It's a Waverly Life (5 page)

“Something tells me you’ll figure it out.”

“You think?”

“I think.”

“Thanks. At least
one
thing I’ve figured out is that I’m not so worried about how things look anymore. Now I’m more concerned with how they feel. I know that sounds a little new age-y, but I guess this is the new Waverly.”

“And how do they feel now that you’re in Atlanta?” He reached across the kitchen table and took my hand. The quick change of subject surprised me, and for a moment I couldn’t bring myself to make eye contact with him.

Tell him how you feel, Waverly.

I wanted to, but suddenly all I could think about was the woman in the photo.

I feel vulnerable
, I wanted to say.
I feel like I’m not as together as you think I am. I feel scared that if I let you in, you’re going to break my heart like Aaron did.

I wanted to open up. I really did.

But I choked and poured ice water on the moment.

“Things feel
chilly
in here, Mr. McIntyre.” I pulled my hand away and playfully rumpled his hair, then stood up and wrapped my arms around myself. “I’m going to get a sweater.”

“Tell us everything. Leave nothing out.” Andie spread her hands on the deli table between us.

“I can’t tell you
everything
. Gory details are your style, not mine.”

McKenna put a hand on Andie’s shoulder and nodded. “It’s called a filter.”

Andie shrugged. “Fine, fine, just give us the highlights. Did you sleep with him?”

“Yes.”

“And was it good?”

I picked up a forkful of Caesar salad. “Yes.”

“How good?”

I smiled.

Andie pumped her fist, then gave McKenna a high-five. “I knew it! He’s too good-looking for it not to be good.”

I filled them in on the basics of the weekend, glossing over the steamy parts that were burned into my memory. Saturday before the Hawks game Jake had taken me to see the Botanical Gardens and Piedmont Park, and we’d spent most of Sunday wandering hand in hand around the Little Five Points neighborhood before my flight home. I was fascinated by Little Five Points, a funky section of town filled with indie cafés and artsy boutiques that made me feel even less hip than I normally did. My favorite part was a popular burger place called the Vortex Bar and Grill. The entrance is literally a giant skull, and the restaurant’s slogan is “Because it’s not too late to start wasting your life.” We even came across a couple tattoo parlors along the way. (Jake suggested I get my name inked across the back of my neck.)

McKenna took a sip of her Diet Coke. “So how did you leave it? When’s the next chapter of this budding romance going to take place?”

Andie nodded. “Inquiring minds want to know.”

I bit my lip. “I’m not sure. He has a crazy schedule with the NBA season in full swing, and I’m not exactly flush with cash these days to go flying all over the place. But when he kissed me goodbye, it definitely didn’t feel like the end, for either of us. We just never quite defined the terms.”

“You didn’t talk about it?” McKenna said.

I shook my head. “Honestly now, I have no idea what to expect.”

“Did he bring it up?” Andie said.

“I think he started to on Saturday morning, but I changed the subject.”

McKenna looked up from her plate. “Why?”

I picked at my salad. “Because…I saw a picture of him with another girl.”

They both raised their eyebrows.

“It was framed, on the mantel in his living room. And it was
recent
.”

“Not his sister?” Andie said.

“I don’t think so.”

“Cousin?” McKenna said.

“I doubt it. She had her hand on his arm.”

“Hmm…” Andie said.

“Exactly.”

“Hmm…” McKenna said.

“Andie already said that.”

She laughed. “I know, just processing. You didn’t ask who it was?”

“I was too scared of what the answer might be.”

McKenna frowned. “Waverly, we’ve already talked about this. You can’t let fear stop you from getting close to him.”

“I know, I know. And we did talk about some personal stuff, so I’m making progress. I think that was just a minor setback in an otherwise great weekend.”

“So he knows you really like him?” Andie said.

“I think so.”

McKenna narrowed her eyes. “Did you
tell
him so?”

“I may not have used those exact words, but I’m pretty sure he knows. I mean, he
must
know, right?”

She shook her head. “You’d better make
really sure
he knows, Wave. I know you think of him as some sort of superhero, but he’s not a mind reader. Guys never are, even the smart ones.”

I picked up my phone to check the time. “Oh man, I’ve gotta run. I need to be at a meeting in fifteen minutes.”

Andie waved a hand in the air. “No problem. You don’t have to be here for us to keep talking about you. Scoot.”

I stood up and gave them each a quick hug, then bolted out the door.

I was conflicted about my new life as a freelancer. On the one hand, visiting the
San Francisco Sun
reminded me of how trapped I had felt when I had a regular job. I hated getting up early, especially on Mondays, and I could never take a nap in the middle of the day (one of my secret all-time favorite activities). But Jake had been right to suspect that a small part of me missed my former agency. Wandering the busy floors of the
Sun
made me nostalgic for the structure of an office, the camaraderie of being part of a team, the pride in
leading
a team. Plus I hadn’t realized how much I’d miss the simple daily interaction with other human beings. It had only been a few months, and I was already contemplating getting a cat just to have someone to talk to. Yikes. So I was grateful for the Wednesday afternoon staff meeting at the
Sun
. It wasn’t entirely necessary for me to attend, given that my column had nothing to do with news, but I wanted to make a good impression, and no one seemed to mind when I showed up every now and then.

