CHANGING THE GAME
"Manuel. I need you to make me beautiful."
It was Saturday. The week was over, the weekend was upon her, and Juliet tried her hardest to block out all the work-related things she knew she shouldn't put off until Monday. She took a deep breath as she sat in Manuel's chair and she smiled into the mirror, realizing that she hadn't quite kept him up to speed on her current relationship status.
She smiled to herself as Manuel gathered his supplies. The night before, Eric had stayed over at Juliet's and left early that morning so that she could run her errands. He didn't have any extra clothes with him so he walked around her apartment with his shirt unbuttoned and hanging open and it drove her absolutely crazy to the point where dessert consisted of her mauling him and riding him right into the carpet on her living room floor. Afterward, they'd laid up in her bed, cuddling and kissing and whispering sweet nothings to each other to an extent that would make the most avid Lifetime watcher want to vomit. And then she'd fallen asleep in his arms and woken up next to him with a smile on her face.
Manuel had apparently caught Juliet in her reverie as he stopped short behind her in the mirror and nearly dropped the bottles he carried in his hands. "Sweetie, are you finally off your rocker?"
She shook her head. "No. It's finally happened."
His eyes widened and she could see the shortness in his breath. "What happened?"
"I met someone."
"Well...you meet a lot of someones..." He replied warily, carefully depositing the projects onto the counter in front of her.
"Yes, but this one...he's special."
"Jules, sweetheart, my heart can't handle this. Just spill it, okay?"
"His name is Eric. He's twenty-seven--"
"Ooh," Manuel sounded, his eyes lighting up as he began to run his hands through her hair. "A younger man. Now you have my attention."
"He is younger," Juliet giggled. "But it's easy to forget sometimes. He has blonde hair and blue eyes and he can throw me around a bed like I don't weigh a pound."
"Oh, please, tell me more, tell me more!"
"He's right at, maybe six one? And he's built--"
"Like an athletic build or body builder build?"
"Um...I'd say athletic right now, but he works out regularly and I dare say he's put on a little bit in the short time we've known each other."
"He sounds delicious," he replied excitedly.
"Oh, he is," she agreed. "But most importantly, he's good. He's good and he's kind and he's intelligent and he's successful--he's a CEO."
"So, basically, he's the male version of you."
"No. Not even close, trust me. I think that's why we work."
"Wow," he sighed as he began mixing dyes for her hair. "I never thought I'd see the day. Juliet Carson, settling down. This one must be something very special."
"The way he makes me feel is unlike anything anyone's ever made me feel before. The moment I looked into his eyes, it was instantaneous."
"I'm so happy for you," Manuel smiled. "I truly am."
"I'm meeting his family tonight."
Manuel dropped the mixer and clutched his heart. "Call nine-one-one. Tell them to send the hottest paramedics they have because I think this diva is about to drop dead of a heart attack. Did you say you're meeting his family?"
"Well, just his other brother and his sister-in-law. His company is family-owned so I've already met his twin and his father and his uncle."
"He has a twin?! Is he gay? Does he want to be gay? I'm single and ready to mingle, you know."
Juliet laughed and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but Beth's already beat you to the punch."
"You mean that long-haired boy toy beach bum she's hanging around with lately?"
"You've met him?"
"She showed me pictures of him last time she was here. That's the craziest thing I've ever heard, he doesn't even look like your type!"
"Well, Eric doesn't look like that. I mean, he does, they're identical twins. But they're as different as night and day. Eric wears his hair very short and he's a little more conservative--more business-minded. Travis is more like a free spirit."
"Let me just--let me just get this hair of yours done before you kill me. There's only so much I can take in one sitting, you know."
Juliet bit her lip and she grinned as Manuel busied himself with her hair. It felt nice to be sitting in his chair, out from underneath his watchful eye. Manuel had always meant the best every time he scolded her for her dating habits, but today he didn't have to. Today, she could freely sit in the chair and enjoy her visit. It felt so good to be free.
*****************
Juliet was alone that evening. She knew her day would be extensive, what with her workout and her nails and waxing and hair...so she couldn't ask Eric to wait around on her when she knew she would be late for his get-together. She couldn't take up his family time like that. And Beth would be showing up with Travis, so there was no getting ready together or meeting up beforehand, either. Juliet was on her own.
Manuel had run a flat iron through her thick hair that day, softly curling a few strands back away from her face. She knew the curls would never stay, but she loved running her fingers through the silkiness of it, anyway, so she wasn't worried about whether they stayed or disappeared. She never had the patience to straighten it on her own so she always threw some product in it in the mornings and let it go. Letting Manuel straighten it was a rare treat.
