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CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

JADE

Garret takes off out the door just as Sara comes over.

“What are you smiling about?” She sits down across from me. “Why do I even ask? You’re smiling because you have the hottest, sweetest husband in the world.”

I laugh. “That’s true, but that’s not why I’m smiling. Garret wants to get a Christmas tree today and I’m smiling because I’ve never had one.”

“I haven’t either. My mom had this small green metal one she put on the kitchen table but it was more like a decoration. It wasn’t an actual tree.”

“Are you getting one this year?”

“I don’t have the money for one, but Alex will have one up at his place.”

“Hey, are you on break? I need to hear about your weekend.”

“Yeah, I’ve got a few minutes. Tell me about yours first.”

“We didn’t really do much. We ate a ton of food and watched movies. Oh, and I gave that speech I told you about.”

“How’d it go?”

“Really well. One of the other speakers asked me to talk at a youth conference in March, and now Garret thinks I should give speeches for a living, but I don’t know. I need to think about it. So tell me about going to Alex’s house for Thanksgiving.”

“It was great. His parents’ house isn’t very big and there were 40 people there, so it was packed.” Sara props her elbow on the table and rests her chin on her palm, a big grin spreading across her face. “But I loved being there. It was so much fun. His sisters are awesome. They both have young kids but not babies, so when they saw Caleb, they went all baby crazy. He got so much attention. I didn’t talk to Alex’s brothers much, but I talked to their wives. They went all crazy for Caleb, too. And Alex’s parents are super nice. His mom even invited me there for Christmas. Oh, and the dinner was so good. Caleb kept trying to feed himself sweet potatoes with his hand and it got all over his face. It was really funny.”

“See? I knew you’d have a good time. You worried for nothing. How was the hotel situation?”

“It was fine. I had my own bed and the hotel loaned us a crib for Caleb.”

“So again, you didn’t need to worry. Nothing happened.”

“I know but,” she lowers her voice, “I kind of wanted something to.”

“You did? Like you wanted to—”

“Shh. Don’t say it.” She sits up, checking to make sure we’re alone. “But yes, I wanted to do that. I wouldn’t, with Caleb there, but I wanted to.”

“Do you think Alex did?”

“He’s a guy. Of course he did.”

“So are you saying you’re done being just friends?”

“Yes.” She leans across the table, the grin appearing again. “Alex officially asked me to be his girlfriend. When he picked me up to go to his parents’ house, he brought me flowers and asked me if I’d go steady with him. He actually said ‘go steady’ as a joke and then he got serious and told me all this stuff about why he likes me and asked if I’d be his girlfriend.”

“That’s really sweet.”

“Yeah, it was. And then he asked Caleb for his permission. He gave him a mini football to sweeten the deal. His words, not mine.” She laughs.

“And what did Caleb say?”

“He threw the football at Alex’s face.” We both laugh. “Alex took that as a sign Caleb was okay with it.”

“So now what? I mean, you were kind of already dating him so does anything change?”

“Well, we can kiss without feeling like we shouldn’t be. And maybe do more than that.” She smiles again. “But other than that, not really. Friday, Alex is making dinner at his place so I’m bringing Caleb over there. He’ll be asleep by eight and then Alex and I can watch a movie or something.”

I raise my brows. “Or something?”

She swats my arm. “Not that . Not with Caleb there.”

“You said he’ll be sleeping.”

She rolls her eyes, but she’s still smiling. It’s good to see Sara so happy. She was convinced Alex wouldn’t stick around, but I think now she’s realizing that he will. It sounds like he really cares about her and Caleb. I’ve only seen Alex a few times so I don’t know that much about him. But maybe now that those two are dating, we can all go on a double date and I can get to know him better.

“Oh. I almost forgot to tell you.” Sara sits back in the booth, checking her phone, then setting it on the table. “That guy was here again yesterday.”

“What guy?”

“The one who was asking about you last week. Justin, or whatever his name was. I think it was Justin.”

I get a sick feeling in my stomach. I’d forgotten about that guy. I told myself he was nobody and to forget about it.

I shiver and Sara notices. “What’s wrong? Are you cold?”

“No, I’m just freaked out that that guy’s still hanging around. You didn’t tell him anything about me, did you?”

“I didn’t talk to him. He just came in to get a coffee and left. Someone else waited on him at the counter.”

“Was anyone with him?”

“No, it was just him.”

“And what did he look like? What was he wearing?”

“Just dress pants and a shirt and tie. Like he was going to work or something.”

He wasn’t wearing a suit. So he’s probably not from the organization. Then again, Walt didn’t wear a suit and he’s connected to the organization.

“Jade, I have to get back to work.”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

As she leaves, I get my phone out to call Garret and tell him Justin’s back in town, or maybe never left. But Garret’s in class now and there’s nothing he can do, so I change my mind.

My phone alarm goes off, reminding me I have an appointment with Jennifer in a few minutes. When I get there, the first thing she asks about is my trip to Des Moines. I tell her about seeing Frank and Ryan, but I mostly talk about that speech I gave and how Garret thinks I should consider doing that as a career. When I tell her I’m not sure about it, she brings out those personality tests I took a few weeks ago that help you choose a career. Being a teacher was one of the careers that fit my personality, and speaking to people is kind of like being a teacher.

“Jade, what did you like the most about giving that speech?”

“I liked feeling like I was helping people. People who are just like I used to be. I don’t know if what I said helped them or not, but maybe my story made them feel like there’s hope.”

“Are there any reasons why you wouldn’t want to do this as a career?”

“I don’t feel ready to. I feel like I need to try it some more and make sure I still like it. And I don’t feel like I know enough to help these people. Garret thinks I should take some more psychology classes.”

“I agree with him. I think it’s a good idea. Maybe you’ll decide to major in it.”

“Actually, I have been thinking about doing that.”

She smiles. “This trip was good for you, Jade. I’m glad you agreed to speak at that event.”

“Garret forced me to. He said I had to face my fear of public speaking.”

“And look where it got you. Because of that, you might have your major and your career figured out. You see how one person can influence you enough to change your life? You could be that person for someone else, Jade. Think about that as you consider your options for careers.”

After our session, I leave thinking this might just be the right career choice for me. I have time to kill before my next class so I stop by my advisor’s office to make an appointment. He’s there, and has the next half hour free so he offers to meet with me now.

I tell him about my interest in psychology and he suggests I take a couple psych classes next semester to help me decide if I want to declare psych as my major. Then I mention the speech I gave and he suggests I take a speech class to see if I really like public speaking and to get better at it. Even though I gave that speech, I’m still scared to death of public speaking. I only did well last week because I ditched the speech I’d memorized and just talked. But if I really want to consider doing this for a living, I should learn how to give a proper speech, which means I need to take the class.

I leave his office with a marked-up course catalog and another appointment with him later this month to go over what I decide. But I think I’ve already decided. I like his recommendations. I’m even getting excited about next semester.

And it all started with Garret making me do that speech. Jennifer’s right. One person can make a huge difference in your life. Garret is proof of that, and not just with his career suggestion. He’s changed me completely since we met. He’s made me a better person, and he just keeps continuing to do so.