White Girl Problems (25 page)

I slipped my dress from my shoulders and let it slip down my body to the floor. I was prepared for the moment, in every way. I had on French lingerie and the perfect high heels. I gave him a wicked look.

His eyebrows lifted and he started to undo the buttons of his shirt.

If Snooki got her happily ever after, so can any girl.

#TrueStory

Epilogue

Dreams Really Do Come True

End of August

The rocks below me brought back a thousand memories. Glimpses of the way he looked at me, scared yet desperate. I gave Jess and soft smile. “I think he loved me the minute he met me, like in a movie.”

She laughed. “He did. Trust me. I’ve heard the story already twice. Johan said he thought it was so crazy that Aiden saw you standing there in the home and he knew he couldn’t look away no matter how ungentlemanly it was. I think that means something in their family.”

“It does. Jack, their uncle, used to say that about Millie.”

He gave me a look like I was a baby or a puppy. “Aww. That’s kinda cute.”

I nodded. “It’s something. Intense is usually the word I use. Is Johan intense?”

She shook her head. “Only about football, which is soccer to us, and silly things like that. I don’t know how to read him. Maybe because he’s only just turned seventeen. He’s young.”

I rolled my eyes. “He’s a year and a half younger than you, the same as me and Aiden. It’s not that big of a difference.” I squeezed her hand. “I’m so grateful you’re coming with me. School in Scotland seems like an insane idea, but with you there it’ll be so much less…”

“Scary?”

I nodded. The breeze at Peggy’s Cove was warm and the day was bright, not at all how I saw it the first time. We lay back on the rocks and let it all soak in.

Hattie walked over with our dad. He looked like a moron with his socks pulled up to his knees and Croc sandals. She pointed. “This is one of the landmarks we are famous for.”

He nodded, looking serious and impatient. “It’s windy.”

I smiled, but Hattie gave him a look. “And your wife is a bimbo, but we don’t say anything.” She turned and stalked off. His face turned red and he followed her. Jess and I started laughing.

I nudged Jess. “Hattie is the shit.”

“I wish she raised us.”

Linna plopped down next to me and licked her ice cream cone. “I can’t believe how bananas this place is. It doesn’t even look like we’re in Canada. It’s sunny and warm and these rocks are badass. I love it here.”

“I promised Hattie I would come out, but this is the only time I have. We have to get to Scotland and start setting up res.”

Linna shook her head. “I can’t believe I agreed to go to Scotland for college. That’s bananas too.”

“You’re gonna have fun.”

She nodded. “I’m gonna hunt down Gerard Butler.”

Jessica laughed. “He’s old. Why? Dude. He’s old enough to be your dad.”

Linna shrugged. “I’m finding me some rich Scottish hottie. I love that accent.”

I sighed. “We’ll be like the Three Musketeers.”

“Yeah, the weirdest Three Musketeers ever.”

I looked at Jess. “We cover all the bases. I’m too young to be as in love as I am and I’m shitty at school. You’re super smart, get awesome grades, yet you’re dating the hottest guy any of us has seen, but you refuse to have sex with him.”

Linna interrupted me. “True story.”

I continued. “And Linna is that fun party girl who drinks too much yet somehow has mad awesome grades but never actually dates dudes for real, just has sex with them.”

Hattie interrupted our deep thought for the day. “Time to go. They’re meeting us at Jack and Millie’s.” We got up and walked back to the SUV.

The drive over was quiet, perhaps because of our destination. But even Linna didn’t try to fill the empty space with meaningless words.

My dad was awkwardly silent. He had wanted to come and meet Aiden’s family.

When we arrived, I paused, looking around. “Where are we? Hattie, isn’t this close to your house?”

“Yeah, the mouth of the Atlantic.” We parked next to a bridge on a sucky old road. Aiden, his mother, and his siblings were standing on the bridge already. I felt nervous the moment I saw her sharp blue eyes find me in the small group of people.

Another pair of blue eyes sought me though. Aiden gave me his usual stare through his thick black lashes. The corners of his mouth were turned up slightly. He held out a hand. “Mother, this is Frank Roze. He is Jess and Finley’s father. This is Hattie, their grandmother for all intents and purposes.” He looked over at his mother. “This is my mother, Queen Estelle Dumont Windsor Rey. This is my sister, Mary Estelle Windsor Sorenson Rey, my brother Johan Agramunt Sorenson Windsor Rey, and our youngest brother Jack Agramunt Sorenson Windsor Rey.”