She stood there with her closet door open, stressing herself over what to wear. Eric had said it was going to be casual and that she could wear jeans--but did she really want to wear jeans to dinner to meet his family? She let her mind wander for a moment to the various ensembles she'd seen Eric and Travis in, reminded herself what she'd witnessed Eric wearing to work, and decided to go for broke. Sure, why not? Jeans would be more comfortable anyway, right? And he'd like anything she wore and at least she wouldn't freeze. That was logical, wasn't it? That was a good reason to wear jeans to dinner--right?
Taking a deep breath, she'd finally chosen a pair of gray skinny jeans, black stiletto ankle boots, and a white, long-sleeved tee shirt with a black scarf wrapped around her neck. Her gray pea coat would keep her warm during her brisk walk between cabs and she flipped her hair off of her shoulder one last time in the mirror before she took a deep breath and collected her purse. At this point, she was sure she was more concerned for her wardrobe than her destination.
In a cab, headed for Michaelson's Bar and Grille, she'd texted Eric to let him know she was on her way. She never got a reply, but she chose not to let that bother her. He deserved to spend time with his family, uninterrupted. Family was important. It was something Juliet never had and something she knew shouldn't be taken for granted. She couldn't help the sinking of her heart, however, when his reply never came.
Pulling up by the curb in front of the restaurant, the chilly evening air hit her in the face as she opened up the door and stepped out onto the concrete. She paid the driver and she stood and faced the restaurant, adjusting her scarf and ignoring the knot at the pit of her stomach that came accompanied with nervous chills of excitement. It was a bizarre feeling and she now wished she'd had a glass of wine before she came out.
Finally, Juliet took a deep breath and opened the door to the restaurant. She had barely made it over the threshold and mere feet away from the host's podium when her eyes did a once-over of the rustic-themed establishment and landed directly on Eric--and a gorgeous blonde supermodel.
She felt the panic attack coming on fast as her heart sank down into her stomach and she lost the ability--and the will--to breathe. They stood in a small semi-circle, four or five of them, and Eric's arm was hooked casually around the model's neck as his face lit up with laughter while engaged in an apparent rousing conversation with the man across from them.
So this was what she was walking in on, then. One big, happy, beautiful family--and what the inevitable future demise of her relationship with Eric looked like after he'd moved on to the true love of his life when he finally opened his eyes and realized that Juliet wasn't good enough for him. His face read happiness. True, genuine joy and love and it was a face she had never seen before--and knew she never would.
In that moment, that one swift, fleeting moment, Juliet realized that she didn't belong in his world. That she was the serpent, just like her dream had said, that did nothing but taint him and his good name. His family would never accept her because they would take one look at her and they would know--they would know that the only thing she was good for was breaking Eric's heart.
She had tried. She'd tried so hard and, at one point, thought she had finally succeeded. But now her chest closed up as she stood there and faced her reality in the flesh--her place in life was alone. And Eric's place was happy. And those were two worlds that could never co-exist.
She turned on her heel to leave before being seen by anyone, but it was too late. Eric's voice rang out loudly through the restaurant, laden with much more excitement than she deserved to be addressed with. "Juliet! Jules, babe, come here!"
She shouldn't have stopped and turned around. She should have pretended she didn't hear him. But her name on his lips caressed her ears every single time and she could never resist. The smile on his face broke her heart, as undeserving as she knew she was of the joy that radiated from it, and she heard an inaudible, "I'm sorry," creep from her lips as she turned and headed briskly for the door.
But not briskly enough.
"Jules!" His voice came closer, rich with concern, and she fought the urge to stop. "Baby, where are you going?"
And then he caught her elbow and it was over. She had no choice but to face him.
And his face--the picture of hurt and confusion and betrayal and everything else Juliet was made of. He didn't deserve this. "Juliet, wait. Come on. Don't leave."
She looked into his eyes, beautiful and blue and full of pain, and she had nothing left. She cared too much about him to let his world deteriorate at her expense, but he would never understand that. So she did the only thing she knew how to do--she put up her defenses and deflected her own pain. "I shouldn't have come here."
"She's my sister-in-law, Jules," he pleaded.
"Call her whatever makes it work for you," she spat. "I hope she makes you happy."
"She's my brother's wife! Will you just listen to me? I'll introduce you to her, my brother, too--"
She raised her chin in defiance, stalling the tears that threatened her. "No. That's won't be necessary. I can't stay, anyway--"
"That's not true," he replied, shaking his head. "You came here because I invited you--and you accepted because you wanted to be here, by my side. What changed? Why are you trying to run all of a sudden? You are safe here. You're safe with me. And--and these games are getting old, Jules. Honestly. I know you feel something for me, you haven't been making the effort to hide it. I know you're in this just like I am. Why don't you just say it? Tell me you're in this...for me?"
