Just Good Friends (8 page)

Tyler set down his fork, and Tiffany
knew by the way he leaned forward that he was ready to argue that
there was nothing wrong with Tiffany’s weight. She placed her hand
on his arm and shook her head. He stared at her for a moment, and
she could see the debate in his eyes as he silently weighed the
pros and cons of listening to her. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh
and dug into the rest of his meal, his head bowed in an attempt to
ignore the rest of the conversation.

And the rest of it didn’t get much
better. By the time they were done, everyone left and went to their
respective houses. Tiffany had Tyler go play more cards with her
dad and some cousins so he could relax. Meanwhile, she pitched in
to help some of her aunts and cousins clean up.

The day was as awkward as she feared it
would be, and she spent considerable time washing dishes only
because it allowed her freedom from having to interact with anyone.
Why her mother refused to buy a dishwasher in this day and age, she
could only fathom. But her mom was adamantly opposed to it, saying
it never killed anyone to wash dishes by hand. For the first time
she could remember, Tiffany was grateful her mother thought this
way since it gave her a much needed distraction.

And afterwards while the men were
watching football, she asked Tyler if he wanted to go for a walk.
This earned her another wink from her dad. Pretending she didn’t
see it, she grabbed her coat and waited for Tyler before hurrying
out of the house.

Once they were at the end of the
driveway, she released her breath, unaware she’d even been holding
it. She was tenser than she thought.

“
What’s on the agenda for
tomorrow?” Tyler asked, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his
coat.

“
Tomorrow we get ready for
the wedding. I’ll be stuck with Zoe and the bridal party. You’ll be
with my dad and uncles who like to shop on Black
Friday.”

“
What fun,” he
muttered.

Smiling, she added, “It could be worse.
You could be stuck with the groom’s side.”

He winced. “I’ll pass.”

“
You’d rather shop and play
cards?”

“
I’d rather get my teeth
pulled, but at least it’s better than putting up with all the
condescending remarks. I don’t understand how you can sit around
and just take it.”

“
Why do you think I moved to
Omaha? To get away from it.”

They turned down the next block, and he
shook his head. “I had no idea how rough it was for you. Those
people are insane.”

“
Mom and Dad want me
married. Zoe just always felt the need to compete with me. It’s
been like that ever since she was five.”

“
Speaking of which, why do
you let Zoe bash you? She’s not even pretending to be nice. She’s
just coming out and being rude. And right in front of others,
especially me, and she thinks I’m your boyfriend.”

“
I know, but it doesn’t do
any good to argue with her. She’ll never accept whatever anyone
says if it goes against what she wants to believe.” When Tyler’s
frown deepened, she said, “I could argue with her, but what good
would it do?”

“
Maybe it would make her
stop.”

“
I tried that in the past,
but it didn’t work. I also asked her to stop doing it because it
bothered me, but things only got worse.”

“
How could things get
worse?”

They turned the corner of the block,
and though she knew he wasn’t going to believe it, she said, “Zoe
is a drama queen. If someone tries to win one up on her, she comes
up with something so she can take center stage. But Tyler, it
doesn’t matter. It’s all petty stuff. With her, the best thing you
can do is let her believe whatever she wants and just be glad you
don’t have to deal with her all the time.”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t your parents
ever get involved and tell her to stop?”

“
She doesn’t do it in front
of them because yes, long ago, they said they wouldn’t tolerate
it.” Sensing her answer didn’t make him happier, she slipped her
arm around his. “Just be glad you’re not the one marrying
her.”

“
Marry her? I wouldn’t even
date her. She’s not my type.”

Tiffany knew Tyler would never consider
being with someone like Zoe. She’d figured that out shortly after
she met him, which was part of why she liked him so much. “She and
Brad will be well suited together.”

“
I guess. He doesn’t really
say much, so it’s hard to know what he’s like.”

“
Zoe enjoys talking, and he
enjoys listening. By the way,” she added, recalling the comment Zoe
made to her in the airport, “I think it’s refreshing for a man to
wear slacks instead of jeans all the time.”

At that, his eyebrows rose. “Someone
doesn’t like my choice in pants?”

She glanced up at him, surprised he
deducted that from her comment. “I realized all the men are wearing
jeans today.” Not that she had ever noticed it before, but since
Zoe brought it up, it made her more aware of what everyone was
wearing.

“
Do I stick out like a sore
thumb because I don’t wear jeans?”

“
No, you don’t stick out
like a sore thumb.”

“
But Zoe probably didn’t
like it and felt the need to tell you?”

Squeezing his arm, she grinned. “It’s
really uncanny how you can read my mind.”

“
I’ve known you long enough
to figure out what you’re thinking.” Then he wrapped his arm around
her shoulders and shook his head. “I never truly understood what
you had to go through while growing up. I thought you were
exaggerating.”

“
Try not to let Zoe bother
you. She’s just upset because you look better, are smarter, and
have a better job than Brad.”

Chuckling, he said, “We’ll go with
that.”

“
We don’t have to go with
it. It’s the truth.”

“
Well, I’ll tell you one
thing. When we get back to Omaha, I’m going to appreciate my
parents a lot more.”

“
You should. They’re great.
And best of all, they don’t hassle you about your love
life.”

“
True. That is
nice.”

He put his hands back in his coat
pockets, and she did the same. They spent the rest of the walk in a
comfortable silence.

Chapter
Seven

“
Having a fiancé is the
best,” Zoe said as she opened another gift at her bridal
shower.

Tiffany held back a yawn. Tiffany, the
other five bridesmaids, and the maid of honor were crammed into
Zoe’s apartment, and Tiffany was squeezed in between Zoe’s best
friend and one of their cousins. Zoe was sitting on the floor with
all the presents gathered around her, and the others were either in
chairs or sitting near her.

