Chapter 37
Colby
I’m standing with Mom, Dad, and Ryan at the Climb & Conquer grand opening party, half-listening to Josh Faraday and his twin brother, Jonas, welcome the large crowd and explain their new company’s inspiring mission. Okay, that’s a lie. I’m not listening to the Faraday brothers’ speeches. I’m too distracted scanning the crowd for Lydia and her kids. Where are they?
“So, without further ado,” Jonas says, “let’s let the band play while you guys climb and conquer our rock walls and have a great time.”
Josh grabs the microphone from his brother and shouts, “Thanks for coming, everyone. Happy Birthday, Climb & Conquer!”
Everyone in the place claps. Well, everyone except me. Clapping isn’t practical for a dude on crutches. Not to mention a dude whose mind is currently preoccupied. Oh, fuck. This feels way more stressful than the handful of times I’ve met a girlfriend’s parents. Kids don’t sugarcoat their opinions, unlike adults. If Lydia’s kids meet me and decide they don’t like me for some reason, they’ll surely let her know. I don’t think that will happen, of course—kids and animals have always liked me—but I guess there’s a first time for everything. What if today is the first time in the history of my life a kid meets me and instantly despises me? What will be my chances for a future with Lydia then?
For a while, I get vaguely distracted watching people get fitted with harnesses and ropes and start climbing the towering rock walls around us. I watch the band for a bit, talk to Ryan and my parents, grab some little sandwiches off a waiter that walks by. And, finally, I watch my sister on the dance floor across the large gym, gleefully shaking her adorable baby bump alongside her best friend, Sarah.
“Colby?” Mom says, drawing my attention to her. “Are you okay? You look tired. Ryan, honey, go find Colby a chair. He’s been standing on his crutches for a long time.”
“I’m fine, Mom. Ryan, no. I’m fine.”
“You sure?” Ryan asks.
“I’m good.”
Ryan is about to say something in reply when Josh Faraday strides up to our group, a huge smile on his face. He greets everyone and makes pleasant small talk, ultimately offering all of us lifetime gym memberships. “Standing offer for you, Colby,” he says, indicating my leg. “Whenever you’re up to it.”
“Thanks,” I say. “Gimme three more months and I’ll definitely take you up on that.”
Josh glances furtively across the room at Kat and says, “Hey, Louise, can I talk to you for a second?”
Mom lights up. “You bet, honey.” She takes Josh’s offered arm and throws a goodbye air-kiss to the rest of us. “Excuse us, fellas.”
“What’s up with that?” I ask Ryan. I motion to Josh and Mom chatting furtively about thirty yards away.
“Josh is gonna pop the question to Jizz,” Ryan says. “Mom said she went ring-shopping with Josh on the down-low last week, right after Josh and Kat got back from Argentina.”
“No shit? Wow. When’s he going to ask her?”
“Next couple of weeks, apparently.”
“Wow. What the hell happened to ‘Josh and I have decided, after discussing it like reasonable adults, we never want to get married, so please respect our decision and don’t ask about marriage again!’?”
Ryan laughs. “Yeah, it appears Josh has a different idea.”
“I thought he didn’t believe in marriage.”
“That was the initial scouting report on him.”
“You think maybe watching his twin brother get married to Kat’s best friend last month inspired him to follow suit?”
“I have no idea. But whatever caused Josh’s change of heart, Mom said he couldn’t be more excited about the idea now. Apparently, he bought Kitty a massive rock and he’s putting together some epic, fairytale proposal for her.”
“Awesome,” I say. “Kat has always loved fairytales. She deserves to be the princess in her own.”
“Speaking of Kat,” Ryan says. “I’ve got to find her and talk to her about something important. Excuse me, brother. I’ll catch you on the flipside.”
And off Ryan goes toward the dance floor on the far side of the gym, leaving me standing alone with Dad and once again scouring the place nervously for Lydia.
When there’s still no sign of Lydia, my gaze wanders to Mom and Josh again, just in time to see a dark-haired beauty tap Josh on the shoulder, talk to him briefly, and shoo him away. Wow, whoever that curvy brunette is, she’s exactly Ryan’s physical type. As I recall, my brother used to have a whopper of a crush on Kat’s best friend, Sarah, and this woman reminds me of Sarah to a tee. I reflexively look toward the dance floor, thinking maybe I’ll head over there and point out Sarah’s doppelgänger to Ryan. From what Keane told me last week, it seems Ryan and Olivia are officially kaput. But, damn, I don’t see my brother or sister anywhere. Shit. I want Ryan to see that brunette beauty, whoever she is. Hopefully, seeing someone like her out in the world will encourage him to keep Olivia firmly in his rearview mirror.
Movement in my peripheral vision catches my attention and I turn to find Mom dancing toward Dad and me with gusto. As she bops along, Mom is exuberantly singing along with the Spanish-language song the band is performing, even though, to my knowledge, Louise Morgan doesn’t speak a single word of Spanish.
“How the heck do you know this song, Mom?” I ask when she arrives.
“It’s ‘Bailando’ by Enrique Iglesias,” Mom replies, as if this fact answers my question.
“But how do you know it, woman? It’s in Spanish.”
“They play it all the time in Zumba. I hear all the best songs in Zumba.” She hits me with what I’m sure is meant to be some sort of Zumba maneuver and I laugh.
“Who was that brunette you were talking to over there? I should introduce her to Ryan.”
“She’s Josh’s personal assistant. Daddy and I met her at Jonas and Sarah’s wedding last month. And when I met her, I swear I had the exact same...”
Lydia.
Sorry, Mom. I’m not listening to you anymore.
My woman and her three kids are finally here.