"I have nothing to say except--"
"No. Say it."
"From now on, Beth will be handling all the plans for the building. All business will be dealt with through her. I have too much going on right now, I can't handle it--"
"You mean you can't handle me."
"Have a nice evening."
And with that, she turned and she walked away.
Behind her, Eric was still pleading with her as the tears began to silently stream down her face. "Jules! Juliet! You can't run away from this, it isn't gonna go away! Come on!"
Juliet didn't look back. She couldn't look back. And Eric didn't follow her. She gasped for breath through her tears as the wind bit her face. In time he would understand. He would have to.
_______________________________________
Travis was much too excited to introduce Beth to his brother and his sister-in-law. Beth was a catch and he was lucky as hell to have her and he knew it. She was gorgeous, she was smart, she was successful--and she was willing to take a chance on a construction bum such as himself. Andy would love her but, most importantly, Caroline would love her. Caroline and Beth would have so much in common, Travis knew Beth would mold right on in with the rest of his family.
Ironically, this was the first time Travis had ever actually brought a girl home. Eric had always been the romantic, with the steady girl or two in college and then his ex fiancée. He'd always been the one to wear his heart on his sleeve and to put everything he had into a relationship, but not Travis. Travis never brought his girlfriends home because none of them had been serious. But Beth Knight? She was serious. It took him twenty-seven years to get serious about someone but once he finally did, he went for broke. He couldn't have been more proud.
When they walked into Michaelson's, they'd been a little late due to a wardrobe crisis on Beth's part. The poor thing had been incredibly nervous until he began texting back and forth with Caroline and reading the conversation aloud to Beth. This seemed to ease her nerves a little and she ended up in a spectacular white, long-sleeved dress that he couldn't wait to peel off of her later. She had gotten her hair cut recently and her brand new brow-length bangs were probably the sexiest thing he had ever seen on her. They were cute and they were casual and when she pulled her hair up in a ponytail and changed into workout clothes, she didn't wear them for long. He couldn't resist her. He just couldn't.
Now she walked hand-in-hand inside the restaurant with him, her gray, strappy stilettos clicking against the hard wood and he grinned when he saw his brother and sister-in-law and a couple of cousins that he wasn't expecting. The smiles returned to him and the reunion was jolly, wasting no time with the introductions.
As predicted, Beth and Caroline hit it off almost immediately, which quickly prompted Travis to attempt to guilt Andy into moving back home and, when that proved futile, he finally realized that Eric was nowhere to be found. Looking around, he finally asked, "Hey. Is Eric not here, yet?"
Suddenly, the group grew silent and you could cut the tension with a knife. As Caroline and Andy glanced at each other, Travis's suspicious glare got the best of him. "He's at the bar..." Caroline revealed carefully. "There was, um, an incident...of sorts..."
As if he'd heard his own name, Eric seemed to materialize in front of Travis, between Caroline and Beth, a hand shoved in his pocket and a beer bottle glued to his lips. As Travis looked his brother over, Beth's eyes darted around. "Where's, um, where's Juliet?"
"Gone," Eric announced, probably a little louder than he'd intended. Or maybe he had intended it, Travis had no way of knowing.
"Gone?" Beth repeated.
"She dumped me. Right here in front of my family and God and everybody."
Travis thought Beth might die of shock. "What?"
Eric threw Beth a look of contempt. "I don't know why the hell you're so surprised. I mean, it's what she does best, right?"
"Eric!" Beth scolded.
"Bro," Travis tried to reason gently. "How many have you had?"
"This is my first one. I am stone fucking cold sober right now. My head's on straight and my mind is clear as it's ever been."
Travis let out a breath and glanced around the circle that had tightened around him. "What happened?"
"Shit, everybody here can tell you. She ran. She walked in and then she turned around and she ran. And tried to feed me bullshit in the process. It's just--it's just too much, dude. I can't handle this, if she doesn't want me, fine. Clearly, I was the only one in that relationship, but then what else is new, right?"
"Eric," Beth said softly. "You know that's not true. Where did--where did she go?"
"You think she was going to tell me?" He spat. "I don't know where the fuck she went and I don't care."
"You didn't--you didn't go after her?"
"No! That's what she fucking wants, don't you get it? No, I didn't chase her. My family is here, family I haven't seen in nearly a year. I'm not going to take time away from my family just because she wants to jerk me around again. No. I'm tired of chasing her. If she wanted me--if she truly wanted me--she'd be here right now. Am I right or am I right? It can't always be about her, all the time."
"Eric," Caroline interjected, careful with the eggshells she was walking on. "I understand you're upset. But given the situation, don't you think you're over-reacting just a little--?"
