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Chapter Twenty-Eight

Head Over Heels

 

 

Saturday morning arrives. It’s been exactly one week since Averee’s nuclear explosion. Evan hasn’t spoken of her at all since that night. Once he told his story to the police for the final time that was it. The book was closed.

We have a big day ahead of us, so we start our day early with the sunrise. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to waking up and walking fifty feet to the beach. Today’s run starts at five thirty in the morning. Evan’s not to be deterred from his exercise routine, and I’m more than happy to be a supporting part of that.

Our run is punctuated by a communal shower and breakfast. We return to our favorite breakfast nook for a hearty meal. Evan and I both order an omelet, although he adds bacon, sausage and hash browns on the side. How he can eat like that and still look the way he does amazes me.

After a quick run to the grocery store on our way home, we begin getting ready for the party. Evan is in charge of the savory dishes while I’m in charge of the sweet. Our parents are bringing most of the side dishes. I plan to prepare two desserts. The first is a tray of chocolate dipped strawberries with mascarpone filling. Because of Auggie’s affection for my cake pops, I’ve also decided to make some cheesecake cake pops with a cherry center. My last contribution will be a cool and refreshing beverage, utilizing my newfound passion for cocktail creations.

I decide to start with the easiest first – mint leaf ice cubes for our cocktails. All it requires is fresh mint, boiling water, and ice cube trays. Every few hours, I’ll empty the tray and refill it with a fresh batch. By tonight, I hope to have dozens of mint cubes for our refreshments.

As I begin my mise-en-place, Evan sets to making the marinade for our steaks. “That was a great breakfast,” Evan says as he gathers his ingredients. “They have the best breakfast sausage I’ve ever tasted.” He tries to suppress a burp, but fails miserably. Rather than a deep belch, he produces something akin to a muffled sneeze.

“Seriously? You call that a burp? My college roommate could do a better job than that!” I chastise him.

“Hey, I was just trying to be polite. But if you want me to let some bodily functions fly, just say the word. I’ve been holding back since you moved in.”

“Listen, chief, we’ve lived in the same house and slept in the same bed for a week now. You may be able to control yourself when you’re awake, but while you’re asleep ... let’s just say that Maddy has gotten up and left the room on more than one occasion, and it wasn’t because she wanted to stretch her legs.”

Evan sweeps me up into his arms and twists me around so we’re eye-to-eye. “I’m not the only one who farts in their sleep, in case you were wondering.”

He trails kisses and love bites down my neck, trying to distract me from his last declaration. I push him off me and look directly into his eyes, “I most certainly do not!” I pronounce emphatically.

“I was talking about Maddy. But it’s good to know that I have found the only living human being on Earth incapable of flatulence. Should we call Guinness now or after the party?”



Evan and I spend the rest of the day getting everything in order. Outside, it’s a beautiful crisp day in April. The air is warming and the sun is shining brightly. Away from the beach, the leaves are now fully formed on the trees, removing the final vestiges of a long winter. Our pear tree has found a permanent home in Evan’s front yard among the brightly colored flowers and bushes lining the property. The beautifully landscaped grounds offered us several location choices. Evan insisted it be placed right beside the front door as a constant reminder that this home now belongs to the pair of us.

Evan appears in the kitchen to help, freshly showered and ready. I love the way he smells; his pheromones awaken something deep within me. He’s wearing a Black Sabbath concert tee today. As usual, his muscular arms stretch the shirt to its limits, highlighting each ripple and curve. His new Diesel jeans that hang low on his hips and OluKai leather flip-flops complete his casual look. When he comes near, I cannot resist slipping my hand under his shirt just to steal a moment of his skin against mine.

Just as I’m about to devour him, Evan’s phone rings. His sister Callie calls to let us know that she is almost here. I set up the mini-bar on the deck and stock it with a pitcher of fresh made Strawberry Lemonade Sparkler and a full ice bucket. Evan lights the grill, and we’re ready to meet and greet our guests.

