The Icing on the Cake (14 page)

Carrie shook her head in sisterly solidarity.

“Let’s go, our artichokes are waiting,” I said, pushing Isaac out of my mind. I held out my hand to help Carrie off the bed.

We walked downstairs to the 24-hour restaurant attached to the inn. Once inside, we were seated immediately because, other than a group of teenagers, we were the only customers. As soon as the waitress, a thin, harried-looking woman, came to the table, we handed her our vouchers and ordered our artichoke hearts with extra ranch dipping sauce.

“This puts me in a much better mood,” Carrie said. She sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

“Don’t worry, Carrie,” I consoled. “I hear that engaged couples fight a lot.”

“From who?”

“Oh everybody knows that,” I replied. I wasn’t quite sure where I had heard it from.

“But Miles and I have never fought before,” Carrie said in a far-off voice.

“There must be something in the air, then,” I said, remembering yet again my conversation with Isaac.

“There must be,” Carrie said. “So what’s going on with you and Isaac?”

“Well, we hung out a lot this weekend, but every time we were together it seemed like Ro—” I stopped myself. I couldn’t say that Rona Bircheck was sabotaging all my dates with Isaac. Remember, Carrie thinks Rona is great. “Ro . . . Roman candles are always going off,” I said, finishing my sentence.

Carrie looked at me weirdly. “Roman candles?”

“Yeah, you know, it’s almost the Fourth of July and those kids, they just don’t wait.”

Carrie looked at me like I was insane. But luckily for me, before she could say anything our waitress appeared with our order, and by the time our food was set in front of us Carrie had forgotten about the Roman candles.

“Okay, so you’ve been hanging out with him a lot. But how do you feel about him?” Carrie asked, taking a bite of a steaming artichoke heart.

“It’s been just a few days, but I have to tell you, I feel like ... like if I could have one thing in the world, I would want more time with him.” I bit into an artichoke heart and stared into space dreamily.

“I think he’s good for you,” Carrie told me.

I snapped out of my dreamy state, and looked at Carrie. “You’ve only spoken to him twice. How can you know he’s good for me?”

“Because you’re still the same.”

“What?” Carrie was completely losing me.

“Remember the last time we were here?”

“Yes,” I said as I dipped another artichoke heart into the thick ranch dipping sauce.

“I have something to tell you about that,” Carrie said.

“What?”

“I was relieved when you broke up with Hadwin,” Carrie confessed, sounding apologetic.

“Really? Why?”

“Because you let him change you,” Carrie explained.

“I did?”

“Yeah,” Carrie began. “Let me ask you this: Do you really think that
Space Traveler III
is the best movie ever made? Or that when you get married you want a moon rock instead of a diamond ring? Because I’m quoting you here, Annabelle.”

“No,” I answered, embarrassed.

“Do you still play those video games you two used to play together?”

“No,” I replied.

“Because three days after you started dating him, you told me you loved those video games.”

I made a face. “Why didn’t you ever say anything to me?” I asked Carrie. I mean, isn’t a best friend supposed to intervene the second you start talking about not wanting a diamond?

“Because I knew that eventually you would realize he wasn’t right for you. And that who you were trying to be wasn’t right for you either.”

I looked at Carrie. Had she been taking some new wisdom herbs or something?

“I don’t know why I’m always trying to do and be what I think others want me to do and be,” I said softly.

“You don’t seem to be worried about that with Isaac,” Carrie said.

“That’s because even if I knew what he wanted, I wouldn’t be able to give it to him because he always sneaks up on me. He’s already seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

“And that’s good,” Carrie said.

“I guess,” I responded, not really convinced.

“What would you do if you saw Isaac right now?”

“Let’s see. First I would tell him that I am not the kind of girl that gets obsessed with an ex-boyfriend. Then maybe I’d throw something at him.” Okay, so I wouldn’t really throw something at him, but I was getting into the moment.

“Nothing sharp and pointy I hope,” I heard a male voice say from behind me. It sounded an awful lot like . . .

“Isaac,” I said, my eyes growing wide as I turned around.

Isaac stood behind me holding a package of Milk Duds with a white bow on them.

“Milk Duds are my favorite,” I exclaimed, eyeing the candy with a smile growing on my lips. Then, remembering that I was still a bit upset with Isaac, I wiped the smile off my face.

“I know,” Isaac said.

“How do you know?” I asked, pretending like I really didn’t care.

“Your mom told me.”

“When did you talk to my mom?”

“Well, I tried to call you back at your house and got no answer. Then I called what I thought was your cell number, but it was actually the number you gave me for your parents’ house. So, since your Mom and I are pretty tight, I asked her what your favorite candy bar is, and asked if she knew where I could find you and deliver my peace offering. So here you go, some Milk Duds to say I’m sorry for being a dud.” Isaac smiled, obviously enjoying himself for coming up with that.

“That’s the sweetest, corniest thing I’ve ever heard.” I stood up to give Isaac a hug. But then I stopped. “So do you still think that I’m a crazy, ex-boyfriend-obsessed stalker?” I asked gruffly.

Isaac put his arms around me and said, “Not one bit.”

I smiled as I let Isaac hug me. And let me tell you, being in his strong arms was better than eating chocolate silk pie. While reading a great chick book. In a bubble bath.

Carrie was eyeing us sadly. I felt terrible for her. Miles should be at the restaurant too, giving Carrie a whole truck load of her favorite candy bar. Talking about postponing the wedding. The nerve of that guy.

“Thank you, Isaac,” I said, pulling away from him. “It was really sweet of you to come out here, but tonight is ladies’ night. Carrie and I are going to hang out. But I’ll call you later.”

