Even though I had made my decision regarding Jarren, I was still paranoid that she was going to do something to screw over Matt. Every time they were around each other, every time I saw Jarren alone or Matt alone, I watched for… Well, I don’t know exactly WHAT I was looking for. Signs that Matt was stressed? Signs that Jarren was being sneaky and cheating on Matt?
Sure enough, about a week later, Matt came home and slammed the door. The house vibrated, and Cumulus, the huge baby he is, cowered and whimpered at my feet.
“What’s going on?” I called from the living room.
“That guy is a total jerk!” He yelled back.
“Who?” I asked, setting down the paperwork I was doing and walking out to meet him.
“Greg. Total tool.”
“You know about Greg?” I asked, confused.
“Yes, I know about Greg.” He answered, looking at me like I was crazy. “Jarren and I do talk, you know.”
“I know…” I said, trailing off and adding ‘but Jarren lies.’ In my head.
“She told me he was her ex. She told me how he broke up with her, but that he called and asked her to meet him and she felt bad for him so she went. They’ve been talking she said, but just because she felt bad for him. I guess he’s having some family issues. Anyway, she just called me to come over there… Apparently he showed up yelling and wouldn’t leave. She was scared… So I went over there to check it out… He was gone by the time I got there, lucky for him…”
“Really? Greg? Was yelling?” Matt looked at me like I was insane when I said that, but it just didn’t sound like the Greg I knew.
“Yeah, you should have seen Jarren when I showed up Ella, she was really upset… Crying and shaking. I’m tempted to go down to the club and see if I can catch him and beat the shit out of him.”
“That just doesn’t sound like Greg.” I said, and immediately Matt’s face changed from disbelief into anger.
“You knew that crack nut for what, five minutes? And how long have you known Jarren?”
“For awhile. But that’s my point, Matt. I know Jarren. I know how she acts, and she can…” I wanted to say lie, but I knew that wouldn’t sit well with Matt. “She can over-exaggerate and be a little… Dramatic.”
“You didn’t see her Ella, and if you had, you wouldn’t be saying this.”
Matt was getting defensive, and I knew me telling him about the Jarren I knew would do more harm than good. I decided to let that drop.
“I know, I’m sorry. I’m sure she was upset… I think you should just leave Greg alone. I mean it’s not worth it, you know? You even threaten him and he’ll probably file a report, and you’ll lose your job.”
“Yeah.” Matt said, running a hand over his face. “You’re right. He’s not worth it. Besides, Jarren promised me she was done with him, she was just trying to be nice and it bit her in the ass. She told him not to call, email, facebook, text, or come by. She threatened a civil stalking order so… I think he’ll take that seriously.”
“OK….” I trailed off. “So. You two hanging out tonight?”
“No. She’s got plans with some friends. A girl thing. I’m just gonna hang around the house, maybe go over and help Nick for a bit.”
“Alright. Well. I think maybe I’ll pop over there and say hi.” I said, leaving the house.
Part of me wanted to call Jarren to see if she would feed me a different story, but the majority of me just wanted to be left out of it. I decided to ask Toni what she though, even though I already knew she’d tell me to stay out of it. Toni and I hadn’t been spending a lot of time together lately… She had been heading up to her Mom’s a lot, for help with the kids and also to spend time with Nick during the week. I know she liked to play this whole independent woman game, but I knew she missed Nick when he was gone. On weekends, she usually either stayed with her Mom, or came back to view the progress on the house. She seemed a lot less stress, but still was tired most of the time. I spent a few minutes here and there with her, but she usually headed up to nap after a short bit.
Sure enough, when I arrived, Toni was holed up in her room, sleeping. I missed her, but also understood that her body was going through some major changes. I wish I could do more to help, but I had a lot on my plate right now. I was just glad the babies were due in the fall, when things tended to die down a bit, so I could help once they came.
“Hey.” I said, hugging Nick and giving Seth, who was helping out, a quick peck on the cheek. “Ew, you’re sweaty.” I laughed, wiping off my lips.
“Nice to see you too, sweets.” Seth said, smiling at me.
“You just missed her, El. She just went down for a nap.” Nick said, sympathetically. I think he knew I missed my friend.
