Come Undone (5 page)

I twisted my mouth at her. “It’s a lot more hassle than you
realize,” I said. “Tons of paperwork.” They gave me the same exact look of
skepticism as I gulped my water. “What? It’s not that I don’t want to, I just
never got around to it.”

“Poor Bill,” Gretchen said with a shake of her head.

I sighed. “Well, maybe that will be my project for the summer. I
know it would make him happy. It’s just that . . . Wilson? It’s so . . .” I
made a face. “I don’t feel like a Wilson.”

“Are you telling me this whole time you’ve been putting it off
because you don’t like it?” They giggled in unison and I shrugged.

“Maybe. Speaking of Mr. Wilson,” I said, pulling out my phone to
text him. “I wonder if I can get him to pick me up.”

“I have to take off too,” Lucy said. “I’m all booked up tomorrow.”

“Good girl! How is it that you get to shop for a living?” asked
Gretchen. “That makes me jealous.”

“Don’t be. You try reasoning with a sixty-year-old woman who only
wants to wear ivory to her daughter’s wedding. She insists it’s not the same as
wearing white.”

“What’s wrong with that?” I asked, chewing on a piece of ice.
“Just kidding,” I said, recoiling at Lucy’s horrified look. “I promise, no
white for your wedding. Or ivory.”

“You’ll be wearing whichever color I choose, bridesmaid, so tread
carefully. Personally, I think you’d look lovely in lilac, Liv.” I made a
choking sound and we dissolved into laughter.

“Okay seriously, first order of business as a bridesmaid,” I said
to the table, producing my agenda. “Don’t plan anything for the Saturday two
weeks away.” I looked at Gretchen pointedly who opened her mouth to object.
“Engagement party!” I cut in.

Gretchen stopped short and nodded excitedly.
Whatever date or party she has can surely wait
, I thought.

Lucy agreed readily – she’d been waiting for this moment her
entire life and was ready to go the distance. She listed off some ideas, all of
which I’d heard before, but I took notes anyway. “Come over this weekend,” I
said, turning my attention to Gretchen. “We can work on invitations as we plan.
Gretchen and Olivia’s Party Planning Service
.”

“I’ll bring muffins,” Gretchen agreed.

“And Luce, send over Andrew’s contacts,” I added, realizing that I
barely knew any of Andrew’s non-mutual friends.

Right then, my phone pinged with Bill’s response.

Apr 2, 2012 8:20 PM

Out front

“Ride’s here,” I said. “Gotta run. You guys need a lift?”

“I’m meeting up with people.”

“K. Luce?” She shook her head. I leaned over and kissed her on the
cheek. “Congratulations,” I said into her hair.

A cool blast hit me as I stepped outside. Bill’s silhouette leaned
over the seat to open the door, and I was greeted with Robert Smith’s
melancholy voice. His mood could usually be determined by his choice of music.
The Cure meant brooding in our house.

“Babe?” I asked.

“If you’re going out, why can’t you get the train home?” he asked.

“You could’ve said no,” I pointed out. I thought about how he used
to love driving me around, because it meant a little extra time together. I
glanced over in the darkness and wondered if he was remembering the same thing.
“Next time I’ll take the ‘L’.”

      
“These
brakes are done,” he muttered. “I have to take the car in again.”

      
“We
could get a new one,” I suggested for the third time since January. “Maybe my
dad’s Shelby?”

      
“Why?
This one runs fine.”

      
“It’s
old, Bill. It’s not like we can’t afford a new one.”

“We can’t afford - ”

“All right, maybe not the Shelby,
but something else. Just because it works – like your mother’s couch
– doesn’t mean it’s the best option.”

      
“Liv,
we don’t need the Shelby. It’s not practical.” He grunted and after a moment,
slammed his fists into the steering wheel. “Come on! This isn’t goddamn rush
hour, what is the hold up?”

Ignoring his outburst, I excitedly told him about Lucy and
Andrew’s engagement. His shoulders relaxed slightly, and I knew his resolve was
beginning to chip. “That’s great,” he said. “They make a great couple.”

“They really do,” I agreed, looking out the window. Yellow street
lamps and dark shadows blurred together as we picked up pace.

CHAPTER
4

GRETCHEN AND I SAT AT MY KITCHEN TABLE
, laptops
open and address books splayed out, while we sipped two cups of coffee on Saturday
morning. She’d had invitations made during the week, and Andrew had e-mailed me
his contact list, agreeing to not only host the party at their place, but foot
the bill as well. That meant it was an expense I wouldn’t have to argue over
with Bill. Gretchen addressed envelopes as I, in my sweats, absentmindedly blew
on my drink, leaning my hip against the counter. I stared at the studied
handwriting of my stack of invitations, pleased with the outcome.

“What
is this, the break room?” Gretchen interrupted my daze. “Back to work. Where’s
Bill anyway?” she asked abruptly, as though she’d just noticed his absence.

“Basketball.
Andrew’s started playing with them, and I think they’re getting pretty chummy.”

“Oh,”
she replied, coiling a roll of stamps around her finger. And then, “Do you guys
do it on this table?”

I
nearly spit out my coffee as I burst into laughter. “No!” I exclaimed, giving
her a reproachful look. “But actually, I could use some sordid stories in my
life. Spill.”

“I
went out with that guy Rick from the ballet a few times, but that’s about it
right now.”

“Oh
my God! I forgot to tell you!”

She
cocked an eyebrow at me. “What?”

“I
ran into him last weekend when I was walking one of the dogs from the shelter.
For one, he told me you wouldn’t call him back.”

“Nah.
He’s sorta whack.”