When Callie arrives, Regan is sound asleep; it’s her naptime and while I may not have any nieces and nephews of my own, I know that it’s a terrible idea to interrupt a toddler’s nap. We clear a spot on the bed in the guest room, and Callie stations herself in the house, waiting for her daughter to rouse from her sleep. Dean and Evan make themselves comfortable outside, popping open a few Coronas and manning the grill.

Next to arrive are Marcus and Camilla, followed closely by Adam. As is customary, the boys find themselves gathered outside by the grill as the women join ranks in the kitchen. I ask Camilla how Marcus is making out in his job search.

“Marcus had another job interview yesterday. He got a job offer and he thinks he’s going to accept,” she gleefully explains.

“That’s great! Where is it? What will he be doing?” I ask.

“I’m not sure exactly where it is, but it’s a new restaurant with a bar and he’s been offered the manager’s job. He just has to meet with the other owner before anything is definite.” She seems extremely happy about the prospect, almost giddy. I hope it’s a good opportunity.

As we’re chatting, Emmy arrives and comes gliding into the kitchen, looking divine. She’s added a thick deep raspberry accent color to the entire left side of her hair, framing her delicate face beautifully. Her hair is pulled back, leaving long blonde strands hanging along the nape of her neck. She’s wearing a strapless black chiffon top with a ruffle and a pair of skinny jeans.

“Emmy, I love what you did with your hair. It’s adorable,” I fuss over her. “Where’s Grant?” I ask. She’s here alone. I haven’t seen her with her boyfriend in almost two weeks.

“Gone. He got transferred to Seattle. He left yesterday.”

“No one told me. Oh, Emmy, I’m so sorry. How are you?”

“It’s okay, really. We haven’t been spending much time together. I’ve been so busy, helping to find ... I mean hoping to find a job.” She really does seem all right, happy even. “It was time for a change. I thought I would start with my hair.”

“Well, I love it! Can I get you a drink? I made a special pitcher of Strawberry Lemonade Sparkler. Care to try some?”

“Jette, your cocktails are always out of this world. I’d love to try one. What’s in it?”

“Strawberry vodka, fresh squeezed lemon juice, Prosecco and some simple syrup. I top it off with some mint cubes. Come on outside. Everything is out there at the minibar.” I lead the way, and the girls follow.

I line up the glasses, drop a few cubes in each, and then begin pouring our drinks. I top each with a sprig of mint and lemon rind. As I’m about to hand out the drinks to the girls, I hear a familiar voice, “do you have enough for one more?”

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” I squeal. It’s Reese. I’d know her voice anywhere. I grab a hold of her and squeeze with all I’ve got. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

“Well, when some rich and famous football player called me personally saying how much he’d like to buy me a plane ticket, I was in no position to turn him down.”

Reese looks as beautiful as ever. I have always been envious of her long wavy red hair and big hazel eyes. She’s got a flawless complexion, high cheekbones, and a smile that is contagious. She lights up any room with her bubbly personality.

Evan walks over to me and wraps his strong arms around me. “Are you surprised?”

“Baby, I love you so much! You’re the best. But how did you pull this off?”

“You have her number programmed into your phone. I just had to wait for you to leave the room, and I got it. You really should put a pass code on your phone, by the way.” He leans down and plants a soft kiss on my lips.

“But how did you get here?” I ask Reese.

She points to the cabana, and sitting comfortably with a glass of red wine is my favorite person in the world, Auggie, joined by Brandon sitting right next to him. Auggie raises his glass to me and walks over to us.

“I know you thought I was in Baltimore with Brandon, but the truth is, we’ve been playing chauffer and host for the past few days.” Auggie picked her up days ago? What have they been doing all this time?

“Reese, how long have you been here? Why didn’t you come right over? We could have spent more time together.”

Evan interrupts, “That’s my fault. I wanted it to be a surprise.” His devilish grin appears, in full dimple mode. How can I argue with that gorgeous face?

“Well, it’s the best surprise. I had no idea! Reese, tell me. How did you get off work? You’ve only been working for a couple of months. They let you take a week off already?”

