Chapter Thirty-Four
Calypso
Asher plops down on one of my kitchen stools. He’s helping me take some of the props for the Halloween fundraiser Grady and Vivi are hosting. It’s their third event for the public charter school, but after the Christmas fair brought them back together last year, it’s sort of their “thing” now.
Along with the booths that the student clubs and organizations put together, some of the small businesses donate their time and services.
Of course Brighter Daze is a part of that, so we’ll have a cookie booth as well as raffles for some of Chuck’s sourdough loaves. There’s been a lot of buzz for those.
Liam has to work late, since the dance studio project is running behind.
There’s still no word on the auditorium chairs, other than they can expect it at the end of the month.
But so far, Liam swears it’s nothing a few late nights can’t solve.
If he’s going to make the crew work overtime, then he only feels it’s right for him to be there too.
I’m the same with my team.
So I called my brothers for help this afternoon. Things like this are much easier than emotional matters. Hudson was busy, but thankfully Asher’s the one with a pickup truck.
It’s now packed with a variety of table cloths, food containers, and wooden booth signs that Liam and Jake helped paint over the last week. The kid is talented, and he looks at Liam the same way Stella does me—like we’re the coolest people in their worlds.
It does nothing to my ovaries, but a hell of a lot to my ego.
Kids are honest and brutal, so I’d rather be admired than judged like Lexi. Her little feud with Stella is hilarious but I’m not patient, or puckish, enough to deal with a child in that way.
As promised, I’m grabbing the ingredients for the strawberry shortcakes I prepped earlier. It’s one of Asher’s favorites, specifically the kind with the sponge cake rather than biscuits.
It’s the wrong opinion, but they are easy to make for him.
“What else does Vivi still need to do for the wedding?” Asher asks, tapping his fingers along the counter. We’re only about three weeks out from that, and I have no idea how the couple is handling two events at once.
“There’s not too much. It’s mostly waiting for deliveries, I think,” I say and grab two plates. “Grab some silverware, please.”
I hear the drawer slide open and him shuffling through something, but when I turn around, he’s opening the junk drawer.
The one I haven’t opened since Liam slipped the invitation in there.
It’s right there on top.
Oh, no.
“Asher…” I approach him like I would a wounded animal.
Asher’s staring blankly at the gaudy piece of paper, just like I had.
“Asher, wait—” My voice catches when his face drops. “I—I was going to tell you.”
“She’s getting married?” he whispers, staring at the paper. His voice cracks at the end. “I know it’s been nine years, but I don’t know. I had thought… Maybe …”
Maybe she’d come back.
I held out hope for the same thing for a long time.
Then, one day, it was time to wrap those memories and that hope up in a teeny, tiny little box and shove it to the back of my mind. I couldn’t go on grieving my friendship with Juniper forever—not when she’s alive, not when she chose to leave.
Eventually, Asher stopped talking about Juniper, too. I wasn’t foolish enough to believe he had fully moved on, if he ever could.
Uncertainly, I walk around the island and stand next to him. I’m not great at comforting someone, but Asher’s also the loose cannon out of all of us when he’s emotional. His easygoing demeanor often fools people.
“I hoped for the same,” I admit.
When Juniper broke up with Asher, she didn’t only abandon him. She left me.
We were friends years before anything romantic happened between them. I’m not saying my friendship with Juniper was perfect, but I never truly thought there would be a time in my life that she wasn’t around for.
Juniper was always an all-or-nothing kind of person, though.
I miss her every damn day anyway.
“Do you—” His voice catches. “Do you think she loves him?”
Blinking back tears, I consider his question. There’s a part of me that hopes she does—that she’s finally found happiness. Another selfish part of me wishes she never loves anyone the way she loved Asher. It was passionate and consuming, and, for a long time, unconditional.
“I don’t know,” I quietly admit. I flick one of the gold foiled corners. “Something about this has Deb written all over it.”
Debra, that snake of a woman, was always Juniper’s most faithful critic.
Wiping one of his tears, Asher side-eyes me. “She always wanted to get married in June.”
My gaze swings to the date.
July 27th.
“She—I forgot about that.” I let out a breath.
That’s right. She did.
Even as little girls, she’d always made sure her Barbies were married in June. When she would fantasize about her dream beach wedding, it was always at sunrise in the middle of the month. Never once did she falter on that.
Maybe her mind changed after their breakup, but… I don’t know. Juniper is stubborn, and no one can change her mind other than herself or her mom. And that date was never about Asher, outside of him being her partner for such a long time. I don’t think she’d change her mind on this.
However, Debra never cared what her daughter wanted. Juniper was no better than a show pony in her mom’s eyes, with all the pageants, dance classes, modeling, and a ridiculous number of other activities.
“Like I said,” I mutter and wrap an arm around his shoulders. “This has Debra written all over it.”
I don’t want to feed into any of his delusions that she will come running home one day, but something feels off about this whole thing. On top of the date, I’ve wondered why the hell she even invited me. She hasn’t spoken to me in years—now this?
“You’re probably right. It doesn’t matter anyway.” He smiles but it turns watery as he breaks down into another sob.
I wrap my arms around him and hug tightly. I was worried about what this news would do to him and had planned to speak with Hudson first—probably our mom and Vivi as well.
Maybe in the last six years, Asher has changed more than I realized. I saw him mature from the heartache. The longer I hold him, the less I’m worried he’s going to use partying, women, or fighting to aid him through this. He’s holding onto me like he’s scared of being alone.
I squeeze harder, no longer fighting off my own emotions.
You aren’t alone, I silently promise him.
We stay like that for half an hour, until I really need to get ready so we aren’t late to the pier. In that time, I sneakily texted Hudson. As I knew he would, he canceled his plans and came straight over. It makes it easier to go upstairs when I don’t have to leave Asher alone.
It only takes one quick text message to Liam for him to step away from the job site and call me. Hearing his voice is a breath of fresh air after getting sucked into the sticky nostalgia of Juniper Owens.
Liam’s concern sends that stupid gooey feeling through my body, regardless that I’m worried more about Asher than myself. He never fails to treat me as the most important part of his day, and that’s still unfamiliar for me.
Once he’s positive I am okay, and we agree to meet at the pier in an hour, I quickly jump into the shower and get ready for the evening.
Thirty minutes later, I’m heading back downstairs when I hear the soothing lilt of our younger sister.
If it were any other day, I’d be surprised to see Vivi on my couch, comforting Asher.
But if there’s anyone who can pull a smile from our brothers, it’s her.
She’s working on little goodie bags for the fundraiser as she tells them a story about Stella, Jake, and whatever their newest feud is.
Hudson has his arm around his twin brother’s shoulders, and Asher looks calmer than he did when I left them down here.
Sometimes I wish it weren’t so hard for me to depend on others, especially these three, but I’m glad that they don’t have that same problem.