“Hey, Waverly, how’s it going?” Ivy looked up as I approached her desk. “Got bored at home?”

I crossed my arms and leaned over the low wall of her cube. “Exactly. What’s new?”

She patted a huge stack of forms on her desk. “You’re looking at it. Boring, boring, and more boring. Have I told you how much I hate this job?”

“Many times. You really need to quit.”

“I know, I know. I’m just waiting for the right time.”

“Still dreaming about photography?”

“Always.”

“Don’t wait too long. Life is too short to stay in a job you don’t enjoy. Believe me, I know.”

She started chewing on her fingernail and looked a bit stressed, so I decided to lighten up the conversation. “Hey, I got some great e-mails this morning.”

“Yeah? Maybe some are from my friends. Seems like they’re all dating crazies these days.” She took off her horn-rimmed glasses and let them dangle around her neck on a retro silver chain. “I mean
lu-na-tics.
”

I laughed. “There are definitely a lot of psychos out there. But on both sides of the chromosome. It’s not just guys.”

She nodded. “Oh believe me, I’ve done my share of stalking. Thank God that part of my life is over. I think my next tattoo might have to be Casey’s name, just so he feels too guilty to break up with me.”

“For real?” I remembered Jake’s tattoo story. The thought of anyone’s name tattooed on any body part was just…
ick.

She shrugged. “Maybe. You can never underestimate the power of permanent ink. So give me a good story. Does anyone ever ask you for actual
advice
?”

I laughed. “Sometimes. Okay, I’ve got a good one. This girl who lives in Russian Hill e-mailed me yesterday to complain about a blind date she’d been on over the weekend at Houston’s. She ordered a hamburger, and the guy ordered just a salad.”

Ivy narrowed her eyes. “Just a salad?”

“Just a salad. And when she asked if that was all he was going to eat, he said he was a vegetarian.”

She pushed a few red curls away from her eyes. “Okay…”

“So the food comes, and the guy starts eating his salad. The girl picks up her hamburger, and as soon as she takes a bite, he makes a mooing sound.”

“A what?”

“A mooing sound, you know, like a cow.”

“You’re joking.”

“Not joking. So she looks at him, and he says something along the lines of
I’m sorry, but I can’t stop thinking about how you’re eating a dead animal
.”

“There’s no way that really happened.”

“She could be making it up, of course. You never know.”

Ivy put her glasses back on. “Okay, that’s it. I’m getting Casey’s name tattooed on my hip after work tonight. I’m locking that man
down
.”

“You ladies talking about me again?”

We both turned our heads as Nick Prodromou, the
Sun
’s IT guy, approached Ivy’s cube.

“Hi, Nick, how’s it going?” I said.

He yawned. “It’s going. Where there are computers, there’s always a need for the master.” He was wearing a yellow shirt that said, “Even Awesome Needs to Sleep.”

I laughed. “Nice shirt.”

“Isn’t it amazing? I bought it at Walgreens on the way to work this morning.”

“You bought it this morning?” Ivy said.

“Indeed I did. My bowling league was last night, so I didn’t have anything to wear today. I couldn’t just show up to work in my jumpsuit.”

Ivy and I exchanged glances.

“Come again?” I said.

“You wear a jumpsuit?” Ivy said.

“I’m confused,” I said.

“The whole bowling team wears them. They’re amazing. Last night my roommate had friends in town, and they were staying in my room, so I hooked up with this new girl on the team so I’d have somewhere to crash. I didn’t have time to go home before work this morning, so I stopped at Walgreens and tossed the shirt on over the jumpsuit.”

I stared at him. “You hooked up with a girl on your bowling team just so you could have a place to
sleep
?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Do you even like her?”

He shrugged. “Warm bed.”

“
Warm bed?
That’s your answer?”

“Very warm, actually. I had to open a window.”

I laughed. “Don’t you think she’d be upset if she found out the real reason you hooked up with her?”

“Perhaps, but I’m going to file that under
Not My Problem
.”

I turned back to Ivy. “What were we just talking about?”

She reached for her phone. “I’m scheduling that appointment right now.”

Later that night, there was a message on my phone from Jake, but it was too late in Atlanta to call him back. The time difference made it hard to connect, but I secretly liked that we couldn’t talk all the time. I was surprised at how much I thought about him, how often I wondered what his opinion on something would be, how many times I felt like calling just to say
I miss you
. But despite my feelings, I just wasn’t ready to be in touch on a daily basis. I needed to keep some emotional distance, so while I always returned his calls, I tried to avoid jumping to the phone every time I wanted to hear his voice.

Besides, the messages meant that I could listen to his voice…over and over.

“Hey there, it’s Jake. Just calling to say hi and see how your week’s going. We lost tonight, but it wasn’t all bad, no injuries. After the game I was approached by an executive of one of the pro leagues down in South America about a project…might be some opportunity for me there…just something to think about. Anyhow…give me a shout when you can…I…miss the smell of your hair.”

I closed my eyes and smiled. For this Waverly moment, his voice was enough.