Page 35 of Falling for my First Crush

I bite my lip, trying not to let myself feel too hopeful over any of it. Are my friends right? Is it possible that Joe has been spending time with me because he has feelings for me, too? I’m torn between wanting to give into the hope that their words have inspired in me, and the reality that they are probably wrong.

Even if they are wrong, though, what does it hurt to tell Joe how I feel? My feelings might be crushed if he rejects me, but what if there is the smallest chance that he feels the same way? I have to find out, and I might know just the right time: at the Tribute, tomorrow night.

Twenty

JOE

Icheck my reflection in the mirror one more time. I’m wearing my dress uniform to the Tribute tonight. All the veterans invited have been asked to wear them as a visible tribute to the fallen. The uniform fits me just like it did when I wore it in the past, but it feels so different to me that I do a double-take when I see myself.

My first thought is that I hope Jackie likes it. I have to correct myself; I should be hoping that Maia likes it. But I keep coming back to the thought that I really want Jackie to like me in my dress uniform. We’ve been working so hard on this Tribute together, and we’ve have had so many ups and downs, that tonight I just really want to see her happy.

“What do you think?” I ask Gidget. My dog barks happily at me. Even though I haven’t had the chance to call the shelter yet, I’ve made my decision. I’m going to make it official: Gidget is meant to be my dog. Jackie helped me realize that.

“Thanks,” I tell my pup.

Maia’s coming with me tonight as my date, but since I need to be at Violet’s home early, she’s going to meet me there. I’m nervous about the night. I’m going to need to make some remarks, and I haven’t been able to think of anything to say. Sabina is also going to share her experience, and I hope that it goes well for her.

My mind is a jumble of thoughts, as I drive across Cranberry Creek. I never thought of myself as spearheading something like this Tribute, but I know how important the program is to the hospital. And I know that this Tribute, although it started out as a way to help Sabina and others to cope with the losses in their lives, has grown to be about so much more.

I ease my car into the driveway of Violet’s home, mansion really, and drive through the gate. I assume that this gate is normally shut, and I’ll have to ring to be let in, but for tonight’s Tribute, everything is wide open. I wonder how many people bought tickets to the Tribute just to see the inside of this house. They’ll be disappointed when they find out that everything is taking place in tents on the lawn. It’s a massively impressive lawn nonetheless. From what I understand, Violet’s husband, Robert, is an avid botanist, with a specialty for roses.

Parking my car by the side of the house, I climb out and look around. I have no idea where I should go, so I send a quick text to Jackie. She doesn’t respond right away, and I wonder if I got the time wrong. We had agreed to meet early, to make sure that everything is exactly as it should be.

“Joe!”

I turn at the sound of my voice and see Jackie floating across the lawn toward me. She literally looks like she’s floating. I’m not even kidding. She’s wearing a flowy pale purple dress that swirls around her as she walks. Her short brown hair is held back with a matching headband.

“You look beautiful,” I say, my breath taken away at the sight of her.

She flushes. I’m not used to seeing her blush. “Thanks,” she says shyly. “You look very handsome, too, Joe.”

I feel my own cheeks get warm. Her compliment feels better than any I’ve ever received, and I have to remind myself that I’m looking forward to seeing Maia later. I don’t question why the thought feels more like a chore; just chalking it up to the fact that I’m nervous about my opening remarks tonight.

“So, what do you need me to do?” I ask.

Jackie laughs. “Violet has everything under control, trust me. And Addie, Ella, Marissa, and Kaylee are already here, too. We have so much help, I don’t think we need to do anything at all.”

“Wow, this really has become something, hasn’t it?” I say.

“It sure has,” Jackie says. “Sabina is really nervous, but I’m so proud of her for agreeing to say a few words about her experience. You’re all ready to introduce her, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” I say, even though that clearly isn’t the truth. Jackie narrows her eyes at me for a moment, but then must decide to let it go.

“Awesome,” she says. “I know you’ll both do great.”

Having Jackie believe I’m going to do a great job makes me think that I am going to do a great job. And without any effort, I suddenly know exactly what I’m going to say to introduce Sabina. It was sitting right in front of me all along, so all I need to do is put this feeling into words.

“Do you want to see the tents?” Jackie asks. “They’re amazing.”

“Absolutely,” I agree.

Following Jackie across the driveway and down a small hill to the tents set up on the lawn, I can see the caterers are busy setting up in one of the three tents. The speeches and the rest of the program will happen in one tent, dinner will happen in another, and dancing will happen in still another. I don’t quite understand why we need three separate tents, but apparently Violet insisted.

I’m not an event planner, so I feel fine leaving the details of things like this up to the people who know what they’re doing. All the different aspects of this Tribute could not have come together if I decided I needed to do it all on my own.

“Isn’t this amazing?” Jackie asks as we walk through all three tents. When we get to the third one, she says, “All the roses are from Robert’s gardens here.”

“This is incredible,” I say in complete awe, and I mean it. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Every color imaginable seems represented in living color. It’s arranged in such a way that the colors seem to fade from one color to the next naturally, like a living rainbow. I can’t even imagine all that Robert must know about roses to have grown all these different colors and kinds!

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