Page 36 of Fake As Puck
“You okay?” I ask.
“Yeah. Fine. Just... focused on today.”
“The wedding.”
“Yeah.”
He plates the bacon and eggs, and we eat in silence. Not the comfortable silence from last night, but the kind of silence that’s full of things neither of us wants to say.
“I should get ready,” I say finally.
“Yeah. Me too.”
I retreat to my room and immediately call Tessa while I dig through my makeup bag.
“How are you feeling?” she asks by way of greeting.
“Nervous. Terrified. The usual.”
“You’ll be fine. Just remember to laugh at his jokes and look at him like you think he’s cute.”
“That’s not going to be hard.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Tell me about the kids. Are they being monsters?”
“Charlie tried to eat a crayon for breakfast, and Emma discovered she can throw food from her highchair. So, you know, normal Saturday morning chaos.”
“Sounds delightful.”
“It is, actually. It’s hard, but I love it. I love them.”
I start applying foundation, trying to create a face that looks like someone West Carmack would actually date.
“I’m proud of you, you know,” Tessa says.
“For what?”
“For doing this. For helping him out. I know it’s weird.”
“It’s not that weird.”
“It’s a little weird. But it’s also kind of sweet. Like, you’re doing this nice thing for him.”
“I’m doing this nice thing for money.”
“Yeah, I forgot about that part.”
I switch to mascara, trying to make my eyes look bigger and more girlfriend-like.
“Remember when we were teenagers and you used to get so upset if you thought West and I were flirting?” I ask.
“Oh my god, yes. I was so territorial about you two. I was worried he was going to steal you away from me or that one of you would hurt the other one and I’d be caught in the middle. But we’re all adults now. Water under the bridge.”
“Right. Water under the bridge.”
“Plus, you’re both emotionally unavailable disasters, so even if something did happen, it would probably just burn out naturally.”