“Um,
k, he seems nice. Anyway, he was interested in the dog I was walking, Eureka,
and I just found out that he adopted her.”

“Oh,
that’s sweet. Now I feel bad about not calling him back.”

“Well
you can’t now, what if you end up together? I’d never be able to forget how you
called him whack.”

“All
right, for your sake, I’ll leave it be.”

“Gee,
thanks.”

“There
is something else, though,” she said hesitantly.

“Spill,”
I demanded again, alarmed at the nervous look on her face.

“I
got a message from Greg the other night.”

“What?”
I said, dropping my pen onto the table. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I
didn’t know how to feel about it. I still don’t.”

“What
did it say?”

“To
call him.”

I
narrowed my eyes at her. “Did you?”

She
shook her head vigorously, blonde wisps escaping from the bun on top of her
head. I had flashbacks to the apartment Lucy and I had shared at Notre Dame,
where the three of us would sit at
that
kitchen table talking about Greg.

During
our first class of Introductory Biology, Greg and I were the only people who
seemed to notice how crazy the professor was. We’d looked at each other across
the room and made the same face. We became fast friends and turned out to be
dorm neighbors too. He, Lucy and I would discuss lectures over cold pizza in
the dining hall or stay up late drinking Kahlua hot chocolates under the fleece
Fighting Irish blanket my dad had sent me. He was smart and charming, and I was
proud to call him a friend.

He
and Gretchen grew to know each other over the weekends that she would visit me
from Chicago. They didn’t make it official until junior year, but I had
instantly seen how compatible they were.

When
smart and charming Greg mercilessly broke up with Gretchen two days before
graduation, he wounded all of us: me, Lucy, her boyfriend at the time and the
rest of our tight-knit college family. He’d told us that he’d accepted a job in
Japan, an offer we’d heard nothing about, and that he was moving to start a new
life. I knew he was afraid of how intense things had become with Gretchen, and
I tried to get her to see that too. She spent the weeks following graduation
wallowing at her parents’ house, accepting little comfort. When she emerged, it
was to sign the lease on our new apartment and she never mentioned his name
again. Until now.

“Wow,”
I said softly. “Aren’t you curious about what he has to say?”

She
widened her eyes at me and shook her head again. “It’s done,” she said with
finality. We both jumped a second later when her phone vibrated against the
wooden table. We exchanged a wary glance before she peeked at it without
touching, as though it might bite.

“It’s
just John,” she said exhaling. “Hey,” she answered. “Yep that’s fine, just send
me – uh huh, okay – just send me the file, and I’ll look it over.”
She put her hand over the mouthpiece and whispered, “Maybe he ought to hire a capable
secretary instead of bugging me to edit his press releases. Nothing, just
talking to Liv.” She paused. “Sure, hang on.” She held the phone out to me.

“Hi,
John.”

“Hi,
beautiful. I miss you.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

“I
miss you too,” I said. “How come you never visit your lovely sister and her
awesome friends?”

“Just
say the word, Germaine, and I’m there.” I laughed loudly and Gretchen, all too
familiar with her brother’s penchant for flirting, rolled her eyes. “How are
you? Really?”

“Hangin’
in there,” I said.

“Don’t
say that, you know I hate it.”

“All
right, I’m great, better than ever.”

“Hmm,”
he said thoughtfully. “No good. I want you to be happy, but not too happy, at
least not ‘til we get together.” I shook my head and reddened. Our
conversations always went that way, but he still had the ability to make me
blush. “Is Bill taking care of you?”

“Yes.”

“And
work?”

“Good.
I’m up for a promotion, in fact. Speaking of work, I hear you have a new - ” I
stopped myself as Gretchen slapped my arm. “Er, new stapler.”

“Ha.
Gretch told you. I do, I have a new girl. But quit trying to change the
subject. Tell me something about your life that’s not in the public domain.”

“I
don’t really have much going on right now.”

“Come
on, you’re holding out on me.”

“Oh,
I know, Bill and I - ”

“Nope.”

“I’m
married, John, I hardly have a life of my own. Okay how about this - I’m going
to ask my dad for the Shelby. Bill doesn’t know though,” I added, looking at
Gretchen.

“The
‘68? Livs, you spoiled brat. You always get what you want, ever since we were
kids. That car is a trip. You’d look hot in it.”

“Okay,”
I said. “I’m giving you back to your sister.”

“Wait,
Liv,” he said, a little more seriously. “I’m glad you’re doing well. Next time
I want something juicier though.”

“Deal,”
I promised. “Here’s your sister.”

“I
didn’t hear your side of the conversation bro,” Gretchen started, “but Liv here
is as red as that Shelby. You’re lucky Bill’s not around to see this.” I threw
a piece of muffin at her and then immediately went to pick it up before turning
my attention back to the invitations.

CHAPTER
5

TO MY SURPRISE
,
the engagement party was a huge success. It boasted a fine crowd that was
neither too small nor too big. Guests brought tastefully wrapped gifts, which
slid off of manicured fingertips and onto a glass dining table. Their River
North apartment was the perfect backdrop to the upscale crowd. Snow-white plush
carpet spanned the living room where guests congregated, and I idly wondered
how Lucy kept it so pristine. Her spotless nature was enviable – she
seemed to repel mess. Large windows framed Chicago’s dotted skyline while dim
lighting illuminated the overstuffed white leather couches, a sleeping
fireplace and a well-stocked bar.

I waved at Jack, a work acquaintance I had hired as bartender for
the night. He gave me a wink, expertly pouring a martini into the empty glass
of Lucy’s middle-aged colleague as she watched, rapt.