The Long Way Home (16 page)

My feet wouldn’t move. I was frozen.

He looked defeated, "Why? Why are you so scared? Come
on."

I opened my mouth to say something, but my voice was gone. He
turned, shaking his head and staggered out of the church.

The rest of
us stood there, still and silent
.

Phil got up, humiliated and bleeding from the lip. He gave me
a look and walked from the church after Mike.

My chest, rising and falling, was the only thing that told me
I was alive. Everything else felt like it was gone. No sense or voice or spine.

Finally, it hit all at once. I grabbed my sister's hand and
ran down the aisle.

"STOP!"

I froze, looking back at my father. His face was seven
different shades of red. He snarled, "You will get nothing."

I shook my head, "I already have nothing, Father. What
can you take from me? I have nothing—no pride, no respect, no love,
no
feelings. Keep your
money,
I see
what it's done to you. I don’t want that."

Muriel stepped from the
seats,
grabbing my hands, "Go find your love. If you need anything, let me
know." My mother watched us with burning hate in her eyes.

She kissed my cheek. I nodded and turned and ran, holding the
hand of my sister.
Phil was gone
,
Mike
was gone
. There was nothing but a ton of cars and silence. As we jumped
into a limo, I shouted, "Grand Central Station. FAST!"

I pulled my cell phone from the waist of my panties and
dialed.

I ended the call when I got voicemail.

The driver couldn’t go fast enough.

Brandi sobbed, "I'm so sorry. I should have helped
more."

I kissed her, "Stop. Just stop. I know."

She looked at me, and for the first time, I really saw her,
"We don’t need them, J.D.—Mom and Dad are fucking insane. Let them
have each other."

I kissed her again, "We have each other."

The limo stopped and I dashed from the car. I sprinted inside
of the train station but he wasn’t there. Everyone looked at me like I was
crazy as I spun in a circle, desperate to see him.

I sat on a bench, in case we had beaten him there.

People looked at me like I was crazy. My sister came and sat
next to me, "I checked the washrooms,
I
don’t
think he's here."

I dialed again but he didn’t answer.

I looked like a jilted bride. It made me laugh. Not a normal
laugh but a crazed one.

We walked back to the limo. I wrote down the addresses of the
next five places. We drove for hours and I grew more desperate at each place he
wasn’t at.

"The Empire State Building."

The driver gave me a shitty look and turned back to the city.
When we got there, we ran inside. Brandi paid the sixty dollars for us both as
I pressed the elevator. Brandi gave me a weird look, "Why here?"

I shook my
head,
"I made him
watch
Love
Affair
with Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer and the remake
An Affair to Remember
with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. He hated
them but suffered through them for me."

The elevator stopped at the observatory deck. We stepped out
onto it, getting a breeze and both looked around. There were other people and a
saxophone player. She went right and I went left. I ran, imagining I would see
him any second.

I met her at the sax player. She was staring at the case. I
looked down, seeing the pink sash with bachelorette on it.

"He came here." I picked it out of the case.

The guy stopped playing, "Dude, Mike France gave that to
me. He signed it."

I bit my
lip,
"I'll give you a
thousand dollars for it."

He cocked an eyebrow, "Two."

I looked at Brandi. She fished cash from her purse and
slapped it into his hand. I looked at his signature and tried not to cry.

Brandi and I walked back to the elevators. I felt sick,
"He hates heights. He came here to show me he would do anything for
me—even the 86th floor of the Empire State Building."

She pressed the button on the wall, "It's not like you
won't find him. You will. He's got to be at one of his houses. He only has two
here. There must be somewhere he would have gone."

I sighed, "South Carolina." I dialed the number
again but he didn’t answer.

"It's fucking 2013; how is it this hard to find
someone?"

She snorted, "We can pay someone and track him like a
rabbit."

I dialed the other number I didn’t want to.

He answered, "I'm sorry, Jacqueline."

I nodded and followed my sister back to the limo, "Me
too. Can I meet you at the house? No parents, just me and you?"

"No. I have all of your things being boxed now and they will
be shipped to your mother and father’s. Your father is here doing it."

I pressed my lips together, "Okay."

"I put five hundred thousand into the account you and I
share. He doesn’t know. Take the ring back to Harry Winston. Brandi has the
receipt for it. I gave it to her in case. Between those two things you should
be okay until he calms down. I'll close the account in a couple days so be sure
to get it."

I nodded, "Thanks."

"Of course. You have to know, how sorry I am."

The lump in my throat was huge, "I know. Me too. I'm
sorry about Mike and my parents."

"Take care." He hung up the phone.

I looked down at the ring on my hand.

We walked back but the limo was gone.

My father was pulling everything away from me.

I put the glass on the table, "This is the
Carano
I had while I was in Italy for the Alto Adige
tasting. It's perfect and peaking this year. It's Baron di Pauli."

The man smiled at me, "You actually went to the tasting
there?"

I nodded, "My friend is a sommelier, she invited me to
join her."

He stuck his nose in the glass and nodded, "It's
fruity."

"It finishes with dark chocolate. The fruit and
chocolate are delectable."

The lady gave me a blank look, "Can we get a cheese
board with the wine?"

I bit my lip but couldn’t hold it back, "The reds don’t
go with cheese. That’s a white wine food. Did you want to try something
else?"

Her cheeks flushed, "No. I'd like the cheese,
please."

"Excellent. How is the wine?"

The man gave me a thumbs up, "Fill us up. It's beautiful."

