Chapter 13
Magnolia
The rest of the week passed by quickly as Lexie and I were busy getting the house into a more livable condition. So much cleaning and so much dust, but I must admit, it was really coming to life. I was forever thankful that Lexie was here because I had to unpack thousands of memories in each room, though most of them good.
It was hard not feeling guilty about staying away, and I wished I would have tried harder to be here for my dad. It was hard to unpack that guilt with the memories, and it was a lot to work through. But I must admit, being home made me feel lighter than I had in a long time.
I was eating my lunch on the dock, reminiscing over old Fourth of July picnics my parents hosted here—I think everyone from town would show up. Momma and Tuck would bring all the sides, and Dad would grill while Tuck hovered. The Montgomery’s brought their special sangria for those who were drinking, and sweet tea for those of us who weren’t or weren’t allowed to drink.
Of course, Sloan and I used to sneak sips throughout the entire party and be positively toasty by the time the fireworks started. My memories shot to the picnic before my mom got sick.
We were sixteen, and it was just a few weeks before we got the news about Mom’s cancer. Sloan had spent the day brutally kicking my ass in hockey to practice for varsity tryouts, and I had thought my lungs were ready to give out.
“Sloan, please, just let me die here. This…this is not fun,” I gasped as I dramatically plopped down on the end of the dock.
He shot me a sheepish grin. “It’s not that bad, Magnolia, just a little exercise.”
“ Exercise? You call that exercise ? It’s about to be an exorcism of everything I ate today.” I faked a gag to really throw my point home. I was done with practicing today. I wanted hot dogs, burgers, and to sneak some alcohol.
I hated to admit it, but it had seemed like we were growing apart a little bit. Sloan had hit a decent growth spurt, and he was attractive —way more attractive than a sixteen-year-old boy should be. He was tall, hovering around six foot two, his arms were becoming lean. He still had the same brown hair and steel-gray eyes, but when he wiped his face with his shirt, I could have sworn I saw a four-pack that wanted to be a six-pack. I had to stop myself from drooling. Swoon .
Best friend, best friend, best friend, I chanted in my head. I’d been in love with Sloan since I knew the meaning of the word, but that didn’t mean he’d given me any indication that he was into me. Our junior year was fast approaching, and I had this sinking feeling that everything was about to change, if it hadn’t started already.
“Okay, fine, no more hockey. Ready to eat?” He held out his hand for me.
“Do you even have to ask?”
I remember vividly taking his hand without zero hesitation—there was no doubt in my mind about him, or who he was.
“Earth to Magnolia.” A hand waved in front of my face.
Lexie’s voice cut through my memories and brought me back to the present. I couldn’t help but smile at her. “What’s up, Lex?”
“Oh, nothing. I’ve just been watching you have this dreamy look on your face for what seems like hours. Are you thinking about your date tonight?”
I wasn’t, but now I was.
“I am now.”
“Are you excited? Please let me dress you and do your hair and makeup.”
I knew arguing this with Lexie would only be futile, so I nodded to give her the go ahead, despite not being totally on board with the plan.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been on a date, so yeah, I’m excited for what tonight will bring.”
That was the truth; I hadn’t been on a date in over six months. My last “boyfriend,” if you could even call him that, told me he could no longer sleep with someone who wouldn’t let him in emotionally.
Honestly, I didn’t even realize how impersonable I was, but when he broke up with me, he laid out all the facts. I realized yesterday when my friends asked that I don’t even know where you grew up. It took me months to find out your last name, and that’s only because I saw your ID. You’re a great lay, but you’re too emotionally closed off for me. I wish you luck. I hadn’t even realized how little I shared until he brought it up. My cheeks burned in embarrassment at the thought.
“Hasn’t he been texting you all week?”
I grinned; he had been. I grabbed my phone from my back pocket, opened our text thread, and handed her the phone.
Wednesday 8:43 A.M.
Lance: It was good to meet you yesterday, looking forward to Friday.
Wednesday 3:45 p.m.
Lance: Hoping this is the right number and you didn’t give me a dud.
Lexie and I were elbow-deep in cleaning; plus, I had seen Sloan at the diner that morning, so I took the afternoon to sort through what he had said. To be honest, I was mad. How dare he lie about how his mom felt? Coward. How dare he think a few nice words would make me forget years of pain. I had grown enough to know that my leaving wasn’t just about Sloan—but Sloan was the catalyst for my depression. I had sunk so far deep into my loneliness that if it weren’t for Lexie, I’m unsure where I would be right now. How do you forgive someone for that? Easy, you don’t. I huffed in annoyance just thinking about it. A small part of me was thinking I should find Lori and have a conversation with her, but even thinking about it made my anxiety spike.
Lexie looked at me like I was crazy. “Wait… You waited a whole day to respond to him?”
Thursday 8:45 A.M.
Magnolia: Right number. I am also looking forward to Friday.
Lance: Thank God, I can honestly say I’ve never been so anxious to receive a response.
Magnolia: It’s your lucky day, then.
Lance: I’m hoping Friday is my lucky day.
I remember being a little put off by his response but shook it off.
Lance: I can stop by at 6:30. I should look at the work you need done before our 7:30 reservation.
I thought about telling him that I would meet him there, however, that didn’t make much sense since he did have to come look at the house.
Magnolia: Sounds good.
He already had my address based on the business meeting we had earlier this weekend.
Lexie handed me back the phone without saying much, which was unusual for her.
“Cat got your tongue?”
She waved me off. “No, not at all. Just thinking about what I’m going to dress you in tonight.”
Please, nothing sparkly, I silently prayed to whoever might be listening.