It's a Waverly Life (18 page)

I stood up to shake his hand, but before I could speak, the dog ran right at me. With its enormous snout leading the way, it beelined…for my crotch.

Nice.

I tried to push the dog away, but it wasn’t having any of it. All I could do was laugh.

“Cooper!” Natalie jumped up to grab the dog, apparently a male, thus making our encounter even more awkward. She yanked him away by the collar and scolded him. “Cooper, that’s terrible. Terrible!” She said
I’m so sorry
with her eyes as she led him into another room and shut the door.

Tim was clearly trying not to laugh. “Sorry about that. Cooper’s quite a curious fellow.” There was something in his demeanor that made me like him immediately. He didn’t take things too seriously, so how could I?

I smiled and held out my hand. “I’m Waverly, a friend of Jake’s. I like to make an entrance. How did I do?”

His handshake was firm. “Not bad, not bad at all.”

Natalie rejoined us and put her hand on Tim’s back for a moment, then gestured toward me. “Waverly was in town and thought she’d stop by to see Jake, but she didn’t know he’d already gone back to Atlanta.” I exhaled as I realized how plausible the story sounded as she told it. Apparently I was a better actor than I thought.

Tim motioned me back to the couch. “Please, sit back down. Let me get you a drink. How does a glass of wine sound? Maybe a scotch and soda to calm the nerves? You’ve just survived a vicious dog attack, after all.”

I laughed. “You’re so kind, but I should get going. I’m so sorry to just show up like this. I really…I really thought Jake would be here.”

Natalie stood up and put her hand on my arm. “Don’t worry about it for a minute. It was lovely to meet you, Waverly. Jake’s spoken very highly of you.”

“He has?”

She sensed the surprise in my voice. “I hope you realize it’s nothing personal that he didn’t tell you he was going back to Atlanta. That’s his way sometimes.”

“It is?”

“Definitely. You know how men can be when they’re stressed. They clam up, and Jake is textbook like that. I’m sure he’ll be sorry to hear he missed you.”

I stiffened. “Please don’t tell him I was here. He didn’t know I was going to be in town, so I really would rather he didn’t know.”

“You don’t want me to tell him?”

“If you don’t mind. I…I don’t want him to feel bad.”

She smiled. “Okay then, we won’t say a word.”

“Scout’s honor,” Tim said.

I hoped they would keep their word, however odd the request.

I waved goodbye to Tim as Natalie showed me to the front door and handed me my coat. “Thanks for coming by, Waverly. I’m so sorry you missed him.”

I smiled and put my coat on. “He
is
a popular guy.”

“Always has been.”

“It was so nice meeting you. Again, I apologize for stopping by unannounced. And I’m…I’m so sorry about the baby.”

“Thank you.” She took my hand and squeezed it gently. “Maybe we’ll see you again sometime.”

I hope so,
I thought.

The second I sat down in the PT Cruiser, I pulled out my phone and called Andie. She answered immediately.

“You’re calling me already? What happened?”

“You’re not going to believe it.”

“I don’t think I want to know. Was he there with another girl? Did he make you cry? Did he kick you to the curb? Do I need to fly out there and kick his ass?”

“He didn’t do anything.”

“What?”

“He wasn’t there.”

“Where was he?”

I sighed. “In Atlanta.”

“What? I thought you were sure he was in Boston.”

“I really thought he was, but his sister said he went back to Atlanta last week.”

“Oh lordy. So where are you now?”

“Sitting in the rental car, half a block down from her house.”

“So you spoke to her?”

“Yes.”

“What did she say?”

“She was nice. Really nice, actually. So was her husband. They said he went home last week, and that was about it.”

“Did they know who you are?”

“Yes. They saw me on
The Today Show
.”

She laughed. “As did the whole world, apparently. So what are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know. What do you think I should do?”

“You tell me. You’re the famous advice columnist.”

“Not helpful, Andie.”

“Hey now, I’m just speaking the truth. What would you tell your readers?”

I sighed. “I think…I think…”

“Well?”

I waited a moment before finishing the thought.

“I think…I think I need to go to Atlanta,” I finally said.

“That’s my girl.”

“Am I crazy?”

“Yes,” she said immediately.

“Thanks for that. It’s just what I needed to hear right now.”

She laughed again. “You’re welcome. Now get yourself on a midnight plane to Georgia.”

Now I was laughing too. “
A midnight plane to Georgia
? How long have you been waiting to use that?”

“A while. I wasn’t sure when I’d get a chance, but that was pretty sweet, wasn’t it?”

