Imaginary Grace (19 page)

I removed the photo from the mirror and studied it closely. They were all dressed in t-shirts and jeans and they looked sweaty, like they had been running around or something. The boy with the ponytail was holding up what might have been a trophy, but I couldn’t quite make it out, and all of them were holding up their hands in that rock ‘n roll devil sign thing that people do at concerts.

They all seemed to be yelling and excited about something, and the boy with the ponytail had his mouth wide open and his tongue hanging out. I thought that perhaps they had just come from a concert or something. Tanner was much thinner than he was now, but still very handsome, even underneath all that hair.

After carefully placing the picture back on the mirror, I grabbed the remote and went to sit at the foot of the bed. For the next few minutes I flipped through the stations, not really interested in watching anything, and before I knew it, it was 9:50, almost time to leave.

That’s when I remembered my promise to text Beth and my mom to let them know what was going on. I sent nearly identical messages to both, basically saying that Tanner’s parents were nice and I wasn’t lying in a ditch somewhere with an axe sticking out of my head. They replied within seconds, also sending identical “Have funs!”, the only difference being the wink at the end of Beth’s message. That done, I lay back on the bed and continued looking for something to watch. Before I could find anything, I heard Tanner’s mom calling up the stairs for me.

“Okay, I’ll be right down,” I said, as I turned off the TV and left Tanner’s room, closing the door gently behind me.

Chapter 26

Tanner

W
ork was unusually slow, so I got out even earlier than expected. I didn’t go to my parents’ house, though– I wanted to give them as much time as possible to be “charmed” by Grace. Instead, I decided to go back to the apartment and hang there until it was time to get ready for the wedding.

Scott was in his usual spot on the couch, his hand in a bag of popcorn. “Hey, what’s up?” he asked, but he was looking past me, “Where’s the wife?”

I threw my keys on the table by the front door, then walked over to the couch and plopped down on the other end. Scott put another handful of popcorn in his mouth. “Hey, isn’t this the big weekend?” he asked between chews, “The wedding?”

“Yeah,” I answered, “this is it. It’s sink or swim time. Hopefully she’s charming the socks off them as we speak.”

“You got nothing to worry about.” Scott tossed a kernel of popcorn into the air and caught it in his mouth. “They couldn’t possibly
not
like her. How long do you think before they give you the cash?”

I thought for a minute and then said, “Not right away. It’ll take more than one weekend to convince them.”

“Ooooh, so the charade continues…that’s cool. I like having Grace around.” He ignored my glare and turned back to the TV.

“Anyway, what are you doing here?” I asked, “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“The shop’s closed for two weeks,” he answered, not taking his eyes off the TV. “Nick’s renovating. He said he wants to give it a whole new, edgier look.” Scott worked at Total Edge, a mountain bike/skateboard shop downtown. When he first met Nick, the owner, he’d convinced him that he was a mountain bike enthusiast, when in reality he’d only been mountain biking a few times. Scott was the ultimate bullshitter. He could convince anyone about almost anything, which is what made him a pretty decent salesman. If someone walked into that shop and encountered Scott, they’d be walking out with a bike. I once saw him talk a seventy-five-year-old woman into buying one. He told her it would change her life.

“You’re staying at your parents’ again tonight, right?”

“Yeah, why?” I asked suspiciously, wondering what Scott had up his sleeve this time.

“Well, let’s just say that I’m entertaining a certain young lady this weekend, and I’d like to use the
whole
apartment, if you get my drift.”

“As long as you stay out of
my
room.”

“I think the living room, kitchen and perhaps the shower should be enough, with the finale taking place in my bedroom. And don’t rush home on Sunday. I may want to continue after breakfast.”

“Whatever,” I said, not really listening to him anymore. I checked the time and figured I should probably get going, but first I went into my room and grabbed a few things - an extra pair of sweats, the shoe polish I picked up from CVS during the week (I’d need it in an attempt to combat the scuffs on the aging dress shoes that only rarely emerged from my closet) and my sunglasses. I threw everything into my gym bag, scanned the room for anything else that I might need, then turned out the light and shut the door behind me.
Post time.

Chapter 27

Grace

T
anner’s mom hadn’t been exactly truthful when she said she had “a few errands“. The two of us were all over town, and it seemed that everywhere we went, she met someone she knew and had to stop and talk. Each time she ran into a friend, she would introduce me as “Tanner’s ‘friend’ Grace from out of town who’s visiting for the weekend”.

When we got to the post office – our last stop – the woman behind the counter actually said, “Oh, you must be Tanner’s friend Grace.” Apparently one of the friends we had run into earlier had leaked the news to the postal staff.
Talk about small town gossip!

His mom seemed happy to have me along with her, while I was just dying for her to divulge some tiny shred of Tanner trivia. Unfortunately, it was not to be. She was more interested in Grace trivia. Actually, she couldn’t get enough of me, which I couldn’t quite understand, as I’d never considered myself to be all that interesting. I’d have to add ‘fascinating friend’ to the New Me list, right underneath ‘cool older sister.’ Anyway, it didn’t really matter what his mother’s reasoning was—I was just thrilled that she liked me.

