It's a Waverly Life (24 page)

Later that week, I suffered through my first yoga class in months. I hadn’t even made it back to my apartment when every muscle in my body started tightening up. What is it about yoga that uses muscles you didn’t even know you had? And if you didn’t even know you had them, why do you need them anyway?

On the way back up Fillmore, I stopped in front of the empty storefront Red had shown me. I peered inside, imagining what it would look like as something new.

I wondered when I’d hear from Wyatt and Dean. It hadn’t even been a week yet, but I was anxious. For a moment I thought of McKenna and Andie, of Ivy, of Nick, of Jake, of Red, of everyone in my life who’d played a role in my new idea. I turned away from the store and continued up Fillmore. I crossed Sacramento, then ducked into Noah’s Bagels to buy an Odwalla. When I got back to my street, I saw Red leaving our building.

“Red.” I approached him with a smile. “How are you?”

He tipped his head. “Why hello there, Miss Waverly. I’m doing just fine. How are you?”

My eyes moved from his impeccable suit and hat to my long, hooded Cal Berkeley sweatshirt draped over my yoga pants. “I’m doing better than I look, I promise.”

He laughed. “You’re as lovely as ever, my dear.”

“Thanks, Red. Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in a while.”

A shadow flickered across his eyes, and then it was gone. “I went back to Springfield for a bit, to attend to some personal business. I may be leaving here for good soon.”

“Really? But it seems like you just got here.” I was surprised by how much the thought of his leaving upset me.

“Time does fly. It’s one of the wonders of life. How’s that writing of yours going?”

I felt a chill in the air and crossed my arms in front of me. “Actually, in a roundabout way it’s led me to something I’m really excited about. So I’m really…well…excited.” I smiled at him.

“Why that’s splendid, Miss Waverly. You see, sometimes it takes a while to put the pieces in place.”

“I think you’re right.”

“And I love seeing that pretty smile of yours again.”

“Thanks, Red. I like seeing it too.”

“I tucked another letter under your door. Looks like it was delivered to my place when I was in Springfield.”

“Another one? Our postman really needs to stop sniffing the glue on those envelopes.”

He chuckled. “Well, you take care now, Miss Waverly. I’ll be seeing you real soon.”

“Bye, Red.”

He tipped his head and ambled slowly toward Fillmore Street. I watched him for a moment as I fished my keys out of my pocket. When I opened my front door, I bent down to pick up the envelope he’d slid underneath. I was about to open it when I heard my phone ringing in my office. I hurried down the hall, tossing the envelope toward the coffee table as I passed by the living room. I checked the caller ID, but it was a private number.

“Hello?”

“Waverly, it’s Wyatt Clyndelle.”

I sucked in my breath. “Wyatt, hi. What’s up?”

He paused for a moment, and I held my breath.

“I’m sorry, Waverly, but we’re going to have to pass.”

I frowned. “Really?”

“The thing is, we’re a publishing company. And while it’s a fun idea, we just don’t see how it would fit into our product line. I’m sorry.”

“Oh,” I said softly.

“The good news is that everyone here loves the new Honey Notes you came up with. We’ll definitely work those into our next product cycle.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll keep you posted on their status, okay?”

“Okay, thanks Wyatt.”

“Take care, Waverly.”

I hung up the phone and sighed.

Fired by the
Sun
, then rejected by Smithers. Minor celebrity or not, how quickly I’d gone from up-and-coming columnist and aspiring entrepreneur to…unemployed.

Suddenly I wanted to go for a run. Even though I’d just come from yoga and was already pretty tired, I thought it might clear my head. I went into my room and changed into shorts and a long-sleeve shirt, then laced up my running shoes and headed out the door, unsure of which direction to go.

How appropriate.

I thought about it for a moment, then decided to retrace the steps of the walk McKenna and I used to take before work, back when she lived around the corner and I worked at KA Marketing. Maybe something familiar, something from the past, would help me feel less anxious about the future.

I’d never done the route as a run, if you could call my sluggish pace a run, and never without McKenna. This time I noticed several things I’d never paid any attention to before. A pretty house here, a postcard view there. It was all familiar, yet unfamiliar.

Beauty that had always been there, but which I’d never taken the time to notice.

When I reached the Lyon Street steps, the steepest part of the hill leading back to my neighborhood, I stopped to stretch my legs before putting them through the pain I knew was coming. I set my right foot on a bench and leaned forward. My body was sore, but the disappointment I felt hurt more.

