Sometime Soon (34 page)

As I stand there uncomfortably,
fidgeting despite the seamstress’s pleas for me to stand still, I catch Ryan’s
eye again in mirror. He winks at me, and the tension inside me slowly
evaporates.

I suppose parents want certain
things for their children. I shouldn’t begrudge them that. Besides, I have a
good feeling Ryan can take whatever embarrassing overtures my mom may dish out.

When the seamstress disappears to
retrieve something from the back of the store, Mom approaches me and says,
“You’re going to bring Ryan to the wedding, aren’t you? I told you I could
squeeze one more in.”

I haven’t asked Ryan yet. The
wedding is still many months away. “Yes, squeeze one more in,” I tell her
optimistically.

She nearly cheers out loud. After
stepping onto the platform and giving me a quick squeeze, she runs to tell Dad.
Hallelujah! Andrea is bringing a date to the wedding.

“You’re next,” Laura whispers, as
her amused expression follows Mom across the store.

“Stop,” I tell her, assuming she
means that I’ll be heading down the proverbial aisle soon.

“I knew your time would come,
Andy.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,
okay?”

She steps up beside me and places her
hands on my bare shoulders. “Sometime soon,” she says when her eyes find mine
in the mirror, “You’re going to take stock of the good things in your life
without worrying that they’re going to slip away once you do. Besides, you
deserve them.”

I smile at her reflection and I
tell her, “I don’t think it’s about deserving them. I think it’s about being
ready for them.”

As I stand there, something seems
to release inside me, and I know I need to believe in what I’m feeling. Always
waiting for the other shoe to drop has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I
have to get out of my own way and enjoy my time with Ryan. It may work out or
it may not. But I can’t let the little hurts that preceded him keep me on edge.

Besides, now that I’ve finally
found one of the good guys, I want to keep him.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to my early
readers.  There is no question your input improved the story. Thanks to
Jennifer Buldoc, Annemarie Donovan , Melanie Dovell, Dara Weinberger, Deb
Goodman, LeAnn Keller, Sue Panioli, Vicki and Jim Malver.

Also by Debra Doxer

WINTERTIDE

When college sophomore, Daniel
Hiller, reluctantly returned home to Cape Cod for the holidays, he never
planned on rekindling old friendships. He had easily left his life behind, and he
never looked back. But back at home, after a year and a half away, unexpected
nostalgia finds him once again in the company of old friends. On a night out
together, one of those friends commits a heinous crime. When Daniel witnesses
that crime, he is asked to keep a dark secret that could forever tie him to the
place he has always despised.

As Daniel tries to get through the
rest of his winter break pretending that nothing is wrong, he rekindles a
relationship with his high school girlfriend and he referees the all too
familiar arguments between his parents. All the while, he is attempting to
avoid the constant threats of retribution if he breaks his silence. Soon,
avoidance becomes impossible. Not knowing who to trust, but realizing that his
former friends are far from trustworthy, Daniel must make a choice.

 When he does, he discovers
that keeping the secret may have been the lesser of the evils. Daniel wants to
believe that he is nothing like his friends. He wants to think that he’s better
than that. But when his own future is threatened, he realizes that he is not
better. In fact, he may be much, much worse.