Chapter 23
twenty-three
Georgia
Jade and Lenni arrive on my doorstep a few minutes after three bearing a stack of plastic bins and a thick roll of garbage bags.
“Hey,” Jade says. “I thought we’d be the first ones here. What are all the cars in the driveway?”
“Contractors,” I tell her, waving them both in. “Come on in, I’m excited to start. I’ve been knee-deep in old clothes and knickknacks for the past week, and I’m dying to see what the floors look like again.”
Jade steps inside and peers around. “Oh, the timing couldn’t be better. I’ve been getting the side-eye from the other Community Committee members about my lack of contribution, so I’m excited to shove three hundred pounds of donated clothing up their asses.”
“Ouch.” Lenni shakes her head at her friend, then takes in the foyer. “Man, this place is gorgeous. Look at that chandelier! That should be hanging in a palace.”
“Cash brought that back to life.” I beam with pride at what my boyfriend has done to this house.
“Quite a gentleman he’s turned into,” Lenni says. “I heard you were treated to a little shopping spree this morning?”
“You heard about that?” With the annual Shafer Football Banquet a week away, I spent the morning trying on sparkly gowns and strappy heels at the mall while Cash flipped through a rolodex of compliments.
“Your man loves to talk.”
“About shopping?”
“About you! How beautiful you are, how you look like a celebrity in your dress, how he can’t wait to show you off at the banquet.”
A heated blush spreads across my cheeks. “He sent this to the guys?”
“To us,” Jade says. “He knows his audience, and we want a preview of this gorgeous dress he bought you.”
“You got it.” I can’t help wanting to show off the most beautiful piece of clothing I’ve ever owned, a close-fitting floor-length gown covered in powder-blue sequins and delicate beads. “Let’s get to work first, and then I’ll bust out the sparkles.”
Upstairs, I wave them into the big bedroom where I’ve been sorting my aunt’s clothes, and we sit cross-legged on the floor and organize ourselves into an assembly line of sorts.
I crack open boxes and make piles of clothing, Jade sorts them into items for the Community Committee or for general donation, and Lenni folds the clothes and packs them into trash bags.
“I feel like my efforts are being wasted,” Lenni comments. “Do clothes even stay folded in garbage bags?”
“It’s good practice for when you do our laundry,” Jade tells her.
“You do the laundry for both of you?” I ask Lenni.
“We have an agreement.”
“Lenni keeps things orderly. I keep things fun,” Jade offers.
I smile. “And somehow fate brought you two together.”
The sweet look they exchange makes me a tad jealous.
“Is Ruby still coming to help?” Jade asks, and I nod. “What about Maisy?”
In the brief silence, Lenni lets out a long breath, eyes narrowed on her best friend.
“I didn’t invite her,” I say. “I’m giving her a few days to cool off.”
“Smart,” Jade says. “She’ll get over it. If she doesn’t, she’s got bigger issues to work on.”
Jade’s probably just being nice, but her words give me hope anyway. “You think so?”
“Of course. She loves you guys, she wants you to be happy. And anyone can see how freaking adorable you are together. Cash went from a boy to a man when you came along, and it looks good on him.”
“He does look good,” I say, grinning down into a box of clothing.
“Ooh, look at you in love!” Jade hoots. “What has it been, a month of bliss now?”
“Not even. But it feels longer,” I say, then catch myself. “Wait, that sounded mean. I—”
“No, be honest,” Jade interrupts. “I, too, am in a relationship with a man who loves the sound of his own voice almost as much as his own reflection. Tell us all the annoying shit Cash does.”
Lenni rolls her eyes. “Stop it and let them enjoy their honeymoon phase.” She turns to me and adds, “This girl loves to talk shit.”
“It’s what friends do,” Jade says. “Don’t worry, your words will never leave this room.”
I shrug. “I don’t have any complaints. Cash is…he’s perfect.”
“Aww,” Lenni coos.
Jade levels me with a look. “Bullshit. There’s nothing you’d change about the man?”
“Well…”
“That’s better.”
“Okay, this isn’t exactly a complaint. But this stuff with Maisy?”
“Pissing you off, huh?”
