15. The Truth Hurts
From the momenther friend entered the yard, Gia could tell that it wasn’t just for a typical weekend visit comprised of drinking wine, laughing, and eating snacks. When Carla told her to sit down, she didn’t even question it. Gia needed a break, anyway. She had been out in the garden since the sun began to rise, pulling weeds and harvesting herbs. She hadn’t slept much the night before as images and memories of Ben kept sneaking into her thoughts. Why did Carla have to bring him up, anyway?
As they settled into a seated position on the edge of the closest raised garden bed, Gia noticed Carla fidgeting with something in her hands.
“I brought you something!” Carla started in a tone of false enthusiasm as she realized where Gia’s eyes had fallen.
“What is it? And for what?”
“Oh, just because! Can’t one neighborhood girl bring a gift to another as a kind gesture in the spirit of friendship?” Carla shoved the gift certificate to Charmed to Table in Gia’s direction. “It’s to the new farm-to-table in town. I thought we could go. Or you could go with someone else, maybe.”
Gia took the gift certificate and turned it over a few times. “Valid for one 5-course prix fixe meal for two,” she read aloud.
“It’s their grand opening offer. To get people in to try it out,” Carla explained.
Gia tucked the card into her pocket, fully aware that it was probably an anniversary gift that had been given to her and Matt that they had no plans to use. “It sounds great, but do you want to tell me why you’re really here now? I know you didn’t traipse over here to give me a gift that’s been sitting on your wall unit for weeks.”
“Oh, you saw it there? Well, anyway, you’ll get better use from it than we will. It’s not really our thing,” Carla added, justifying giving it to Gia.
“So… Would you like to tell me why you’re here and acting weird now?”
Not really, but I don’t think I have much of a choice in the matter.” Carla pushed a piece of hair away from her face, revealing a concerned look that spread across her features.
“How bad is this, Carla?” Gia asked, hoping whatever it was she had done this time wouldn’t have any significant impact on her daily life. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time Carla had stuck her nose where it didn’t belong!
“So, that’s the thing…” Carla began, shifting position, clearly uncomfortable with the discussion.
“What’s the thing, exactly?”
“I’m not sure how bad the repercussions will be—but I am deeply, sincerely, one hundred percent sorry for my actions!” The pleading undertone in Carla’s voice made Gia’s stomach churn.
“Carla, what actions? You’re scaring me. Start from the beginning. What’s going on? What’s up?”
“Well… okay. So, remember the other day when you said you didn’t want to date anymore?”
“Yeah, and that remains the case. Go on.”
“Well, I started thinking that maybe you should date, but that you just weren’t looking in the right places or something, so I decided, well, I figured I’d look for you. I only wanted to help.”
“What do you mean?” Gia said. “Look how? Like, find someone to set me up with? You’ve done that countless times already! What’s the big deal, Carla? What’s different?”
Carla’s eyes shifted to the ground. It wasn”t a good sign when Gia started or finished a sentence with her name.
“I kind of sort of made you a dating profile on Only Gardeners. I thought?—”
“You what?” Gia interrupted. “After you knew how I felt about dating, and men, and the whole damn thing? You decided you’d just ignore all that and make a dating profile for me? So, what? Did you actually pretend to be me? Did you talk to men as me? Carla! How far did this go?”
Carla stared at a patch of lavender just beginning to flower as she avoided Gia’s gaze. She plucked a piece and crushed it between her fingers, hoping its sweet, floral scent would calm her. Gia was always saying the scent of lavender was aromatherapeutic, and that it could bring a sense of peace and tranquility. Somehow, Carla doubted it would work in this case, but she figured it couldn’t hurt, either.
“Well, the good news is, you’re a hot commodity. Every single romantically unattached male gardener in the tri-state area seems interested in your profile!”
Gia rolled her eyes. “I told you. I don’t want to date. Wait, if that’s the good news, that means—is there more bad news here—beyond you impersonating me on the internet, of course?”
Carla paused. Gia sucked in a deep breath of air, held it a moment, then released. “Maybe. Matt and I know about Aiden. We know about Ben.” She braced herself for Gia’s response, unsure whether it would come in the form of anger, sadness, or relief.
