Best Friend’s Brother: Best Friend's Brother Romance (11 page)

When did everything change?

*

“Congratulations Uncle Jakob.”

“Why thank you godmother to my future niece or nephew,” Jake was taking Zooey out on a formal date.  She looked spectacular.  She wore a dark turquoise dress that made her hair color pop.  She tucked her hair behind her ears and used a patterned cloth bandoo to keep it in place.  Jakob looked so effortlessly good with a long sleeved shirt.  He also had on suspenders.

Zooey had never seen Jakob look so nice before.  He had worn a suit to his graduation, but Zooey never saw him without the traditional cap and gown on.  She also never got a chance to see any photos of him from his prom.

Jakob took Zooey to a beautiful Japanese restaurant.  There weren’t a lot of people, but that made for better energy.  It was easier to be at ease when there were less people in their faces.

“You beat me for that Maid of Honor spot by the way.  I’m just a regular groomsman.”

“Aw,” Zooey sat across from him at a small table tucked away in a dimly lit area of the open space.  “Who’s Best Man then?”

“Ryan’s got 4 other siblings, and only one of them is a girl.  So I’m assuming it’ll be one of his brothers.”

“I bet his sister would make the best Best Man.”

Jakob chuckled and took a sip of water.  They had already ordered and were now waiting for their Miso soup and edamame to start.

“I wonder where it’ll be, and how many people will be there,” Zooey’s eyes were full of excitement and wonder.

“You already know more than I do.  Snow is still waiting to tell the folks.”

Their server had arrived with their appetizers.  Jakob took a large spoon and moved it around in his soup.  He took a bit of soy sauce and poured it in.  Zooey picked up the peas she had and sucked on one of the pods.

“Who’s your date for the wedding?” Zooey said.  She took the pod out of her mouth, and put the empty shell into a small white bowl.

“I don’t know.  I haven’t been asked yet,” Jakob tried not to smile, but he was finding it difficult.  Zooey smiled and nodded, but said nothing more.  There was a baby due in less than 7 months, and they probably had a long time to wait for the wedding.  Knowing Lauryn, she would wait til after the baby was born.

“Would you like to accompany me to my best friend’s wedding?”

“Only if you’ll accompany me to my little sister’s wedding.”

“Deal.”

“She’s due in mid January,” Jakob frowned.

“What’s wrong with mid January?”

“Oh nothing’s wrong, that’s just such a Ryan’s-side-of-the-family month to be born in.  Do you know what it’s going to be like to ensure that little Capricorn has a decent sense of humor?”

“Oh my gosh, you’re mean!”

“Probably.  But who was the last cool Capricorn person you hung out with?”

Zooey, for the sake of entertaining Jakob, actually stopped to think about it.

“Hey, thought you didn’t believe in all the astrology stuff.”

“I didn’t really.  It was Nathaniel who got me into it.  He was a total Aries apparently,” he raised his arms in a dramatic shrug, “he kept saying I was such a Sagittarius, but I have no idea what that really means.  He just let me know the basics of each sign.”

“Very interesting.  I’m very much a Taurus.  Grounded, my concern is more for friends and family than myself, I’m a great friend, but I’m stubborn too.  Sagittarius now.  You’re a sign about wisdom.  You’re always looking to learn about or try new things.  You have no trouble speaking your mind.  And if something doesn’t work, you’re quick to put it behind you and move forward.”

“You’re just saying all of that stuff because you know me,” Jakob said.  He snaked a hand across the table and took one of Zooey’s edamame pods.

Zooey shook her head.

“When is Ryan’s birthday?”

“Be damned if I know,” he snuck another pod out of Zooey’s bowl.  She shook her head again, but pushed it a bit closer to him in case he wanted anymore.  “He told me, but I forgot.  I think some time in September.”

“Hmm.  If he’s a Virgo it explains him always wanting to make sure that all is well with everyone.  Also explains why he’s got his life together.  He’s probably wanted to be a pediatrician since he was 4.  If he’s a Libra, then he’s a total charmer who just wants to flirt with everyone.  He’s also probably concerned with balancing his love life and his professional life.”

The two paused for a moment and thought about it.

“Virgo.”

“Definitely a Virgo.”

They spoke at the same time, but laughed at their mutual conclusion.

“Zooey Dempsey, you make me laugh.”

“I know.”

Their server had returned.  He removed the edamame and Miso soup.  He placed a large smoked cod in the middle of their table, and an order of Dancing Eel rolls.  They both thanked him, but kept their eyes on each other.

Jakob held out both hands for Zooey to take.  When she did, he kissed along the knuckles of her fingers and smiled.

“I wanna thank you, Zoo.”

“Thank me for what?”

“For everything.  For always being there, even when I thought the only person that did that had died,” Jakob began to tear up, but he swallowed and blinked quickly to keep his emotions in check.

