Chapter 39
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
TWO MONTHS LATER
Scott
“Mom, do not show her baby pictures,” I say, sitting beside Trina on the couch.
“No, I want to see them,” Trina says, reaching for the photo album.
“He was so adorable,” my mom says to Trina, ignoring me.
We’re at my parents’ house in Wisconsin. We flew back for the holidays. We’re here for a couple of days, then we’ll drive down to Chicago and have Christmas with Trina’s family. While we’re there, Trina wants me to meet Callie, her best friend. Then we’ll come back here and spend New Year’s with my parents. It’ll be a busy week but we’ve been looking forward to it. Spending time with family is important to me and Trina feels the same way. It’s nice that our families only live a few hours apart. We can see everyone on the same trip.
“Scott,” my dad says, motioning me to join him in the kitchen. “You want a beer?”
“Sure,” I say, getting up. “Anything to not have to look at those pictures.”
He laughs as I follow him to the kitchen.
“You two seem good together,” he says, taking the beers from the fridge.
“Yeah, it’s going well. She’s moving in with me when we get back.”
“That’s soon.” He hands me a beer. “You sure you’re ready for that?”
“She’s already at my place all the time. We’re just making it official.”
“This is a big change for you. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see it.”
He means he didn’t think I’d ever have a girlfriend again. I told him I wouldn’t, and he didn’t try to talk me out of it. Neither did my mom. When they saw what Megan’s death did to me, they knew better than to try to push me into being with someone else.
“I didn’t think it’d happen either.”
“She must be pretty special,” my dad says, before taking a drink of his beer.
“She is. I felt it the moment I met her. There was just something there. Something I hadn’t felt with anyone else. Except Megan.”
“You can’t replace her. You know that, right? I hope that’s not what you’re doing.”
“I’m not trying to replace her. Trina’s totally different than Megan.”
“But she makes you feel the same.”
I shrug. “In a way, yeah, but it’s also different. It’s hard to explain.”
He lowers his voice. “You think you love her?”
“Yeah.” I look over at her in the living room. “I do.”
“I’m happy for you,” he says, patting my shoulder. “Your mom and I worried you’d never find anyone after Megan. We understood why you didn’t want to, but we were really hoping you’d open your heart and give someone else a chance.”
“I think Mom’s already planning the wedding,” I say, watching my mom talk to Trina.
My dad laughs. “She’s just excited for you. Let’s go join them before your mom starts telling her stories about your childhood.”
“I think it’s too late for that,” I say, as we go to the living room.
“And then, when he was six,” my mom says.
“Mom, no more stories,” I tell her. “Trina’s heard enough.”
Trina smiles at me. “But I’m learning so much about you. Like how you asked your teacher to marry you back in kindergarten? Who knew you had a thing for older women?”
“Just wait till I meet your parents,” I say as I sit next to Trina. “There’s going to be payback. I’m going to ask your mom to tell me everything. And I’m going to ask to see pictures of your teen years.”
“No,” Trina groans. “Those were the worst. I wore way too much makeup. I looked like a clown.”
“When are you two heading to Chicago?” my dad asks.
“Probably Wednesday afternoon,” I say. “Why?”
“Your dad and I were thinking of going there as well,” my mom says. “I haven’t been to Chicago in years. I’d like to see all the holiday lights. Maybe do some shopping.”
Trina’s face lights up. “You could meet my parents. We could all have dinner together.”
“That’s a good idea.” I look at my parents. “What do you guys think?”
“We could do that,” my dad says, looking at Mom to agree.
“I’d love to meet them,” she says.
“Great!” Trina gets her phone out. “I’ll text them right now to let them know.”
My mom gets up. “I’m going to get dinner started.”
“Do you need some help?” Trina asks.
“No, you stay put. Carl will help,” she says, referring to my dad.
They go to the kitchen. It’s open to the living room and I can feel my mom watching us. She’s been doing it since Trina and I got here. She was shocked when I told her I was bringing Trina home with me. She assumes that means we’ll get married since Megan was the only other girl I brought home.
“Let’s take a walk,” I say, getting up.
“Outside? It’s freezing.”
“You’re from Chicago. You can handle it. Come on.” I look over at my parents. “We’re going for a walk.”