In fact, once the words escaped Carla’s mouth, Gia was oddly calm, as if she knew it had only been a matter of time before someone learned the truth.
“… How did you find out?”
“He reached out to you—well, me—on Only Gardeners. He’s back.”
“What do you mean he’s back? How could he be back? He’s in Brazil. Is he visiting his parents?”
“He’s not. He’s here to stay, I think. And he wants to see you. I’m pretty sure he wants to meet Aiden.”
The calm fa?ade originally painted onto Gia’s features faded into a look of panic. “He can’t. He shouldn’t. Carla, this is a disaster! Aiden doesn’t even know he exists!” Gia paced the narrow garden path in between the raised beds. She lifted both hands and placed them against her face, groaning into them.
“How did this even happen?”
“Well, he swiped right.” She shrugged. “Then, messaged you—well, me, I guess, and Matt.”
“Matt is involved? How’d you pull that off? He’s usually the voice of reason!”
“I know, it’s crazy, right?”
“Okay, let’s stay on topic here. What did Ben tell you? What did he say exactly?”
“I mean, brief recap, not a whole lot. He said he just wants to talk about what happened before he left and about Aiden—in person.”
Gia groaned again, knowing she wouldn’t be able to see Ben face-to-face without breaking down. She still held on to so much emotion about their situation. They may have been old wounds, but she knew the very sight of him would be enough to send her into a downward spiral, especially after all that had happened over the past year. She was finally piecing her life back together after her divorce, and now this.
In the back of her mind, however, she couldn’t help but wonder if, perhaps, this was some sort of ‘one that got away…’ fate stirring the pot just as her life began to settle down. Gia pushed the thought out of her mind, trying to think about the situation calmly and rationally.
“Give me the login info,” Gia blurted out.
“What?”
“The account name and password for Only Gardeners. I need to see for myself. I have to know what was said before I decide what to do about this.”
Carla nodded slowly. “Okay. That’s fair. Do you want to sit together and go through everything so you can yell at me in person?”
“No. I need to do this alone. Here.” Gia opened the notepad feature on her cell phone and shoved it toward Carla. “Enter it here. Then, I need to go inside to think.”
Carla shot Gia a funny look. Gia chuckled, recognizing how strange that sounded coming from her. The garden was usually where she most effectively pondered her life, but now she just wanted to escape it. It made her think of her shared interests with Ben. Gia had a feeling she’d be getting enough reminders of that time in her life soon. It made her want to escape the garden, which now felt like it was closing in on her, stealing her breath.
Gia held a hand against her cheek, feeling its warmth. She always got hot when her emotions were high, and this was absolutely one of those moments. Carla handed her phone back with the stored login information. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” she asked, squeezing her friend’s hand.
“No. Not this time, but thanks.”
“Are you mad at me?”
“Carla, I’m not mad. This secret was bound to come out eventually. I just wish you’d mind your own damn business sometimes.” Despite the emotional turmoil simmering below the surface, Gia’s voice had taken a slightly more playful tone.
“But, if I did that, I wouldn’t be me. And you love me. Right? Tell me you looooove me,” Carla said, teasing, but also desperately needing to hear it from her best friend.
“Yes, you crazy meddling nuisance. I love you. Now, let me go handle some business.”
“What are you going to say to him?”
“I have no idea.”
“Remember the gift card! Maybe you two can meet there to talk?”
“That sounds more like a date than a meeting with the father of my first child—the one he left behind to hug trees in the fucking Amazon rainforest.”
Carla shrugged. “It was worth a try. Maybe eventually?”
“Don’t bet on it. Ben left me once. I’m not giving him the option to do it again.” Gia scoffed. “Now, run along. Oh, and tell Matt he’s no longer considered as the voice of reason for the two of you. And you’re both still in trouble—I’ll figure out your punishment later.”
Carla wrapped her arms around Gia, pulling her close. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I won’t do anything like this ever again.” The words elicited a slight chuckle from Gia.
“I’ll believe that when I see it.”
Carla rose and ran toward the gap in the fence, excited to tell Matt that the interaction had gone much better than she’d expected. As far as she could tell, she still had a best friend living next door. She hoped that would remain the case after Gia spoke with Ben—and saw the dating profile Carla had created.