Coming Attractions (7 page)

“You mean about your mom’s eggnog? I told you I apologized to her about that. I didn’t realize she was in the other room when
I spit it out in the sink. I didn’t think — ”

“No, Katie, not about the eggnog. About us. Do you remember what you said about our relationship?”

“I’m not sure. What did I say?”

“A few days after Christmas, we were in my new car. I don’t remember where we were going, but we were talking about how we
would make it through this last semester. The fall months had been intense for both of us, with my working on the cafés and
you with the RA position and changing your major in your senior year. Do you remember?”

“Sort of.”

“I was saying how I didn’t think much would change during the next few months for both of us because I’d still be busy with
my business and you’d be busy with school. You said, ‘Then we’ll just have to learn how to live happily almost after.’ ”

“Oh, yeah, I do remember saying that.”

“Well, this will be your happily-almost-after bracelet. Or necklace. Or whatever you want it to be.” He kissed her again,
and this time it seemed as if even his kiss were intended to symbolize their relationship. It was deliberate and lingering.

Katie pulled back. Rick tried to kiss her again, but she said, “We probably should head back.”

“We will. In a minute.” Rick wrapped both arms around Katie and murmured in her ear, “We’re almost there. You know that, don’t
you? Only a few more weeks.”

Katie definitely would have melted if Rick’s whispered words to her right then had been the defining “I love you.” Those were
the words she was waiting to hear.

But for now, his whispered, “almost there,” seemed one step away from a proposal. She drew in the warmth of his embrace and
leaned her head against his chest.

Rick held her for a long moment. She could hear his heart beating and felt the warmth of his steady breaths on the top of
her head. Her eyes were open, unblinking, as if she were trying to focus clearly enough to see into the future.

Katie stared into the darkness of the night around them and wondered if this was “it.”

Am I going to marry this man? Am I really home? Why does it seem as if something is missing? What could be missing? This is
all I ever wanted. Rick just said it. We’re almost there. All our long-sought-after goals will be accomplished. I love him.
I know I love him.

“Rick?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you hear music?”

“Music?” Rick paused before answering. “No.”

Katie slowly closed her eyes, trying to catch the sound of violins in her imagination.

“Why? Do you?”

“No.”

He rose from the bench, employed all the deeply imbedded gentlemanly manners that had always been part of what made Rick Doyle
Rick Doyle, and gently pulled her to her feet. “Then why did you ask?”

Katie kept her hand ensconced in his. “No reason. I was just wondering.”

Rick laughed. “I think you’ve watched too many romantic comedies.”

“Possibly.”

He gave her hand a squeeze. “This is our romance, Katie. We’re writing the script. You and me, not some formula writer in
Hollywood.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to ‘stay tuned for coming attractions.’ ”

“Yes, you will. Be patient.”

“I am.”

“I know. So am I.”

W
hen Katie showed the brooch to Nicole early the next morning in the laundry room, she pretty much had concluded she wanted
to have the stones set into a bracelet.

“What do you think?” Katie leaned against the washer where an extra-large load of her clothes was finally being washed. The
two of them had gotten up for a staff breakfast at seven o’clock that Saturday morning. Katie was so energized after the meeting
she had talked Nicole into helping her work on cleaning up her room. Within forty minutes the two of them had made admirable
headway.

Nicole pulled one of Katie’s freshly cleaned sheets from the dryer. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, fresh sheets are the best, aren’t they?” Katie drew in the slight lavender and gardenia scent that lingered from the
fabric softener sheets Nicole had tossed in.

“I meant the brooch is beautiful.”

“Oh. Right. Yeah, it is beautiful. I’m sure it’s valuable. It’s just that I would never wear it. Rick made it clear that he
wants me to wear whatever I have the brooch made into. I’m not much of a jewelry person, as you know. I think a bracelet is
a safe way to go. Or maybe a necklace. I don’t know. I keep bouncing back and forth.”

“I’m sure whatever you decide will turn out great.” Nicole held out one of the corners of the top sheet, and Katie picked
up the other end. The two of them folded the sheet nice and tidy, which seemed pointless to Katie since she was just going
to put it back on her bed.