“I resigned. I found a new job. I’m going to be the head chef at a new theme restaurant. It’s not open yet, and I’ll be able to work with the owners from the ground up. How cool is that?”

“Oh, Reese, I’m so happy for you! Promise me I’ll get an invite to your Grand Opening. I want to be your very first customer.”

“You can count on it.” She is positively beaming. I’d love to find out more, but it’s time for me to play hostess again.

Right on time, the rest of our guests arrive. Derek greets us with a bottle of Merlot, which he hands off to Evan. They shake hands and Derek joins the others out on the deck.

Evan’s parents arrive, too, followed shortly by my mother. I make the necessary introductions and our parents seem to hit it off immediately. Evan’s father excuses himself to the deck to find Dean and Adam while my mother and Jill make themselves comfortable in the house keeping Callie company while she waits for Regan to wake from her nap.

“Baby, come here, please. I could use your help.” Evan is done grilling, and it’s time to put all the food out. It’s still hard for him to carry things with his right hand, and we certainly don’t want him to drop the food he just worked so hard to prepare. I clear off the island in the kitchen and start putting out all the food.

There’s more than enough food to feed an army. My mother brought her famous potato salad, Evan’s mother prepared an antipasto, and Callie made a fresh tossed salad. Everything looks and smells mouth-wateringly good.

Evan and I make sure that all our guests are fed before we prepare plates for ourselves. Before we leave the kitchen, Evan looks around and speaks privately to me, making sure no one can hear our conversation. “Juliette, before we go out there, could you do something for me?”

“Sweetheart, I would do anything in the world for you. Just name it.”

“Could you cut up my steak for me? I don’t want anyone to see that my grip isn’t strong enough to use a knife yet.”

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry. I should have realized.” I give him a big kiss, and then slice his steak into man-sized pieces. It breaks my heart to see him so helpless. “Ready?”

“Ready. Please don’t say anything to my parents. They don’t need to know about this right now. Promise?” I wish he would tell them, but I respect his wishes. For now.

“I promise. Now it’s time for us to enjoy ourselves. Come on, chief, let’s go.”

“Lead the way, running girl!”

We step outside and find a few seats out on the deck with our friends. They all seem to be getting along well and enjoying themselves. Emmy compliments Evan on his grilling. “You’ll have to give me the recipe for your marinade. These steaks are to die for!”

Evan has his arm resting on my back, unconsciously tracing circles and figure eights on my skin. The neckline is just deep enough in the back that he can maintain that skin-to-skin contact that we both seem to need. I turn and whisper in his ear, “Is it me, or does it look like Reese is flirting with Derek?”

Just as Evan looks over towards them, Reese is giggling at something witty Derek just said and is touching his arm. She slowly removes her hand and flips her hair back. “Sure does look like it to me,” he quickly responds.

“I don’t like it,” I confess.

“Why not? They’re both adults. Neither of them is in a relationship. I don’t see what the problem is.” Evan sounds slightly annoyed with me.

“Reese is only here for a few days. I don’t want to see Derek get hurt, that’s all.” I’ve already done enough of that.

“Oh. Yeah, well, let’s just see what happens. There’s no harm in some playful flirting now, is there?” Evan reminds me.

We finish eating and Emmy helps me clean up in the kitchen. “Oh, Jette, thank you so much for having us over. Everything is so perfect.”

“I’m so glad you’re having fun. You deserve it, Emmy, especially now, with Grant being gone, and the whole job situation. Anything new to report?” I ask.

“Funny you should bring that up. I got a job offer the other day. I haven’t decided whether or not I’m going to take it, though.” Emmy adds, “The owner is someone I used to work with. I don’t know if I can handle working for someone I’m friendly with.”

“That’s great news, Emmy. Let me know when you decide. Did you know that Marcus got a job offer, too?” She nods her head. “I wonder how Derek’s prospects are looking.”

“Well, by the looks of things out there,” she points out to the deck, “I’d say his prospects are looking pretty damn good right now.”