“Let the girl talk,” Lenni insists.
“As you can see, Maisy’s so angry at me she kicked me out of the house, but meanwhile, she and Cash are still talking every day, doing their twin dinner dates, all of it.”
“Maisy’s got a hot temper,” Lenni offers. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s totally unfair. Just know you’re not the first person to feel her wrath. She’ll calm down.”
“It’s not just her, though. It’s like Cash doesn’t see how unfair it is. How much more I’m sacrificing so we can be together.”
“He knows how pissed she is at you?” she asks.
“Oh, he knows. But he barely seems to notice what that actually looks like for me.” I peel back the flaps on another box, sending up a plume of dust that whirls in the sunlight.
“I don’t know why it bothers me so much.
I guess at first it felt like he was willing to blow up his life just for a chance with me, but then once we got together, he didn’t lose anything.
And I lost Maisy. It’s not like I want their relationship to suffer, I just wish he recognized what I gave up for him. ”
Jade gives me a grim look. “Cash’s a sweetheart, but subtlety won’t cut it. You’re going to have to bash him over the skull with it, unfortunately.”
Despite my sadness, I chuckle. “Not exactly my style. Besides, it’s not that big of a deal that he sees things my way.”
“It’s not your way, it’s reality.”
“True.”
“So tell him what you need. If you need him to know you gave up an entire friendship for him, say so. If you need him to acknowledge how unfair it is, say so.”
“Sometimes I don’t know what I need. I’m the kind of person who handles things on her own, you know? I barely have any relationship experience.”
Lenni raises her hand. “Hi. Former relationship novice, carrier of massive emotional baggage, holder-in of difficult feelings. Trust me, do it anyway. Tell him what you need.”
“Really? You and Cam are perfect. I can’t picture you two having trouble.”
A laugh bursts out of Jade’s mouth. “Oh, you should have seen them. Lenni almost sank that relationship like a dozen different times.”
“Gee, thanks, friend,” Lenni sasses through a smile. “But it’s true. If Cam didn’t have the patience of a saint and years more relationship experience than me, we wouldn’t have gotten to date number two.”
Several hours and one “Sorry, I totally forgot!” text from Ruby later, the room is clear of clothes, bags, and bins. The girls head downstairs to grab drinks from the fridge, and I take a final look around. With the hardwood floors and pink Persian rug visible, I’m jolted by a memory.
This bedroom aglow with sunlight the same way it is now, the stained-glass window above the bed lit up in blazing blue and yellow.
Me moseying around, peering at the framed photos, the carved jewelry box, and the trinket collection on the dresser while Aunt Julie watched, narrating my discoveries.
It’s incredible how much the room hasn’t changed, how with the junk cleared out and curtains pulled back, it appears exactly the same as it did that day fifteen years ago.
The memory stirs up a rare sense of nostalgia, and I picture the family photos in the boxes down the hall.
To think this house will never see my family again is unbearably sad, and right there, I decide to do something about it.
One last reunion here while the house is still mine—still ours.
A chance to say goodbye to the house and hello to the family members who are strangers to me.
When I find the girls in the kitchen, both go silent and turn to me.
“So, Georgia.” Lenni gives me a coy smile, her hands hidden behind her back. “We have something for you.”
“Something very cheesy,” Jade warns.
With a flourish, Lenni pulls a glittery pink card from behind her back and holds it out.
“Ooh, glitter,” I say, taking the card. “Whatever it is, I like it.”
You are formally invited to attend the girls-only pre-banquet beauty ritual next Saturday at Jade and Lenni’s apartment. No RSVP necessary. You’ll be there.
I chuckle. “This is adorable, but what is it?”
“Okay, I’ll be the first to admit I find the whole thing a little obnoxious—” Lenni begins.
Jade holds up a finger. “Actually, I have a claim on being the first to admit it’s obnoxious.”
“But there’s a long-standing tradition among the girlfriends of the football players to make a big deal of the football banquet senior year and go all out when getting ready: make glittery invitations, get together, hire hair and makeup people, make a big production of the whole thing.