“Nicole, you’re supposed to have an opinion on this. Rick said I should ask what you would do with it.”

“He did?”

“Yeah. So, if he had given the brooch to you, what would you do with it?”

Nicole pressed her lips together and focused on the door of the open dryer and not on Katie. “I would leave the brooch just
as it is and find a unique way to wear it.”

“How? In your hair?”

“Maybe.” Nicole glanced at her phone and texted a message to someone who had just buzzed her.

“Can I ask you something?” Katie boosted herself up to sit on the top of the warm dryer. “Do you think Rick and I are a good
match?”

Nicole’s eyes flashed over at Katie while the rest of her didn’t move. She seemed to be studying Katie’s expression. “Why
do you ask that?”

“I don’t know. Sometimes I wonder if Rick and I are really meant to be together. Then other times it’s like all my dreams
are coming true before my eyes.”

“Is that how you feel about him now? That your dream is coming true?”

“Yes, definitely. I think. I mean, yeah. Of course.” Katie hopped down and paced the floor. “It’s just that I’ve never been
this close to a guy. Well, except maybe for Michael in high school, but that wasn’t the same. Rick is so caring, and everything
is going great. Really great. I think I’m trying to freak myself out. Listening for the violin music and all that. What is
it when you don’t mean to ruin something, but you end up destroying everything?”

Nicole still hadn’t moved. Only her dark eyes remained fixed on Katie as she paced. “Do you mean self-sabotage?”

“Yes.” Katie snapped her fingers. “That’s what’s happening to me. I’m contemplating self-sabotaging our relationship, aren’t
I? Why would I want to do that? I must be crazy.”

Nicole’s eyebrows crowded close together, and she returned her gaze to the screen of her cell phone. “I have to go,” she said
quietly. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, see you later. Thanks again for all the help on my room and laundry and everything. You’re the best, Nicole.”

Nicole was already out the door as Katie called out the final line. She checked the second dryer, which had tumbled to a halt
while she was pacing the laundry room. Her jeans were still damp, so she set the timer for another twenty minutes and returned
with her spring-flowers-scented bed sheets to her clean room.

Her phone buzzed, and Katie was happy to see that the call was from Uncle Bob. “Hey, I was wondering when I would hear back
from you.”

“I think you’ll be more understanding of the wait once you see what I’ve come up with for you in the car department. When
do you think you can head up this way?”

“I don’t know. Later this afternoon might work. Christy talked me into helping her babysit for Doug and Tracy. We probably
could come your way afterward. I’ll have to check with Christy. It’s over an hour from Doug and Tracy’s place in Carlsbad
up to yours, right?”

“At least an hour.”

“Then I think we could arrive about seven tonight. Would that be too late?”

Katie heard a voice in the background, and Bob added, “Marti says you should stay with us overnight. The weather has been
great. She says… Wait. Here, she’ll tell you herself.”

A moment later Katie heard Christy’s aunt’s high-pitched voice on the phone. “You girls need some girlfriend time. That’s
what I was trying to tell Robert. Come up and stay the night. The three of us girls will have all day tomorrow to spend together.”

“That’s really generous of you, but I don’t know if — ”

“I’ll take both of you shopping and to lunch,” Marti quickly promised. “My treat. It’s been far too long since you girls let
me spoil you. We’re overdue for some together time.”

Since when did Aunt Marti consider me one of the “girls” and treat me to a shopping trip? That’s her technique with Christy.
I’ve never been on Marti’s list of favorites. What’s going on?

“I’ll need to call Christy to see if she can be gone that long. I have a lot of studying to do, and I need to write a paper
this weekend.”

“You can do that here, can’t you? We’ve recently renovated the upstairs. Did Christy tell you? The guest room is twice the
size it used to be. There’s a built-in window seat and a desk where you can work. Christy and I can go shopping and bring
back something for you. How would that be?”

Katie didn’t know what to make of Marti’s comments. All Katie knew was that if she were going to get anything done this weekend,
she should stay locked in her dorm room.

“Oh, here. Robert wants to say something now.”

