Page 53 of The Hometown Dilemma
The buzz I’d experienced on my return to the hotel had started to fade, sobriety kicking in instead. While I waited to hear back from Wade, I took a shower, washing away the unpleasant parts of the evening; our argument and coming back to an empty hotel room.
Once I’d finished, I pulled on a tank top and shorts, then slid under the duvet, mindlessly scrolling through my social media for a distraction. After an hour, and still nothing from Wade, I cracked and called him again, only to reach his voicemail for the second time. Concern crept over me. What if he’d gone out to another bar and something had happened to him? Surely he’d have messaged me or left me a note if that had been the case.
Jaime:Are you still awake?
Cami:Braden just left, so yeah, lol. What’s up? Why are you messaging me and not blowing Wade?
Her comment at least raised a tiny smile as I called her.
“Jaime, what’s going on?”
An unexpected sob caught in my throat. “I don’t know where Wade is.”
“What are you talking about? He’s with you in New York, duh.”
I sniffed. “He was. We had a fight. I went out to meet Vanessa and when I came back to the hotel, he was gone. He’s taken his bag and his phone seems to be off.”
“Hang on.” There was a pause while Cami did something at her end. “Oh, it goes straight to voicemail.”
“I could have told you that,duh.” Wiping a stray tear from my cheek, I told her the whole sorry story of the evening.
“Wow. So, you’ve basically got the job,” said Cami after I’d finished. “Congrats. How did Wade take the news?”
“He doesn’t know yet.” But apparently, he’d already decided to leave me based on what had happened tonight. “What am I going to do, Cami?”
“I can’t tell you, sis. That’s all you. But what I do know is that Wade fell hard for you, like he hasn’t done with anyone else. Not even me,” she added with a chuckle. “That has to mean something.”
I couldn’t express how much I hoped her words were true.
“Come on, he can’t be far away. You’re getting on a flight back tomorrow, right? He’s probably gone to an all-night bar to cool off and think about everything,” reasoned Cami.
“But I don’t want him to think about everything, I want him here with me!” I wailed. “We need to talk about whether I’m going to take this job.”
“Then talk to me. I might not be Wade, but I make a good substitute.”
A huge sigh escaped my lips. “I should probably think things through on my own first. There’s a lot to consider.”
“There sure is, like whether I’m going to let Braden stay here if you move back to New York. I could make a killing in student rent subletting your room.”
“You’re not helping, Cami.”
“Trying to lighten the mood.” My sister giggled. “Seriously, though, if you need to talk again, I’m here. I’m on a late shift at the salon so I don’t need to be up early.”
“Thank you. Although you might regret that when I’m calling you up again at four in the morning.” I glanced over at the clock on the wall which already showed it was close to one am. No wonder I was exhausted.
“Night, Jaime.”
“Night, Cami.”
Speaking to Cami made me feel better, but still didn’t solve the mystery of where Wade was. I tried calling again, still no answer. Then I looked at the message I’d sent him earlier to see it showed as unread. Wherever he was, it seemed he had no intention of contacting me. As tired as I was, my mind wouldn’t let me rest. I tossed and turned without Wade next to me, sleep not forthcoming.
Finally giving in to the realization that I wouldn’t be getting any sleep, I made a strong cup of coffee and switched on the television, trying to find something to occupy my mind. As I flicked through the channels, I found an old episode ofInterior Nirvana. Instantly, I knew it was the semi-final, where the ultimate winner had been so close to being eliminated. Seeing her in bits as she made it through the final judge’s selection, brought fresh tears of my own. I could almost see the parallels between us - Colm and Vanessa had granted me a pass to the final, but I wasn’t sure whether I could take it.
Something Wade had said earlier suddenly flashed back in my mind.
“It’s fake, Jaime…with those people tonight, it’s like you were acting, putting on a front, trying to show a version of you that comes across as fake. When we’re working together, you come alive with the customers, showing therealyou.”
Was that how he saw me? Inauthentic?
