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Chapter Fourteen
Frankie
My hand shook as I raised it to knock briskly on Marcie’s front door.
Marcie and Denton’s front door, I amended to myself. Marcie had terminated her apartment lease a few weeks ago, right after she found out about her pregnancy, and moved into Denton’s airy new condo. I saw Denton a lot lately, especially after the baby news. He was always around the store, having lunch with Marcie, helping her with little odds and ends, or even just dropping in to shove a smoothie at her, drop a quick kiss on her lips, and dash back to his office.
I desperately wanted that with Clive—for him to drop by the store and see me, or to meet him for lunch just because we could. Little couple things. And for the first time in weeks, since Marcie and her dad and Denton started to mend their relationship, I was starting to think that maybe it was possible.
It took Marcie long enough to come to the door that some little part of me felt relieved, and I almost bolted back to my car. But before I could execute the plan, the doorknob jiggled and the door flung wide open, revealing Marcie’s wide, beautiful smile.
“Frankie!” she exclaimed, and pulled me in for a hug.
I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her back. It felt so good to be with my best friend. That was the thing about Marcie—even though she was my boss, she was always my friend first. One of my longest and most important relationships. The sister I always wanted, but didn’t get until I was in college.
“I’m so glad you finally came to see the new place,” she said over her shoulder as she led me inside. “We’re just starting to put the baby’s room together and order more furniture and everything. The condo was so bland when Denton first bought it, but it’s really coming together now.”
“It’s beautiful,” I replied, and I meant it. It was expensive and tasteful, but homey. Everything intended to be used, lived in, and enjoyed.
In the kitchen, Marcie grabbed a bottle of juice out of the fridge and held it out to me before she retrieved another one for herself and settled on the bar stool next to me.
“So what is it?” she asked gently. “You sounded really nervous on the phone.”
I looked over at my best friend, her eyes so frank and open, a gentle smile playing at her lips. She was gorgeous and glowing—from her pregnancy or from happiness, I wasn’t sure which. But I knew I wanted to find some of that glow for myself. With Clive.
“I need to tell you something,” I finally said. I twisted open the cap of my juice and took a long drink, which did nothing to soothe my nerves. “It’s about—"
“You and my dad?” she interrupted. She looked over at me and laughed at my startled expression. “Yeah, Frankie. Everybody knows.”
I almost toppled off my stool in shock—mostly because she wasn’t angry about the news. “How did you know?”
Marcie rolled her eyes and tossed her dark hair over her shoulder. “Oh, please, give me some credit. You’ve been in love with my father since you were a teenager. You’re usually happy to bitch and moan about being single, but I’ve barely heard anything about it for months now. And when I talked to my dad before…” she trailed off. “Before our fight, he was so happy, and so were you.”
I placed my hands on the counter and breathed in deeply before I turned to face my best friend. “And what do you think about it?”
She looked down, her face contemplative. “Honestly, at first, I was kind of upset that you didn’t just come out with it, but you’re such a private person, and I thought that maybe…maybe you were trying to protect me and our friendship. In case things went sideways with my dad.”
I thought back. “Yeah, that was part of the reason. Your dad was really worried about that, and things haven’t always been that easy between him and I. I wanted to tell you, but you had so many other things going on, and then you and Clive had that blowout—I just didn’t want to make any of that about me, you know?”
I sighed and pushed back an unruly curl from my face, hoping Marcie understood. “It was more important to me that you and your dad worked things out, without me being an extra obstacle in the way, or something to argue about. Especially after your father’s over the top reaction to you and Denton, which he knows and realizes is fucking hypocritical. But it’s different because you’re his baby and he only wants the best for you, and in the moment when he was reeling in shock, he didn’t think that person was Denton.”
I looked up into Marcie’s eyes. There was hurt there, yes—but also concern, confusion, and most of all, love. Tears blurred my vision and I blinked hard, willing them to stay back until I could get through what I wanted, and needed, to say.
“I know your dad has made a lot of mistakes and hasn’t handled certain things well, but I love him so much, Marse,” I said, putting my own heart and emotions out in the open. “I didn’t plan on it, but it happened, and I’m so, so sorry if I, and your dad, didn’t handle this the right way with you. Will you forgive me?”
My best friend smiled. “There’s nothing to forgive.”
A tear fell and I sniffled and wiped it off my cheek. “I just want all of us to be happy. We all deserve that.”
Marcie leaned forward and slid her arms around me in a tight hug. “Yes, we do,” she agreed against my ear. “And I think we’re all just about there. I love you so much, Frankie.”
We hugged for a long time. It felt so good to embrace my best friend, especially when I still felt so raw about losing my grandmother, that I wasn’t surprised when another rush of tears prickled at my eyes. I sniffled loudly and Marcie pulled away, giving me a lopsided grin.
“I’m glad it’s you,” she said. “You love people so hard, and my dad needs somebody who loves him as much as my mom did. Someone who can keep him in line and challenge his stubborn opinions and decisions, and soften the rough edges he’s developed over the years since my mom died.”
I swiped at another tear as it streamed down my cheek. “Yeah, he really does need a good woman in his life. He can be such a grouch when he gets lonely.”
She laughed. “And now he’s your grouch.”