“Definitely good timing, I’ll give you that. Although I doubt I could actually
get
on a midnight plane to Georgia at this point.”

“I imagine you can take a morning plane to Georgia too.”

“Ha. Okay then, I guess I’m headed south. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Good luck.”

“I thought you said I didn’t need luck?”

“Oops, you’re right. Then go get ’em, cowgirl!”

“
Go get ’em, cowgirl?
Have you been drinking?”

“Just a glass of wine. Okay, maybe three. I’m hanging out at my place with CJ.”

“I could use a glass of wine myself right now. Hey, Andie, why do you call him CJ?”

“Everyone does. It’s his initials.”

I was about to ask what his initials stood for, but I didn’t get a chance. “Listen, speaking of CJ, I’m being rude to him by yapping on the phone, so I’m gonna hang up, okay? Call me from Atlanta?” she said.

“Will do. Bye.”

I called McKenna but got her voicemail. I left a long, rambling message that included all the relevant details, plus the unfortunate snout-to-the-crotch incident. I sighed and leaned my forehead against the steering wheel for a long moment, then fired up the PT Cruiser and drove back to the corporate park.

Back in the hotel, I changed into my pajamas and sat cross-legged on the bed. I booted up my laptop, planning to work on the first of my two columns for the week. As I read through e-mail after e-mail from readers wondering why it’s so hard to find love, one in particular caught my eye. It was from a woman named Tamara, whose latest crush had just
texted
her to cancel their first date. Her note said that was the last straw, she’d been hurt so many times she was ready to cash in her chips and walk away from the table. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the headboard, thinking about Tamara and her chips. Gambling was the perfect analogy for what
I
was doing at the moment.

After I finished the column, I called United Airlines. The customer service representative said there’d be no fee to move the date up for my direct flight back to San Francisco if I was willing to fly standby, but she put me on hold to check on how much it would cost to reroute me through Atlanta. As I waited for her to throw out a number, I wondered if I’d have to sell my car to pay for the ticket.

“Ms. Bryson? Are you still there?”

I held my breath.

“Still here.”

“We can get you on a flight leaving Boston at two forty-five tomorrow afternoon, arriving in Atlanta at five thirty-three.”

Then she told me the change fee, and I flinched.

“Do you want me to make the change, Ms. Bryson?”

I studied my reflection in the mirror, thinking about what Andie had said.

You can do this
.
You’re already doing it
.

Then I thought about the roses Jake had sent me.

He wanted to be your Valentine
.
Remember that.

Suddenly I heard my voice saying the opposite of what I was thinking.

“I think I’ll just fly directly to San Francisco,” the voice said. “You think I can get on that flight tomorrow?”

“It shouldn’t be a problem, Ms. Bryson.”

I shut my phone and looked at my reflection again.

“I’m sorry,” I said to the mirror.

I still had loads of time after I checked in the next morning, so I decided to do something I’d never done at an airport: have a real sit-down meal. Usually I raced my way through airports, always on the verge of missing my flight, but today I wasn’t in the mood to spend any more time in the greater Boston Area than absolutely necessary.

I sat down at a table in Legal Seafoods. While I was scanning the menu, I heard a familiar voice behind me.

“Waverly?”

I turned around.

No way.

“Scotty? What are you doing here?”

He kissed me on the cheek. “I should be the one asking, my love.
I’m
the one who lives on the East Coast and travels all the time for work.”

I laughed. “This is true.”

He picked up his coffee mug. “Shall I join you? Or are you still mad at me?”

“Of course you should join me. And no, I’m not still mad at you. I could never stay mad at you. You’re too pretty.”

He moved his bag to my table and sat down. “So talk to me, princess. Why on earth are you in Boston?”

“You don’t want to know.”

He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t want to know?”

“It’s a little embarrassing.”

“Oh now you
have
to tell me. Come on, sweetheart, talk to me.”

I grimaced.

“Waverly…”

“Okay, fine, I’ll tell you.”

And I did.

As I finished the story, Scotty finished his lobster omelet.

“So that’s it.” I shrugged and dug into my French toast. “You may proceed to heckle.”

“Oh kitten, I’m not going to heckle you.”

I pointed my fork at him. “I already told you I’m not mad at you anymore, so you don’t have to suck up. It’s okay, really, heckle away. I deserve it.”

“I can’t believe you came all the way to Boston and he wasn’t even here.”

I sighed. “I really thought he would be. I called the Hawks the day before I left, and they said he was still on leave.”

“Did you think about flying down to Atlanta?”

I poured more syrup on my plate. “I did, briefly, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger. Plus it was crazy expensive to change my flight, so that made my decision a lot easier.”