For once, Tiffany envied the men who
had the luxury of spending their time at the stores on Black
Friday, doing some early Christmas shopping. Sure, they had to deal
with all the other bargain shoppers pressing them in from all sides
in the aisles, but a one-hour drive to the mall and another hour
back would give them some peace and quiet.

As much as she wanted to join them—and
spend the day with Tyler—she’d had to go to her sister’s bridal
shower, or she would never hear the end of it. Some things were
just done in their family, and weddings and funerals were two of
them, including all the things they entailed.

“
You are so lucky,” one of
their cousins told Zoe. “Brad is gorgeous.”

“
He is, isn’t he?” Zoe
giggled, an action which, for some reason Tiffany couldn’t explain,
set the others into a fit of giggles as well.

Tiffany pretended to laugh, despite her
flashback to junior high when girls were just starting to get
crushes on boys and giggled whenever the boys looked at them. It
was hard to believe Zoe was twenty-seven.

Zoe finished opening the gift and
pulled out a red negligee. As expected, this was accompanied with
some good-natured joking about the wedding night. Tiffany glanced
at her watch and sighed. She didn’t know how it was possible, but
time seemed to be going slower the longer she stayed
here.

“
You’ll love being married,”
another cousin told Zoe. “It gives your life meaning. You have
someone who loves you and provides for you.”

“
If you’re lucky, you can
get him to do all the work while you spend his money,” another
cousin joked.

“
Or sit around and watch
soap operas all day like I do,” the first one teased.

Another cousin shook her head. “If you
have children, there’s no such thing as sitting around and doing
nothing all day. You’ll work harder than you’ve ever worked
before.”

“
Yep,” Zoe’s best friend
agreed. “And once you have children, finding time to wear that
negligee will be a challenge.”

“
But it’s worth it,” Zoe
said. “I couldn’t imagine going through my life without Brad, and I
just know our children will be an amazing part of my
life.”

“
They will,” the others
around Zoe agreed.

“
I’m glad I’m not one of
those women who go from one boyfriend to another, just hoping the
right one will come along, but of course, he never does,” Zoe said
then glanced at Tiffany. “Oops. Sorry.” She laughed and added, “I’m
sure Tyler will be the one who finally proposes.”

Tiffany bit her tongue so she wouldn’t
say anything that could be used against her later.

“
I hope so,” one of the
cousins said. “We all felt so bad for you when things didn’t work
out with Andy. Your mom was sure he was the one.”

Tiffany shrugged. “It’s better to stay
single than to marry the wrong person.”

“
That’s true,” another
cousin replied. “Marriage is forever, and forever is a long
time.”

“
Yeah, but when you find the
right one, then it’s worth it,” Zoe said. “I mean, look at
everything Brad and I have been through. We’ve solved all of our
differences ahead of time, so now we’re better prepared to be
married than other couples.”

Tiffany couldn’t be sure, but she
thought her sister shot her a meaningful look. Once again, she
glanced at her watch, and sure enough, time was slowing down. She
could only hope Tyler was having a better time than she
was.

***

“
Women take forever when it
comes to clothes,” Tiffany’s dad said when Tyler glanced at the
front door.

“
To be fair, this is for a
very special occasion,” her mother said as she sat in the chair in
the living room. “The women have to do everything they can to look
just right.” She smiled at Tyler. “I’m sure you’ll like seeing
Tiffy all dressed up. She’s a pretty girl anyway, but when she
wears a gown, she’ll take your breath away. Seeing her at the
wedding tomorrow will give you an idea of how she’ll look in a
wedding gown. There’s never been an ugly bride.”

Tyler shifted on the couch and forced a
smile. Ever since he returned with her father, it’d been like this.
Continual overt comments about him marrying Tiffany. They were
worse than he imagined when Tiffany had warned him about them. And
it was only three o’clock on Friday.

“
Of course, we’ll want you
to give the bride and groom a toast,” Tiffany’s mother told her
husband as she sorted through her list in her notebook. “Did you
work on your speech?”

Her dad shrugged. “All I have to say is
that I’m proud of them and wish them luck.”

“
Are you going to say
specifically why you’re proud of them?”

“
They know.”

“
They can’t read your mind.
They need you to tell them.”

“
I’m proud of them for
everything.”

Tiffany’s mother sighed. “I’ll write it
for you then you can read it tomorrow.”

“
Okay.”

“
Now,” she lowered her gaze
back to the notebook in her lap, “I was going to have your brother
and his family sit with my sister and her family. But, there was
that little scuffle with the lawnmower last summer.”

“
I’m telling you, my brother
asked them if he could borrow it for a month, not a week,” her
father said.

“
Well, since she’s still
upset that he didn’t return it sooner, I’m going to sit them at
another table. The last thing we need on Zoe’s wedding day is for
the family to get into an argument.” She wrote something in her
notebook then looked at Tyler. “I’d be more than happy to plan out
your wedding when you and Tiffy get married. I’ll make sure to
accommodate your family as well. And we’re flexible. We can go to
Omaha if your side doesn’t want to travel.”

Tyler cringed. After all this, he
decided if he did get married, it’d be a simple ceremony. All this
headache of fretting over whether the flowers would match the
bridesmaids’ gowns, where all the people were going to sit, what
everyone would eat, and what music to play was too much. He had no
idea the joining of two lives could mean so much hassle.

The front door opened, and Tyler bolted
off the couch. He’d never been so happy to see Tiffany in his
entire life. “How did the fitting go?” he asked as he went over to
her.