“You saw that, too?”

“Oh, yeah!”

“You know, Emmy, Adam’s here alone tonight.”

“What? Do you think Derek would be better off hooking up with Adam?” she teases.

“Ha, ha. Very funny! You know exactly what I mean.”

“To tell you the truth, Jette, I really do like him, a lot. But I just got out of a relationship and I don’t want to ruin it by running right into another one. I think it’s just a little too soon.”

She’s right, of course. But Emmy’s not one to be patient. I wonder if she really can take her time without rushing into anything. Time will tell.

Together, Emmy and I plate my desserts. We grab the tray of strawberries, the platter of cake pops, some small dessert plates, and head out to the deck. We don’t have to look very far to find a place to set the trays down, the boys immediately clear a spot on the table for us and start helping themselves.

All of a sudden, out of the clear blue, Evan walks over to turn down the music, clanks his fork on his wine glass four or five times, and makes an announcement to our guests. “If I could please have everyone’s attention.” He pauses for a moment while everyone finishes their conversations. “It’s time.”

Adam walks over to Evan and hands him a large, flat gift box. He motions for Adam to place it on the table in front of us, and then shakes Adam’s hand.

“Juliette, I’ll never be able to tell you how sorry I am for everything that happened. My bad choices and poor judgment have affected your life terribly, and I will never be able to forgive myself for it. But through it all, you stayed strong and I think it actually brought us closer together.” He takes my hand in his and lifts it to his lips, placing a soft kiss on my hand.

“Having you here with me is the greatest gift I could have ever asked for.” All the girls sigh in unison. “I wanted to get you something to show you how much you mean to me and how much I want to share my life with you.” He pushes the gift box closer to me. “Please open it.” Evan watches me with a hopeful expression that makes me nervous.

My hands are shaking. I cannot imagine what could possibly be inside this large box. All eyes are on me, including my mother and Evan’s parents. “Jepetto, go ahead. Open the box, baby girl,” Auggie gently prods me on.

Somehow, I manage to rip the paper off the box, and I slowly lift the lid. Inside is a large black picture frame with two matted documents under the glass. I look closely at the first document, and it’s a lease agreement in Evan’s name for a storefront property on Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park.

I look up at Evan, “I don’t understand.”

“Read the second one, baby,” he tells me.

The second document has an official State of New Jersey seal on it. As I look more closely, it’s a liquor license for the city of Asbury Park made out to Evan and me under the business name “Rush”.

“What’s Rush?” I ask, still not understanding what I’m looking at.

“I know it’s your dream to open a dessert bar, and I wanted to make your dreams come true.” I look over at Evan, and he looks over to Reese. I can’t believe it. They have been conspiring this whole time.

“You’ve named it Rush?” I ask.

“Let me explain. You see, I wanted to choose a name that reflected our life together. I struggled to find the perfect name. Then, a few days ago, I was sitting in the living room reading my playbook while you were bake dancing in the kitchen, and it hit me. See, in football, a rush usually involves a handoff from the quarterback to the running back. That’s exactly what I’m trying to do here. I’m the quarterback, and I’ve started the play, and now I’m handing it off to you, my running back. The ball is literally in your hands now. Run with it, baby.” I gaze lovingly into his beautiful blue eyes; eyes that ache with hope and devotion.

His words melt my heart. Cookman Avenue has some of the trendiest restaurants at the Jersey Shore. I have prime real estate and a liquor license to start my own restaurant. The enormity of it all is sinking in. “I own a dessert bar?”

“Technically, we own a dessert bar,” Evan corrects me. “We can change the name if you don’t like it.”

“Evan, I couldn’t have picked out a better name. I don’t know much about football, but I do know that to rush means to move towards something quickly and deliberately. I vow to always run towards you and to never away from you again. No matter what happens, I will always come running back to you. I guess that means I really am your running back.”

“I’m so glad you’re happy, Juliette. I love you.” He scoops me up in a passionate embrace and kisses me deeply in front of everyone. “Now, if you’re not too busy, I set up a few interviews for our new staff.”

