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“Sorry to hear that, hun, but Declan’s mom is on the phone for you. She called you first and when you didn’t answer, she called me.” She hands me the phone, then proceeds to open my drapes, mumbling to herself about what time it is before she collects my dirty clothes.
“Hello?” I answer.
My mom shoos me off the bed and I end up almost falling on the floor from her insistence.
“Hi, Rylan. How are you, sweetie? Listen, got a call last night from Calista looking for photos of Declan.”
“Yeah, she’s putting together a slideshow for the wedding.”
“This late?” she asks. Declan’s mom isn’t really one who keeps her opinions to herself.
“Well, there was something already in the works, but it fell through and—”
She interrupts. “I gave the majority of pictures to Declan when we downsized, so my assumption is that they’re in his storage locker. You’ll handle this for me, won’t you? I’m the mother of the groom, for Pete’s sake, I have enough to worry about. We have family coming from out of town and I still have to get my dress fitted. There are a million things to do.”
“Um…”
“You are back home, right?”
“Yeah.” I watch my mom make my bed and try to really soak it in since even my housekeeper back in Chicago can’t get corners that tight. I miss them when I’m gone.
“Then it shouldn’t be a problem. Thank you so much. See you in a few weeks, I’m sure.
The line dies and I sit on my desk chair, staring at the phone.
“What did she swindle you into doing?” Mom asks, straightening the comforter.
“Gathering pictures for a slideshow the grandmas put Calista in charge of.” My mom sits on the edge of the bed.
“Calista?”
It’s like every one of my family members turns into a German shepherd when I say the word Calista. They all sit at attention and drool for more information.
“I hope you’re not going to make her do it all by herself. You are the best man, Ry.”
I groan. I’m getting more guilt trips for my best man role than I get when I don’t come home for the annual Greene family summer bash. I wave the phone. “No, Declan’s mom doesn’t have any pictures, so today I get to go on a scavenger hunt and get a breaking-and-entering charge in order to get them.” I drop the phone on the bed and go over to my suitcase to pull out some clothes.
“Ry, this is a big deal to them. They’re getting married. I know you…”
I turn, and she doesn’t finish her sentence. Here we go again.
“Mom, it’s not that I don’t want to be with Calista. It’s that there’s no possible way for me to. I tried. We both tried. Long-distance relationships don’t work. And as long as I’m playing, that’s exactly what people here are going to get with me.”
“I know it’s hard with how much you travel and the late nights playing, but if you really love someone, it’s worth it.”
I laugh, but it’s not genuine. My mom shoots me a warning glare, so I sober. “I tried with the person I loved most in the world, and we failed.”
“Give it a second try. Sometimes the second time around—”
“And then the third is the magic?” I shake my head, wishing everyone would stop pushing. “If I fall in love someday down the road again, then I do, but right now, I have everything I need.” Although the dream I just woke from would suggest I don’t. Then again, what the hell does it mean that it was Alice’s face and not Calista’s?
My mom stands, her displeasure written in the sad frown lines on her face. “Well, it’s your life. I always say I won’t meddle like your grandmother, but I never thought I’d raise such a stubborn son.”
“Mom,” I groan, but she waves in frustration and leaves the room.
Fuck. This is why I don’t come home. They want something very specific for me out of life and it’s not something I can do right now.
I grab my clothes and head to the shower, hoping like hell I can rub one out without the haunting image of Aubrey’s grandmother floating into my brain. Because if I’m about to put myself in the line of fire, I can’t be aroused when seeing Calista.
