Everything (43 page)

Then came Aria’s. I sat up straighter, and my stomach became a ball of nerves, one because I hated surprise and two because I could almost feel the nerves coming off of her from backstage. I wished I could have seen her before and given her some final words of encouragement or a hug.

There were some movements onstage as they prepared for the scene, and the lights were dim so I couldn’t see what was being done. With a scream, the lights came up with barely a glow, and a girl was in bed, then Aria ran into the room.

“Shhh, it’s just the storm. It knocked out the power. It’s okay,” she cooed.

“I...I don’t like the dark,” the girl said, her voice scared.

The feeling in my stomach dropped to my toes as I realized what this was, or rather what scene Aria was acting out, and then my heart swelled. This was her surprise, and I knew that she had planned this even before Mom had died. A tissue was pushed into my hand, and I looked over at Justin, who smiled and patted his pocket. I hadn’t even realized I was crying.

“Will...you...will you stay with me?” the girl was asking, on the verge of tears.

Aria sat and put her arms around the girl on the bed and recited “Fire and Ice” perfectly. As she recited the poem, the girl slowly drifted off to sleep. Aria kissed her on the forehead, and the lights went down completely, then the curtain dropped.
 

The crowd erupted into applause, and though it was a collective applause for the entire play, I couldn’t help but be biased and think that the majority of the applause was for the last scene.

“I had no idea our little Aria could act!” Tina was gushing. “Screw Opal. I’m getting her an agent!”

The curtain rose, and all the performers were lined up onstage. The applause rose even higher as the audience gave the performers a standing ovation. Aria was glowing as she looked over at us in her section and locked eyes with me. I tried to convey with my smile and my eyes that I was so very proud of her. Riley excused himself from our section, saying he was needed backstage to help with the sets’ breakdown and for us to wait about ten minutes and then he and Aria would be out.

Everyone was still buzzing and talking excitedly ten minutes later, and Justin had gone back to the car to get Aria’s pink roses when she and Riley came out of the back to meet us. She was met with another round of applause, which she graciously bowed to, and Opal gushing over her.

“See, what’d I tell ya?” She nudged Mr. Eugene with her shoulder. “My girls are goin’ places,” she said, looking proudly at Aria.

“That they are!” He smiled proudly at Aria too, causing her to blush.

“Thanks, Auntie,” Aria said. She gave everyone hugs and thanked them for coming, then made her way to me. “Surprise,” she said in a nervous laughter. How could she think I didn’t love it?

“A, what you did...Mom would have loved it. I loved it. Thank you!” I pulled her to me in a crushing hug.

She let out a shocked gasp for a minute, then hugged me back fiercely.

“I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know if it would be too much too soon. I was going to do it for her as a gift when she was alive, but then, you know, and then Riley talked me into still doing it, for
you
and for her and, well, for me too. You really liked it?” she asked, pulling back and looking into my eyes, searching.

“Aria, I loved it. Thanks for making me cry like this, you bitch,” I said playfully.

“Your sister!” she said.

“Your sister,” I said, automatically linking our arms and walking out of the auditorium, laughing, with everyone else following behind us.

We didn’t have to wait very long for a table at Sharkey’s. There were no birthday parties or the likes going on, so there was room for a table of eight. Once everyone got seated and the waitress got our drink orders, everyone was talking in their own conversations. I laughed as I heard Riley grilling Opal about how she said he looked familiar and her not remembering.

“No, young fella, I don’t recall I said that,” Opal said, taking a sip of her soda.

“No, it was during the time when their parents...Well, the time when they were...It was a few weeks ago,” he said finally.

“Riley, she’s been having memory issues. She really doesn’t remember,” I said, putting him out of his misery, and laughed.
 

His face fell for a minute at this news, but he seemed to get a renewed hope. “Well, you said you knew my mother, and she used to hang around this guy. Do you remember the guy?”

“Yeah, I know your momma, and I do recall she was with a fella about twentysomething years ago,” Opal mused.

“Yeah, yeah, that would have been about the time,” he bobbed his head excitedly like he had hit the jackpot of information. “Can you tell me more?” he asked.

“You got any pudding?” Opal asked, and then smiled.

“Auntie, don’t tease him,” Aria chimed in.

“I’m not. I don’t know any mor’ than that, and I seriously want to know if the fella has any pudding.”

