I ate another spoonful of my sundae and thought of how many times Wendy had talked about her huuusband. She was so proud of having landed the quarterback of the high school football team, the prom king, the best-looking guy in school, all rolled into one.
"I don"t know, Jake. Wendy sure doesn"t talk about her marriage like it"s an arrangement. I mean, her entire career revolves around her successful relationship."
"Exactly."
"Exactly?"
"Yes, exactly. Think about it. If her own relationship weren"t so successful...what would that do to her credibility?"
I nodded. "Maybe you"re right. So you think maybe they have some sort of deal where he runs around on her, and she looks the other way, all in the name of fame and fortune?"
He put his hands up. "I don"t know. It"s not my style, but I"m just saying it"s possible, that"s all. She may be running around on him too."
"But even if that"s true, it still makes him a sleaze, because Paige is going to be crushed when she finds out."
He nodded. "Probably."
I pressed a hand against my forehead. "I promised myself I wouldn"t meddle in my friends" love lives anymore."
"You did?"
"Yeah, I tried doing that with two coworkers back in San Francisco, and it was a total fiasco."
"You really think Paige is in love with him?"
I nodded. "Head over heels."
"Then you may have a big decision to make."
I took another bite of my sundae. "Why does life have to be so complicated? Why can"t we just eat ice cream and have fun, like when we were kids?"
"Welcome to adulthood, Miss Bryson."
I sighed. "Being a kid was so much easier."
He reached over and touched my nose. "Now that sounds like something you should put on one of your Honey Tees."
I reached to swat his hand away, but he caught mine and held it.
"So listen...I was wondering..." he began, suddenly sounding serious.
I looked at him.
"Since you"re not going to go out to see your dad for Christmas, would...would you like to come with me to Boston?"
"Boston?"
He nodded. "My sister"s having the whole family over this year."
"Your whole...family?" I swallowed as I eked out the words.
He smiled. "The whole McIntyre clan. What do you think?"
I felt a tear form in the corner of my eye. "You...you want me to meet your whole family?"
"Sure, why not?" He squeezed my hand.
"Would I be the first girl you bring home to meet your family since...you and Holly broke up?" From the little Jake had told me, his entire family, and especially his mom, were huge fans of Holly. She had been a childhood friend in Florida, conveniently now lived in Atlanta, and, as far as I knew, still carried a bit of a torch for him. So, while I tried not to be insecure about the situation, of course I was, at least little bit. Plus, I"d seen her once, all tan and super-modelish, which certainly didn"t boost my fragile ego.
He squeezed my hand again. "That"s in the past, Waverly."
I smiled weakly. "I know."
"Come on, they"ll love you."
"They will?"
"I know they will. How could they not?"
I smiled and squeezed his hand back. "OK then, I"d love to."
I was dreading the week ahead. I didn"t want to see Paige, and I certainly didn"t want to see Wendy.
But it was not to be. Paige called first thing on Monday. She wanted me to meet her and the leasing agent later that morning to sign papers for the new office. I tried to get out of it by saying I wasn"t feeling well, which was technically true. I wasn"t sick in the literal sense, but I certainly was feeling ill about the whole situation.
I did my best to resist, but she was persistent.
"Come on, Waverly, this is important. Can"t you rally for just a few minutes? We"ll meet you in Dumbo."
Frick. I was already at the NBC office, where I probably wouldn"t be if I were actually sick. The NBC office was hardly near Dumbo.
"My throat is killing me, Paige. Can"t it wait a few days?" A few years, maybe?
"If you want the s.p.a.ce, you need to sign the lease. Today. This is important."
I looked at the ceiling and sighed. "OK, fine. But can we do it later, like after lunch maybe?" At least that would give me time to get back to my apartment first and put on some jeans.
"That should work. Let me call the broker."
Ugh. What am I going to say to her?
Later that afternoon, I set out on the mile-long walk from Brooklyn Heights to Dumbo. As I cut through Cadman Plaza Park, I pulled my hat down over my ears and wrapped my coat around me. It had yet to snow, but it was already way colder than it ever got in San Francisco. I didn"t mind it, though, at least not yet. While I"d spent a fair amount of time up in Lake Tahoe over the years, I"d never experienced a traditional "winter," and I found myself looking forward to the first snowfall.
I exited the park, descended East Cadman Plaza Street under the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian walkway, followed it down as it turned into Washington Street, and then made a left on Water Street. In spite of my mood, the roar of the subway train rolling over the Manhattan Bridge made me look up and smile. Taking the rickety subway over the East River was one of my favorite things about living in Brooklyn. Most of the subway trains in New York ran underground, but crossing that open-air stretch across the bridge felt like living in another era, or even a fantasy one. It was almost as though Batman himself might swoop down onto the train and guide it safely into Gotham City.
Paige was standing outside the building as I approached, chatting with the leasing agent.
She looked the same as she always did, pleasant and in a good mood. Despite the cold weather, I broke into a sweat the moment I saw her.
She saw me and smiled. "Hey, Waverly, how are you feeling?"
Rattled, I wrapped my coat around me and searched her eyes for a clue. What did she know? What had Gary told her? I hoped for a sign, but I couldn"t detect anything other than normal, friendly, ever-professional Paige.