“So that’s it? You flew all the way across the country, and now you’re just turning around and going back to San Francisco?”

“So it seems.”

“You sure you want to do that?”

“What
can
I do, Scotty? I mean, am I supposed to just go show up at Jake’s house in Atlanta? Who
does
that?”

“Maybe
you
do.”

“But isn’t that, like, insane?”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“But won’t it just scare him away?”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“You’re not being very helpful.” I took a sip of my coffee. “Besides, I already showed up at his sister’s house, remember? Even though I’m pretty sure she thought I was in town visiting friends, I already feel enough like a stalker.”

“What would you tell a reader who was in the same situation?”

I put my coffee mug down. “Again with the
What would you tell your readers?
question. Like my readers actually care what I have to say.”

“Hey now, don’t sell yourself short. You’re really good at what you do. Everyone thought you did a great job on the show.”

“They told you that?”

He nodded. “You were refreshing and honest and
different
, Waverly. People like different.”

Ha. Different was
one
way to put it. A polite way.

“So what happened with that horrible Wendy Davenport anyway? Did she get her own show?”

He nodded. “Sad to say, but she did. It’s starting pretty soon, actually.”

I stuck my tongue out. “Blech. She’s gross.”

“My dear, there’s no accounting for taste where big advertising dollars are concerned.”

“I know, I know. I just hate to see her rewarded for being such a…
bitch
. It doesn’t seem fair.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but I interrupted him. “And please don’t say life isn’t fair. I don’t feel like hearing that right now, okay?”

He smiled. “That’s not what I was going to say.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Fine, don’t believe me. All you need to do is listen to me.”

“Listen to you?”

“Yes, listen to me.”

I narrowed my eyes as he pulled out his phone.

“You, my dear, are going to Atlanta.
Today
.”

“I am?”

“You are. You need to go see Jake. Tell him how you feel.”

“I do?”

“You do. And I’m paying for the flight change
and
upgrading you.”

“You are?”

“I am. And I won’t take no for answer. Think of it as my way of paying you back for the
Today Show
incident, okay? Now hang on a minute.”

He dialed the in-house travel agent for NBC, and before I knew it, I was on the two forty-five flight to Atlanta.

In first class.

Several hours later I found myself in another rental car, this one a scary teal Pontiac. I had Jake’s address displayed on my phone, as well as directions to his house. I drove by all the T.G.I. Friday’s again, this time with even more butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. As I headed toward the burbs, I adjusted the radio and listened to the latest Kelly Clarkson song, which was followed by a Scotty McCreery song, then a Carrie Underwood song. I put my hand on my heart and gave a mental shout-out to some of my favorite
American Idol
alums, out there tearing up radioland and making one of their biggest fans proud.

It wasn’t that late, but it was long past dark when I finally made it to Virginia Highlands. I turned left on Jake’s street and caught my breath when I saw his house up the road, the memories of our weekend together flooding my brain—and heart. As I approached his place, everything about it was exactly the same as I remembered.

There was just one little glitch.

A car was parked on the street in front of his house, but his dark green Tahoe wasn’t in the driveway.

It was nearly seven.

Maybe the Tahoe was in the garage? Did he have two cars?

Please don’t let him be out of town.

Just as I’d done at his sister’s, I drove past the house and parked down the street, trying to ignore the fact that this was the
second
time in less than twenty-four hours I’d engaged in semi-stalker behavior. (Or full-blown stalker behavior, depending on whom you asked.) I checked my face in the rearview mirror, then retrieved the small bouquet of hyacinths I’d bought on the way. Given how hard I found it to speak English when I was nervous, I thought I might as well try speaking in flower.

I got out of the car and walked toward his house, part of me hoping he was home, part of me hoping he wasn’t, and part of me wondering if the crazy police were going to show up and haul me away. As I neared the front door, I practiced the beginning of my little speech in my head. As long as I could remember the beginning, I knew I could get through the rest.
Hi, Jake, before you say anything, I have something to tell you…

I reached for the doorbell but stopped just short.

I squeezed the bouquet, took a deep breath, and pressed the button.

Then I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Is the doorbell broken?

I knocked on the door, but still he didn’t answer. Hoping maybe he was in the shower, I gave it five minutes and knocked again, but still no answer.

Crap.

I exhaled and sat down on the front step, wrapping my coat around me. I’d always had a secret fantasy of coming home from a long day at work to find a guy I liked sitting on the steps to my building, holding a flower, or maybe even a whole bouquet. I’d walk up and smile, and before I could speak he would stand up and smile back at me, then apologize, or say he missed me, or maybe even that he loved me. I’d never thought too much about the details because the fantasy never really got past the part where I saw him sitting there. (It also had never happened. But hope springs eternal.)