“Okay, but there’s one more person you’re going to have to send away. I found him wandering around the parking lot when I got here.”

“Who?” I asked.

Just then Miles appeared carrying a bouquet of lilies, Carrie’s favorite flower. Miles rushed to Carrie’s side and knelt beside her.

“I called Annabelle’s condo in search of you,” I heard Miles whisper as I pretended like I wasn’t listening. “Then I telephoned your mother. Then, desperate, I telephoned Annabelle’s mother. She informed me that I could find you here. I am so sorry, my love. I was terribly insensitive.”

Sweet
, I thought. But I preferred a man who referred to himself as a dud.

Isaac and I quietly sat down and started talking as Carrie and Miles continued to whisper to each other. Soon the whispers turned to kisses. Apparently their fight was over.

Sighing, I opened my box of Milk Duds, and popped a Dud into my mouth. I smiled at Isaac appreciatively as I savored the treat. Isaac smiled back at me. Over the top of his head I noticed that the large artichoke-shaped clock in the restaurant had changed to 12:01 AM.

National Punk Day had officially ended.

T
uesday morning, I was sitting in my cubicle, about to take a bite out of the Krispy Kreme maple iced doughnut that I bought on the way to work, when my cell rang.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Isaac’s voice came onto the line. “How did you sleep last night?”

Beautiful?
A pleasant shiver went up my spine.

“So good,” I answered. “Carrie and I got in the Jacuzzi before bed, and my muscles melted into oblivion. I just wish I could have slept longer, but I got to work late as it was.”

“Yeah, I got a pretty late start too,” Isaac admitted. “Listen, Annabelle, there’s something I need to talk to you about. I was hoping you could come over to my place after work.”

Something he needed to talk to me about? I felt my heart kind of stop in my chest. In my experience, those words are rarely the prelude to anything good.

“Um, yeah, I can come over right after work,” I answered, trying to hide the anxiety in my voice.

“Great,” Isaac said. He proceeded to give me directions to his home in Monterey and ended the conversation quickly.

As I pushed End on my phone and placed the directions to Isaac’s house on my desk, I noticed my hands were shaking slightly.

“Hi, there,” Isaac greeted me through my open car window, looking very handsome in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. The shirt had a small grease stain on the hem, due to the fact that Isaac had been working on his Firebird when I drove up.

“Hi,” I said, winking at him. At least, trying to wink at him—my eyelid was a little shaky due to my nervousness.

I parked my car at the end of the dirt driveway, in front of a structure that looked like a garage. To the left of my car was Isaac’s Firebird, shiny in the sun.

Isaac wiped his hands on a rag and helped me out of the car.

“This place is amazing,” I told Isaac as I looked around. If I hadn’t known Isaac lived there, I might have assumed it was one of the Monterey Bay’s many gorgeous, exorbitantly priced vacation rentals. I spun around, inspecting the lush trees that gave the place a tranquil feeling, the beautiful house that looked like it belonged on a resort, and the large backyard complete with a tennis/basketball court.

“Is it all yours?” I asked Isaac.

“Mine and Ethan’s,” Isaac answered. “The lot belonged to our grandfather, and he sold it to us cheap. We built everything on it, with a little help from professionals, of course.”

“Really? It’s great.” I paused and took a deep breath. “So ... what is it you wanted to talk to me about?”

Isaac turned his eyes toward a large wooden deck that jutted out from the back of the house. “How about we go sit on the deck,” he suggested.

“Okay,” I responded apprehensively.

Isaac and I walked silently up the stairs onto the deck and sat down next to each other at a table with a massive blue umbrella looming over it.

“My sister Ally called me back last night to tell me that she was wrong about you still having a thing for an ex-boyfriend,” Isaac began, wasting no time. “I’m sorry I said all that stuff last night. I really didn’t mean to be such a jerk. But I think there’s something you should know.”

I held my breath and remained silent.

“I was engaged once,” Isaac stated simply. He searched my face for a reaction.

My eyes widened a bit, but I remained silent.

“Her name was Ashley. She was in my singles ward when I was at San Jose State. I knew her for a while, but we didn’t start dating until after she broke up with a guy she had been dating for a long time. The first few months, all she did was talk about her ex-boyfriend. She’d say, ‘You’re so much sweeter than Spencer,’ and, ‘Spencer would have never done that for me.’

“We dated for six months, and it seemed like Spencer was history, and I felt that it was right to ask her to marry me, so I did. But looking back, I think I was just in love with the thought of having a marriage and a family. Anyway, she said ‘Yes,’ and we started planning the wedding.

“Then, three weeks before the wedding, she showed up at my apartment, handed back the ring, and admitted that she had been seeing Spencer behind my back for about two months. She told me that at first it was just as friends, but then she had realized she was still in love with him. Can you believe that? While we were planning our wedding! She was seeing him while we were planning our wedding!” Isaac’s voice was filled with traces of pain.

Hesitantly, I put my hand on Isaac’s forearm as I tried to process the news. Isaac had been engaged before. To a girl named Ashley. In my mind, I tried to come up with what Ashley might have looked like. For some reason, I saw a perky brunette in a size four drill team uniform.

“Anyway she . . . she messed me up, Annabelle. So when Ally told me that stuff about the bridal shower and said that you were still hung-up on an ex-boyfriend, it just shot me back to that, and I remembered that feeling of being betrayed. And I just thought, ‘If Annabelle has a thing for another guy, then I need to stop things right now, because I’m starting to . . . ’” Isaac paused for a moment. “Anyway, I just wanted you to know where I was coming from yesterday.”

I looked off into the distance, trying to gather my thoughts. “I really . . . appreciate you telling me all of this. I’m so glad you trust me enough to share something so personal with me.”