Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 65643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
When we walked in, I waited to feel the familiar prickle. The sensation I knew so well of eyes boring into me, the swell of curiosity, the ripple of murmurs. But it was as Garrett said–not a single person gave us a second glance as the host led us to a booth in the back where an older man and woman were sitting. I was relieved to see that they were facing the room, so when we slid in, our backs would be to it.
“Hi!” Garrett’s mother said enthusiastically, standing up to hug first Garrett and then me.
“Oh, hi,” I said, stumbling into the hug. Until the last minute, I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a handshake or an embrace, and I didn’t want to embarrass myself right off the bat by leaning in.
She gave me a quick squeeze, then Garrett’s dad was out of the booth. As tall and as broad as Garrett with a grizzled beard and wire rim glasses that perched on the end of his nose. He hugged his son and then held out his arm, the width of a tree trunk, and pumped mine with strong, calloused fingers.
“Nice to meet you.”
We slid into the booth, and after a moment’s hesitation, I took off the hat. No one would see my face except the waitress, and her eyes didn’t show so much as a flicker of recognition when she came over with the pot of coffee.
I was worried it would be awkward with Garrett’s parents. I hoped it would be comfortable, like I’d been moving toward them for years, too. The reality was somewhere in the middle. His mom asked me dozens of questions, but I could tell she wasn’t quite seeing me so much as she was seeing Magical Melody. It was a common phenomenon. It usually didn’t bother me, but I couldn’t help thinking that she wouldn’t confuse Garrett’s ex-wife with a character. Noemi had transcended roles.
Garrett’s dad didn’t have much to say to me, although he did try. With what seemed like great effort, he’d turn from Garrett and ask me something related to Garrett.
“So how do you know Noemi?”
Or, “What do you think of Garrett’s first book?”
Maybe I was just sensitive, but it seemed like both of them talked about their former daughter-in-law a lot. I got it. I loved Noemi, too, but still. Didn’t they know she’d married someone else?
When we were finally back in the car, heading to Garrett’s cabin, he blew out his breath and said, “Wow, sorry. I didn’t realize that my parents are kind of–”
“Obsessed with your ex?” I tried to sound lighthearted, but the band was back around my chest, squeezing tighter than ever.
Garrett shook his head. “They’re not. They’re just…I don’t know. I’ve never seen them like that before.”
“That’s not how they acted with other women you’ve brought home in the last fifteen years?” That honestly didn’t make me feel any better. If it wasn’t about Noemi, it was about me. They thought I was too young for him. Or worse, they thought I was a prostitute.
Garrett looked over at me briefly before returning his gaze to the road. “Destiny, you’re the only one I’ve introduced to them in the last fifteen years.”
And just like that, the creeping insecurity, the tension, the not enoughness all dissolved. I reveled in his words, hugging them close, letting them warm the last of the chilly recesses in my heart. “The only one?” I repeated softly, turning sideways in my seat to stare at his profile.
He dipped his head once. “The only one.”
The glow that his words kindled only grew brighter throughout the day. We dropped off our overnight bags in his cabin, then spent the rest of the daylight hours wandering through the wooded trails that snaked around the lake. After a cautious mile or so where we didn’t see another soul, we walked hand-in hand, stopping every now and then to kiss until our lips were numb. It was colder here, but I didn’t mind. It gave me a chance to slip under Garrett’s arm and wrap my arm around his waist underneath his jacket, soaking in his warmth.
We talked about everything while we walked, and I found myself telling him things I’d never told anyone. Not because they were particularly private or intimate, but because they were so trivial I wouldn’t have thought anyone would be interested before. Garrett was, though. His attention was intoxicating. I suppose every actress loved attention on some level, but rarely had I received it like this. From someone who cared about me, and not a character I portrayed or the shadow of celebrity I cast. It fed parts of my soul I didn’t know were starving.
I didn’t tell him everything, though. I managed to hold back the words that kept rising to my mind like mist off the surface of the lake.