Page 126 of Hate You, Maybe
“I’ll clean up, Maggie,” my dad says. “And the kids will help, won’t you, kids?”
Landry, Kendal, and Jo simultaneously respond with versions of yeah, yep, and yes, while I shove my chair back from the table.
“I’ll come back to help.” I push to a stand, dropping my napkin on the seat. “But there’s something I need to do first.”
My mom tips her chin. “Where are you going?”
“Ooh!” Jo claps her hands. “He’s gonna go talk to Sayla. Aren’t you, Dex?”
“Well. Would you look at that?” I say. “For once, Jehoshaphat might be right.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Sayla
So far, my Monday has been below average. To say the least.
Since I’d gotten a doctor’s note to skip school, Loren decided last night that she’d play hooky and stay home too. She scheduled a sub, and we both agreed to spend the whole day eating junk food and binge-watching all her mom’s favorite romcoms. I even made a list of the movies for old time’s sake.
Solid plan.
Or so I thought. Because halfway through whatwouldhave been third period if we’d gone to school, Loren set the Pringles container on the coffee table and paused the movie. I shoved an Oreo in my mouth, knowing black teeth are a small price to pay for the creamy center.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, chewing.
“I can’t just sit around all day feeling sorry for myself,” she said, and I tried not to feel judged. “There’s not enough ice cream in the freezer. And anyway, teaching will keep my brainoccupied. Otherwise, I’ll just be thinking about all the wedding vendors I have to call to get my deposits back. And I’m not up for that today. It’s too soon.”
I sat up, brushing cookie crumbs from my lap. “So you’re just going to show up in the office and say, ‘KIDDING! I’M NOT SICK?’”
“Pretty much.” Loren started for her room. “At least now you can go back to your romcom marathon without me infecting what little optimism you may still be clinging to with your cold, murdered-cuticle fingers.”
And with that, she left me to finishThe Proposal. Alone. Then I watched27 Dresses,You’ve Got Mail,Notting Hill,andMy Best Friend’s Wedding.Also alone. Afterward, while the credits rolled on Julia Roberts and Dermot Mulroney, it occurred to me that a romcom movie marathon probably wasn’t the best choice of viewing material forty-eight hours after Loren’s broken engagement.
Still, her day turned out way better than it would have if she’d stayed here on the couch with me for ten hours. Because after teaching the rest of her classes, then sticking around after school to grade papers, Loren just called to say she’s going to dinner with Bridger.
Good for her.
Lonely for me.
So I collect the last two apple cider donuts from the kitchen and finish watching10 Things I Hate About You.This turns out to be a terrible idea, seeing as how that movie is a modern remake of Shakespeare’sTaming of the Shrew, which makes me think about Dexter directingRomeo and Juliet,and how triumphant he looked afterward, holding hands with me on the fifty-yard line. By the time I reach the part in the film where Kat reads her list of reasons she hates Patrick, I realize how much I don’t hate Dexter.
Not even close. Not even a little bit. Not even atall.
My chin wobbles, and I swipe at my stinging nose.
I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry.
But the truth is, the worst thing I did this week wasn’t choosing to watch this movie. It was letting myself hope. Specifically, hope I could have it all. The FRIG, the job, the relationship. Almost like life with my mother taught me nothing.
I should have known better. She taught me all too well.
Speaking of my mom, though, I should probably call her. She may not be parent of the year, but she’d want to know I got hurt.
At least the literal injury, if not the heart part.
We haven’t spoken since the morning after my stellar performance at Tequila Mockingbird, when she called to make sure I was all right. And now I’m kind of curious to see if she’s still engaged. If a stable woman like Loren Cane can’t make it to the finish line with Foster Abel, what chance does Colleen Kroft stand with Eugene Bender from Apple Valley, Oregon?
Slim to none, probably.
