Girl in the White Dress: Sam's Story (18 page)

             
“Yeah, we had to lie to her and it was hard with a headache,” Rachel agreed.

             
“Well, first of all, I told you to take two Advil and some water before going to bed, Rachel. And I had a lunch date with Jay.”

             
“And?” they said in unison.

             
“And… I gave him the let’s be friends speech.”

             
“Ouch!”

             
“Yeah, ouch!”

             
“That’s what he said, too. But he seems ok with it for now.”

             
“Well that’s good. So since you have that cleared up, I have to tell you something,” Trinity said while trying to hide behind her cup. This cannot be good. “Just remember, I’m a soon to be mommy and it’s your godchild.”

             
“Fantastic. Make me feel guilty before I even hear what you have to say. What did you do?”

             
“Uh, I’m going to get some more sugar for my tea,” Rachel said and snuck out of the room.

             
“Great, even Rachel is scared. Spill!” I demanded.

             
“Promise you won’t hate me?”

             
“No.”

             
“Ok, fair enough.” She took a deep breath. “I invited Danny to the wedding.”

             
I blinked.

             
“And he’s coming…”

             
I continued to stare at her.

             
“With a date…”

             
“What!?” It’s only been a few months and he’s bringing a date?”             

             
“Yeah, he’s apparently started seeing his physical therapist.”

             
“How typical.” I did not know if I should be happy for him or pissed. We were freaking engaged and he already had a girlfriend. What the fuck? I clearly chose to be pissed. Fabulous. “Danny has a date and Matt’s the best man. Lovely. Any other men I should know about?”

             
“Well, there is the priest and my dad. Oh, and Derek, of course.”

             
I threw a pillow at her. “Ass.”

             
“It’s just them. I was surprised Danny RSVP’d, honestly. He obviously knows you will be there.”

             
“That’s because he wants to rub it in my face that he’s moved on.” I sighed. “Which he has every right because I screwed it up. I never should have continued our relationship when I found out Tim was his brother. I was just in such a bad place after Matt.”

             
“I know you were, sweetie. You liked him, though.”

             
“What was not to like? He is a sweet, caring guy and I broke his heart. He deserves better. I cannot blame him for rubbing it in my face. Kind of glad I am not bringing a date. I don’t want to make this any more uncomfortable.”

             
“You could always ask Jay. I am ok with that. We have room.”

             
“Are you nuts? I do not need three guys I have been in relationships with all in one room. Two is bad enough. They might compare notes,” I joked.

             
She smiled. “As long as you’re ok.”

             
“Sure.” As ok as a rabbit being chased by a fox.

Tim’s side

“Yes, mom. I know, mom. Well, I love her, too. Yes, she is fantastic. We will eventually. Ok, I love you, too. Bye.” Tim thought talking to his mother could be utterly exhausting at times.

             
Danny still was not speaking to him. Sam was avoiding him and moved back to Pennsylvania to do it effectively. In addition, since his mom found out what happened, she had been giving Tim the third degree about it.

             
He needed to clear his head. Sam was trying to forget about him and he was trying to forget about her. At least on his end, it was not working out very well. Tim had fallen for her and fallen hard and people got hurt because of it. Before he could even start to repair anything with her, he needed to fix the situation with Danny.

             
It had been about a while since Danny had called out Sam and Tim. He had not tried to contact him because Tim knew he needed a cooling off period and Tim’s parents reminded him of how hurt he was every chance they got. Way to be supportive, he thought. However, self-pity was not going to get him anywhere. He had screwed up and needed to make it up to Danny. He just was not sure how.

             
Mind you, Tim’s mom was also upset because she loved Sam and now does not get to talk to her either. That Sunday Tim decided he was getting Danny’s favorite beer and pizza so he could attempt to fix their broken relationship.

             
His parents knew he was going by the house but conveniently went out for the afternoon. Tim knocked on the door and heard Danny’s wheelchair scuffle down to the door. That was the moment that it hit him. He was a scumbag. Tim tried to take his handicapped brother’s fiancé. What the hell kind of person does that?

             
“Can I help you?” he asked when he opened the door. At least he had opened it, right?

             
“Can we talk?”

             
He paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. “Fine, whatever.”

             
They went into the living room and cracked open a couple of beers. They ate silently and Tim debated exactly what to say to him.

             
“Danny,” he finally started. “I am so unbelievable sorry.” He stared at Tim blankly so he continued. “I screwed up. Nothing happened between us. You have to believe that.” Ok, so that was a bold face lie but he was already so hurt, he could not find out about that, too.

             
“It doesn’t matter that nothing physical happened. I saw how you two looked at each other. I had never seen her look at me the way she looked at you that day on the porch. I couldn’t be with someone who is so obviously in love with someone else.” He paused. “You are my brother. You told her not to hurt me and yet you both did.”

             
“I can’t express just how sorry I am, Danny.”

             
“Do you love her?”

             
“Yes,” he said without hesitation. Tim was ok telling him this truth. Somehow, this would be less hurtful to him. At least he knew it was not purely a stupid physical attraction.