When we finally got back to the house, it was already time to start getting ready for the wedding. Back up in the guest room, I got my dress and shoes out of the closet—carefully inspecting the dress for wrinkles and thanking God I didn’t find any-- then popped into the bathroom for a shower. The water felt great, and I would have stayed in there longer, had I not been afraid of ruining my perfectly sleek, salon-styled hair. After drying off, I applied my makeup the way Beth had shown me, then ran the straightener over my hair. I brushed it away from my face, then stepped back to examine myself in the mirror. With a gasp of surprise, I realized that for the first time in forever, I was more than satisfied with how I looked.

Now for the dress.
I went back to my room, shut the door, and carefully eased into the dress so as not to mess my hair. I managed to zip it up myself, which wasn’t an easy feat, then I slipped my feet into the shoes. When I looked in the mirror again, there was no denying it - I looked better than I’d ever looked in my life. In fact, I looked like a completely different person.

The dress fit like a glove, hugging every curve, and my arms and shoulders looked extremely toned, thanks to all the extra time I’d spent at the gym over the past few months. In these shoes, my legs looked like they went on for miles, but incredibly enough, the best part was my hair –sleek and straight without a hint of frizz. I tossed it back and forth in front of the mirror, giggling.

A glance at the nightstand clock told me it was time to go downstairs. I felt a rush of nervousness and reminded myself that I would be with Tanner, just like all those other nights.
Except other nights, you weren’t wearing this dress.
With another giggle, I opened my bag again and grabbed the light shawl my mother had insisted I bring, then took a final glance at myself in the mirror.

Chapter 28

Tanner

I
got back to my parents’ house in what I thought was plenty of time to get ready. My mother, however, seemed to disagree. As soon as I walked in the door she was telling me to hurry up and get dressed.

“Relax,” I said, “I can be ready in ten minutes. Where’s Grace?”

“She’s upstairs getting ready,” she said as she eyed the staircase. Then she grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the kitchen, cautiously looking around like she was on some sort of spy mission. “Tanner,” she whispered once she was sure we wouldn’t be overhead, “
where
did you find this girl? She’s absolutely lovely! We had such a nice day together and she was so polite!”

“See, Mom,” I said, putting my hands on her shoulders, “I told you she was different. I knew you’d like her.”

“
Like
her!
That’s
an understatement! If you mess this up, son, I’ll personally clobber you.” She playfully messed up my hair, but her expression was serious. “Now go get ready so we can leave. And use the downstairs bathroom. Grace is in the one upstairs. I left your suit hanging in my room.”

“All right, all right,” I said laughing, “just give me ten minutes.” Then I disappeared into the bathroom.

I was in and out of the shower in no time, then I slipped into my parents’ room to get dressed. It wasn’t until I began adjusting my tie in the mirror that I realized I was actually looking forward to tonight.

Mom was right—it would be fun to see all my cousins again. And Mike and Abby, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, would be there too.

Everything would be fine, as long as I didn’t lose sight as to why I was really here. I had a job to do, and that was to convince everyone (but mostly my parents) that without a doubt I was head-over-heels in love with nice, sweet lil’ Grace – and that was exactly what I was going to do.

I put the palms of my hands on the dresser, and then I slowly leaned in close to the mirror, and whispered, “Showtime.” With one last smile at my reflection, I turned and headed out the door.

I slowly sauntered down the hallway that led to the living room, where the three of them were waiting for me. As soon as I saw her, I felt my bottom jaw go slack.
Who are you and what have you done with Grace?

“Um… okay…everybody ready?” I realized I was stumbling over my words.
Get a fuckin’ grip, Tanner.

My parents nodded their heads, even as my mother grabbed her purse and my father went looking for his keys, which he did every time they went somewhere. Grace smiled and swung a wrap around her shoulders.
Is this the same person I met back in September, the skinny nodder?
When had this metamorphosis occurred and how had I not noticed? Grace had been hiding
some
rockin’ body under all those baggie hoodies. And that hair, it was so sexy, almost like a porn star’s.

Don’t stare, idiot.

My dad walked over with his keys jangling by one finger and placed them in my hand. He wanted me to drive so he could play co-pilot. I obliged, but I kept glancing in the rearview mirror at Grace as she softly spoke to my mom. Dad kept giving me directions and asking questions, but I just answered him with “yeahs” and “mmhmms”.

I reminded myself that she was still the same boring Grace, just in a hotter package. With that settled, I put my eyes back on the road and kept them there the rest of the way to the church.

When we got there most of the guests were already inside, so the four of us took a seat about halfway up the aisle. The ceremony started a few minutes later. Every now and again I glanced at Grace from the corner of my eye. For some reason I hadn’t said more than two words to her since we’d left the house. It certainly wasn’t that I was nervous –
I don’t get nervous
– it was something else, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

When I glanced at her again, I could see that she was uncomfortable. I figured I should probably say something to her, so I leaned over and whispered, “You look really nice.”

Did I just say that out loud? ‘Cause it sounded really lame.