It was now seven thirty.

I decided to call McKenna. I was doubtful that I’d actually reach her, but if anyone could calm me down, she could. Lucky for me, she answered.

“Hey, Wave, where are you?”

“Atlanta. I’m sitting in the dark on the front step of Jake’s house, waiting for him to come home. Oh my God, that sounds
SO
stalkerish when I say it out loud.”

“You’re really sitting on his doorstep?”

“I kid you not, I’m literally sitting on his doorstep, in the dark, holding a bouquet of flowers.”

“That’s sweet.”

“I feel ridiculous, Mackie.”

“It’s sweet. Do
not
feel ridiculous.”

“I love you for saying that. Can I just tell you that?”

“I love you too. So when is he getting home?”

“No idea.” I set the flowers down and wrapped my arms around myself. “I just hope it’s soon. It’s getting really cold out here.”

“He’ll be so happy that you’re there.”

“You think?”

“How could he not? It’s so romantic.”

“I like to
think
it’s romantic. That keeps me from thinking it’s ridiculous.”

“I promise, he’ll love it.”

“So what’s up with you? All good on the baby front?”

“Actually, I have a little news.”

“News? Good news, I hope?”

“Definitely good news. We’re having a girl!”

“Oh my gosh, a baby girl?”

“Yep, can you believe it?”

“Wow, that’s so exciting. Congratulations.”

“Thanks. We’re so happy. And there’s one other thing…”

“One other thing?”

Silence.

“You sure nothing’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Then what?”

“It’s just that…I think we’re going to move to Mill Valley.”

“NO!” I covered my mouth and hoped I hadn’t disturbed the neighbors. “You said you’d never leave the city.”

“I know, I know, but Hunter and I have been talking about it a lot lately, and it will make things so much easier. I mean, a baby in the city would be really hard. I love our apartment, but I just can’t imagine raising a child three floors up with no elevator. Plus I feel like she deserves to have a real yard, to run around and feel the grass under her feet, you know? I think it would be selfish for us to stay in the city.”

“You could make it work.”

She laughed. “Mill Valley is ten minutes over the Golden Gate Bridge, Waverly.”

“I know. But what about Dino’s? What about the Kilkenny?”

“We will
always
go to Dino’s for pizza and frosted mugs of Bud Light, no matter what. Just maybe not every week, okay?”

I sighed. “I just wish things could stay the same, Mackie. You know I don’t handle change very well. If it were up to me, we’d all still be living within a block of each other when we’re old and gray.”

“Nothing can stay the same forever, you know that. But don’t worry. I’ll make sure we have an extra bedroom so you can come have a slumber party anytime you like. You know you’re family to us.”

“I know, but I’m just really going to miss seeing you all the time.”

She sighed. “Can we please put the dramatics to bed? It’s not like I’m moving across the country. I’m not dropping off the face of the earth. I’m having a baby. I’ll be ten minutes away. We’ll just be shopping for baby clothes instead of getting mani-pedis. Deal with it.”

I laughed. “Okay, okay, I get it. I will learn to embrace life change.”

“There you go. There’s the Waverly Bryson I love.”

“Actually, that reminds me. I’ve been thinking about a new—”

Just then I saw the lights of a car pulling up to the house. “Oh Jesus, he’s here, Mackie. I gotta go.”

“Okay, good luck! I love you!”

“Love you too. Bye.” I hung up and threw my phone into my purse. Then I scrambled to stand up and collect myself. As Jake’s car pulled into the driveway and out of my line of sight, I smoothed my hand over my hair and reached down to pick up the flowers.

I heard the sound of a car door opening and shutting.

Then I heard the sound of another car door opening and shutting.

I heard the sound of Jake’s voice.

Then I heard the sound of a woman’s voice.

OH MY GOD.

I had to get out of there. The only route away from them was to the side of the house, so I sprinted toward the side yard. When I got to the end of the house, I turned left out of their view.

Or so I hoped.

As I rounded the corner, I bit my lip.

Then I bit
it.

I slammed right into a trash can and sent it flying, me along with it. I banged my knees against the cement and landed on my chest with a painful thud. The trash can was empty, but it was very
loud
, and it clanked and clattered as it rolled along the cement walkway. I managed to get myself up quickly and ran to the can to right it—and shut it up. But it was too late. Jake had heard the commotion, and I could already hear him headed toward me.