I poured them both a glass and placed the bottle back on the
table. I walked back to the kitchen and nodded at Jon, "I need a cheese
board."

He grimaced, "Didn’t they get a red?" His French
accent was noticeable when he said they.

I folded my arms, "Americans, what can you do?"

He swore in French and muttered things I didn’t catch. He had
given me a job, something I had never had before, when I was alone in the world
last May. My family and friends had all abandoned me when the wedding was over.
Rebecca, Helena, Angela and Brandi still saw me, but it was in secret. I was a
pariah of the blue bloods. Phil was already engaged again. Ashley would make a
beautiful bride. It grossed me out, but the fact he was marrying her, seemed to
make it okay she wasn’t even twenty yet.

France had not taken a single call from me or returned any of
mine. He didn’t return a single email or make a single appearance in my life.
The small wine bar was the only thing in my life.

Jon handed me the cheese board, "I hope they
choke."

I frowned, "No, you don’t. Then I have to do the
Heimlich, and no one wants to do that to a two hundred-pound man."

He scoffed, "They think they know everything."

I laughed and walked the cheese out to them. The wife plucked
a grape and some Brie as I laid it down. The husband glanced at my ass, making
me uncomfortable and annoyed. I smiled, "Enjoy."

I walked to my other tables, clearing and refilling. Jon had
taught me how to serve. I had no idea how to do anything, beyond fill a glass.

I looked at the time and hurried back to the kitchen, "I
have to go."

He looked at the time, "
Oui
.
It's time for your appointment, non?" I loved his blended French and
English.

I nodded and pulled my apron off. He nodded, "I will get
Beth to finish the tables and make sure you get your tips."

I winked at him, "Thanks." I needed those. I needed
every dime I got. My rent was paid but the ring had only gotten me forty
thousand, even with the receipt. I never had taken the five hundred thousand
from the account. I daydreamed about it sometimes, like when I was really
hungry or cold, and wished I had even a few of my things from before.

The whole world had opened up and closed simultaneously for
me. I had never seen or experienced the things I was now, both good and bad.

I ran down the street to see the people I had been dreading
all along.

When I got inside, the two men were already there. Will
smiled and opened his arms. I felt sick; I was so embarrassed. I hadn’t seen
him in the six months, but we had run into each other at a bakery the week
before.

I almost slumped into his chest. He squeezed so hard that my
back cracked and then he pulled me back, "You look so different."

I nodded, "Poverty changes you." I blushed and ran
a hand through my hair. He shook his head, "You look beautiful, different
in a good way." He nodded at the guy next to him, "This is Vince. He
just plays for Boston. He was actually the reason I hunted you down yesterday
and asked if you would meet up with me."

Vince took my hand. He looked like a hockey player, burly and
thick. His sweater was exactly what I could imagine France wearing.

I sat as Will pulled the coffee-shop chair out for me.

Vince smiled. I could see where he was missing a tooth in the
back. It seemed all hockey players were missing teeth or constantly bruised.

Finally, I said what I was thinking about, "Have you
guys heard from France?"

Will shook his head, "No. His contract was up and he
said he was taking a leave for a year. Went to play in the Italian
league."

I nodded
,
I knew that
. The
whole world did. It was on the news. "Yeah, I've felt the brunt of
numerous Rangers’ fans being pissed at me."

Will snorted, "The whole team is pissed at you."

I winced, "Sorry."

He shook his head, "Vince just got back from
Italy."

My eyes widened, "Did you see him? Is he okay? He
doesn’t answer my messages."

Vince sipped from his cappuccino. It was a contradiction
watching him drink from such a delicate cup. "I saw him in Rome. He came
and met up with me and the other guys who went."

"How did he seem?" My heart was beating through my
sweater.

His eyes couldn’t hide the truth of it, "He seemed okay.
He wasn’t upset or anything. He's coming back. Signed his contract. Said he'll
be back in America after Christmas."

My heart skipped beats, "Really?"

Will gave me a smile, "He's a stubborn guy, J.D. I think
he thinks the reason you never got married was because Phil broke it off after
the whole spectacle. I think he thinks you’re still together."

I almost started to cry. I felt my eyes trying to tear up. I
shook my head, "I tried to catch him. I just was so stunned, I
think." I looked down at my hands as Will slid a piece of paper across the
table.

"Go get him."

I looked up, "What?"

He nodded.

I shook my head, "I can't accept that."

He smiled, "His address is in there. He isn’t coming
back here for Christmas. Go get him. Tell him everything."

I scowled but put my hand on the ticket. I couldn’t be
foolish and let it ride again. I didn’t have the money anymore to go on my own.
Tears filled my eyes, "Why are you doing this for me?"

His face was so stoic but I heard his voice crack, "It's
not me. It's your sister. She came and found me a few weeks ago. Came to a game
and stood outside the locker room. We thought she was a good-time girl, but she
wanted to find me. Told me how she couldn’t see you often without losing
everything herself and how her husband works for your father. She had already
risked so many things helping you, but she told me the story. The whole
story."

I winced, ashamed that he saw how I had chosen Phil to stop
my father from taking everything.

But he smiled after a minute, "She told me about the
threats your father made against Mike and you. She told me that you were living
in a shitty, little apartment and working as a wine server because your father
made sure no one would hire you or help you. I waited outside of the wine place
and followed you to the bakery." He reached into his pocket and slid an
envelope to me, "She said to give you this, as well."