She smiled, casting her eyes downward, and said, “Thanks.” At least, I think that’s what she said-- her voice was so low I couldn’t really tell. I didn’t want to chance saying anything else, so I just kept my mouth shut for the rest of the ceremony.

Finally it was over, and we waited forever in the line to greet the bride and groom. My mom had Grace’s ear for the entire time, so I couldn’t have said anything to her even if I wanted to. As we got closer to greeting Gavin and his new wife, I dropped back next to Grace and put my arm around her waist.

Why did this suddenly feel awkward?

“Tanner, my man, glad you could make it,” Gavin said, shaking my hand. Then he turned to his new wife and said, “This is Julia…and who’s this?” he said, smiling as he turned to Grace.

“This is Grace,” I said as I pulled her close. “Grace, this is my cousin, Gavin.”

“Nice to meet you, Gavin, Julia. It was a beautiful ceremony.”

They both thanked us and we moved down the line, exchanging pleasantries with the rest of the bridal party. When we finally made it outside I turned to Grace, but she was gone. My mom had already descended on her like a vulture and was dragging her over to introduce her to my aunts.

I didn’t know why I was annoyed; after all, things were going exactly as I wanted them to.

That’s when I spotted my brother Mike and his wife, Abby, and I made a beeline right for them.

“So, where is she?” Mike asked, as he gave me a hug.

Abby chimed in, giggling, “Yeah, we’re dying to meet her. Your mom had me on the phone all afternoon filling me in on everything that is Grace.”

“Mom’s holding her hostage over by Aunt Jean and Aunt Catherine,” I said, laughing humorlessly. “I guess you’ll meet her when we get there.”

Most of the guests had already left for the reception hall when my mom finally appeared with Grace by her side. “Let’s go, we’re going to be late. Where’s your father? I don’t want to miss the cocktail hour.”

Just then Dad appeared, and we all headed to the car. This time he insisted on driving; my mom got in beside him, leaving me and Grace to sit in the back.

As we pulled away I nudged her, then pointed to my mom and shrugged apologetically. Grace just laughed quietly and whispered, “No, it’s okay,” then placed her hand on my knee. My eyes shot to where her hand was and she quickly moved it, apparently mistaking my look for disapproval.
Shit.
Well, there’s nothing you can do about it now.
I’d just have to make up for it later.

Goddamn, do I need a drink or what?

It was a short drive to the reception hall, but with my dad driving it took us twice as long to get there. As soon as we got inside my mom latched onto Grace again so I headed straight for the bar and ordered myself a beer and a shot of tequila. After downing the shot, I realized I had no idea what Grace liked to drink. I walked over to her and Mom, and the minute my mother turned to speak to someone else, I grabbed Grace’s arm and led her to the bar.

“Thanks,” she giggled, “Your mom’s great but I really need a drink.” She said she’d have a glass of white wine with a lot of ice. I got the bartender’s attention and ordered Grace’s drink and another beer for myself, then took her over to meet Mike and Abby. My brother waited until Grace was looking away, then gave me the thumbs up.

After the introductions, Mike said, “Come on. All the cousins are meeting at the bar to do a shot with Gavin!”

Sounded perfect. I definitely needed to get a good buzz going if I was going to shake this weird feeling. As I went to grab Grace’s hand, she pulled me back and said, “I’ll meet you over there, I’m going to hit the ladies’ room first.”

Abby offered to go with her and show her where it was.

“Okay, I’ll see you in a few,” I said, then Mike and I headed to the bar. On the way over he gave me a quick third-degree about Grace, but I kept it as vague as possible. I hated to bullshit my brother, so I changed the subject as quickly as I could without making it look obvious. Luckily, he didn’t seem suspicious.

I downed two more shots of tequila, then switched to beer since it
was
a family wedding and I didn’t want to get sloppy drunk. Still, before long I was feeling loose and happy and the weird feeling I had had earlier was gone.

It was several minutes before Grace returned with Abby, and I couldn’t help thinking my sister-in-law had been giving her the third degree as well. As soon as she was next to me, I smoothly snaked my arm around her waist, and everything felt perfectly normal. “Do you want another drink?”

“Not yet,” she answered, still sipping her icy wine. She seemed to be comfortable enough considering she didn’t really know anyone, but I stayed next to her, always making sure to draw her in to the conversation.

I noticed that Abby kept glancing at her and wondered again what they had talked about in the ladies’ room. Whatever it was, I decided I’d have to be extra attentive to Grace whenever Abby was around.

When the cocktail hour was over, everyone began making their way to the main ballroom. I held back a minute at the bar, quickly finishing what was left of my beer. I set the empty bottle down, and then I didn’t know what came over me, but I just couldn’t seem to stop myself. I slid my hands around Grace’s waist and pulled her close as I bent down to kiss her neck. She smelled so fucking good. “You look really hot,” I whispered next to her ear, and this time it didn’t seem lame.

She just smiled, lowering her eyes, but didn’t say anything. It was sexy as hell. I slowly pulled away, then gently took her hand and we made our way to our table in silence.