Linna laughed. “Dude, I think Mary, Johan, and Jack might have been enough.”

Mary laughed. “Don’t we all wish.”

The queen gave us all a look. It was the same homeless-person face she always gave me. “It is lovely to meet you all.”

My father did something that looked like a bow. “It is wonderful to meet you. Fin and Jess speak so highly of your family.”

The queen didn’t speak. She raised her eyebrows and looked over us all. “I have a flight to catch, so we should get this over with.”

Charming as ever.

Hattie smiled at them all, but I could see her annoyance. “This is the spot where we placed their ashes.”

The queen looked at Aiden. “You’re certain this was his wish?”

Aiden nodded. “He wished to spend eternity sailing his beloved Atlantic with his beloved Millie, so they might return to the shores of England if they so desired.”

I smiled. It was the most romantic thing I’d ever heard.

Aiden laughed. “Jack was a romantic man. He couldn’t bear the thought of being trapped in a crypt with the rest of the family, and he knew Millie would never be welcomed in the crypt. He chose the girl who stole his heart over the family he rarely saw.”

Mary leaned over the railing of the river. The bay in front of us was near Hattie’s house and behind us was Porter’s Lake. It was a perfect spot for Jack and Millie to have their ashes spread.

In the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Johan holding Jessica’s hand behind their backs and away from the prying eyes of his mother. She would probably have a fit if she knew they were seeing each other.

She was already angry with Aiden and me, but Johan was her favorite. She would never allow another one of the unsuitable females from my family to take another of her sons.

Aiden held out a basket of red and white rose petals. We all grabbed some and tossed them into the sea, speaking to our dear lost friends and family.

“Miss you, Uncle Jack and Aunt Millie.”

“Love you both!”

“Come see us in England!”

The queen nodded. “Good-bye Uncle Jack! You were always my favorite.” She tossed her petals and smiled. It looked real, like she truly had meant the things she said. She turned to the guards lining the road and nodded and then looked back at Aiden. “I have things to do before leaving Halifax for New York. Jack is coming with me. He has things to get in New York.”

Aiden nodded. “I figured. The rest of us will be leaving tomorrow. The girls are headed for Scotland. They need to acclimate themselves to the time change.”

“Excellent.” The queen smiled. “It was lovely meeting you.” She turned and waked to the guards. Jack gave us a wave but said nothing. I caught a glimpse of earbuds in his ears—typical fourteen-year-old.

My father nodded his head toward Hattie’s road, which was quite close. “I’m going to head over to the house. Sheila won’t want to be alone much longer.”

I scoffed. “I’m surprised she never tried to come and see the queen.”

His eyes lit up momentarily. “She did.” He put a hand out to Aiden. “It’s nice to meet your family finally. Take care of my girl in Scotland.”

Aiden gave him a subtle bow. “Always.”

My dad smiled and walked off. Jess pointed. “I’m going home too.”

Johan stretched. “Yes, I’m beat and could use a nap. It’s pretty far to the hotel. I think I’ll accompany you.”

Mary’s eyebrows went up. “And I’ll chaperone.” She hugged me and walked behind them.

I noticed Hattie still had her flower petals. She tossed them slowly from the bridge and smiled. Whatever she was thinking was between her and them. Once the petals were gone, she gave Aiden and me a look. “I’m headed to Lakeside if you want to come?”

He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me along to the SUV my father had rented while he was in Nova Scotia. Sheila had refused to ride in his car.

On the drive over, I snuggled with Aiden in the back. Hattie scowled. “I look like your driver. This is some shit. One of you is riding up front on the way back.”

I laughed.

Hattie ran her hands along the steering wheel. “This is some nice though. I do like it. Might have to look into it for my next car.”

When we got to Lakeside, I ran inside, abandoning Aiden. I darted for the bridge brigade, terrified of any missing. Their faces lit up. Hanna and Sarah jumped up. Mandy spun Marbles so she could see me. She gave me a crooked smile. I hugged them all, taking in deep breaths of them.

“You came back!”

I nodded. “I promised I would.”

Sarah looked up. “You brought him? You’re still together?”

I looked back. “Oh, him? Yeah, he still follows me around. It’s creepy actually.”

Aiden smiled wide. “I think we all know which of us is creepy.” He nodded his head toward me.

I gasped. “So mean.”

Marbles laughed. “Gives us some hugs so we can make everyone else in here jealous.”

He gave them all the biggest hugs.

