Page 114 of Your Every Wish
“Because you think everything about Cedar Pines is freaky. You said the park is where old weirdos go to die, remember ?” It’s stuck in my craw ever since. These people are my neighbors. My friends. They may be a bit peculiar but they’re good people. Kind people. “I don’t get it, Dex. This isn’t your scene at all.”
“But you are,” he says. “I want to be where you are. Don’t you get that?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to saySince when?But I stop myself because these are exactly the declarations of love I’ve always wanted him to make.
No, the truth is I simply don’t want him to come to the party. I try to tell myself it’s because I don’t want him to feel awkward as an outsider, but the real reason is he’ll cramp my style. I want to celebrate Kennedy making her forty-thousand deadline, Bent McCourtney partnering with us, and all the future plans for Cedar Pines. And I want to do it with wild abandon. What I don’t want to do is celebrate under Dex’s always critical eye.
“You won’t have fun, Dex. And if you’re not having fun, I won’t have fun. And this is kind of a big deal to me. It’s the kickoff before the renovations. Even our new partner is coming. So think of it as a business thing.” If there’s anything Dex understands it’s business.
“Or is this just an excuse for you spend more time with that idiot Liam?”
“You’re being ridiculous.” But is he? Yes, he is, I tell myself. Liam lied and is dead to me. “In a few days, I’m leaving here, and you and I will be starting a whole new life together. I just think it would be better if I went to this party on my own. If Kennedy and I are going to make this venture work, we need facetime with our residents. This is that opportunity.” It sounds so superficial, so phony. So transactional. The truth is I’m looking forward to the potluck and spending time with Misty, Harry, Rondi, Azriel—even Trapper—and all the rest of the residents.
But Dex understands transactional.
“You sure?” He sounds sad, making me almost change my mind.
“You’d be bored to tears, Dex. And by next week, we’ll be seeing each other every day.” I wait for that familiar rush of excitement I used to get just before a date night or one of our infrequent lunch rendezvous. But all I get is a sense of nerves. It’s normal. Moving in together is a big step. How many times have I said the same thing to reluctant brides asking for advice?
“All right,” he says. “But if you change your mind I can be there in two hours.”
“Okay.” I start to tell him I love him but am distracted by Kennedy, who is standing in my doorway, motioning for me to wrap it up. “I’ve got to go, Dex. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“I need help with my makeup.” Kennedy holds up a tube of white face paint. She’s going to the party as a sexy ghost. Not terribly original but a good excuse to wear a slutty dress.
“We’ve got at least three hours still. What’s your rush?”
“I guess I’m just excited. And if you tell anyone that, I’ll deny it.” She smiles and the stress from the last few weeks is completely gone. Her face is like sunshine. And for the first time, I notice how very much we resemble each other. The same cheekbones, the same cleft chin, the same forehead. Willy’s face, I suppose.
“I talked to Mr. Townsend,” she says.
“On a Saturday?”
She nods. “He confirmed Liam’s account that there was more than three million dollars in the bag and that when all is said and done, we’ll get a cut. He didn’t know how much exactly but a substantial amount, enough for us to be comfortable.”
I grab her hand. “You’re a good person, Kennedy. You did the right thing by turning the money over to the FBI. You deserve this. You deserve the money. Now come on, let’s get ready. ”
A few hours later, we’re in the clubhouse, which has been decked out in monster mash regalia, including a giant blowup Frankenstein Monster. A DJ (Hadley Ralston dressed as a member of Run-DMC) is playing “Ghostbusters,” while Zola Abdi packs the punch with dry ice for a smoky effect. She’s dressed in one of her African-print outfits and when I ask her what she’s come as she says, “Whatever you want, baby girl.”
“Nice costume.” Harry reads the sparkly letters on my sandwich board that spell out GLITTERINGGENERALITY. I can tell he doesn’t get it.
“You too, Harry.” He’s a mailman. Clearly, he dug his old uniform out from one of his drawers. “I’m going to grab a bite. Want to come?” I stick my arm out for him, but he gets detained by Rondi. So, I stroll over to the buffet alone, three folding banquet tables that have been pushed together and are sagging with food.
People went all out. A pumpkin throwing up guacamole, not the most appetizing but certainly living up to the spirit of the holiday. Bloody witch-finger sandwiches, monster-toe cocktail sausages, stuffed mummy breadsticks, spider deviled eggs, and eyeball tacos.
I fill a plate and the next thing I know Liam is standing beside me. “A glittering generality, huh?” He gets it. He gets me.
“A park ranger?” I hitch my eyebrows at what appears to be a hastily thrown together costume of khaki pants, a forest green flannel shirt, a broad-rimmed flat hat, and a makeshift ranger badge pinned to his breast pocket. Kind of lame but adorable.
“Kennedy says you’re leaving next week. Is that true?” We both know what he’s really asking: Am I planning to go through with Dex’s proposal?
“Yep.” I should tell him that I have to mingle now but I don’t want to mingle. I want to stay here—with him. With Liam Duffy, my late father’s henchman.
“Let me ask you something.” He locks his gaze on me, silently beseeching me to hear him out. “If one of your readers were in our situation and asked you whether you should forgive a man who made a mistake—granted, a big mistake, but a mistake designed to help a man he’d grown to love like his own father find solace in his last years on Earth—what would you tell that reader?”
“Not to break the law. Not to lie,” I say.
“Too late. He already did both. If he could go back and do it differently, he would. But he can’t. And it’s killing him. The thought that this woman . . . his friend . . . may be lost to him forever is killing him.”
