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And I could eat pie and ham instead of vegan shrimp made of soy, and caviar made from black seaweed. I didn’t even want to know how that was done. Most importantly, I wouldn’t have to put up with the strange stares from Jonah’s parents and ex-wife. I swore their eyes were like microscopes, and I was their petri dish. They were waiting to see what I grew into. I had a feeling they were betting it wasn’t going to be anything good, but they were keeping a tiny door open that it might all turn out okay.
They could think what they wanted. I needed to shower and get ready for the day before I did start growing weird microorganisms. Jonah had dropped me off at the loft after we’d opened our gifts at his place. The man was completely smitten with me now that he had a box full of his beloved lime Skittles. And maybe because he thought I was pretty magical. I was beginning to think he and Whitney were too. I realized today that creating magic for someone else was the best healing magic in the world. It almost made me forget that the courier hadn’t come. Almost.
I still wondered why. Maybe Jonah was right, Roger Stanton had died, or maybe he just got bored of the same old routine. Jonah said we should google obituaries tomorrow. I supposed it was too morbid to do it on Christmas. It didn’t scream holly jolly activity.
Dani and Kinsley sat on the bathroom counter while I showered. When you lived with two other women and those women were your closest friends, privacy went out the window.
“So, Jonah spent the night last night. Is everything okay with the two of you?” Dani asked.
“Yeah, it was just a rough night with his parents and Eliza.”
“But you’re not breaking up, right?” Kinsley asked, worried.
“Not today.” I was ever noncommittal.
“You love him.” Dani called me out.
I peeked out of the shower curtain with my hair full of suds. “Yeah, I do.”
“So why are you holding back?” Kinsley asked while applying a thin layer of lip gloss.
“How do you know I am?”
“Oh, please, Jonah was in a panic last night when he called. He’s afraid of losing you,” Dani half scolded me.
I gripped our ruffled shower curtain. “I’m not purposely trying to worry him, it’s just . . .” I closed my eyes. “I need to know who my father is and why he didn’t want me.”
“Why is that so important to you?” Dani sincerely asked in a way no one but her could. She herself never knew who her father was.
I opened my eyes. “Don’t you ever wonder who your father is? Doesn’t it bother you that he abandoned you?”
Dani tapped her heels against the cupboards. “I used to wonder, and of course it bothered me, but then I realized he’s not worthy of my thoughts. Besides, I consider Grandpa my father; he showed me what a real man was. He and Grandma saved me from myself. Oh,” she paused.
I darted back into the shower and started rinsing the shampoo out of my hair.
Dani sounded like she’d moved right next to the shower. “I’m sorry, Ariana, I know it hurts you that they didn’t do the same for you.”
I wasn’t angry with them. But deep down I had always felt like they took in Dani and Kinsley because it was somehow their penance. They wanted to make up for what they couldn’t do for me.
“I understand why you would want to know why your father wasn’t there for you,” she spoke loudly so I could hear her over the water. “But don’t let him take Jonah from you. He doesn’t deserve the honor.”
I let the water wash over me one more time before wiping the excess off my face. I popped my head out again to find Dani right in my face. “I just want to be able to bury the past so it won’t keep rearing its ugly head in my future. It’s loomed over me my entire life. That’s not fair to Jonah.”
“Why don’t you let Jonah decide what’s fair to him? I would say he’s getting the deal of a lifetime with you.”
She had me tearing up. “I just don’t want to return him.”
“Not all men leave, and some even come back after you’ve pushed them away.” She grinned. “You’re going to figure this out.”
“Promise?”
She held up her pinky. “Pinky swear.”
After I showered and dressed in my Naughty but Nice, I’m a Multitasker sweatshirt, I threw on some makeup and blew out my hair. I thought it might be nice if I curled it instead of throwing it in a bun, but there was a knock on our door. I smiled, thinking Jonah couldn’t wait to see me so he’d come early to pick me up.