One by one, my friends walk up to me and hand me their job applications. Emmy hands me an application for bartender. “Emmy! You told me you got a job offer. Please tell me you’ll forget about that job and come work with me.”

“Jette, you dummy, don’t you get it? The job offer was from Evan. And I’ve decided to accept his offer.” She gives me a quick hug and slips away.

Marcus follows behind with his application for general manager. “Oh, Marcus. You, too? Is this the job Camilla told me you wanted?”

“Well, that depends on you. Evan offered me the job, but the final decision is yours.”

I give him a hug and tell him, “Of course we want you!”

Next is Derek. He hands me an application for head bartender. “Derek, you’d make a great head bartender. I’d be lucky to have you.”

There’s one more person in line with an application in hand. It’s Reese and she’s applying for the position of head chef. “Is this the new concept restaurant you told me about? You would move out here to New Jersey to do this with me?”

“I told you, I quit my job. If you won’t have me, then I’ll have nowhere to go.” She seems genuinely concerned that I might not want her.

“Oh, Reese. This is too good to be true. You’re really staying?” She nods and I give her a big hug.

All the rest of our friends and family come up to congratulate us and wish us well with our new venture. My new head bartender makes a round of Woo Woo shots that he passes around. With a quick toast, we toss them back to celebrate this new exciting chapter in all our lives.

It’s starting to get dark out, and it’s definitely past Regan’s bedtime. Callie and Dean are the first to head home, followed by Evan’s parents and my mother. Evan and I help them gather their things and walk them to their cars. Evan and I stand arm-in-arm on his front porch and wave them off as they drive away. I’ve dreamt about a time when we would play host and hostess for our friends and family, but this night exceeded every hope and dream I could have imagined.

We rejoin our friends out on the deck. Everyone has gathered around the fire pit. Reese is busy passing around graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate. Emmy is handing out sticks. It would appear that I’m not the only one that brought a dessert tonight.

I look around at the group of friends who have joined us here tonight. I know that each and every one of them played an important part in Evan’s surprise. “So, I guess all of you had a hand in this, right?” I ask the entire group.

One by one, each person takes a turn explaining his or her contribution. Auggie admits that he helped Evan find the location. Adam takes credit for putting a rush on the liquor license (no pun intended). Evan confesses flying Reese down to help him with the business plan. Derek, Emmy, and Marcus have been going out every night to scope out the competition, gathering menus and doing research. Brandon offers to help me decorate the space when I’m ready.

I thank each and every one of them for their help. They each have enriched my life in ways I cannot adequately measure. They have been with me and supported me through one of the most difficult events I could have imagined, and now they are here to celebrate one of my happiest. I don’t know how long each of them will be a part of my life, but for now, I am grateful for them all.

I take Evan by the hand, and we steal a private moment together, sneaking away to the far corner of the deck. Evan wraps his free hand tightly around my waist while I stand on my tip toes, wrapping both arms around his neck. “Look around, chief. See all these people here with us tonight?”

He kisses me. “I do.”

“Do you think there is anyone on the planet as lucky as we are?”

He kisses me again. “I do not.”

“Me either.” Evan kisses me deeply, while I run my hand through his thick, brown hair. We find a vacant spot to sit and cuddle, close enough to our friends to enjoy their company, but far enough away to enjoy each other.

We watch as they sit around the fire, making S’mores, laughing, and socializing. Derek, as usual, is entertaining them all with a story about one of his misadventures.

As for us, Evan and I are snuggled up on the very lounge chair that he brought me to the first time he found me on the beach. Maddy is once again lying at his feet. “Evan, thank you. You’ve given me more than I could have ever dreamed of. I love you so much.”

Evan’s arm is wrapped around me, holding me tightly to his broad chest, and he whispers in my ear, “Juliette, you’ve given me something I didn’t even know existed, a life. I love you, too, more than you’ll ever know.”

 

 


Date: 2015-02-28; view: 758


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