Smithers had shot me down. Eloise Zimmerman had canceled my column. What was I supposed to do now?

I still had my Honey Notes, but they weren’t enough.

When I got home, exhausted and vowing never to run the Lyon steps again, I kicked off my shoes and dragged myself to the kitchen for some water. I refilled it once more and plopped on the couch, too tired to take a shower just yet.

I lifted my head toward my still shaking legs. “Legs, please forgive me. I’m so sorry, but I really needed that.”

Then I noticed the letter on the floor near the coffee table, which I’d totally forgotten. I leaned down to pick up the envelope and studied the neat red handwriting.
Who are these letters from?

I removed the sheet of paper inside. Like the others, this one had a single word. But unlike the others, it didn’t make any sense.

ve

“Ve? What is ve?”

I stood up and went to the bookcase, then ran my fingers across the spines until I stopped at a huge Webster’s Dictionary. I pulled it down and sat back on the couch. I flipped to the V section and ran my finger down the side of the page.
Vault, vaulting, vaunt, VD (yuck), veal, vector…

I moved my finger to the top of the page and repeated the search.

“Ve” apparently meant…nothing.

What?

I tossed the letter on the coffee table and stood up to get some more water. Halfway to the kitchen, I froze.

Red’s words from earlier rang in my ears.

Sometimes it takes a while to put the pieces in…place.

Suddenly my legs weren’t so tired. I hurried to the coffee table, picked up the letter, and ran to my office. I opened the desk drawer and reached toward the back. I unfolded the other two anonymous letters I’d received and laid all three side by side.

be…lie…ve

Believe?

I glanced at the floor, where the cardboard box I’d brought to Smithers was sitting. Then I stood up straight and looked at the mirror on the wall.

I smiled at my reflection.

All the pieces
were
there. They’d been there all along.

It was time for me to put them together.

“I
do
believe,” I said to myself.

I checked the clock as I sliced the apples. It was nearly seven o’clock.
Ack.
I opened a box of water crackers and placed several on a platter with cheese and grapes, then ran into my room and stripped. I tossed my clothes in the hamper and opened my closet, pulling out a pair of jeans and a sleeveless black top. I slipped on some green flats and rushed into the bathroom to brush my hair.

At seven sharp, the doorbell rang. I ran to the bathroom mirror and dusted a blusher over my cheeks.
I hope it’s just Andie,
I thought. I’d invited her, Red, Nick, and Ivy over, and while I couldn’t care less what Andie thought of me or my apartment, I wanted to look nice for the other guests, especially Red. McKenna couldn’t make it because she and Hunter were meeting with their realtor to make an offer on a house.

I trotted to the front door and pressed the intercom. “Hello?”

“It’s me,” Andie said.

“Cool.” I buzzed her in and opened the door, then went back to the bathroom to put on some lipstick.

When I joined her in the kitchen a few minutes later, she had cracked open a bottle of wine and was munching on a cracker. “So what’s the big news?”

“You’ll see soon enough.” I opened the cupboard and pulled down four more wineglasses. “Is this enough food? Do you think I should open a bag of chips?”

She nodded. “People will always eat chips.”

I opened a bag of Ruffles and a can of mixed nuts, then poured them into bowls and set them on the table.

“You seem nervous,” Andie said.

“I
am
nervous.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, I just am.” I turned toward the living room.

“I saw CJ yesterday.”

I stopped in my tracks.

“No way.”

“Way.”

“What happened? Where did you see him?” After she’d spotted CJ kissing a guy, Andie had broken things off without telling him why. She didn’t want to out him before he was ready to do it on his own.

“At Naked Fish on Chestnut. I was getting takeout, and I saw him there with some guy.”

“The guy from the sighting?”

“I think so.”

“And?”

“I went right up to their table to say hi, and CJ looked like he might jump right up to the ceiling and hang on with his fingernails.”

“What did he say?”

She shrugged. “Nothing really, I mean, now that I
know
, it’s sort of sad to watch. They were obviously together, but he was so clearly uncomfortable. It must be so hard to live like that.”

“I can’t imagine.”

“So anyhow, I wanted to figure out a way to let him know that I’d be cool with knowing, even though I didn’t want to come right out and let him know that I know, you know?”

I squinted at her. “What?”

“I wanted him to know he can be himself with me.”

“Why didn’t you just say that?”