“You guys need anything? Can I run and get you some food or something?” I said, picking up a hammer and hitting it gently against my palm.
“No, we’re good.”
“Oh.” I said, a little bummed. To be honest with you, I was bored. I had plenty of stuff I could be doing, but it was stuff that I felt like I had been working on for forever. Camp paperwork, and just… Work. I needed a break. A distraction.
Seth seemed to pick up on that. “I’m sorry sweetie, we’ve gotta get back to work. We’re hoping to get this floor in by the end of the day. But, you know, I’m free tonight if you are. I know it’s a little taboo to ask a girl out for that same night, but what do you say? Feel like breaking the rules?”
I smiled. “I dunno… I don’t want to seem easy…” I trailed off.
“What if I promise it’ll be a special one?” He asked, winking at me.
“Can I go buy a new dress?”
“You can do whatever you want.” He said laughing.
“Alright. What time should I be ready?”
He glanced over at Nick. “You think we’ll be done by five?”
Nick nodded.
“Alright. I’ll pick you up at seven then? Sound good?”
“OK. Let me know if you want me to pick you anything up while I’m out!” I said, kissing him on his sweaty cheek again and waving over my shoulder as I left.
I found the perfect dress at the mall, and even more perfectly, it was on sale. It stopped a few inches above my knee, was silk with a swirling pattern of greens, blues, and browns. The neck was a high one, wrapping around in a fake turtle neck type style, leaving my arms bare.
I didn’t know where we were going, but I knew this dress could double as a dressy dress, or a dressier casual dress. I was excited, Seth and I had been kind of… Off, since our fight. I don’t know if maybe I just felt weird around him because of the sudden influx of intense feelings, or if maybe we were just off.
I hurried home, soaking in the tub and spending extra time getting ready. I wanted to look good. I wanted it to be a good night. I wanted Seth to have a good time, to relax, and I was hoping we’d go back to how we were at his Grandpop’s house, I was hoping that our fight hadn’t made everything weird, and that it was all in my head. I decided that I was falling in love with Seth, and while that was scary… Well, I didn’t want to use fear as a reason to ruin everything. It was what I had yelled at Seth for doing, and now I was making things weird because I was scared of all the feelings I was having.
Tonight was going to be a good night, I was sure of it.
Seth showed up, dressed up in a shirt and tie and looking better than I had ever seen him. Suddenly, I was reminded all over again just how good looking he was, and became shy. He beamed when he saw me though, gushing over and over about how good I looked.
He took me to a fancy restaurant where we ate great food, and surprisingly, the conversation flowed easily. We talked about Chloe for a moment, but sensing his sadness in the conversation, I quickly changed the subject.
After we finished, we decided to head over to a street carnival we had passed on our way to the restaurant. Seth persuaded me to ride the ferris wheel.
“You don’t think I’m over dressed?” I joked as I climbed on.
“Just don’t let anyone see up your skirt.” He replied, winking at me.
We were stopped at the top, and I was a little more than nervous. Heights weren’t my thing, and the wind had picked up a little, making the seats rock back and forth.
“Hey…” Seth said, noticing my white knuckle grip on the safety bar. “Look at me.”
My eyes were shut tight. If I couldn’t see how high we were, then we really weren’t that high, were we? “Uh uh.”
“C’mon Ella. It’s gorgeous up here. Take a look around.”
I pried one eye open, and sure enough, he was right. The street fair was lit up below, and in the distance you could see the skyline of downtown, which I always found gorgeous. Seth gently snaked an arm around me, pulling me close to him.
“It’s almost as gorgeous as you.” He said, kissing the side of my head.
“Oh stop…” I teased, but secretly eating it up.
“I’m serious Ella. You are one of the most gorgeous people I’ve ever met. Inside and out… I love you.”
My heart stopped beating for what felt like a full minute, and even though I didn’t think I was ready to say it, “I love you too” slipped out of my mouth.
He leaned down and kissed me, and even when we got off the ferris wheel, I still felt about a mile high in the air. Tonight was such a perfect night, and I felt like I was walking on clouds, barely able to see or hear anyone but Seth.
Unfortunately I was able to hear Seth when he said “Hey, over there, isn’t that Jarren?”
Sure enough it was. And the guy she was with? Was certainly not Matt.
