Make Believe: A Novella (9 page)

“We’ll see. Anyway, I thought you were supposed to be leaving as soon as I got back?”

“We were, but Jinnie’s late. I’m about to call her, but I think that we should just tell her to meet us at the mall,” Jess suggested.

“Yeah, sounds good to me. By the way, how was Taise last night?” I asked
Anthony.

“Not great, I think he just needs more guy time. This is the risk we men take when we start
mixing with the other species,” he chuckled.

“Do you see what I have to put up with everyday?” Jess
whined.

“
Better you than me! Now, let’s go,” Crystal said.

“Let’s,” Jess replied.

“Hey, no kiss?” Anthony asked as he gently grabbed the edge of Jess’ sleeve.

“Afraid you
might get withdrawal symptoms?” she teased, but she headed for him with a huge smile on her face.

“Always, baby, always,” he said
as his lips connected with hers. Crystal and I both turned our heads away instinctively.

“You know, falling in love is so disgusting
when you’re watching it from the other side,” Crystal moaned, making us all laugh. I am sure she will soon have a very different opinion on that matter.

AIDEN’S POINT OF VIEW

I was still trying to wake up from last night when I walked into work this morning. I
was set for my usual ritual —getting coffee, locking myself in my office, and savoring ten minutes of silence — before fully waking up and facing the work day. However, this morning, I was surprised to find a clean desk, organized paperwork, a filled calendar, a to-do list, and a steaming cup of coffee all waiting for me. I could seriously get used to this. Hiring Leah as a temporary assistant was turning out to be ten times better than I originally thought. It seem stupid when Anthony first suggested it, like most of his ideas, but this is turning out to be one of his best to date.

“Hey, would it be
OK for me to take my lunch break now?” Leah asked, popping her head around my office door.

“Yeah, sure, in fact I’m pretty beat
, and could do with a break myself. I know a nice deli store not far from here, interested?”

“Sounds good to me,” she beamed.

“OK, give me five, and I’ll meet you at my car.”

Slipping my phone out of my pocket, I sent a message to April.

Looks like the boss is in a good mood today,
he is finally letting me have a break!

I smiled to myself as I walked out my office and toward the entrance of the building.

“Lisa, we’ll be back in about an hour,
OK?”

“No problem,” she replied with a smile on her face.

He must be in a good mood. Enjoy the break! X

As I looked down at the
message, it put an instant smile on my face. I got the sudden feeling I was being watching and looked up from my phone to see Leah staring at me with a smile on her face.

“Something’s put you in a good mood,” she said, gesturing toward my phone.

“Yep,” I chuckled.

“Girlfriend?”

“Fiancée,” I replied proudly.

“That’s really nice
. Have you been together long?”

“Eight years
, but we’ve practically known each other our entire lives.”

“That’s pretty romantic
, you know. It gives the rest of us hope,” she giggled.

“No boyfriend then?
”

“Nope, never really met anyone
who made me want to do the whole ‘forever’ thing,” she chuckled.

“Well, I’m sure you will.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

* * *

“When you said you knew a good deli, I didn’t know you meant this good!” Leah beamed from across the table.

“I know my stuff,” I said
, winking at her.

“You sure do.
What other secrets does this mall hide?”

“Many, but if I tell you
, I’ll have to kill you,” I whispered and we both began laughing.

All of s
udden, a stern voice interrupted us.

“So
, this is what you’re calling work these days?” Crystal said angrily as she and Jess stood with their arms folded, staring at Leah and me. It took me a minute to notice April standing behind them looking very hurt.

“I’m on lunch
. What are you guys doing here?” I asked feeling slightly interrogated.

“We are
dress
shopping,” Crystal scowled.

Ignoring Crystal’s bad attitude, I turned to Leah. “Leah, this is my sister, Crystal, her friend, Jess and this,” I said as I stood up and pulled April toward me, “is my beautiful fiancée,” I finished, kissing her gently on the side of her head.

“It’s nice to meet you guys,” Leah said, standing up.

Jess and Crystal
just stared at her. They could be so frustrating sometimes.

“It’s great to meet you
, too. Aiden has told me some great things about you,” April answered. I knew for some reason she felt uncomfortable, but even in the worst situation, she could conduct herself.

“That’s nice to hear,” Leah replied
, politely. “I hear you two are getting married.
Are you shopping for wedding dresses?”

“Yeah, well I’m being dragged from store to store if that’s the meaning of shopping,” April chuckled. I felt her physically relax against me.

“It’s a wedding dress! You have to be dragged from store to store to find the right one!” Jess teased.

“She has a point,” Leah giggled.

“I suppose,” April chuckled.

The only person not relaxed was Crystal
, and it was making me mad. She was always so quick to prejudge people without even knowing them, something that has always frustrated me about her.

“Do you three mind if I ju
st have a quick word with April?” I interjected.

They all
shook their heads. I dragged April around the corner where only a few shoppers were gathered.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

“It’s me you’re talking to here. Are you not comfortable with me going to lunch with Leah?”

“It’s not that. It’s just…Jess and Crystal think she likes you.”

“Wow, reliable sources
.”

