Chapter 5
Allison
“So I have big news.” Jess took a sip of her frilly coffee and made her eyes go big.
I was thinking maybe Jeremy had proposed—they’d been together forever. But I didn’t want to jinx anything for her, and besides, he was still in Paris. Nothing less romantic than a long-distance proposal. I could imagine the text: U R the only 1 4 me. Will u marry me? <3
“Let me guess,” I said, my voice playful. “You’re going on a fashion shoot in…Greece.”
She shook her head.
“Myanmar?” I guessed.
“Nope.”
“Wichita!”
She laughed. A couple of patrons at the café turned to look at us, but mostly we were ignored. We’d been coming to Connie’s Café since college to dissect all manner of gossip and catch up on our lives. The café itself was decorated like someone’s old, worn living room, with gently-used rugs and furniture. Mismatched lanterns hulked on the walls, almost proud of their age. The artwork was done by local artists, but it was all in strange frames that looked like something I’d find in my great-aunt’s attic. The coffee aroma, mixed with the smell of baked goods and the tart scent of fresh smoothies—it was all as familiar to me as Jess. Sometimes I felt so lucky to have such a great best friend.
She said, “It’s not a fashion shoot at all. It’s my writing.”
“Your blog is going to Wichita?”
She threw a crumb from her scone at me. “No, you beautiful nerd. My blog is doing great. It’s getting ten thousand hits a day. And yesterday…” She paused dramatically. “Yesterday Elegant asked me to do an interview for their magazine!”
“Elegant, the magazine that has multiple copies strewn all over our apartment, Elegant?”
She grabbed my hands in hers. She cleared her throat and, with mock seriousness, announced, “The very one.”
We squealed in unison. This time more than a handful of other patrons turned to look.
“Shhh,” I motioned, putting my finger over my lips. I didn’t want us to be the obnoxious, giggling girls who scared all the customers away. “But seriously, that is so wonderful, Jess. I’m proud of you. You must be so incredibly happy right now.”
“I just wish I could tell Jeremy face to face,” she said, her voice wistful.
“He’ll come back from Paris…when?”
“In a couple of weeks.”
I looked at her. “You don’t know exactly when he’ll be back? Who are you, and what have you done with Jess?”
“Okay okay…fifteen days, three hours, and—” she looked at her watch “—thirty-five minutes.”
“Now that’s the Jess I know and love.”
“Speaking of looooove,” she drew out the word, “tell me about your hot hunk of man. What’s his name again? Eden’s Nookie? Eden’s Nympho? Eden’s Nutritious Snack Of A Man?”
“Oh my god, Jess, and you think I’m the nerd. EdensNomad. But his real name…crap.” I couldn’t believe I’d waited this long to come clean about everything.
She gave me a stern look. “Alls? Spill.”
“Okay, don’t be mad, but I didn’t tell you because I thought it wouldn’t work out, that the whole thing would explode into one giant mistake and I’d be so embarrassed I’d die. But it’s Joshua.” The words came out in a rush and I hid my face behind my giant cup of tea, wincing.
She set down her coffee. “Joshua, Joshua?”
Miserably, I said, “The very one.”
“Ohmygod ohmygod!” she shouted. When a couple got up to move to a couch on the other side of the café, she lowered her voice to a whisper. “Ohmygod.”
“I know. Please don’t be mad I didn’t tell you.”
“No,” she said, “no, I’m not mad at all. Well, yes I am.” She threw another crumb at me. “But the crumb of punishment has absolved you, and now I feel better. This is amazing! You’ve been crushing on him for three freaking years, Alls. I’m so glad something’s finally happened! So is it just like you’d always dreamed?”
I hesitated. “Yes…and no.”
She took one look at my face, which I could feel wilting in misery, and grabbed my hand in hers. “Tell me.”
“He doesn’t even acknowledge that I work at his office.”
“What? Doesn’t he see you there?”
“He sees the boring version of me. I don’t wear your gorgeous dresses to the office, and I don’t have time for make-up before I leave in the morning; I’m still not that good at it. Sometimes I wonder if he even recognizes me.”
She patted my hand. “Well, you should probably talk to him about it soon.”
I just wanted to hide behind my teacup…or my cubicle, depending on where I was. In a small voice, I asked, “Do I have to?”
“Hon, you don’t have to do anything. But guys don’t always like surprises, and from how you’ve described him, he’s always struck me as the sort who wants to be in control of everything.”
“He is. You’re right.” I sighed. “I’ll tell him.”
“It’s Joshua, though! Ohmygod ohmygod!” she stage whispered. “Your boss. Aren’t there, like, laws about that or something?”
“Ha! If there are, I’d hardly have paid attention. Like I ever believed something would really happen. Besides, we’re both adults. I think we’re old enough to make our own decisions about who we date.”
“I know,” she said. “Your night of hot sex. Whew! When does Jeremy get back again?” She made a show of checking her watch.
I sipped my tea, thinking about Joshua. I’d promised Jess I would talk to him, but I didn’t want to talk about things right away. Other than being nervous at work, I was enjoying things too much. I didn’t want to ruin it by surprising him with my secret identity. What if he only wanted the dressed-up, made-up version of me, and he didn’t like the everyday me?