When I didn"t answer, she gestured to the man standing next to her. "Waverly, this is Eric, our broker."
"Hi, it"s nice to meet you." I extended my hand.
"Likewise," he said, shaking it.
Paige pointed to the storefront across the street. "I know you"re not feeling well, Waverly, so we can wrap this up quickly. Should we duck into Almondine for a coffee?" She looked from me to Eric, who nodded.
"Sure, that sounds good," I said, although what I really felt like doing was sprinting into the chocolate shop next door to hide from the situation, maybe even in a big vat of chocolate. Now that would be a good place to hang out for a while.
The three of us walked into the bakery and took off our coats. We ordered drinks, and after some quick chitchat, Eric pulled out the lease and went over the basics.
A few minutes later, I signed it.
And that was that.
As of January 1, the worldwide headquarters of Waverly"s Honey Shop would officially move from my living room to a real office.
Wow.
Eric stood up and shook our hands again, preparing to leave. I wanted to go with him so I wouldn"t have to be alone with Paige, but I couldn"t think of a way to get out of there without being rude.
Don"t leave, Eric! I willed him to stay, but my telepathic powers failed.
As I wistfully watched him walk out the door, Paige put her hand on my arm and gave it a light squeeze.
"So hey, I have some news."
I looked at her and raised my eyebrows. "News?"
She smiled. "So you know Gary and I are going to Vermont this weekend, right?"
I nodded. How could I possibly forget?
"Well, he called me last night and said he has something important he wants to tell me."
I sat up a little straighter. "Something important?"
"Yes." She smiled and took a sip of her hot chocolate. "So I"m thinking it has to be one of two things. Either he"s going to say he wants me to meet his kids...or..."
"Or...?"
"Or...he"s going to say he loves me."
I caught my breath but didn"t speak.
"What do you think?" She looked so happy, and my heart broke for her a little bit.
I nodded. "Um, yeah, both of those make sense." I tried to sound more enthusiastic than I felt. I sipped my hot chocolate and stared at the table. What was I supposed to say?
She reached over and put her hand on my arm. "You weren"t kidding about not feeling well, Waverly. You don"t look good at all."
I nodded. "I"m sorry. I"m just not myself today." If you only knew why.
She stood up and put her coat on. "Let"s get out of here so you can get back to bed. You don"t want to be sick for the holidays. Hey, speaking of which, how was the NBC party?"
I put my hat on and forced a smile. "It was fun. Nothing too crazy."
"I bet it was a blast. I love the holidays in New York. There"s just so much energy everywhere you go, it"s like electricity in the air. Andie is going to love it. I"m so sorry to miss her. When does she get in?"
I b.u.t.toned my coat. "Friday afternoon."
"Please tell her I said hi, OK?"
"Will do."
She held open the door, and as we were about to part ways, she turned to face me. "Congratulations on the lease. Today is a big day for you, for me, and for Waverly"s Honey Shop. Thanks so much for allowing me to be a part of it." She gave me a hug, and suddenly I felt like I was going to cry.
"Are you OK?" she asked.
I nodded. "I will be. I just need...to rest."
"You take care of yourself, OK?"
I smiled. "I"ll try to."
He doesn"t deserve you, I thought.
As I walked away from the bakery, I pulled the lease out of my purse and stared at it. By signing it, I"d officially marked a new beginning for both Paige and myself. I just hoped the heartbreak she was in for wouldn"t ruin it.
While I was able to escape my encounter with Paige relatively unscathed, I wasn"t so sure I"d be able to do the same with Wendy at that week"s planning meeting, a.s.suming she showed up. Why had I let her see me arguing with Gary at the party? While I didn"t regret what I"d said to him, I did regret how and where it happened. I had no idea what he"d told her afterward, and I had no desire to know.
Blech.
I walked into the conference room a few minutes early and sat down with a fresh cup of coffee. I pulled out my notebook and started jotting down ideas for future Honey on Your Mind segments. I"d also printed out a few funny e-mails to read to the group: "Dear Waverly: You know what"s on my mind? EMOTICONS! Great for little kids, beyond annoying for adults. The guy I"m currently dating e-mails and texts like a fourteen-year-old girl, with stupid smiley faces everywhere, not to mention LOLs and TTYLs and OMGs. I can"t take it anymore! I am SO dumping him. "
"Dear Waverly: I just got back from swimsuit shopping. Good lord. I ended up so depressed that the only thing I bought was a bottle of wine to drink when I got home. Just thought I"d share. Gotta go pop a cork now. Bye."
"Hi, Waverly, thought you"d enjoy this: I"ve been out a few times with a guy who not only sends me meeting requests for DATES via Microsoft Outlook, but who also makes suggestions for possible dates over e-mail and signs them, *Please advise." My girlfriends have *advised" me to send him a fake auto-reply message that says, *I regret to inform you that Karen no longer dates corporate robots. If in the future you feel better qualified for this position, please resubmit your resume. Until then, good luck getting that stick out of your a.s.s. Respectfully yours, the management.""
I"d already read the e-mails several times, but reading them again made me chuckle. Nothing like comic relief to reduce your stress level.
"Whatcha got there?"
I looked up and saw Ben, the intern, sitting down across the table from me. I think that was the first time I"d ever heard him speak.