You Can't Go Home Again (2 page)

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For some reason her alarm was going off. She hadn’t set it
last night, had she? She couldn’t imagine why she would have. This was her one
day to sleep. As she rolled over, wiping the drool from her mouth, it finally
occurred to her that it wasn’t her alarm, but her telephone. Bleary eyed, she
glanced at the clock as she reached her hand toward the nightstand, grabbing
blindly to stop the damn ringing. 6:23. Who in the hell was calling her at 6:23
in the morning?

“Someone had better be dying,” Dani said by way of greeting.
“If not, I can make it happen.” When she heard the voice on the other end
squealing with joy, she debated hanging up. Unfortunately, even squealing, she
recognized Jenn’s voice.

Jenny, her lifelong best friend, would never call this early
unless it was important. But, just to be certain, Dani felt she should state
the time, make sure she realized there was a two-hour time difference between
them. “You do remember that it’s two hours earlier here than it is in Texas,
right, Jenn?”

“Yes, grump butt, I remember. But, I just had…”

“And you do remember that I am not what you would call a
morning person, right?”

“That would be an understatement, Dani. But, I just wanted
to tell…”

“So, I’m assuming it’s something vitally important for you
to call me before six thirty and squeal in my ear before I’ve even had coffee,
right?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, if you would just
shut your yap a minute!” Jenn laughed. “Brian finally proposed!!!”

Brian was Jenn’s boyfriend of over three years. He was also one
of a group of four who had been friends since high school. Dani never knew what
had finally brought Jenn and Brian together, but personal experience had taught
her not to question love and chemistry. Knowing that two of her best friends
were going to spend the rest of their lives together really was worth being
woken up.

“Dani, did you hear me? I’m getting married!”

Jenn was squealing again, so Dani had to say something, if
only to save her eardrum. “Jenn, I’m so happy for you! I know you’ve been
waiting for this. Brian is a lucky guy, sweetie, really. You guys are great
together.”

Dani meant every word she said, even though there was a tiny
ache starting in her chest. She was truly happy for her friend. She remembered
her thoughts from last night. She loved her life, loved her career. She
wouldn’t change anything about it. But sometimes…

“I know, I’m so happy, Dani. You have no idea! And, I’ll be
even happier once you agree to be my maid of honor.”

Dani bolted upright in bed, swiping furiously at her hair,
trying to get the knotted mess out of her eyes. She couldn’t have heard that
correctly. “What? Say that again.” Please don’t be what I thought I heard.

“Wow, you really aren’t good without coffee, are you? I
said, would you be my maid of honor?”

Dani felt her heart plummet, crashing into her stomach. She
should have seen this coming, but she hadn’t. Jenn and Brian had been together
almost four years. At asome point they were obviously getting married. And she
should have expected to be in Jenn’s wedding, if not as the maid of honor, at
least as a bridesmaid. They were only best friends! Dani swiped her hand
through her hair again, trying not to audibly sigh. There was no way out of
this.

“Dani, I can hear you thinking. Come on, I know this will be
hard for you, but please… There is no one else I want as my maid of honor.”

One more yank on her hair and Dani heard herself say, “Of
course, Jenn. It’s not hard for me. I’m just not awake yet.” She forced
enthusiasm into her voice. “Of course I’ll be in your wedding. Did you honestly
think you could get married without me there?”

She heard Jenn squeal again, followed by the unmistakable
sound of hands clapping together in glee. As much as she was dreading this, she
couldn’t help but smile.

After a second, Jenn’s voice came back on the phone. “Okay,
the wedding’s in three months! July twelfth. I already have your dress
designed, I’ll send you the picture later today. Oh, and just send me your
measurements and I can have it made for you here, with all the others. Unless
you’ve gained massive amounts of weight since I saw you two months ago, the
dress will look perfect on you, and since you never gain weight, it will be
great. So, I know that summer is a busy time for you, but since the wedding is
so close to Fourth of July, I was thinking maybe you could come out for ten
days or so? Please say yes! It would be so much fun to have you here for all
the last-minute stuff, and for a kick-ass bachelorette party!”

Dani laughed. “So, it seems like you have a lot already planned.
When did he ask you?”

