Page 9

CHAPTER NINE

When we get to Garret’s house, his dad’s car is out front. Garret thought he’d still be at work. As we approach the door, his dad opens it before we can even knock.

“Garret. Jade. Welcome home.” Pearce gives Garret a long hug and then hugs me for almost as long. He steps aside to let us in.

The house looks cold and stark as it always does. They really need to redecorate.

Pearce puts his arm around Garret. “It seems like forever since I saw you last.”

“Dad, you saw me in May.”

“Yes, but I’m used to having you closer to home where I can see you more.” Pearce is acting very strange. He seems happy and is showing more affection than usual. “Are you two hungry? Because I thought we could order a pizza for dinner.”

Garret laughs. “Are you feeling okay, Dad? Because a pizza has never been delivered to this house.” He looks at me. “Katherine would never allow it.”

“Katherine isn’t home tonight,” Pearce says. “And I gave Charles the night off. You know I can’t cook, Garret, and I think pizza sounds good. But if you two don’t want that, we can have something else.”

“I love pizza,” I say. “I vote for pizza. How about you, Garret?”

He’s still in shock. I nudge him to get his attention. “Um, yeah. Pizza’s good.”

“All right then. I’ll order it up.” Pearce gets his phone out and looks at me. “Where exactly do you get something like that around here?”

I laugh. “Garret can tell you. I have to use the bathroom. Hey, is Lilly home?”

“Yes, she’s in her bedroom. Why don’t you go get her?”

I race upstairs, stopping at the bathroom quick before heading to her room. I knock on her door and hear her tiny voice on the other side. “Who is it?”

What kid asks that? Most kids would just open the door. Lilly is too funny.

“It’s your friend who promised to visit you.”

“Jade!” The door pops open and her little arms wrap around my legs. I reach down and pick her up.

“Did you miss me?”

“Yes. Please don’t go away again.”

Her voice sounds so sad it almost makes me cry. I feel so bad for her, stuck in her room with no friends.

“I live in California now, Lilly. You know that.” I walk into her room and set her down on her bed.

“When are you leaving?”

“Not until Tuesday, so we have a whole bunch of days to do stuff together.”

She still seems sad, but she perks up when she sees Garret walk through the door.

“Garret!” She runs up to him and he picks her up and spins her around.

“How’s my favorite sister?”

“I’m your only sister,” she says, giggling.

“And my favorite.”

She puts her head on his shoulder and hugs him. “You can’t ever leave again.”

“Lilly, you know I don’t live here anymore. But I promised you I’d visit and here I am. Just like I said.”

“But everything’s sad now.”

Dammit. She’s seriously going to make me cry.

He kisses the side of her head. “What do you mean? Why are you sad?”

“Because you left me. And everything’s sad when you’re gone.”

Okay, now the tears are coming. I wipe the corners of my eyes before the tears let loose down my face.

“I didn’t leave you.” He rubs her back as she hugs him even tighter. “I just live in a different place now.”

“But it’s so far away. And Dad said you’re not coming back.”

“Because I’m going to a different school. I was away at school last year and you weren’t sad then, were you?”

She shakes her head no.

“It’s no different now. I’ll still be away at school. I’ll just be going to a different school. And I’ll still come back and visit you like I did before.”

“It’s not the same,” she says quietly.

Garret lifts her head off his shoulder and looks at her. “Tell me what to do to make you not so sad.”

“I want you back here.”

“Yeah, but I can’t do that, so what else can I do? Do you want me to call you more? Do you want to do that thing where we talk over the computer so we can see each other?”

She nods at both.

He glances over at me. “You want to talk to Jade more?”

She nods really fast at that one.

“What else?”

“I want Daddy home instead of always at work. And I want him and Mom to stop fighting.”

“I can’t promise you that, Lilly, but I’ll talk to him, okay?” He sets her down. “Guess what?” His tone lightens.

“What?” She sounds a little less sad.

“Dad’s ordering pizza for dinner.”

She looks at him funny. She’s probably never had pizza, or at least not takeout pizza. Garret realizes this and tries to explain. “Dad’s getting the same kind of pizza I ate when I was your age. Let’s go downstairs. It’ll be here really soon.”

“Where’s it coming from?” She’s still confused.

“A guy brings it to the house.”

“Why is he making us a pizza?”

“He’s not. Never mind. Let’s just go eat.”

We head downstairs with Lilly still trying to figure out this pizza thing. The girl is richer than most any other girl her age and she’s never had a takeout pizza. And her dad didn’t even know where to get one. Garret’s family is crazy.

Pearce ordered three large pizzas because he wanted to make sure we had enough. Obviously it’s way too much and I’m sure he knows that. I think he ordered extra so Katherine would come home and find the leftovers in the fridge and freak out. But maybe it’ll be gone by then. Pearce said Katherine is having a spa weekend out of town and won’t be home until Sunday afternoon.

Lilly eats two big slices of pizza which is a lot for someone her size but she probably thinks she’ll never get it again.

For dessert we make ice cream sundaes. Garret pulls out a bunch of different toppings and lets Lilly make her own sundae, something Katherine would never allow. She’d say it’s too messy and that Lilly shouldn’t be making her own food because that’s Charles’ job.

As we’re eating our sundaes, Pearce asks, “Is everything set for the—” He stops before he mentions the wedding because we haven’t told Lilly about it. Garret wanted to tell her in person.

Pearce clears his throat and looks at Garret. “Do you want to tell her now?”

“Yeah, I think now’s a good time.” He looks at me to agree.

“Go ahead.”

Lilly’s ignoring us, bobbing up and down in her chair, eating the last of her ice cream.

“Lilly, I have something to tell you,” Garret says.

She looks up, the last spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. “What?”