We sat down and played a game, catching up on gossip and the things we’d missed. Many deaths, many new people, and even some new staff.

The moment Aiden left the table to see someone else, their eyes all turned hungry. “Has he proposed?”

My face bunched up. “Sweet friggin’ God, no. I’m eighteen. Seriously.”

Sarah scoffed. “You would have already had a baby by now in our day.”

“Well, thank the gods of all that is fair that I’m in my time where we’re allowed to vote and have kids when we’re thirty. I don’t even know if I want kids.”

All eyes widened. Hanna crossed herself like I’d just confessed to a horrid crime or said something really unholy.

“You are so dramatic.”

Marbles muttered, “You know you love him and it’s so obvious how much he loves you. Don’t fight it. You’ll end up old and alone or married to the wrong person. Just be open. Or we will kill you.”

“Dude!”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s Marbles to you!”

I laughed. She had grown fond of the pet name. She even did impersonations of that movie my dad liked.

Hattie came in and folded her arms. “Time to go, kid. I’m scared of leaving Sheila at my house for too long.”

The table of women all started spitting on the floor and muttering things. I cocked an eyebrow. “Stay crazy, ladies. I’ll come and see you at Christmas. It’s a short hop across the pond now.”

Hattie nodded. “Shorter than Seattle.”

I sighed. “Spokane.”

“Whatever.”

As we walked out, I looked back and waved. I would miss them. Hopefully they would still be there. I’d never realized how precious old people were ‘til then. They had all the wisdom and personality we wished we had, but their expiry date was so imminent it was scary. You only got so much time with them; you had to cherish it and spend it wisely.

It made me look at Hattie differently too.

We sat in the car, waiting for Aiden, who had told her he would meet her out there. I glanced over at the locket on her neck. “My mom had one similar to that.”

She nodded. “I know. It was her mother’s. Our husbands got them at the same time, one Christmas a million years ago when the earth’s crust was just cooling. When Harris put the necklace on me, he swore he would do it every day for the rest of our lives. The last time he put it on was ten years ago, the morning he died. I haven’t taken it off since because he isn’t here to put it back on.”

Tears filled my eyes. That was the lonely feeling in her house. They’d never been able to have children. The void was him. He was gone yet still there in so many ways.

She looked at me, tears spilling from her eyes too. “Stop crying, ya silly girl. You didn’t even know him.”

I shook my head. “But I know you.”

She started to cry harder. I slipped an arm around her fragile back. “Thanks for saving me, Hattie.”

She sniffled. “Someone had to make you a human being.” She gave me a wicked grin. “I think you might be getting close.” Her face lifted to Aiden walking toward us. “And I think it was him that saved ya anyway, not me.”

I smiled at him. “Team effort.”

She drove us home in silence. The mood was sad. I didn’t know why.

We walked into the house, arm in arm, with him taking deep breaths of my hair. “I love you, Fin.”

I looked up into his eyes and got lost. Sheila came bounding down the hall, giving us a weird look. She smiled wide and bowed funny. “Fin, Aiden, you’re back. How was your visit?”

I scowled. “Fine?”

She kept her smile going and walked into the kitchen. Dad came down the hall with a small box and passed it to me. “This was some of your mom’s stuff. I had left it here and completely forgotten about it.” Aiden kissed the side of my head. “You two go and open it together.”

I carried the small box into the living room and sat down. Inside was a knitted hat, a small album, her wedding and engagement rings, a stack of old photos, and a small box. I opened it to find the locket that matched Hattie’s. Inside was a picture of my mom and my Aunt Cheryl. I passed it to him. “You have to give that to Cheryl.”

He nodded. It made me smile that she would have it. I pulled the tiny rings from the box and tried to slide them on, but they didn’t fit. “Dude, Mom’s hands were so small.”

He laughed. “So small. We had to have the rings resized twice. It was crazy.” He shook his head. “Marrying her was crazy. I never deserved her.” He gave me a look. His eyes were full of the thousands of things he wanted to say. I could see them all floating around in there. He smiled and let them fall out of his mouth for the first time ever. “She was a beautiful person, but she wasn’t my person and I wasn’t hers. She would have been so proud of the girl you were and the woman you’ve become. She was so angry that she got sick. The only thing that ever made her smile was you.” His voice cracked. “I know I haven’t been good at this. I know that. I’m sorry, Finley. I wish I did better and I wish we’d been closer. You were just so much like her that I assumed we would never match either.”