“Last night, officially, but we’d been talking about it for
a while, so I had already picked out the dresses and stuff. Mine too, actually.
We picked the date last night. But we had kind of discussed that too. We’re
getting married in my parents’ backyard, so we could do it whenever we wanted
to. I know it will be hot as Hades, but we’ll put up tents and everything else,
so it should be okay. Can you come? Please say you can come for the whole ten
days, not just the wedding.”

Dani cringed. Ten days at home. Ten days with a group of
people she hadn’t seen in almost five years. Jenn knew she didn’t want to go to
Texas, although she didn’t really know why. No one did. At least, not the whole
why.

Jenn heard the sigh that Dani tried to hide. “Dani, look, I
know you don’t want to come here. I know that being home is hard for you. You
don’t even deal with your family’s house. You have the rental company handle it
instead. And I have never complained that the only time I get to see you is when
I come to Los Angeles. But I need you to do this. This is really important to
me. The happiest event of my life. And I want to share it with you. I’m playing
the friend card, Danielle. I need you to come home for this.”

Dani took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. “Yes. I’ll
be there, and I’ll come early. I’ll try to get there for the fourth, although
that’s not a guarantee. I need to see what’s brewing at work. But…,” she
continued before Jenn could interrupt, “I will beg, if necessary, and see what
I can do. Okay?”

One more squeal, but at least this time Dani was prepared
and pulled the phone away from her ear. She wasn’t looking forward to this, but
she couldn’t help but laugh at Jenn’s excitement. “I really am excited for you,
sweetie. So much so that I might even forgive you for waking me up on my only
day off.”

“Wait, your day off? Oh, I’m so sorry! Go back to sleep!
I’ll call you later and give you the rest of the details. You know, the other
bridesmaids, the groomsmen, etc. Oh, and I’ll send you the photo of the dress
you’ll be wearing. Okay, I’ll talk to you later. Goodnight!”

Dani smiled again. “Bye. Tell Brian I said congrats, and
it’s about damn time!” She heard Jenn laughing as she hung up the phone.

Dani settled back, trying to get comfortable so she could
get some more sleep. After about ten minutes she gave up. Throwing her legs
over the side of the bed, she let out one more long, deep sigh. They say you
can never go home again. It looked like she was going to find out.

Jason Bradford wrung out the rag in his hands and leaned
over to wipe down the bar. It had been a busy night, but Saturdays usually
were. They had just closed ten minutes ago, and as much as he longed to leave
the mess and head upstairs to bed, he knew he wouldn’t. He just couldn’t leave
a job undone.

He wiped down tables, flipping chairs up onto them when he
was done. Dave was supposed to have stayed to help, but when his girlfriend
showed up at one thirty with tears streaming down her face, he’d let him go
early. So it was just him. Him and the silence. After so many hours of chaos
and noise, the silence at the end of the night was always welcome. He was lost
in his own thoughts, zoning out, so he nearly jumped out of his skin when he
heard the knock on the door. He headed over to open it, figuring it was the
owner of the cell phone he had tucked behind the bar.

When he opened the door and saw Brian, he was startled, then
worried. It was two thirty a.m. What was he doing here?

“Hey Bri, what’s up? What are you doing here?”

Brian walked through the door, a strange smile on his face,
then turned around and gave Jason one of those backslapping guy hugs. When he
pulled back, the grin was bigger than ever.

“So, what are you doing July twelfth?”

When Jason looked completely lost, Brian laughed. “Jace, she
said yes!” Jason still looked nonplussed, so Brian continued. “I finally
proposed, officially, and Jenn said yes! We’re getting married July twelfth.
And I want you to be my best man.”

Jason had started grinning less than halfway through Brian’s
little speech. When he was done talking, Jace pulled him in for another hug,
pounding his back with all the enthusiasm he felt. “Aw, man! That’s awesome!
I’m so glad for you. It’s about time you guys made it legal!”

“I know, I know…it’s been a long time coming. Man, it feels
good, ya know? Really good. So, are you going to stand up with me, or what?”

“Dude, do you even have to ask? You know I will. I would
have been pissed if you didn’t ask me.” Jace turned around, heading back toward
the bar. “Pull up a stool, let me buy you a drink.” He hopped over the bar.
Turning around to grab a couple shot glasses, Jace grabbed the bottle of
tequila.