And yes, the vibe is undeniably ‘bubbly cheerleader who loves her football captain boyfriend,’ but for one night and one night only, we can have fun and pretend that’s who we are. ”
“Absolutely,” Jade says. “Or we can talk shit about the tradition all night and wonder what was going through the minds of the girls who started it. Either way, we want you there.”
“Wow.” I glide my finger over the glittery paper and look up at the girls again. The hopefulness in their eyes is too sweet. “I’m flattered, and I love the idea of it. I’m just…” I struggle for the right words. “I’m the new one, and I get so awkward in groups.” I shrug, embarrassed.
“Georgia, it’s just us,” Jade scolds lightly. “We are the group—you, me, Lenni, and Ruby. If you’re not there, there is no group. Besides, we’ve never done this shit either.”
I look to Lenni for confirmation, and she nods. “Now that these boys have pulled their heads out of their asses and figured things out, we finally have a group. You’re one of us whether you like it or not.”
With that simple reassurance, doubt dissolves and delight takes its place. “No, I like it. I like it a lot.” I turn to pluck a magnet off the fridge and stick the beautiful card right in the center of the stainless-steel panel. “I’ll be there.”
When Cash finds me hours later, the sun is nearly below the horizon and I’m cross-legged on the floor of the study with papers scattered around me and my head bent over Aunt Julie’s old leather address book.
“Hey.” He bends down for a kiss. “Brought some dinner. Did you see my texts?”
“Whoops.” I glance around the floor. “I must have left my phone in the other room. Everything good?”
“Just wanted to know if my girl likes chocolate or vanilla ice cream better. How is it I don’t know that about you yet?”
“Strawberry, actually.” I wink.
“Is that right? Good thing I got chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and mint chip for good measure.”
“Seriously? So ice cream sundaes for dinner?”
“If that’s what you want, lovely. Then we can eat the chicken and rice for dessert.”
I reach for his hand and rest my cheek against it. “You’re cute, you know that?”
“You have a good day with the girls? You seem happy.”
“I did. And you know what? I’m thinking I might throw a family party here at the house before I sell it. A reunion with as many family members as I can get, just like those old photos I showed you.”
“Really? I wouldn’t have thought you were the party type.”
“I’m not. To be honest, I don’t know what I’m in for.
” Nerves flutter in my belly. “I don’t know my family at all or how many people I’ll be able to track down—or if they’ll even want to come.
And I have no clue what I’ll say to them if they do show up.
I mean, when you think about it, they’re all literal strangers to me. And even if—”
Cash crouches in front of me, interrupting my nervous babble. “Hey. Just do it. What’s the worst that could happen?”
I glance down at the address book, where one unfamiliar name after another is written in Julie’s perfect script. “I don’t know. Only two people show up? And they’re assholes?”
“So then you’ll know your family sucks and you’re better off without them. Better off becoming part of the Hartnell family.”
I chuckle, lightness filling me despite my nerves. “I guess. I just don’t know what I’d say to everyone. I’m not exactly the hostess with the mostest.”
“Lucky for you, I am. If you can get the people here, I’ll take care of the rest. We’ll get the house in shape, we’ll get some food, and I’ll handle the awkward silences. Let’s make it happen.”
My instinct is to brush him off and tell him I can handle it.
I’ve taken care of myself for so many years now, I can host a little party on my own.
But my friends’ words are fresh in my mind, and anyway, this isn’t a little party.
This is something big, and I don’t want to do it alone.
So I nod at him, loving the sparkle in his eyes. “Let’s make it happen.”
Like a kid let loose in a candy store, he rubs his hands together. “Excellent. I love a party. What do you want me to do? Order a clown costume, brush up on my juggling skills, write out a little comedy skit for when things get dull?”
Warm feelings rush me, excitement at the idea that this could actually work and gratitude that I have this incredible man to back me up. “All good ideas, but maybe for now you can be my emotional support boyfriend? I’m nervous just thinking about getting invites out.”
“Emotional support boyfriend,” he repeats. He sighs like this is a big disappointment. “I guess I can handle that. But if you want me to choreograph a little dance routine just in case, I’m your man.”
I laugh as a vision of him doing just that fills my mind. Somehow he’d still make it sexy. “I know you are.”