The cab driver stuck his head out the window, yelled time was money, and tapped his watch. Monica held up her finger to signal one minute. He mumbled something in a foreign language that sounded like stuck up princesses.
I gave Monica another hug and rolled my suitcase to the cab. Climbing inside, my cell phone vibrated in my pocket. Andrew’s named flashed on the screen and I hit ignore.
“5432 Hampton avenue, please,” I told the cab driver.
The city sprawl soon spread into wide-open spaces, white picket fences, and beige as the theme color. Welcome to the suburbs.
Mallory’s bright red door was a cute touch to the old brick home. So were the black and white striped rugs on the porch. I wouldn’t have guessed by the way she dressed, but Mallory had an eye for home décor. I rang the doorbell and waited. Through the stained glass panels, I saw her approach.
She opened the door with a smile. “Hey!”
“Hey yourself.”
“Did you find the house ok?”
“Yeah, easy peasy.”
Mallory stepped aside and gestured me for to enter. “You are just in time. I was making hot chocolate.”
Wiping my feet on the doormat, I walked into a cozy hallway. Cinnamon and chocolate scented the air, reminding me of snowy winter days. Above the staircase, pictures of Mallory and her boyfriend hung on the cream colored walls. Shoes haphazardly tossed on a shoe rack made me smile. It was exactly the kind of home I hoped to have one day.
Gathering the mess off the floors, she tossed it into a hallway closet. “Sorry. I’m not used to having so much square footage to clean.”
“Don’t apologize. I was just thinking about how cozy your place was.”
“Oh, well, thank you. It’s the first place Clint and I have called home together. I wanted to make it feel special with little things that hold meaning to us.”
“That’s really sweet.”
Mallory blushed as she straightened her ponytail. A rough-cut diamond on her ring finger caught the light. It was simple in its beauty, like Mallory.
Squealing, I grabbed her hand and admired the ring more closely. “You are engaged! When did this happen?”
“The other night. Clint planned a romantic picnic in our backyard and asked. It was only six years over due.”
“Better late than never.”
As a young girl, I was more focused on getting through each day than planning a hypothetical wedding. Honestly, marriage seemed like a pointless institution. A signature on a piece of paper was less meaningful than choosing to be together because you wanted to be, not because you were stuck. Nonetheless, Mallory deserved her happy ever after.
She gazed dreamily at her finger. “I can’t believe it’s real. Clint is the love of my life and the thought that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together makes me stupid giddy, like yesterday I had a dance party for one in the kitchen.” Mallory looked at me straight faced. “I don’t dance, Haven, yet I busted moves like nobody’s business.”
She seemed so concerned I couldn’t help but laugh. “I think you’re experiencing a well known disease called love sickness.”
“God, I think your right.”
Dropping her hand, I took a step back and admired Mallory’s glow. She looked like she had just gotten back from a vacation in Mexico. If the beauty industry could bottle love and sell it as a skin cream, they would make a pretty penny.
“If you want, you can leave your stuff here and we can gossip some more over cups of hot cocoa.” Mallory said.
“That sounds amazing.”
Her welcoming kitchen mirrored the rest of the house. An ache pulsed behind my breastbone. Andrew and I could have had this if our hearts had room for each other. Sitting at the counter, Mallory handed me a mug.
It smelled heavenly and as I sipped the velvet mixture, my bones sighed. “If Clint wasn’t marrying you, I would.”
“We can probably work out an arrangement.”
I grinned. Mallory and I had a similar sense of humor that went unnoticed at work. While my apartment burning to the ground sucked majorly, I liked how it brought the opportunity for us to become friends.
“Have you guys set a date yet?” I wondered.
“We’re going to elope. I want the day to be about us and not pleasing our families.”
“So the wedding venue will be at the Detroit courthouse?”
Mallory’s lip curled. “No that building is butt ugly, but we are scouting different courthouses. Have you seen the one in Santa Barbara?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“It’s gorgeous. I have to show you.”
She jumped out her seat and retrieved her laptop. Setting it on the counter, Mallory pulled up pictures of the Spanish style courthouse. Her excitement was contagious and pretty soon we were discussing the logistics of plane tickets, what hotel to stay at, and honeymoon destinations. A knock at the front door interrupted our girl talk.
“I wonder who that could be,” Mallory mused. “I wasn’t expecting anyone. I’ll be right back.” Muffled voices were heard from the hallway. Seconds later, she came back with unreadable expression on her face. “It’s for you.”
I pointed to my chest. “Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Who is it?”
Mallory grabbed our mugs and set them in the sink. “Go see.”
Uneasily, my feet walked into the hallway. Big Ted had no idea where I was, yet I didn’t doubt his ability to find me. Turning the corner, the air left my lungs. Andrew stood on the porch holding a can of paint and a paintbrush. Our eyes locked.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey. How did you know I was here?”
“Monica told me.”
Of course she did, traitor. “I—I don’t know what to say.”
Andrew’s brown eyes laughed. “That’s a first.” He closed the distance between us and looked at me with sincere regret. “I’m sorry about last night. It’s not easy talking about what happened between Camilla and me, but trust me when I say I’ll tell you eventually. Just not now, ok?”
It wasn’t what I was hoping for, however, like Monica said, Andrew was allowed to have a past. I saw now my emotional outburst earlier this morning was caused by fear. Fear that Andrew would break my heart, fear of putting my trust into somebody and most of all, fear of the depth of my feelings for Andrew. Running away was my attempt at sabotaging the blooming relationship between us. Andrew obviously wouldn’t let that happen.
“Ok, but I’m sorry for snooping. It wasn’t right of me.” My eyes glanced at the paint can. “Should I dare ask?”
“It’s bright pink fuchsia. You told me that the only time you felt true happiness was when you painted your bedroom pink. I want you to feel that everyday, even if that means my house will end up looking like Barbie’s Dream World.”
Mallory was at the dining room table scribbling on a notepad when I walked back into the room. She glanced up and shyly tucked her hair behind her ear at the sight of Andrew. Aware of the effect he had on Mallory, he showed off his knee-weakening dimples. She practically swooned.
“Hey, change of plans. I’m going to stay at Andrew’s,” I said.
“I figured. Do you want any hot chocolate for the road?”
Andrew answered for me. “Yes, she does.”
Mallory and I laughed at his boyish enthusiasm. Getting up from the table, she poured hot chocolate into a thermos. Ever the gentleman, he thanked her and professed it as the best hot chocolate he had ever tasted. I had to agree, it was amazing.
Andrew set the paint can on the floor and dug into his front pocket. “If you don’t have plans tonight, I would love it if you and whoever else came to my art show tonight.
Due to the tumultuous twenty-four hours, I had completely forgotten about Andrew’s art show. I felt like a rotten human being. This was an incredibly important event in his life.