“You can never go wrong with Patron.”

“Aaah, you must really be happy, dragging out the good
stuff.” They threw back the first shot, hissing a bit at the burn. “So, are you
excited to see me settled with Jenn, or just glad one more guy gets the ball
and chain before you do?”

Jace smirked. “Well, another one bites the dust!” Brian
grinned, taking the ribbing in stride. “No, you know, I think you and Jenn are
great together. Besides, who else is gonna put up with your crap?”

Brian just grinned again, wiggling his eyebrows a little.
“She only puts up with me ‘cuz I’m great in bed. Which explains why no one has
stayed with you.”

Jace laughed, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Brian had no idea how
close to home he had just hit. Jace knew that it hadn’t been intentional,
because Brian knew nothing about that. No one knew anything about that. Jace
poured out another round, trying not to think about it.

“Speaking of… Nicole seems to be sticking. You ever give any
thought to taking the next step? Getting a ball and chain of your own?”

Jace winced, a move Brian caught despite the casual shrug
that followed. “You know, it’s not that farfetched, Jace. With me and Jenn
tying the knot, you can bet it will cross her mind. Besides, you guys are
really good together. Have you honestly never even considered the idea?”

Jace sort of nodded and shrugged all at the same time. “I’ve
thought about it. Not extensively, but it’s run through my brain a time or
two.”

When Jace made no further comment, Brian prodded. “And?”

“And, nothing. I’ve never had any real urge to propose to
Nicole. Maybe we’re just not…there…yet. I don’t know. We’ve only been dating a
year.”

Jace watched as Brian tilted his head to the side, obviously
thinking this over.  When he finally reached a decision, he shook his head.
“No, I knew I wanted to marry Jenn within the first six months.”

At Jace’s raised eyebrows, Brian continued. “No, seriously.
I wasn’t ready to get married, but I knew right away that it would be her.”

Jace shrugged again, opening the bottle and pouring the
third round. “Maybe it was because you’ve known her your whole life. Or maybe
you were just lucky.”

A huge grin broke across Brian’s face. “I am lucky, huh?
She’s awesome, just the most amazing woman. How did we go through high school
and college and never see how amazing those two were? Were we blind, or just
that stupid?”

Jace couldn’t look back on those years without a little
twinge, but it wasn’t something he wanted to talk about. Not now, with Brian
half soused and celebrating his engagement. Probably not ever.

Instead he smiled, poured out two more shots, and grabbed
Bri’s keys off the bar, pocketing them. “Maybe we just needed to grow up first.
They were always smarter than us anyway. They would have run screaming from the
room if we had tried anything back then.” Jace smirked a little, remembering,
and hopped back over the bar. “Let’s get you upstairs, buddy. You can sleep it
off on my sofa. You never could hold your liquor.”

Jace dragged his friend upstairs, grabbed some blankets and
a pillow and tossed them to Brian on the sofa. Then he texted Jenn, letting her
know he was staying here, just in case she woke up alone and started to worry.
He made a mental note to buy Jenn some flowers tomorrow and tell her congrats.

He looked over at Brian, already snoring, with just a little
twinge of jealousy. Maybe he really should think about settling down with
Nicole. She was perfect for him—the right balance of sweet and soft to his hard
and angry. As he headed into his bedroom, he tried to picture a life with her,
picture celebrating his own engagement with his best friends. Unfortunately
other thoughts, old dreams forced their way to the front of his mind. He fell
asleep, waiting for the nightmares and praying for the fantasy instead.

It wasn’t until he woke up the next morning that another
thought occurred to him. She would come home. This was Jenn’s wedding too, not
just Brian’s, and she would be there. After five years, Danielle was coming
back to Austin.

Dani grabbed her iced peppermint tea and Cobb salad,
following behind Nina as she looked for an available table. She tried to stifle
the panic, think about other things, but it just kept rising up, like bad
heartburn. She had been focusing on the little details; packing, arranging to
have her mail picked up, finishing up projects at work, and so on. But,
unfortunately, she had everything done. Now she had nothing to do for the next
seventeen hours but freak out.