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9
Jane and Ali had a weekly tradition every Wednesday night. They always went to Patrick’s, a local Irish Pub. It was a tiny, hole-in-the-wall place that was known as a local gathering place. They served traditional Irish food, and they always had a fully stocked bar. Jane and Ali began this tradition when they first moved to Bristol and had tried their best to never miss a Wednesday night.
“Oh, my God,” Ali said, not truly surprised by the update on Austin Drew. “Can you imagine that? Our high school wasn’t even that big, and he didn’t recognize you or your name.”
“Thank God he didn’t,” Jane replied. “I honestly prefer to keep it like this. He doesn’t remember, and that’s fine by me.”
“I guess it just shows that he was totally wrapped up in himself in high school,” Ali said.
Jane sat thinking. She had thought about it all afternoon. On some level, she should be insulted that he didn’t remember her. She did sit in front of him in chemistry for a full year when he was a junior. But she also looked completely different. In high school, she had never gotten her groove when it came to guys. She had been reserved, preferring to admire guys from afar. She felt foolish, all these years later, for having been head over heels in love with Austin Drew. She had created a version of Austin in her head, and it was almost freeing knowing that he wasn’t the perfect guy she’d thought he was.
“I admit it wasn’t exactly a confidence booster,” she chuckled, adding, “I mean, I know it was high school, but to be fair I barely had any guy look at me back then,” Jane laughed, so glad those days were behind her.
“Well, thankfully that has all changed in the last decade,” Ali winked at her sister, “for both of us.”
“As Mom says, you come into your own when it’s time. Our time wasn’t high school! We had braces and glasses, and we preferred the library to the football field. In retrospect, what did we expect?” Jane laughed, thinking back to the two of them and their friends in high school.
“But still,” Ali replied, “not remembering you, and being late for another meeting. I mean, honestly, he would have had his ass fired in the real world.”
“Yes,” Jane nodded. “He is a piece of work, believe me. I wanted to freaking scream when he showed up late again, but I was already on the call. I spent hours putting everything together and making sure I had every detail written down for our call. Then he saunters in, sits down, schmoozes with Molly freaking McKee all through the call, and then felt free to add his two cents in here and there about how to plan the wedding.”
“And?” Ali laughed, looking at her sister with curious eyes.
“And, what?” Jane replied, wondering what Ali was getting at.
“Did he mess up the call?” Ali asked, curiously.
Jane grabbed her beer and took a sip. As much as it irritated her that he had been totally unprofessional, she knew he hadn’t messed up anything. She wouldn’t admit it to Austin, but the fact that he had a history with Molly had made the call easier.
“No,” she finally answered. “He didn’t mess it up, but if this was any example, working with him on this wedding is going to be hard. It’s like doing a group project in high school when you’re assigned to work with kids that you know won’t do a freaking thing and everything is going to fall on you.”
“Then you need to tell his father,” Ali remarked honestly.
“I don’t want to be the tattletale,” Jane answered, shaking her head in frustration. “I’m a professional, and I’m stuck with him. There’s no way around it.”
“Then you’ve got to keep being direct with him and don’t let him mess anything up for you. This is a big deal and, as you said, there’s always one person who slacks off. Looks like it’s Austin in your case.”
“It is frustrating to have to deal with him,” Jane answered, feeling exasperated. “Even on the call with him and Molly, I felt that I was back in high school. Both of them completely left me out of the conversation when they were talking. The cool kids were laughing and joking, while I sat on the sidelines. Today was just tough,” Jane said, trying to prevent the tears from falling. She didn’t know why she was letting this bother her so much. She was used to handling and dealing with stress, but this Austin situation had really gotten under her skin and she was trying to navigate this new reality. “It’s just not fair.”
Ali’s heart hurt for her sister. Even though Jane was older by two minutes, Ali always felt like she played the big sister role with Jane. She hated seeing her so upset, especially since three months ago this job had been her dream job come true. “Well,” Ali said, “the only thing you can do is put him to work. You have to give him things to do and give him firm deadlines, no questions asked.”
“And what happens if he doesn’t come through? It will fall back on me.”
“Don’t let him slide,” Ali added, looking at her sister seriously. “Give him work to do. Take some of the load off your plate. Mr. Drew seems to think he can do it, so let him do it. I know you’re someone who needs to have her hands in every pot to make sure nothing gets messed up, but give up some of it. Make it easier on yourself and let Mr. Drew know what you’re doing. If Austin cares about The Oxford, he won’t mess it up,” Ali said firmly, hoping Jane would take her advice.
“I guess that’s the only thing I can do,” Jane admitted, thankful for her sister’s advice. “I’m sorry to be such a mess tonight, work was a shit show today. I have no other excuse!”
“Well,” Ali remarked, “apart from Austin, it sounds like this Molly chick might be a piece of work to work with, too.”
Jane cocked her head to the side, thinking about the two of them on the call today. Molly was very outgoing with Austin, much more than he was with her. She lit up when she saw his face on the camera, and she was definitely flirting with him, although Austin was probably used to that with most women.
“And tell me this,” Ali added, looking at her sister with curious eyes. “Are you going to say anything about going to high school with him? Especially now that you’ve met him and you’re working with him? He’s bound to find out at some point.”
Jane’s face went blank and she slowly shook her head from side to side.
“Janie!” Ali said, looking at her sister, “I think you should let him know! At the very least, tell him that you grew up in Barrington. Mom and Dad probably taught him at some point. What happens when he figures that out? Won’t that be awkward?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Jane stated casually, still shaking her head. She had already thought this through and knew she wouldn’t say a thing about it unless he mentioned it first.