“It’s big news. Are you ready?”

She nods as she sets her spoon down. She wipes her napkin over her face and waits patiently in her seat.

“Jade and I are getting married. She’s going to be your big sister.”

“Really?” Lilly jumps off her chair and runs over to him. “Jade will be my sister?”

“Yes.” He laughs at her enthusiasm. “You’ll finally have a sister.”

“I always wanted a sister!” She turns to me and I pick her up and set her on my lap.

“And that’s not all,” he says. “We’re getting married in two weeks and you’re going all the way to California for the wedding.”

“Do you get to wear a pretty dress?” she asks me.

“Yep. A really pretty dress.”

“Jade, you tell her the other part,” Garret says.

“Garret and I would like you to be our flower girl. Do you know what that is?”

She nods. “I get to wear a pretty dress, too, and throw flowers everywhere.”

Pearce smiles. “Well, not everywhere, Lilly, but they’ll show you where to put them.”

“And Mom said it’s okay?” Lilly asks Pearce. It pisses me off that she even has to ask.

“Your mother and I both say it’s okay.”

It’s a lie. I know Katherine doesn’t want Lilly in the wedding, but Garret says that since we moved, Pearce has been standing up more to Katherine and this is something he wouldn’t back down on.

Lilly hops off my lap and runs over and climbs on her dad’s. “I’m gonna be a flower girl! And I have a sister!”

“Yes, honey, that’s exciting.” He hugs her. He’s definitely acting differently than before. He seems more relaxed. “Go up and get your pajamas on and we’ll watch a movie before you go to bed.”

She seems confused. “You’re gonna watch with me?”

“Yes. And maybe Jade and Garret would like to join us.” He looks at us. “Unless you have other plans.”

“I’d like to watch a movie,” I say.

“Works for me,” Garret agrees.

Pearce sets Lilly down. “Go get changed. And when you get back, you can pick the movie.”

She gets this big, excited smile on her face and races out of the room.

Pearce watches her leave, then turns back to us. “I’m taking her to Disneyland while we’re in California. I want to surprise her, so I’m not going to tell her until we get out there.”

“Are you serious?” Garret asks. “Aren’t you worried about the crowds and her running off?”

“I’ll keep an eye on her. Brian is going to fly out and meet us there so he’ll be watching her as well.”

Brian is one of Pearce’s security guys. He’s huge and looks scary but he’s actually really nice.

“How’d you get Katherine to go along with this?”

“I didn’t. She keeps trying to forbid it, but what’s she going to do? She can’t stop me. Katherine won’t even be there.”

“She’s not coming to the wedding?” I ask him.

“I told her not to. I assumed you two would be okay with that.” He grins a little as he says it.

Garret and I don’t respond, but we don’t need to. Pearce knows how we feel.

“I told Katherine that if she wasn’t going to be supportive of your relationship, then I didn’t want her to attend. This is your wedding and you should only have people there that you want there. People who love you and want to see the two of you happy. And unfortunately, Katherine is not one of those people.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Garret says. “Thanks for doing that.”

He nods. “Well, shall we head to the movie room? Lilly will likely pick out a cartoon, but the three of us can watch something else after she goes to bed.” He stands up from the table. “Or if you two want to watch one alone, I can go do some work in my office.”

“You should watch with us,” I say. “We don’t get to see you much anymore.”

Garret takes my hand under the table. “Yeah, Dad. It’s Friday night. You shouldn’t be working. You need to relax. You should watch a movie with us.”

“Okay, then. Let’s head over there.”

We watch a cartoon with Lilly and then a comedy with Garret’s dad. He actually laughs during it. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the man laugh.

This house feels totally different than what I’m used to. The mood is lighter and warmer. And it’s not just because Katherine isn’t here. She’s been gone before and it wasn’t like this. Something’s different. Pearce is different. Good different, and it’s made the place feel a little more like a home.

When the movie ends, Garret gets up. “I’m going up to bed. It’s been a long day.”

Pearce stands up and stretches. “Yes, I should get to bed as well.”

He usually sleeps about three hours a night so this, too, is strange. He normally goes to bed at 2 in the morning and it’s only 11 now.

He picks up the remote and turns the equipment off. “I don’t mind if Jade sleeps in your room, Garret, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t let Lilly see, given that you two aren’t married yet. It would only cause questions.”

“Yeah, we understand. Goodnight.” Garret walks out.

“Goodnight, Mr. Kensington,” I say.

He laughs. “Jade, you’re marrying my son in a few weeks. You need to start calling me Pearce.”

“Okay, I will. Goodnight.” I follow Garret up the stairs and to his room. It looks the same as when he left. I was sure Katherine would’ve redecorated it by now.

“What’s up with your dad?” I ask as I change into my pajamas.

“I don’t know. He seems different.”

“It’s like he’s a whole different person.”

“Yeah, he’s acting almost like he did before my mom died. And he actually seems happy, which is unusual for him.”

“It sounds like he’s no longer letting Katherine push him around, at least when it comes to Lilly. She’s going to be so excited when she finds out he’s taking her to Disneyland.”

“I need to tell him what she said about being sad all the time. Maybe she needs to see someone, like a counselor or something.”

I get into bed next to Garret. “I felt so bad when she said that. She shouldn’t be that sad. You really need to talk to your dad.”

“I will. I’ll talk to him tomorrow. She’ll be okay.”

Garret puts his arm out and I snuggle up against his chest. “I hope so. I worry about her.”

He kisses the top of my head. “I know you do. And I love you for that.”

I really do worry about Lilly. I hate seeing her sad. And that makes me think that maybe I wouldn’t be such a bad mom after all. It’s not like I want that anytime soon, but I’m starting to warm up to the idea.