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5
Chase was slicingsausages and chopping onions and bell peppers on a handmade wooden board while spaghetti sauce was heating in a saucepan.He splashed a stream of olive oil in a frying pan and, with a swipe of his large, sinewy hand, brushed the neatly cut slices and cubes into the sizzling pan.
“Hey, your cell phone is ringing,” Timmy said, picking it up and answering.
“Who is it?”
“Laurie.”Timmy held the phone in his chubby little hands.
Chase prodded the pieces in the pan with a wooden spoon, flipping the sausages to get them browned and seared on the other side.He was too impatient for it to cook.The onion was already nice and soft.He turned the heat to low and stepped back.
“Give it to me,” Chase said, reaching for the phone while keeping a watchful eye on the sauce simmering on the stove.
Timmy was only six years old, and he was in the first grade.One of the youngest in his class, he was also one of the smartest.Chase had raised Timmy by himself ever since Timmy’s father and mother, Chase’s brother Kenny and his wife Darlene, had died in a car accident.They had married after high school.The way Kenny told it, they had made love under the sprawling oak tree.His brother had gathered acorns and said he was nuts about her.She had laughed and said he didn’t look like a squirrel.Timmy was the spitting image of his father.
Chase took the phone and held it to one ear while he eyed the pot of boiling water.“Hey, Laurie, what ya doing?”
He made small talk while clutching the phone to his left shoulder as he reached for the box of spaghetti.
“Say what?”Chase barked as he released a handful of dry spaghetti into the pot, which made a metallic screech as the dry pasta scratched against the steel container.
Timmy turned at the sharp tone, not used to hearing his usually calm uncle raise his voice.
“Why did you tell Katie I’d be her plus one?”Chase slammed another sheaf of spaghetti in the pot of boiling water, not even flinching as droplets of hot water splashed on his jeans, then dumped the rest of the box’s contents in the pot.
It’d been ten years since he’d seen her, and he’d tried his best to forget Katie after what she’d done to him.He wasn’t keen on going, but Laurie would’ve never forgiven her favorite cousin if he didn’t go.His excuse had been that he didn’t have a date.Laurie was the meddling sort, but he didn’t think she’d stoop this low—with the only person he didn’t want to see.One day before the wedding, she’d just turned his world upside down.
Cousin or not, Chase resented the way Laurie stuck her nose in his affairs.Just because she was bossy and related by blood didn’t mean she had a right to meddle in his life.But she meant well… and it was her wedding.How could he stay mad at Laurie for long?It wasn’t her fault.She’d been like his little sister, and they were close, and she knew how to wrap him around her little finger.Yep, some things never changed.
This thing Laurie cooked up about a plus one… that was a different story.Katie.Hmm, had she changed?Had she been avoiding him?Now, thanks to his cousin, he’d be stuck with Katie at the wedding and the reception.Curiosity raised its head.He wondered what she’d be like now.He’d heard bits of news about her over the years, all complimentary—her graduation from college, the new job at the tallest, fanciest building in the city, and the successes she’d achieved in her life.But wait, was the talk all about her professional life?Hold on… if he was her plus one… then it could only mean one thing: She didn’t have one—a personal life, that is.
Chase rubbed his jaw.They were supposed to pretend to be each other’s plus one.How much did Katie have to say about it?Or was she duped into it, just like Chase was?
