Page 38 of Letters From Avery
“Yeah, yeah… take a Xanax. Who cares? Tell meeverything!”
“Unfortunately, there’s nothing to tell. James came over, he was wearing a mask. Got a phone call, someone in trouble, had to bail. My parents are coming back this afternoon, I’m gonna tell them I want to leave David and move back in with them. It will be the perfect narrative for what they’ve accused me of my whole life. Not having any direction… wasting time, will never amount to anything if I drop out of school… blah, blah, blah.”
Nikki turned and opened her mouth to speak, but I interrupted by continuing my spew. “Also, because James decided to play dress up, which was in and of itself extremely sexy, I’m still in the same position. I don't even know what this man looks like, and I’m about to throw my whole life, and possibly my family, away for him.”
“Does it really matter?”
I felt my eyes widening as I stared at her. “Are you fucking for real? Of course, it matters!”
Nikki offered an overexaggerated shrug, keeping her wide smile in place. “I don’t think it does, sir. I think you’re full of shit. You’ve never once mentioned anything about what you hope he looks like. It’s always,James is so funny, look what he wrote…orJames was so sweet to remember my birthday and wrote that he wished like hell he could be there to celebrate with you.When you got engaged to David, the only thing we ever talked about was how much you were hurting James by doing it. We never talked about flowers, band, catering, venues… nothing. It always came back to James. I think you’ve been in love with him for years, and it doesn’t matter what he looks like, because he didn’t use looks to win you over. David is good-looking, in aMiami Vice douchebagkinda way, and look how that’s worked out.”
Knowing that Nikki was completely correct left me no room for argument, so I just took a step closer and folded my arms around her shoulders. She chuckled and returned the gesture as Paul put a plate of steaming scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast in the window.
Nikki picked up the plate and headed off into the dining area to deliver it as I sat a group of three businessmen in suits. I was ringing in a to-go order when Nikki joined me behind the counter again.
“So, what’s next? How do you plan to tell David?”
I grabbed two rolls of silverware and popped them onto an empty tray, prepping to run the next order. “I’m honestly not sure. I thought about writing him a letter, but that feels like a cop-out; no pun intended. But I’m a little terrified to tell him in person. At least,alonein person. So the first step is getting my parents on board. If I can get Dad on my side, it’s gonna make this whole thing a hell of a lot easier.”
Nikki paused her work at the register and turned. “But you don’t think he’s gonna side with you, do you?” Her voice was laced with pity. The tinge of anger that coursed through me wasn’t because she’d said it, but because I felt it.
“David is the son my father always wanted and never had,” I said. “He’s masculine, good-looking, and loves sports. He’s an officer, which my dad always wanted me to be. But that kind of career path was never in the cards for me. They like barbecuing and drinking 10 beers in the span of a football game… I’m never going to be that for him. And, somehow, he’s lucked out and managed to find the perfect sonanyway, and I can’t get away from him fast enough. I…”
“Juststop! Don’t do this to yourself, Avery. Your worth is not tied to your parents’ bullshit expectations or fantasies they have. If your dad still wants to hang out and catch a game with David, that’s on him. It has nothing to do with you. You deserve to be happy, andif your parents aren’t in agreement with that, then you don’t really need them, do you?”
“It’s complicated…”
“It’s not,” she countered. “Love should be unconditional. Period. They might not be happy at first, but, at the end of the day, I can’t imagine they don’t want what’s best for you, and that includes getting out of your icky engagement. James or no James, David is an ass. You are, and always have been, too good for him. Besides, who actually gets to have that romance novel, prison-mystery-man fantasy in real life? I’m so jealous, I could kill you! You know people write books about this kind of shit?”
I laughed as Nikki fluttered off into the dining room to check her tables. “You’re insane,” I called to her back as I grabbed a plate of waffles out of the window.
After the morning rush had died down, and there were only three tables, all of which were already content and eating, Nikki slid up next to me at the bar with two mugs of coffee in her hands.
“Thank you!” I hit print on the computer and graciously accepted the mug from Nikki as table 12’s receipt printed. I took a sip and set it down before tucking the receipt back into the billfold along with Mr. Wharton’s worn-down American Express. I dropped the fold down in front of Mr. Wharton and thanked him for coming in, just as I did every day, and headed back towards my coffee cup.
“The rush today was a little wild,” I mused as I picked the mug back up again.
Nikki nodded. “So, why were you late, anyway?”
“I wanted to drop off some cookies and an apology note to JR.”
“The mechanic?”
“Yeah, I felt bad for leading him on. I didn’t want him to think I’m a massive slut and flirt with guys to get favors. So, I dropped off some cash and the cookies as a sorry-slash-thank-you whatever.”
“You’re such a freak. You’d never make it as a woman.”
“Eww, who wants a vagina, Nikki? Honestly.”
She laughed and nudged me with her elbow. “Ahh, Avery. Have I ever told you that you’re one of my favorite humans?”
Chapter Thirteen
James
AVERY: Okay. ???
It was nothing more than a simple heart emoji, but the fact that Avery had replied to mine with one of his own had me grinning from ear to ear. For a moment, I was able to forget how terrified I was about how Avery’s conversation with his parents was going to go. And, more so than that, how he was going to break the news to that cop without getting himself hurt.Or worse.