“But there has to be something else,” Riley sputtered.

Aria placed her hand on his forearm. “We will find him, baby, don’t worry,” she said softly.

“Ugh,” Tina gagged from across the table. “I’m trying to enjoy my diet soda over here, okay? No touching or mentioning of the word ‘baby.’”

Aria stuck her tongue out at her but moved her hand from his forearm and discreetly placed it on his knee under the table.

Justin turned to me. “Are you okay now? I take it the scene held sentimental value to it?”

“Man, you are very perceptive.”

“Just another talent, SB,” he smirked.

“SB?” Tina questioned. “Are you calling my sandbox a sonofabit— ”

“Justina!” chastised Mrs. D, eyes wide with shock.

Justin laughed, showing off both his dimples. “No, I would never call a lady that word let alone your ‘sandbox.’ SB stands for Southern belle, which she has told me she is not.” He winked at me.

“Oh...well. That’s okay, then.” She turned to me so that he couldn’t hear. “He can call me anything he wants with those dimples,
aye
.”

I rolled my eyes and turned back to him and smiled as if I didn’t just hear that, although his dimples were amazing. I focused on his eyes. They were, as usual, laughing at me.

“Should I even ask what sandbox stands for?” he said.

“No. If I tell you, I’m sure you’d just laugh at me.”

“Probably, but tell me anyway,” he probed.

“Nah, I think I’ll wait until I hear part of your story first.”

He just nodded and took a sip of his water. The waitress came, and we all ordered, and everyone talked and laughed. Just before our meals came out, Mr. Eugene tapped on his glass with his fork and asked for everyone’s attention and stood.

“As you all know, I have gained a certain fondness to Opal, and although I have only known her for a short time and only been in this family a short while, I have seen and witnessed the heartache you have gone through, and you are still standing, and I love this woman.” He gestured to Opal. “And when you know, you just know, and I want to spend forever with her and this family. So, Opal Jean Watson, will you do me the honors of being my wife, my bride, my forever?”

Then he pulled out a small but beautiful Tiffany cut diamond ring and presented it to her.

She looked up at him and said matter-of-factly, “You’re s’posed to be on bended knee for this.”
 

“True, dear, but at my age, I may not be able to get back up, but for you...” He made the effort of going about getting on bended knee, and before he actually got down on one knee, I stopped him.

“Auntie, you can’t be serious,” I said, getting up and placing my hand on Mr. Eugene’s shoulder, stopping him.

“Oh, I just wanted to see how far he’d go. I wasn’t gonna make him do it.”

He straightened back up and looked at her expectantly, as was everyone else around the table and in the restaurant.

“What, why is everybody a-lookin’ at me?” she asked, looking around.

“He kinda needs an answer, Auntie,” I leaned over and whispered in her ear.

Aria was bouncing in her chair, excitedly bobbing her head up and down and practically saying yes for her.

“Oh, that. Yes, I s’pose I’ll go ahead and marry you, but I don’t want a big fuss,” she said flippantly.

Aria squealed loudly and was up and out of the chair, hugging Opal, before the room burst into applause and Mr. Eugene placed the ring on her finger.

“Auntieee, you have to let me plan the wedding, please,” she squealed again.

“Now calm down, lil’ chile. I said I didn’t want no big fuss.” She waved Aria’s hug off.

“It won’t be big, but it has to be cute. I promise not big,” Aria gushed as she sat down.

I went back to sit down too, and Tina nudged me and wagged her eyebrows.

“I’m finding me an old rich guy when I get back to Miami. Forget Adam Rodriguez.”

“Your tongue should fall out just for saying that.” I laughed.

Another tissue was pushed in front of me, and I looked over at Justin.

“It’s a good thing I stocked up tonight,” he said as I took it from him.

I had no idea that I was crying, again. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m usually not this emotional.”

“I’m glad they are happy tears. If they were the other tears, I don’t think...I’m just glad they are the happy tears.”

I dabbed at my eyes. “They are. I haven’t cried happy tears in what seems like forever. They are so foreign to me. But at this moment right now, I am happy.”

“Good, I’m glad. You deserve to be. I know your parents would have wanted you to be.”

