor.
“Thanks so much for helping,” Charlotte says.
I bounce onto her bed. “That’s what friends are for.”
Mallory saunters through the doorway holding three glasses of wine. “No, this is what friends are for.” We each take one and she raises hers in the air. “Congrats on moving in with your hunk of a man. Now you get to have loud monkey sex whenever you want.”
Charlotte’s horrified expression coupled with Tanner’s laughter in the other room paints a satisfied smirk on Mallory’s face.
I wrap my arm around Charlotte. “My little girl is all grown up. Remember the days when we wanted to marry Jess and Dean?”
“I still want to marry Jess,” she says.
“I heard that!” Tanner yells.
“I love you, babe!”
Mallory raises an eyebrow at me. “Wouldn’t have pegged you for a Dean gal.”
“Five words.” I hold up my fingers and count. “He built her a car.”
“He was too whiny for me. Logan was the best one for Rory.”
I roll my eyes. “He’s a cheater. You’re right. Great catch.”
“He only cheats on his girl because he’s in love with Rory.”
“And that makes it so much better.”
We continue to drink while we discuss the fictional boys of Gilmore Girls. On our third glasses, we decide it’s time to start unpacking.
Charlotte nudges me with her shoulder. “Have you talked to Joe?”
I shake my head. “But he still calls and texts. The man is persistent, I’ll give him that.”
“Are you ever going to tell me what happened with you guys?”
The hurt in her eyes pulls at the guilt in my stomach, which is now sloshing around in a sea of wine. My defenses are weakened. I guess it’s time to tell her. So I stare up at the ceiling and tell her everything.
Charlotte gasps when I finish. “You were pregnant?”
The news shocks Mallory into silence, a feat in itself.
“I was, for two and a half months.”
Charlotte flings her arms around my shoulders, sniffling in my hair. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me.”
“It’s not your fault. You were busy being kidnapped by psychopaths.”
“That piece of shit broke up with you because you were pregnant? That douchebag deserves to have his balls cut off!” And Mal’s back.
“That’s why you moved here,” Charlotte says. “To get away.”
I nod and gulp down the remainder of my wine. “I planned our future for over four years. It was the only plan I had. Starting over in a new place just made sense. Plan A didn’t work out, so I had to come up with Plan B.” Pain slices through my chest. Where the hell is TJ?
“My sister had a miscarriage in between my niece and nephew. She cried for a long time. Didn’t get out of bed for a month.” Mallory pours more wine into my glass, finishing off the bottle. “It’s heart-wrenching when you lose a baby like that.”
“How did she get through it?”
“Time.”
I face-plant into a pillow and groan.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Charlotte says. She rubs her hand in small circles on my back. “I know it’s cliché, but it’s true. It’s God’s way of telling you that Joe wasn’t the right one for you.”
“Couldn’t God have sent me a postcard instead?” I mutter.
Mallory clears her throat. “Dear Carla, Greetings from Heaven. Joe is a smelly asshole. I’m gonna need you to break up with him. I’ll send you someone else soon. XOXO God.”
I chuckle, pushing off the pillow to sit up. “What about you, Mal? How’s your love life?”
Charlotte pokes her ribs. “Yeah, whatever happened with that guy who gave you his number at the bakery the other night?”
Mallory grimaces and covers her eyes with her hands. “He sent me a dick pic!”
Charlotte and I groan in unison.
“Are you kidding me? Sal? The guy who comes in every night to get a coffee and flirt with you?”
Mal nods. “Yup. Him. Want to see his penis?”
“No!” we shout.
“You know, I don’t understand men. You want to get a girl to like you? Don’t send a dick pic. I already know you have a dick. I don’t need to see a picture of it. What they should send is a picture of them cooking dinner. Washing the dishes. Doing laundry. Or even a pic of them doing their taxes. Something useful. Something that will show me you are a functional human being who’s capable of taking care of himself.”
“Yes!” I high-five her. “We should start our own dating app. Forget Tinder.”
Mallory’s eyes light up. “That’s actually an awesome idea.”
The rest of the day is spent just like this. Tanner orders pizza for us. Mallory hits on the delivery guy. None of Charlotte’s things get unpacked.
And I laugh so hard, my stomach muscles ache.
Monday afternoon,I’m a ball of nerves.
I check my reflection in the rearview mirror one last time before heading into the gym for my shift. I spot TJ’s truck parked a few spots over. My chest tightens. Good. At least he’s alive.
Inside, TJ’s behind the counter talking with Roger. When his eyes meet mine, without missing a beat, he smiles.
He smiles.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but none of the scenarios I created in my head prepared me for this.
Roger gives me a nod and a wave on his way out. TJ and I are left facing each other behind the desk.
“Hi,” he says.
I slam my purse down. “Hi? That’s what you have to say to me?”
“Look, I know I have a lot of explaining to do, but—”
“No.” I poke his chest with my index finger, and try not to wince. It’s like poking steel. “You don’t have to explain anything to me. It’s none of my business, remember?” I press into him again. “You want to kiss me and then ignore me for a week? Whatever. You want to disappear for three days? Go ahead. But if you think I’m not getting compensated for those days when you failed to mention we were closing, you’d better think again!”
I spent a good part of the weekend planning out what I wanted to say when I saw him. This isn’t what I practiced.
His lips twitch and there’s a glint in his eyes. “That’s what you’re angry about? You want to get paid for the past three days?”
I cross my arms over my chest. “That’s at the top of my list, yes.”
“Please tell me you actually wrote a list of reasons why you’re mad at me, and that you’ll let me read it.”
“It’s in my head. You’re missing the point.”
“Yes, Carla. I will pay you for the days you had off.”
I give him a curt nod and turn around, trying to make myself look busy—but all I’m doing is moving folders from one side of the counter to the other.
His hands on my hips and his warm breath in my ear stills my entire body. “Have dinner with me tonight. I’ll explain everything.”
I want to tell him I don’t care to hear what he has to say.
I want to tell him I have plans tonight.
I want to tell him to stop touching me.
But I do care, and I don’t have plans.
And I definitely don’t want him to stop touching me.