“Okay, honey,” my mom says, smiling at me.
Trina and I get our coats and go outside.
“Why’d you want to take a walk?” Trina asks.
“I wanted some time with my girlfriend without my parents watching us.” I take Trina’s hand as we walk down the street.
“I think it’s sweet. They seem really happy that we’re together.”
“It’s because they didn’t think I’d ever date again. They never pushed me to find someone, but they also didn’t want me being alone for the rest of my life.”
“I like your parents. I feel really comfortable around them.”
“Yeah, they’re easy to get along with.”
“I never liked Asher’s parents. They were so uptight. I always felt like they were judging me, like they thought I wasn’t good enough to be with their son.”
Trina hasn’t seen or spoken to Asher since she gave him the ring back. But she still talks about him sometimes. I wish she’d just forget about him, but I know that’s not realistic. He was part of her life for a long time, just like Megan was a big part of my mine.
“What were Megan’s parents like?” Trina asks.
She does this sometimes. She asks me about Megan. A few months ago, I wouldn’t have reacted well to that, but now I’m okay with it. And the more I talk about her, the easier it gets. It’s nice to no longer have to hide that part of my life.
“Her parents are great,” I say. “I usually call them a few times a year to see how they’re doing.”
“When’s the last time you talked to them?”
“Last summer. I was going to call them this week, wish them a happy holiday, but I wasn’t sure if I should.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m with you. I wasn’t sure if I should be calling the parents of my former fiancé when I’m with my girlfriend.”
“Scott, they’re like family to you. You should call them.”
“I will. I’ll call them tomorrow.” I stop and pull Trina into my arms. “I love you.”
She smiles. “I love you too.”
“Do you know why I love you? There’s a lot of reasons, but this is a big one.”
“What is it?”
“You’ve never tried to take Megan away from me. You know she’ll always be a part of me and you haven’t tried to change that.”
“And I never would.” She looks up at me. “You wouldn’t be the guy you are now if Megan hadn’t been part of your life. From what you’ve told me, it sounds like she made you a better man.”
“She did. But so have you.” I kiss her. “The wind’s picking up. You want to head back?”
“Not yet. I like looking at all the Christmas lights.” She smiles. “And maybe you could kiss me again without your parents watching.”
I wrap my hands around her face and kiss her as the cold wind swirls around us and snowflakes fly in the air. I’m sure my parents are watching us from the window. They can’t help themselves. They’re beyond thrilled that I found someone, and they absolutely love Trina. I wasn’t kidding when I told my dad that Mom’s already planning the wedding, at least in her head.
It’s too early to say if that’ll actually happen. It took years for me to get to the place where I’d let myself fall in love again. Getting engaged is another fear I’ll have to get past, but as Megan told me when I was afraid to start my business, if you want something bad enough, you can get over your fear.
As we’re heading back to the house, Trina stops me. “I think someone lost their scarf.”
It’s a bright pink scarf sticking out of a snowdrift right in front of my parents’ house. Trina picks it up and my heart nearly stops when I see it.
“Do you think it’s your mom’s?” Trina asks.
“No,” I say, taking it from her. It’s an exact match to a scarf Megan had. Bright pink with big white hearts on each end. When she’d put it on, she’d always wrap it so that the hearts were showing. She loved hearts. She had them on her sweaters, gloves, sheets, towels… everything you could think of.
“It must belong to one of your neighbors,” Trina says.
“Yeah, maybe,” I say, but I think it was left here for a reason.
There’s a part of me that was still holding back, feeling like I needed Megan’s approval to move on with my life with someone else. And I think I just got it. I don’t usually believe in that stuff, but it’s an unusual scarf and it’s right in front of my parents’ house. That can’t just be a coincidence.
“Why are you looking at it like that?” Trina asks as I stare at the scarf. “Do you know who it belongs to?”
“No.” I set it back in the snow. “But I know someone who had one just like it.”
“Who was it?”
“Someone I used to know.” I take Trina’s hand. “Let’s go inside.”
As we walk to the house, I look back at the scarf, and in my head, I tell Megan goodbye. It’s time to leave the past behind and look forward to a future with someone else.
I have a feeling that someone will be Trina.
Thanks for reading The Jerk in Apartment 1B! If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave a review and help other readers discover the book.