“Call us back when you can, Katie.”

“Okay. Thanks. I will.” She could hear Marti’s voice in the background right before Bob hung up. Marti was saying, “You’re
not hanging up, are you?”

Katie smiled as she placed a call to Christy. The possibility of going up to Bob and Marti’s home in Newport Beach was appealing.
Watching the two of them successfully relate to each other when their personalities were so different always was entertaining.
Still, Katie knew that if she went, she would complete zero homework. Yet, when would she be invited up there again? It had
been a year since Katie had been to Bob and Marti’s home. Bob always made sure they had plenty of delicious things to eat.
Katie wasn’t scheduled for duty until Monday. Still, she shouldn’t go.

On the other hand, she had asked Bob to help her to find a car, and that was the reason she was going in the first place.
It made sense to stay overnight since it would be at least a two-and-a-half-hour drive back to school. Three hours, if the
weekend traffic were heavy.

However, if she were honest with herself, she didn’t need to settle on a car until the end of the school year. The best use
of her time now would be to hunker down, focus on her classes, finish her papers early, work the extra hours she had accumulated
when she was sick, and catch up on her meetings with Julia. Christy didn’t need Katie to go with her to babysit Daniel. Whatever
Bob’s deal on a new car was, another deal would come along sometime. Graduation was the goal Katie needed to press toward
now. She should lock herself in her room and do as much as she could with the open time in front of her.

That would be the wise, sensible, and responsible thing to do with the remainder of the weekend. And that was what she would
tell Christy.

Two hours later, with their packed overnight bags in the trunk of Christy’s Volvo, Katie and Christy motored down the hill
away from Rancho Corona University.

I shouldn’t be doing this. But we’re on our way, and I’m not going to change my mind. Once I decide to do something, I follow
through. Even if it does take a lot of debating before I decide.

“So explain to me why we’re going to my aunt and uncle’s after babysitting for Doug and Tracy? I wasn’t clear on that part
from your phone conversation.”

“Your aunt invited us. And like I said, I asked your uncle to keep an eye open for a car, and apparently he has found one.”

Katie reached for a book in the backpack at her feet. “I’m going to turn anti-social on you now. I really need to use some
of this drive time to finish my reading. If I manage to pull off everything I need to do this weekend, I’m sure to win the
Multitasking Woman of the Year Award. You wouldn’t want me to miss out on that now, would you?”

“No, I wouldn’t stand in your way. I already know you can get everything done. You’re amazing that way. You accomplish your
goals, whatever they are. No one is challenging you on that.”

Christy hesitated and then added, “Please don’t be offended, but for one last time, I just want to be the gentle voice in
the back of your head that gives you permission.”

“Permission for what?”

“You can change your mind if you want to.”

Katie didn’t know why Christy’s evenly spoken words seemed to sink so deep inside of her. Maybe because Christy was one of
the few people Katie didn’t feel she had to prove herself to. Christy knew more about her than anyone. Way more than Rick
knew about her. And Christy had always accepted Katie for who she was, what she was, and where she was during any particular
stretch of life. Christy was the cream and sugar in Katie’s cup of tea. She was everything a best friend should be.

And she was giving Katie the freedom to change her mind. To admit she was making a poor choice. To turn around and go back
to the dorm.

“No, this is what I want to do,” Katie said. “You drive. I’ll read. You babysit. I’ll write my paper. You drive to Bob and
Marti’s. I’ll sleep in their cushy guest bed and eat their gourmet food. It’ll all work out.”

A smile settled on Christy’s face.

“Why are you smirking?”

“I’m not smirking. I’m remembering. Remembering what I was going through a year ago when I was in your place, trying to finish
my final semester and plan a wedding on top of everything.”

“Well, I’m not planning a wedding. I can’t even plan a bracelet.”

“Plan a what?”

Katie’s textbook went unopened as she caught Christy up on all the details about Rick and the cuddly, kissy date the night
before. Katie described the brooch, the symbol of their happily-almost-after relationship and then slipped into the same sort
of sure-unsure banter she had begun with Nicole that morning in the laundry room.