For once, I didn’t feel guilty that I was happy and enjoying life when they weren’t here because I knew he was right—I knew that my parents would have wanted me to live my life to its fullest and not dwell on the loss of their lives. And I also wasn’t angry at Trevor anymore for hurting me. Part of me knew I would always thank him for allowing me to go through this hurt so I would know to guard my heart and not give it away so freely next time. It would make it impossible for the next guy, but I knew I would love again. Someday. And I knew that Aria and I would be stronger because of this. We were all each other had now, although we had Opal and, now I guess, Uncle Eugene, but once they were gone, it would be just us. Now that we knew how life could change and take you for a ride, we had to hold on to each other.

I looked down the table at her, and she was looking at me. This was one of those times that I loved being on the same wavelength with her. It was like she had come to the same conclusion as me, and she gave me a knowing smile as a tear slipped down her cheek.

“I love you,” I mouthed to her, and she mouthed the words back, wiping her cheek before anyone saw.

The waitress came out with drinks on the house for those who could drink. Aria pouted at that, as she was the only one who couldn’t, and then our food arrived. We ate and laughed and talked about the wedding, which Opal wanted to have before we went back to school, so that meant sometime in the next two months. Talk about your shotgun weddings. Can she be anymore Southern?

It was almost ten o’clock by the time everyone started parting ways and saying good-byes in the parking lot of Sharkey’s.
 

“Girls, you’ve come a long way in a short time. I’m so proud, and they would have been too,” Mrs. D said. Then she glanced behind me at Justin. “I hope to see more of you, Justin.”

“I’m sure you will, ma’am.” He kissed her hand good-bye, and she blushed again.

“
Mami
, really?” Tina said, rolling her eyes, then giving me a hug good-bye. She whispered in my ear, “If he wants to kiss my hand that way, or my leg, or something else—”
 

I broke the hug before she could finish and laughed. “Bye, Tina.”
 

“Bye, you little ho.” She winked at me, then waved to Justin and got in the car and left.

Opal and Mr. Eugene were the next to go, and we waved good-bye to them as well, telling Opal we would see her tomorrow to start her wedding planning, to which she just grumbled.

Aria had ridden with Riley. Deciding it was too late to go back to the school to pick up her car, they followed behind us on the way home. I couldn’t keep the goofy grin from my face the entire ride, as it seemed that life had finally stopped throwing everything on us at once.

“You seem...high.” Justin smiled over at me.

“High?” I looked over and cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Happy just didn’t seem suffice.”

“And ‘high’ did? Interesting choice of words for a cop.”

“I know the feeling of both.”

“Oh, really. Do tell, JP, do tell.” I sat up straighter, ready for this one.

He laughed as he pulled into my driveway and killed the engine. “That is a long story, and this night has come to an end. Let me walk you to your door,” he offered, getting out.

“I’ve got time.” I smiled at him. Everything that I had known was different, but that left room for everything new, and I think I was ready. True, we still had this whole Mick thing hanging over our heads, but I was sure that life had one or two more things to throw my way. Luckily, I had a big-ass spoon.

THE END...

ANYTHING
COMING SOON

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank a ton of people for helping me with this endeavor, but sadly, I can only thank like two, maybe three, people, tops. First, I must say that without the silent encouragement from the O. G. Jerry Williams, then this story would still be on a continuous loop in my head. Second, to Jessica, who literally threatened me with bodily harm when I was not actively writing every day—thank you, and I love you. To my two very first unofficial beta readers, Josh and Theresa, you guys rock with a side of awesome. To the best self-publishing consultant this side of the equator, Jennifer Zaczek, thank you so very much; I could not have done this without you. Lastly, I want to thank my daughter, whom I’m sure I ignored for the better part of a month, but hey, she was fine, except for that one mishap. I’m sure that was more than three people, but hey, I’m no mathematician.

About the Author

Jeri Williams lives a super fabulous lifestyle (by 
fabulous
, she mean’s kinda lame) in the hot Florida sun and loves reading of any kind (except instruction manuals and cereal boxes). She has always written stories and made her family listen to them since she was young, although this is the first book she has ever published. She is a mom of an up-and-coming Jerry Seinfeld (in girl form) and also enjoys being right and knowing everything, although she is hardly ever right and really doesn’t know anything and is obsessed with inventing miniature zoo animals you can carry around in your pocket (although not really).