“Do you really think he’s telling the truth, Liv? Be honest. What would you do if you were in my shoes?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think. I’m not the one about to walk down the aisle to him. You are, Lex. What do you think? I mean, I know you two haven’t been together for years, but what is making you not believe him? Have you asked yourself that?”
“It wouldn’t be like he hadn’t done it before,” I mumbled, spilling out my confession.
Her brows heightened in surprise. “Hold up. Run that back one more time. Pat cheated on you before? And younevertold me?”
“Well, it’s not exactly something I’m excited to run and shout to the hills about, Liv.”
“I mean, I get that, but still, Lex. It’s me.Me. The girl who still has the friendship bracelet you made me in the fourth grade! What happened?”
“He cheated with a flight attendant six months ago,” I blurted out. “I saw the messages in his phone when they popped up on his iPad, flew all the way to fucking Toledo to confront his ass about it, and he confessed. How could he not? So, getting that voicemail was?—”
“Triggering as hell. I get it now,” Liv answered, finishing my sentence.
I bobbed my head. “Exactly. That nigga begged me for forgiveness and got down on one knee to show me how serious he was about us being together. Told me how in love he was with me, and how he’d never find anyone else like me, how it was his parents’ wish for his grandfather to see him get married before his dementia progresses. And then popped open a ring box with a fucking diamond ring in it, and I was like putty in his hand. I’m pathetic.”
“You’re not pathetic. You’re in love.”
“Am I, though? Or am I just . . . going through the motions? Are these signs? Blaring red flags that I’m choosing to ignore? Imean, I don’t know. The doubt is haunting me like a bad fucking dream. And then there’s that shit Poppy said.”
“Poppy? Like, his grandfather with dementia?”
“Yeah. I know it sounds crazy, but the last time we went to see him, it was like he had a lucid moment.He looked at me and said, ‘The goal is to marry the love of your life because love is a commitment, not a feeling.’ I haven’t been able to shake it since. It’s literally tattooed on my brain.”
Liv sipped her iced tea before shaking her head. “Wow. That is kinda heavy. Leave it up to the elders to drop gems when you least expect it.”
“I know, right?”
“And here I was about to sit here and try to play devil’s advocate and say maybe all those really shitty work things did happen to him, and he lost his phone in the mess of it. I mean, niggas have come up with lamer excuses. At least he did give you some sort of plausible explanation. But now that I know he’s out here being a repeat offender, I’m not even mad you’re out here still not wearing your engagement ring and actin’ like you single like a dollar bill in Lil Wayne’s pocket, because what the fuck is up with this triflin’ ass nigga? I swear, you like a nigga shenan once, he’ll shenan again.”
Her familiar joke made me chuckle, despite the storm brewing inside me. “Like I said, I guess we’ll see what comes of our conversation tonight, but I don’t have high hopes.”
“Definitely keep me posted, girl, because I need to know if I’ll really be dragging Oak along as my plus-one.” The mere mention of her brother made me choke on the spit in my throat. “You good?” she questioned, screwing up her face.
I nodded. “Mm-hmm. So, you told him yes?”
“Yeah. I did. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to find anyone else worth bringing to your wedding between now and then, so whynot? Besides, the nigga made me feel bad when he reminded me that our entire family was going to be there except for him.”
“Damn. I guess you’re right about that.”
“Speaking of family, our parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I need you to help me plan it.”
“Yay, but what? C’mon, Liv. You know I’m up to my eyeballs in all this wedding shit. I literally don’t have the bandwidth to take on another task.”
“When I say plan, what I really mean is show up on the day of and help me set up the cabin.”
My brows heightened. “The cabin?”
Liv cheesed. “Yup. You remember we used to go up there every summer?”
I smiled, reveling in the nostalgic memories. “Yeah. We used to race each other to the dock as soon as your dad put the car in park.”
“That and always raiding the pantry for snacks at night and hiding them in our blanket fort in the loft so Oak’s bigheaded ass couldn’t find them.”
I smiled, though I wasn’t sure if it was because of the warmth of our fun childhood memories or the simple fact that I caught myself smiling before I even saw him, from simply knowing I was about to.
“Good times,” I finally muttered.