They spent the rest of the time laughing and talking.  Zooey tried but failed miserably to teach Jakob how to hold chopsticks.  He eventually just pierced his sushi roll with one of the sticks, and faked it so it seemed like it was really being picked up.

After their date, Jakob drove to a familiar site.  It was the start of the hiking trail that he had taken Zooey on maybe a month or so before.  He didn’t get out of the car.  They watched the twinkling lights above them.  There were no city lights in sight to distract them.

Zooey scrolled through her phone and started playing a song.

“I know this.  Wasn’t this from Ocean’s Eleven?”

“Weird that you remember that.  But this is actually Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy.  Take a look at the sky.”

The piano sounded like longing arms waiting to be embraced.  Like Mr. Debussy had created a thousand foot ladder to reach the stars, but had still not come close.  The alternative was this beautiful piece of music.  It was like floating on a breeze up into space.

“I’m weird for liking poetry, but it’s ok that you know all the randomest music on the face of the earth?”

“Music is my life,” Zooey feigned shock.

“Poetry and love are mine,” just as he said that, a shooting star flew across the sky and disappeared somewhere out in the galaxy.

“Make a wish,” Zooey gasped when she spotted it.

“
We, unaccustomed to courage

exiles from delight,

live coiled in shells of loneliness

until love leaves its high holy temple

and comes into our sight

to liberate us into life.

Love arrives

and in its train come ecstasies,

old memories of pleasure

ancient histories of pain.

Yet if we are bold,

love strikes away the chains of fear

from our souls

We are weaned from our timidity

In the flush of love's light

we dare be brave

And suddenly we see

that love costs all we are

and will ever be.

Yet it is only love

which sets us free.”

Zooey smiled.  “Who was that?”

“Miss Maya Angelou.”

“You always recite poems when you think I need them.  Or you said something like that when we were kids.”

“Not when you need them.  When I feel the words are right for you.”

“Are you saying you love me?”

Jakob stepped out of his car then.  He shut the door and moved to the front of it.  Since there were no lights, Zooey could only make out his silhouette under the stars.  He beckoned for her to come out of the car.  She did so and moved towards him.  He bowed his head and took her hand for a dance.

Jakob started to hum, and unexpectedly he started to sing softly in Zooey’s ear.

“Step back and admire my view.  Can I use the colors I choose?  Do I have some say what you use?  Can I get some greens with my blues?” he sounded lovely.  His voice was deep and rich.  It was crystal clear, even in a whisper.  He was singing Painted On Canvas to her.  She rested her head on his shoulder as they rocked under the moon and stars.

“I’ve always loved you, Zoo, to answer your question.  But it wasn’t until now I realized I was
in
love with you.”

Zooey smiled and moved even closer to him.  She moved her arms and wrapped them around his shoulders, and he wrapped his long arms around her waist.

“I love you too Jake.  I think I always have.”

“I know John John.”

“Oh jeez.  I hate you.”

“But you really don’t though.  You really really don’t.”

“I know.”

She stood on her tiptoes, and gave him a kiss just as another shooting star flew across the night sky.

*

Epilogue

“Look at him, he’s gotten so big!” Zooey crouched down and watched as the little boy ran towards her.  He nearly toppled over twice, but he managed to keep his balance.  “I remember when ZyZy was your age, my darling one!”

Zooey picked up the toddler and planted millions of kisses on his cheeks.

“You’re going to spoil him, and then he’s never going to want to be alone ever again for the rest of his life,” Lauryn made her way over to them.  They were in front of Zooey’s apartment block in Manhattan.  She kissed her son and ruffled his scruffy black hair.

“Where’s Ryan?”

“Back home.  He couldn’t come with me today, but he’s getting some free time next month, thank the lord.  Because this one’s been so excited about going to D-I-S-N-E-Y,” she tickled him, but spelt out Disney so as to not get him excited.  They headed into the building and onto an elevator that was conveniently open.

“Benji’s almost 4, so we figured it would be a good age to take him.”

“I’m a big man!” Benji roared in Zooey’s arms.

“You’re not big.  You’re huge.  You’re so big the world couldn’t take it, and you had to shrink down to be smaller than everybody again.  What do you think about that, buddy?” Lauryn smiled at her son.

“So big I’m little,” he beamed with pride at the other patrons in the elevator.  Zooey knew she wouldn’t ever have to worry about where his sense of humor was going.  He already reminded her of a miniature version of Jakob.  His eyes were a shocking blue like his.  Lauryn and Ryan both had brown eyes.

“How’s that idiot brother of mine?”

“Getting ready to graduate.  Swamped with work.  But he’s got 2 interviews soon.  Writing for The New Yorker, and some other one that I can’t really recall.”

Jakob had made it into NYU.  He and Zooey had moved to New York together a few months after Ryan and Lauryn got married.  They waited until spring to have the wedding. Benji was barely two months old, but they wanted to be married when everything was blossoming and coming to life.