Chapter 43
There’s a knock on the door while I’m in the middle of closing my suitcase.
I pause mid-zip and straighten, smoothing the front of the sweater I changed into for the drive back to the city.
It’s probably Wren, waiting to barrage me with a million questions I’m exhausted by the prospect of answering.
It’s done. I did everything Flynn had asked me to. We’ll “break up” soon, although it sort of feels like we did that already. He’ll move out. Maybe he’ll move back to Boston.
In a year, we’ll be an amusing anecdote. Remember that time Flynn Parks dated Rory Kensington? Everyone will laugh. Surprised they lasted for as long as they did, someone will say.
It’s not my sister at the door.
It’s my parents.
“Mom. Dad.” I glance between them, dropping my hand from the handle and fiddling nervously with my bracelets.
“Hi, honey.” Mom steps forward, giving me a quick squeeze before she discreetly glances behind me.
“Did you guys forget something?” I ask, hugging Dad too.
“This,” Mom says, smiling. “We wanted a minute alone with our first …” She sniffs. “Crap, I was going to keep it together.”
“We both knew you wouldn’t,” Dad interjects, wrapping an arm around Mom’s shoulders before refocusing on me. “Things were so hectic at the brunch earlier that we didn’t have a chance to talk to you alone. And—” He glances past me too.
“Flynn already headed back,” I tell them. “Wren asked me to drive back to the city with her.”
Mom nods. “We ran into her in the lobby.”
“Okay …” I say. “I’m almost finished packing, if she’s down there, waiting.”
“She’s with Sawyer. I don’t think she’ll mind if you take a few extra minutes.”
Dad nods in agreement. “Rory, we just wanted to say, we’re so excited for you and Flynn.”
My hand drops from my wrist. “You-you are?”
Both of my parents appear surprised by the question, exchanging a quick glance.
“Of course we are,” Mom says. “Flynn is wonderful, and you two seem incredibly happy together.”
“He is. But we haven’t been dating that long. I thought you guys might think I was … rushing into it.”
Another exchanged look, this time with a smile.
“Honey, your father and I got married the same night we met, and we’d both say it was the best decision we ever made. We’d hardly encourage you to be that rash, but … when you know, you know. Is Flynn the person you picture spending the rest of your life with?”
I nod. “Yes, he is.”
Mom beams. “That’s the most important thing. Not how long you’ve been dating, especially when you’ve known each other for decades.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys first. I—it all happened so suddenly and—”
“It was your news to share when and how you wanted to,” Dad tells me. “And you sharing it that way is how we know it’s right.”
Mom nods in agreement. “You’ve never rushed into anything in your life, Rory. If you’re this sure about Flynn, you two must have something very special. That’s all we’ve ever wanted for you.”
It feels like someone wrapped a fist around my throat and is squeezing. They watched me date and be disappointed by Carson. My prior relationships—two guys I dated in college—never met my parents.
I’m not outgoing or bubbly like Wren. No doubt they’ve worried about me, studying nonstop and academic-obsessed, wondering if I’d ever find a better balance in my life.
“I love you guys,” I say thickly.
“We love you too, sweetheart,” Dad says. His expression is extra stoic, how it always gets when he’s fighting strong emotions.
“So much,” Mom adds, hugging me again. “We want to have you and Flynn over for dinner soon to celebrate. Talk to him and let me know some possible dates, all right? I know work is hectic for both of you, but you have to eat.” She smiles, brushing some of my hair back, the way she did when I was little.
“I will,” I say, smiling back. “Now, be honest. How convinced were you that Wren was the daughter who would spring an engagement on you?”
My parents laugh.
“There was some precedent there, as you would say,” Dad tells me.
“But the older you get, the more you’ll realize there’s no such thing as being grown up.
Your mom started a new career when she was your age.
Uncle Crew spent twenty years in Hollywood, then came back to the company.
People continue to change, and that’s not a bad thing.
Don’t be afraid to change, Rory, just because you’re perfect exactly as you are. ”
“Not that your father is biased or anything,” Mom says, smiling at Dad. She brushes my hair again, then steps back. “Okay. We should get on the road. We’ll see you soon!”
I nod. “See you soon. Drive safe.”
“You too,” Mom tells me. “Remind Wren a moving vehicle isn’t a concert venue. The music can be at a reasonable volume.”
“I’ll remind her.”
Mom blows me a kiss, and then she and Dad head down the hallway.
Hand in hand.
Wren turns down the volume on the stereo to a less ear-splitting decibel and glances over. “You know I’m not great with silence.”
“There’s music playing,” I point out.
“I don’t care about the music. I’m talking about talking.”
“There’s nothing to say, Wren.”
She laughs once. “I’m sorry, were you not there this morning? You announced your engagement to Flynn Parks. There has never been more to talk about.”
“It’s all fake. I told you that. We’ll announce it didn’t work out in a few weeks.”
“Correction: You told me it was supposed to be fake, but it felt real. And you told me that you were going to tell him that.”
“I chickened out, okay?”
“Not okay. Tell him, Rory!”
“I can’t, Wren. Every time there’s a chance, I panic. I’m not brave, like you.”
Wren laughs. “Brave? It took me three years to tell Sawyer I was in love with him. Trust me, I get how terrifying it is.”
That might be true. But guys have always gravitated toward Wren. Guys have not always gravitated toward me. I’m bossy. Rigid. Cold. A boring bitch.
“He might be moving back to Boston.”
“Did you ask him to stay?”
I say, “No,” even though she already knows the answer.
“You could move with him.”
I picture it. Giving Rachel my notice. Packing up my apartment. Putting Finch in a carrier.
I would do it. I would move to Boston for him.
Mom’s words echo in my ears. “You’ve never rushed into anything in your life, Rory. If you’re this sure about Flynn, you two must have something very special.”
I think we do. But I can’t shake the fear that Molly and Cammie and the many other women all felt the same way. That Flynn is the special half of the equation.
“What’s the worst that could happen?” Wren asks.
That I can never face Flynn again. That I ruin Kit’s oldest friendship because I couldn’t keep my feelings in check. If I don’t tell Flynn I’m in love with him, I can continue to pretend I’m not. I can see him at Kit’s wedding and his kids’ birthday parties and act like I’m fine.
“The only way I’ll get through another breakup is if it’s not real.”
“I think it’ll feel real whether you tell Flynn or not.”
I think Wren is right.
So, I resume staring out the window.
My sister sighs, then turns the music back up until I wish I’d packed earplugs.