13. Garrett
GARRETT
Ishouldn’t be this comfortable with Emerson in my space but I am. She’s always been stunning, sure, but getting to know her in Vegas was something else entirely, something that’s only intensified since returning home.
Home.
I’ve lived in this house for years now, and never in that time did I think it was too big for one person. I like space, and I like having the ability to accommodate anyone who needs to crash for a night or longer.
But Emerson doesn’t feel temporary and she’s too big to be ignored, her absence noticeable in the deafening silence of these walls.
She may have gone to Chicago today but her energy—and her perfume—remains, permeating my senses and leaving me both off-kilter and more settled than I’ve ever been in my life.
It’s terrifying knowing that one woman has the ability to turn my world upside down simply because she was here. Our marriage has an expiration date—one we agreed to—but already there’s this whisper of panic in the periphery.
As if following through on the divorce would be the worst mistake I could possibly make. But that doesn’t make any sense, right? I can enjoy Emerson’s company, body, and mind, and not lose myself in the process.
I’m an adult.
This is just an arrangement.
Then why am I already wondering how her drive into work is? Or if she’s stressed at having to commute?
Normally, I’d head into my studio and write a song—lose myself in the music—but I can’t.
Not yet.
Because if I go in there now, I’ll end up writing something for her and that goes against our agreement.
Her rules.
Not mine.
So instead, I pick up my phone and, hesitating for only a minute, type out a message that I hope I won’t regret.
GARRETT: I think I have a problem
ROAN: No.
ROAN: You don’t pay me enough to have another problem
ROAN: I’m still working on the six problems you dropped in my lap already
COLT: What he means is, what kind of problem do you have, Garrett? And how can we help?
ROAN: I absolutely did not mean that
GARRETT: I think I like my wife
ROAN: Colt, this is your problem
COLT: Why is that a problem? Your wife is awesome
ROAN: Temporary wife
COLT: She’s still legally his wife—he’s allowed to like her
ROAN: He means he ACTUALLY likes her
ROAN: Like more than friends
ROAN: I cannot fucking believe I just typed that
COLT: Me either but I took a screenshot so we can have this memorialized forever
ROAN: Go ahead—I have plenty on you
GARRETT: It would be easier if she wasn’t awesome
COLT: Yeah, but then you wouldn’t have married her in Vegas on a whim
GARRETT: It wasn’t on a whim
ROAN: It was a whim
ROAN: Because if it WASN’T you would have told your friends
ROAN: And your fucking attorney before you said I do instead of being half in the bag while making actual life-changing bets
COLT: Dude, when was the last time you got laid?
ROAN: Don’t fucking start with me
COLT: What? I’m just looking out for you
COLT: And the safety of the general public
GARRETT: He’s got a point
ROAN: No he doesn’t
ROAN: Stop adding shit to my plate
ROAN: And Colt, you better be every bit the all-American boy everyone thinks you are because I cannot deal with you too right now
GARRETT: You definitely need to get laid
COLT: When I say it, it’s funny but when you say it, it’s not
GARRETT: Why?
COLT: Because you’re actually having sex
GARRETT: How do you know that?
COLT: (gif of man rolling his eyes)
ROAN: (gif of man rolling his eyes)
COLT: We all saw the way you guys were looking at each other in Vegas
COLT: Zero chance you’re suddenly celibate
ROAN: I’m getting a beer
COLT: It’s eight thirty in the morning
ROAN: And I’ve earned it
ROAN: Garrett—I need you to not fall in love with Emerson unless you really mean it. She deserves that consideration and so do you.
GARRETT: Who said anything about falling in love?
COLT: (gif of man rolling his eyes)
ROAN: (gif of man rolling his eyes)
GARRETT: This is getting annoying
ROAN: Get a beer, it definitely helps
GARRETT: I’m not getting a beer
COLT: Go write a song
ROAN: But not about her
COLT: Why not?
ROAN: Because I don’t get paid enough
COLT: I’m lost
ROAN: It’s better this way.
ROAN: Everyone find something to do that’s not giving me more work
COLT: Yes daddy
Roan Ellis has left the chat.
COLT: He’s so easy
GARRETT: Do not make him quit on me
COLT: He won’t he loves us too much
Roan Ellis has joined the chat.
ROAN: Not a fucking word from either of you
And because I need to get back in Roan’s good graces, I keep the rest of my comments to myself.
For now.
I can’t remember the last time Roan was so fired up. I know I’ve added work to his plate with Emerson and Darren, but this feels like more than just work.
But any investigating into why my best friend is strung tighter than a guitar will have to wait. Because the music is calling to me, and even if I can’t write a song about her exactly, there’s no shortage of inspiration from being in her orbit.
So I let my mind wander, teasing the strings of my guitar as I work out the chords and fall a little more in love with this arrangement.
A little more with her.