Sweet Contradiction (23 page)

en and I kept busy all day, waiting for the phone call we both wanted and dreaded at the same time. We cleaned the house, even though it wasn’t really messy. A full out spring cleaning ensued as we pulled curtains down, emptied out closets, and reorganized the entire pantry. When Matt showed up at two o’clock that afternoon, we were both worn out. We were supposed to all meet at the house as a show of support and strength for Jen. Jen’s eyes searched behind Matt, but Hunter hadn’t come with him. Her eyes flashed with hurt before she could slip her
unaffected
mask back into place. Two hours later, Matt was probably wishing he’d stayed at work after Jen had him rearrange furniture in the living room and the guestroom.

“We should make some food,” Jen suggested.

“I could use some food right about now,” Matt grumbled. I smiled and went to wash my hands off in the sink. Jen pulled out the stuff to make some burgers.

“Should I make enough for Hunter?” She asked nonchalantly. Matt glanced over at me before quickly looking down at the floor.

“Matt?” Jen asked quietly.

“He’s gone,” Matt blurted. I blinked several times and saw Jen out of the corner of my eye place a hand on the counter for support.

“What do you mean he’s gone?” I asked in confusion. Matt rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, looking very uncomfortable.

“I mean … he’s gone. He packed a bag last night and left town for a while.” Jen’s face paled and I walked over to her to put a hand on her shoulder. I really hadn’t realized how much Hunter actually meant to her. What a friend I was turning out to be. “I’m sure he won’t be gone long,” Matt said reassuringly. Jen didn’t even look at him.

“Did he say when he’d be back?” She spoke softly. Matt’s jaw clenched and he shook his head no. “Well, then burgers for three,” she said matter-of-factly. I glanced over at Matt and raised a palm.
What the heck?
He only shrugged and looked as miserable and uncomprehending as I felt.

We enjoyed almost half our meal when the telephone rang. We froze in our seats, our food completely forgotten in our hands. Jen stood mechanically and walked over to the wall and stared at the phone as it rang several more times. I stood up and walked over to her and put a hand lightly on her shoulder. She took a deep breath and placed a shaking hand on the receiver before picking it up to answer.

“Hello?” she answered. “This is Jennifer Collins speaking.” I stood there with my heart beating a tattoo in my chest, listening to Jen make noncommittal sounds and answers into the phone for what seemed like an eternity, but could have only been moments. She placed the phone back in its cradle and then walked back over to her seat and sunk into it without looking at either of us. I walked over next to her and then glanced over at Matt to try and find out what I should do. He looked just as lost as I felt. Jen bowed her head and tears began running down her cheeks. She started crying in earnest, letting giant sobs wrack her body.
Oh no.

I knelt down and began rubbing her back in small circles. My heart nearly broke in two, but I couldn’t be weak, Jen needed me more than ever at that point.

“I’m so sorry, Jen.” I gasped out, trying to hold back my own tears. “Don’t worry. We’ll get the best doctors, look into the best treatments, whatever it takes. I’ll be with you every step of the way.” Jen made a horrible sound in the back of her throat before she broke out in hiccupping cries. Then, I heard her laughter. Matt stood up from the table, clearly at a lost as what to do with a hysterical woman crying and laughing in the room. His forehead crinkled up and he ran a hand roughly through his hair. Jen began shaking her head back and forth. I didn’t know what to say, I was at a loss for words.

“I … I’m … fine,” Jen blubbered. My hand froze and I straightened up.

“What did you say?” I asked with a gasp. Jen smiled through her snot and tears and grabbed my hand tightly in hers.

“I don’t … have … cancer,” she hiccupped.
She doesn’t have cancer,
I thought with my mind reeling. Matt was grinning from ear-to-ear and Jen was alternating between laughs and sobs. My heart stood still for a second before her words truly sunk in. I whooped and threw myself at her. We held each other tightly, laughing and crying from our happiness. Jen pulled up the hem of the apron she wore and wiped her face off.

“The doctor wants me to come in for some blood work and tests because of the fatigue and such to rule out other serious things because of my family’s medical history, but cancer has been ruled out.” She blew her nose and smiled broadly through her runny mascara. I hugged her again before Matt helped me up off of my knees.

“We should celebrate,” I announced. Jen barked a laugh.

“Let me guess … will it have to do with ice cream?” Jen asked sarcastically. I stuck my tongue out at her and shrugged. Ice cream made everything better, everyone knew that. Matt cleared his throat. His face was both overjoyed and terrified at the same time. My forehead crinkled. What had I missed now?

“I was going to wait to do this, but since we all have so much to be thankful for and so much to celebrate about ….” He knelt down on one knee and Jen gasped out with an “oh my god” escaping her lips and her eyes bugging out of her head. My head felt fuzzy and I could swear my fingers went numb with shock. He pulled a ring out of his back pocket and held it up as he took my hand in his.

“Beth, I know we haven’t known each other long. I know things haven’t been perfect and I can’t promise you that they ever will be, but, what I can promise you is that I will love you until the day I die and even beyond that.” Tears spilled over my cheeks and my heart skipped a beat. “I never knew how incomplete my life was until you came strutting into it, bringing your sunshine along with you and shining it into my heart and banishing the emptiness that had been there before my soul danced with yours.” I smiled and placed a hand on his cheek. I’d never know what I did to deserve the man that was kneeling at my feet. “I guess I said all that to ask this simple question: Beth, will you marry me and make many, many little stubbornly beautiful baby Beths with me?” I laughed as I leaned down to place a soft kiss on his lips.

“I will,” I whispered against his cheek. Jen had begun crying again. Matt slipped a white gold ring on my finger and jumped up to scoop me up into his arms and twirl me around in circles. I laughed out loud and Jen joined in. Matt placed small kisses all over my face before stopping and sitting me back down on my feet. I pulled his head down to mine and kissed him with all the passion I could muster. My head was spinning and my body was tingling when a discreet cough reminded us we weren’t alone. Matt chuckled under his breath and pulled back gently.

Jen came over and surprised Matt by throwing her arms around him and giving him big hug. I smiled over her shoulder at him and he grinned in return as he hugged her back. When she turned around, her eyes were shining with tears and with pure joy.

“I’m so happy for you,” she said softly as she hugged me. “Just don’t make me wear any hideous bridesmaid dresses for your wedding.” She shuddered. I grinned and shook my head.

Leave it to Jen.

hat about this one?” Jen twirled around, wearing a light blue, strapless dress that hit her ankles and smiled over at me before gazing at herself in the mirror, a frown settling between her brows, and then making a sound of distress. We’d been doing the same thing for several hours. Trying on wedding and bridesmaid dresses and then discarding them because they just weren’t the right ones. We’d driven over an hour to get to a city large enough to have a couple dress shops we could even shop at.