“I’m being serious, Aiden.”

“And if she does?”

“What?”
she asked in frustration.

“OK
,” I said, now dragging her to the nearest restroom.

“You can’t come in here, Aiden
. It’s a ladies….” I cut her off.

“It’s never stopped me before,” I s
aid and pulled her inside. “Look,” I said, spinning her around to face the mirror, so she could see herself. “Look at how incredibly beautiful that woman right there is,” I said, pointing to her reflection.

I saw the slight hint of a smile forming on her face.

“What makes you think I would ever want anybody else when I have you? I don’t care if my crazy sister, your friend, and a thousand other people think she has a ‘crush’ on me. It changes nothing. You are, and will always be, the only one for me.” I kissed her neck gently before turning her around to face me. “Just us, OK? Stop listening to the world, April, when I have all the answers you want right here. There may be a thousand Leahs, but only one you,” I said, planting a soft kiss on her lips.

“You know, only you could be so sweet and so ridiculously
arrogant at the same time,” she chuckled. I acted surprised. “A thousand Leahs? You’re not that irresistible you know,” she said with a smile on her face.

“Did I ever mention that you blink when you lie?” I said
, trying to keep a straight face.

“Shut up,”
she said as she hit me softly on the arm. “I love you,” she whispered, then kissed me.

“
Good, because I love you, too, and only you,” I whispered against her lips.

“Well, now that Romeo and Juliet have confessed their
undying love for each other, can they get the hell out? I need to pee, and the last time I checked this was a ladies
only
area!” exclaimed a curly redhead young girl who stood there cross-legged.

“Caroline, you can’t stand in the way of true love!”

“Megan, I think you’ll find that my bladder doesn’t care about true love!” she said as she started to bounce up and down on her feet, causing an object to fall out of her pocket.

“Is that my darn lip gloss?”
the other girl wondered as she picked it up from the floor.

“Whoops!”
the redhead said guiltily before running into one of the stalls.

“Let’s get out of here,” I laughed
and pulled April toward the door. “So, are we good?”

“Always.”

“There you are. Are you ready, April?” asked Crystal who had her hands firmly planted on her hips.

“Yeah, I am now.”

“Good.”

“Where’s Leah?” I asked.

“What do I look like, a tracking device?” she grunted.

“Whatever. I’ll call you later, beautiful,” I said to April before kissing her and walking away.

“Hey,” Leah said as I walked back into the deli.

“Sorry about that
. Are you ready to go?”

“
Don’t worry, and yeah.”

“Good,” I huffed as I headed to my car. Crystal’s attitude always put me in a bad mood. Now I felt awkward around Leah because all I could think about was
whether she liked me. It had crossed my mind before, but I just ignored it. It made things feel very awkward. This was going to be one long day.

Chapter 7
: Monday, October 7
th
at 6:18pm

APRIL’S POINT OF VIEW

Clearing her throat, she handed me the book. “Read it. Out loud, and don’t stop until I tell you to.”

I took the book in silence, letting my eyes drift to the page she had opened.
Only it wasn’t just a book, it was a journal of secrets that I could never forget....

“
Today was Friday. I used to love Fridays. Fridays used to be my favorite day of the week. The best thing about a Friday was that Mommy was home. She didn’t work late on a Friday. She picked me up from school and tucked me in at night. This Friday was supposed to be even better because it was my birthday. Today, I was going to be nine. Mommy said that meant I was a big girl now, but I was already a big girl. Steve said I was all the time. He said that’s why he liked it when Mommy went out because now that I was a big girl he was going to teach me how to become a real woman. Steve’s games were super top secret. We couldn’t tell anybody. I didn’t like Steve’s games though because sometimes they hurt. Sometimes they were short games. Those ones weren’t too bad because then Steve took me for ice cream, and I got to pick a new toy. I didn’t get ice cream or a new toy if it was a long game...I hated those ones.

But
I don’t like Fridays anymore, and it’s all Mommy’s fault. She’s not supposed to work on Fridays or on my birthday. She isn’t even supposed to work late at night, but she says we need more money because we don’t have enough. Mommy went to work today. Steve said today’s game would be extra special because it was my birthday, and Mommy would be gone all night. But it was really bad because it hurt a lot, and then Jay Jay came home from his friend’s house early. Jay Jay was really mad with Steve. He was so mad that he took one of Mommy’s cooking knives and cut Steve with it. Jay Jay said I don’t have to play any more of Steve’s games now. He said we get to play a new game instead. When Mommy comes home, we get to pretend that a scary man came in and cut Steve and put him to sleep. I like this game because it doesn’t hurt. I’m really glad that Jay Jay made Steve go to sleep.”

Chapter 8
: Seven Days Earlier

APRIL’S POINT OF VIEW

“Hey, good first day back?” Aiden asked, walking into the living room.

“Noisy,” I chuckled
and turned down the volume on the TV.

“So
unds fun. I spoke to Leah today,” he started nervously.

“O
K.”

“About whether or not she
…you know…liked me.”

“Right, and?”

“And she quite politely told me that I wasn’t her type and that I was too old.” I started to laugh immediately.