             
“And you two were willing to completely ignore your feelings to spare mine?”

             
“Honestly, yes, we were. She really did love you, bro.”

             
“Just not like she loved, loves you,” he said. Tim did not know how to respond to that so he guzzled the rest of his beer. Then Danny said something so unexpected Tim almost fell off his chair. “You should call her.”

             
“I’m sorry; I don’t think I heard you correctly.”

             
“Call her. You love her. She loves you.” Danny saw the perplexed look on Tim’s face. “Look, I learned the hard way life is short. I could have ignored what I saw between you two. I saw how much she tried with me but we all deserve better than being with someone out of obligation. So go, be with her.”

             
It took Tim a few minutes to absorb what Danny had said. One small problem, though. She ran away. Tim explained this to Danny and he said if Tim really loved her, he would fight for her. He had a point but Tim also wanted to respect her decision. Tim told Danny he was going to give her the space she wanted and see what happened. If it was meant to be, it would be, right?

             
At least Tim had his brother back. Danny told Tim about his new physical therapist, Melissa. He said she was flirty with him but he was not ready yet. Although, he did comment she had a nice ass. Yup, that was Danny.

             
Tim tried to keep busy with work and spent a lot of time in Hyannis with Brian, who just found out he was going to be a dad. Tim was so happy for them but could not suppress the pang of sadness that it was not him and Sam. She was so great with the kids at Fowler School. He could only imagine how she would be with her own.

             
So many times, he had picked up the phone to call her and he chickened out each time. Wuss. He still could not believe how well Danny had handled it. Tim thought for sure he had lost his brother and he was so truly blessed that he had not.

             
He was surprised; however, when he told him he received an invitation to Trinity’s wedding. “Are you going?” Tim asked.

             
“I think I am.”

             
“You do realize Sam will be there, right?”

             
“I do. Melissa has already agreed to be my date.”

             
“I thought you weren’t interested.”

             
“I’m not,” he said. “But I can’t be the pathetic guy in the wheelchair with no date. So she agreed to be my date for the event.”

             
“I see. It has nothing to do with maybe making a certain girl uncomfortable by bringing a hot date?”

             
He laughed. “Well, maybe a little. But she deserves it.”

             
He was right. Sam and Tim both deserved it and so much more.             

              Trinity and Derek’s wedding was beautiful and she looked gorgeous. Derek could not stop smiling at her. I hoped to someday to find that kind of love. I quickly thought of Tim and pushed it out of my head. Not today. Matt looked sharp in his tuxedo and I had to look away. We had been drinking champagne in the limo and by the time we arrived at the reception, I was feeling good. Probably too good. We all knew that alcohol was not my friend but I kept going back for more. I was doing ok until I saw Danny come in with his date. My heart dropped. He looked so happy. Part of me was glad he was happy and the other part could not help thinking “What the hell?” He was supposed to be mourning our relationship. Bastard.

             
He had not seen me, yet, fortunately. I made my way to the restroom quickly. I was almost there when I heard my name. Damn. I turned around and saw Danny.

             
“Hey, you!” I probably sounded way too cheery.

             
“Hey, Sam, this is Melissa,” he nodded to the pretty woman by his side.

             
“Nice to meet you,” I lied. “How long have you two been dating?” (I was drunk. Remember that.)

             
“Oh, um, about two months,” he said. He looked a bit thrown off by the simple question. Melissa was fiddling with her bracelet. Whatever.

             
“That’s nice. It must be getting serious if you’re going to weddings together.”

             
“Uh, sure. Are you here with anyone?” Way to change the subject Danny. I racked my brain for a believable, non-pathetic answer and came up blank. Damn.

             
“Well, um…”

             
“There you are, sweetie. I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” I felt familiar arms wrap around my waist. When I turned around, Matt planted a kiss smack on my lips. What the hell? Seeing that I was confused and not planning to offer an explanation anytime soon, Matt introduced himself.

             
Danny looked at me quizzically, clearly remembering exactly who Matt was. He stuck out his hand, “Danny. This is Melissa.”             

             
“Nice to meet you both.” He turned to me. “But if you don’t mind, I would like to spin this gorgeous girl onto the dance floor.”

             
Before I could object, we were in the middle of the dance floor swaying to “Lost in Love” by Air Supply, which reminded me about my first date with Danny. I glanced back over to him but he was nowhere in sight. Trinity had requested an absurd amount of eighties music to play at the reception. Air Supply and Journey were two of her favorites. I think Michael Jackson was up there, too. Journey, I understand. But Air Supply? Really? They had a couple of decent songs… but I digress. After I got my bearings together, I thanked Matt for saving me. We really had not said much to each other all day. I know I was trying to avoid him but I was not sure why he would avoid me.

             
“No problem. Trinity saw Danny corner you and gave me a quick explanation so I could come rescue you.”

             
“Ah, well. Thank you.” I started to pull away. “Mission accomplished.”