The Unexpected Everything (48 page)

“It was okay,” Clark said. “I worked this afternoon, and then . . . um . . . got things ready for tonight.” He smiled at me, and I looked down at the table and wished, more than anything, that I was back in that same place with him.

“Neat,” I said, my voice coming out too high. “Awesome.”

“Andie.” Clark leaned across the table and took one of my hands in both of his. “If you're nervous about tonight, it's okay. And—”

“No,” I said, wishing I could shake this off once and for all.
It wasn't Clark's fault my day had gotten so totally derailed. “I'm not. I mean, a little bit. But it's not that.”

“Then what is it?”

I looked at him and realized that while I knew I didn't have to tell him about Bri and Wyatt, I wanted to. I didn't want to keep something that big from him. And maybe if I talked about it, the thoughts that had been swirling around in my head ever since I left Bri's house would settle down a little and I could enjoy what was supposed to be one of the most important nights of my life.

“Okay,” I said, letting out a breath. “But you can't tell anyone. All right?”

“Of course,” Clark said easily.

“I mean it,” I said, not breaking eye contact with him.

“Yes,” Clark said, his tone growing more serious, clearly picking up on how I was feeling. “What's going on?”

I took a breath and started to tell him. By the time I was through, our chips had finally arrived, but neither one of us had touched them yet.

“Jeez,” Clark said when I'd finished, letting out a low whistle.

I winced. “I know.”

“This . . . I mean, this can't end well, right?”

“Well,” I said, letting go of his hands, “I mean . . . Bri and Wyatt have been keeping it together all summer. So if they can get through this until he goes back to school, they'll be fine. That's what I told her to do, actually.”

“Wait, what?”

“It just makes sense,” I said, breaking a chip in half, not even because I really wanted it, but because I wanted to have something to do with my hands.

“Why were you telling her to do anything?” Clark asked, sounding mostly baffled.

“Because it was going to wreck everything,” I said, hearing myself get defensive, “and it was the logical thing to do.”

Clark just looked at me. “So is Bri just going to keep this secret from Toby forever? Are you?”

“Do you really think they're going to be able to make a long-distance thing work?” I asked, knowing full well that I wasn't just talking about Bri and Wyatt. “Especially since they haven't even talked about it?”

The sentence seemed to hang between us for a second, and I pressed my nails into my palms, not even sure what I wanted him to say.

“Yeah,” he finally replied. He cleared his throat and looked down at the table. “That's . . . I mean, I guess it's a complicated situation.”

I nodded, trying not to let the disappointment I was feeling show on my face. What had I wanted Clark to say? That we were different, that we'd find a way to make it work? That he'd at least thought about this, like I had?

I took a long drink of my soda, wishing more than anything that we'd just left when I'd wanted to in the parking lot. It suddenly felt like Clark was getting farther away from me across the table, like there was a gulf between us, even though he hadn't actually moved. “Well,” I said, giving him a tight smile, “it was the only thing to be done. If you'd been there, you would have understood.”

“Okay,” Clark said, and silence fell between us once again. I looked across the table at him and tried to imagine the rest of the night playing out. Suddenly, all our plans, all Clark's
preparation, my fancy underwear . . . none of it felt right anymore. This wasn't how I wanted the night to kick off. I couldn't even imagine recapping this in the diner in the morning, that we had been awkward and sniping at each other over dinner, not saying what we really meant. None of it was going the way I'd wanted it to. And it wasn't fair to do this to Clark, since he had just been yanked into this. “Clark,” I said, swallowing hard. “About tonight. I think maybe it's not the best night for it.”

I looked up at him, and he nodded. “Yeah,” he said, and while I could hear disappointment in his voice, he didn't sound surprised. “I think maybe another night would be better.”

“But soon,” I said.

“Yes, absolutely soon,” he said immediately, and I laughed. Our food arrived, and when Clark started eating his burrito, the kitchen staff gathering to watch again, I sent a text to my friends, telling them that our plans had changed, there was no need for waffles, and I'd talk to them tomorrow.

By the time we were done with dinner, things were feeling better. Not like the evening could still be salvaged, but somewhat back to normal. We were feeling like us again, at least.

“But I am worried about you,” Clark said, once the plates were cleared. He reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “How are you doing with all of this?”

For a moment I thought about telling him how I was really feeling—like things were spinning out of my control and all I knew to do was to hold on as hard as I could, and try to keep everything together. But the moment passed, and I just gave him a smile, even though I was pretty sure he would see through it. “Of course,” I said. “I'm fine.”

ME

Hey! Running a few late to pick up Bert. Be there soon.

CLARK

That's fine!

Whenever.

Um.

ME

What?

CLARK

So I have to tell you something

ME

What is it?

CLARK

I told Tom

About Bri and Wyatt

ME

What?!

Clark!!

CLARK

You were acting so strange about the whole thing

Not like yourself at all and I didn't know if you were okay.

I just wanted his take on it.

But it's okay. He promised not to tell

ME

You really think he's going to be

able to keep this from Palmer?

CLARK

Maybe?

ME

I don't.

Wait, hold on, he just texted

TOM

Andie! What the hell?!

ME

I know

TOM

I mean . . .

ME

I know

TOM

You know I have to tell Palmer

ME

NO

Tom, seriously, you cannot

CLARK

What's he saying?

ME

Oh, just that he has to tell Palmer

CLARK

But he promised he wouldn't!

ME

He hasn't yet, but it seems likely

CLARK

I'll talk to him

TOM

Hello?

ME

Sorry. Clark's mad at you

TOM

What did I do? I didn't even want to know

any of this. And now I'm keeping secrets from my

girlfriend?

ME

How do you think I feel?

You can't tell her. Tom, SERIOUSLY

It's bad enough you and Clark know

TOM

What's that supposed to mean?

PALMER

Hey. What's going on?

ME

Nothing. Why?

What do you mean?

PALMER

What?

ME

Did you talk to Tom?

PALMER

About what?

ME

Nothing. Just . . . checking.

PALMER

Want to see a movie later?

ME

Maybe! Can I let you know?

CLARK

Okay, now Tom's mad at me

ME

But is he going to keep it secret?

CLARK

He says he can

ME

He also said he could do a British accent

You didn't have to sit through the production of

My Fair Lady
like the rest of us

TOBY

ME

Hi! What's going on?

Anything happening?

Anything you want to share?

TOBY

ME

You're bored at work?

TOBY

ME

That's great

Toby

ME

No, I just meant that it's good it's

not something more serious, that's all

PALMER

Movie? Bri thinks she can get us in free

And that it's not just a ploy to get us

to hang out with her this time

ME

Want me to see if Clark can come?

PALMER

Idk, I was thinking maybe just us

I feel like I haven't seen Bri lately

ME

She's probably just busy

With her job

CLARK

Tom might be mad at you now

ME

I know that

CLARK

No about something else

(sorry)

TOM

Oh, so now I can't act, either??

You said you LIKED my Henry Higgins

ME

I did!

TOM

SURE.

ME

CLARK!

CLARK

I'm sorry! I needed an example

ME

Stop telling Tom everything!

PALMER

Movie?

ME

Sure. Fine. Sounds good

And let's not ask the guys

I'm currently mad at Clark

PALMER

What'd he do?

ME

Nothing

He just

PALMER

What??

ME

He won't tell me what his new book is about

PALMER

I'll get Tom to find out—I bet he can

ME

I'm beginning to agree with you

TOBY