“I just did. Anyhow, I gave him a hug and said I’ve loved knowing him, and that he’s a wonderful guy, and then I whispered in his ear that maybe, when he’s ready, we could go to a Ricky Martin concert together.”

I laughed. “You did
not
.”

“I did.”

“You think that was
subtle
?”

“Nebraska, Waverly, he’s from Nebraska.”

The doorbell rang. Still laughing, I walked over to answer it.

“Hello?”

“It’s Ivy and Casey.”

Ivy
and
Casey? I buzzed them in, then sneaked a peek back at Andie, who was still in the kitchen.
Hmm.
At least this would put an end to the mystery once and for all.

A few moments later, Ivy bounded through the door. I gave her a hug, and she turned to the tall blond guy standing next to her.

“Waverly, this is Casey. I hope you don’t mind that I brought him along, but…we just got engaged!” She held up her left hand, a diamond sparkling on the ring finger.

“Wow, congratulations.” I gave her a hug. “That’s wonderful!”

“It was a complete surprise, and it literally just happened, so I couldn’t just leave him alone after that. But I couldn’t bail on you either, so we’re going to dinner after this. It’s really okay?”

“Of course it is. This won’t take that long. Come on in, have some wine. And Casey, it’s great to finally meet you.” I led them into the living room. Andie was now sitting on the couch. “Andie, this is Ivy and Casey. They just got engaged.”

I watched for a reaction on her face, but there was none. She stood up and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you both. Congratulations!”

“It’s nice to meet
you
,” Ivy said. “Waverly’s mentioned you many times. I hear our crazy mothers would get along fabulously.”

Andie laughed. “I like you already.”

“Andie, will you help me get them some wine?” I gestured toward the kitchen, then turned back to Ivy and Casey. “You two, please make yourselves comfortable.”

When we got into the kitchen, I lowered my voice. “Don’t you think he looks a lot like CJ?”

She gave me a strange look. “What?”

“Casey and CJ. Don’t you think they look alike?”

She took a step back toward the living room to look at Casey, then shrugged. “A little, yeah, I can see that. But CJ’s
way
shorter.”

“He is? He looked so tall when I met him.”

She laughed. “Waverly, I’m a hobbit.
Everyone
looks tall next to me.”

I laughed too. All that stress for nothing. I would make a horrible eyewitness. We brought wine out to Ivy and Casey, and the doorbell rang. “That must be Nick.” I walked to the front door to buzz him in, then waited so I could warn him that Casey was there.

A moment later, I saw him. He was wearing a button-down tan shirt with super thin blue stripes.

“Nick, you look great.”

“Thanks, I wanted to look nice for, you know…” His voice trailed off, and my heart broke for him.

“Listen, Nick—”

“Is that Prodromou?” I heard Ivy’s voice from the living room, and before I could say anything more, Nick had passed me. I turned around to see Ivy running up to hug him.

“Hey, stranger, it’s so great to see you,” she said.

“Of course it is. It’s nice to see you too.”

Then she turned to Casey, who was still seated on the couch. “Nick, this is Casey. We’re getting married!”

I could see a brief flash of pain in Nick’s eyes, but like a gentleman he hid it with a smile. “Wow, that’s great news.”

“Thanks.” Ivy grabbed Casey’s arm with both of hers and pulled him up. “Can you believe it?”

“Congratulations.” Nick extended his hand to Casey. “She’s a great girl.”

Just then Andie returned from the bathroom. “Waverly, I love that new hand soap. It smells just like cranberry. Makes me crave a vodka cranberry. You got any vodka?”

Nick turned around.

“Hi,” she said to him, suddenly shy. “I’m Andie.”

“I’m Nick, and I love a good vodka cranberry.”

I heard a knock on the door. “That’s my upstairs neighbor. You guys are going to love this man.” I ran to the front door and opened it.

“Hi, Red, thanks so much for coming over.”

He removed his fedora and smiled. “Good evening, Miss Bryson. How can I be of help?”

I shook my head and motioned for him to enter. “You’ve already done
more
than enough. Now please, come meet my friends.”

After everyone had been drinking and chatting for a few minutes, I stood up and tapped a fork against my wineglass.

“Thank you all for coming tonight, even though I didn’t explain why I needed you here.”

Andie held up her glass. “Free wine.”

I smirked at her. “And Casey, I know you don’t even know me, so thanks for dealing.”

He held up his glass too. “Free wine.” Ivy laughed and lightly hit him on the knee.

“Anyway, as the rest of you know, the past year or so has been about transition for me. Quitting my job, turning thirty, trying to figure out my next step in life, occasionally freaking out about it, et cetera.”

They all nodded.

“Also, as you know, as part of this transition I launched a line of greeting cards for women called Honey Notes, and until quite recently I also was working as columnist for the
San Francisco Sun
.”

“Acclaimed columnist,” Nick said.

“Extremely talented,” Andie said.

I laughed. “While the main purpose of the Honey on Your Mind column was to answer questions about relationships and dating, I received a lot of e-mails that didn’t contain a single question.”

“I miss those,” Ivy said.

I shifted my weight from one leg to the other. “And some of the e-mails didn’t really have anything to do with dating, either.”

“I miss those too,” Ivy said.

“The thing is, through all the e-mails people sent to Honey on Your Mind, I realized there are a lot of people out there who like to, well, share what’s
on their mind
, so to speak.”

I saw confusion on everyone’s face except for Red’s. He smiled as if he understood perfectly well.

“What I’m trying to say is that I think people could relate to what I was writing about, which made them want to share their own stories, even if they weren’t actually asking for advice.”

More confused faces.

“At first I didn’t get it, but then I realized something. People were writing me, and reading the column, because…because they like knowing that they’re not the only ones who don’t have life all figured out. Does that make sense?”

Everyone was nodding, but I wasn’t sure anyone was following.

I took a sip of my wine. “So I started thinking about combining the idea behind the Honey Notes with some inspiration from readers, as well as from my awesome
friends
, to create an entire line of Honey products.” I swept my hand across the room to emphasize the word
friends
. “It took me a while to pull it all together, but that’s what I came up with, and I’m excited about it.”

Everyone raised their eyebrows. They were clearly lost. Everyone except Red, who smiled.

“I know I’m not explaining this very well, but what I’m trying to say is that instead of worrying about what to do next with my life, why not make
life itself
the focus of what I do next? The goal would be to make people point and nod and think,
Yes, that’s totally true!
Whether the products are about dating…or just about…life.”

“Life?” Andie said.

“Yes. I guess you could say this would be a line of products about…
life
.”

“Why didn’t you just say that in the first place? I think I fell asleep for a few minutes there.”

I pointed at her. “Hey now, be nice.”

“I’m just keeping it real.” She leaned forward and refilled her wineglass.

“Anyhow, I was thinking about calling the line Waverly’s Honey Shop.”

“Waverly’s Honey Shop?” Nick said.

“Yeah. What do you think?”

Andie looked at Ivy. “That’s pretty catchy.”

“I agree,” Ivy said. “What would the products be?”

I leaned down to open the box on the floor next to me, then pulled out a few fitted shirts I’d mocked up. “Well first, I was thinking about Honey Tees. They’d be for women, at least to start. Some could be witty, others a bit more profound. Here are some I thought would be fun.”

One by one I held the shirts up.

A pink one said, “E-mail Breakups Don’t Count” on the front and “Or Text Breakups” on the back.

A green one said, “Stuffed Animals Do Not Belong in Cars” on the front with “And Dogs Do Not Belong in Purses” on the back.

A blue one said, “Having a Plan Doesn’t Make You Smart.”

A gray one said, “I Know Nothing, but at Least I Know That.”

The last one, in black, said, “Life Is Scary, Now Get Over It.”

Everyone laughed. “Those are great,” Andie said.

Nick reached for one to get a closer look. “These definitely have the potential to be amazing. Of course, I like to think I’m somewhat of a role model for you.”

I laughed. “Of
course
you are. You’re awesome.”

“What else do you have in that box?” Ivy said.

I leaned down and pulled out two neutral-colored tote bags and one black one. “I was also thinking about doing Honey Totes.”

“Honey Totes?” Andie said.

“Yep.” I held one up that said, “Make Happily Ever After Happen” in bright blue. The second bag said “Just Smile” in pink.

I turned to Red. “These first two are all you.”

“I’m honored, Miss Waverly.”

Then I held up the black one. It said, “Is It Worse to Be Fake or Bitchy?” on the front and “Honey, Just Face It—If You’re Asking, You’re Probably Both” on the back.

I laid all three totes on the coffee table.

Ivy reached over and picked one up. “These are cute. I would totally use them.”

“Me too,” Andie said. “Especially if you made one with that stuffed animals line on it. I can’t
stand it
when people have a million stuffed animals in their cars.”