"What situation? You heard her, didn't you--?"
Caroline glanced around at the group before she continued. "I think...I think when she walked in she may have gotten the wrong idea..." She looked around helplessly and addressed Travis and Beth. "Eric's arm was around me for, like, two seconds and that was when she walked in..."
"Oh, Eric," Beth said in disappointment as realization drained the blood in Eric's face. "You know how fragile she is!"
"What--what the fuck are you--? She was explicitly clear that she didn't want to see me again, I'm pretty sure she was using...you know, all of this as an excuse," he sputtered.
"You know better than that, Eric, she adores you," Beth spat suddenly, a tone that was completely out of character for her. "You are the greatest thing that ever happened to her and you know it and now you've let her walk out there, in the dark, alone and upset--"
"What about me?" Eric nearly screeched. "She didn't give two shits about how dark it was outside when she was busy throwing me to the fucking wolves and humiliating the shit out of me, did she? No. Like I said, I'm fucking done, dude. All I've done is chase that woman since the day we met and I'm fucking exhausted. I'm fucking done. When the hell is someone finally going to chase me? Must be nice to be on the receiving end of someone else's agony."
"Don't you dare say another word about whose agony is whose," Beth threatened through her teeth. "I'm calling her. Right now."
"You do that," Eric shot back. "What's it gonna do? Her mind's made up already."
The tension among the group was miles thick and it would have taken more than a mere knife to cut it. While Beth stepped away for a moment or two to use her phone, Eric chugged his beer, draining it at the same time. He was shaking his empty bottle as Beth walked back up. "She's okay, she's with Jason."
"Who the fuck is Jason?" Eric spat in a tone that was damn near sinister enough to startle Travis.
"He's a friend of ours," she replied nonchalantly. "He's an old friend, the three of us go way back." Then her eyes shot into Eric's. "But it's not like that, though, so don't even think about it."
Eric was seething and Travis could feel it. His face turned red and his nostrils flared, but instead of bursting into a rage like Travis knew he wanted to, he simply smiled and shook his head. "You know, I don't even care. I don't. I've wasted enough time on this tonight already. Fuck it." Then he looked at their older brother and nodded behind him. "You wanna go shoot some pool? Let's go shoot some pool."
As Travis and Beth and Caroline watched Eric and Andy walk away, the three of them glanced at each other and Caroline's face fell. "Is he going to be okay?" She asked.
Travis sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I wish I knew. She, uh, I think she was the one."
Caroline looked at him, puzzled. "But--but Samantha--"
"No," Travis shook his head. "No, this one--she was it. It's been...complicated, I don't know. This one's a tough one to crack and it looks like this time was finally the straw that broke the camel's back. I don't really know what to think right now."
Then he looked over at Beth and she shook her head. "Juliet's my best friend in the entire world. She's so smitten with Eric, he's the first man she's ever cared about in...well, he actually is the first man she's ever cared about. To hear her tell it, things were great. They were inseparable, she was happy, she never missed a chance to dote on him every time we talked. I don't--I couldn't imagine what in the world could have changed all of a sudden. Anyway, I apologize on her behalf for anything that--"
"Don't apologize," Caroline smiled. "I can't fault her for anything and I can't fault Eric, either, as much as he showed his rear end tonight. Sometimes things just...erupt at the wrong place at the wrong time. And sometimes they affect people in different ways. Whatever happened tonight, I hope they find a way to work it out for both their sakes."
______________________________________
Jason was thrilled that Noah was finally over his illness. What wasn't so thrilling, however, was the sudden onslaught of his appetite. Since his throat wasn't hurting him anymore, the kid ate everything that wasn't nailed down. Jason didn't have the heart to tell him no, especially since he had been so pitiful for the last week, and this was how Jason ended up paying the girl across the hall to keep the kid out of trouble while he walked several streets over to the only Chinese place in Manhattan that didn't deliver. But it was Noah's favorite Chinese joint and Jason loved Noah--mostly.
What caught him completely off guard was walking out of the restaurant with his takeout and literally bumping into of the dark-haired beauty with the distressed expression--who turned out to be Juliet. His heart skipped a beat, surprised to see her, and a smile immediately formed across his lips. "Juliet. Hey! You know, we gotta stop meeting like this. This is pretty much an omen that we need to have dinner together." As she forced a smile, he studied her for a second. "So what, uh, what are you doing out here? It's Saturday night, shouldn't you be out with...you know, the guy?"
She fidgeted with her hands, then adjusted her purse on her shoulder and hugged her coat closer to her as her eyes darted around shamefully. "Uh, yeah...that, um, that didn't work out..."
"I'm sorry to hear that," he replied, filling his tone with as much sympathy as he could muster.
"It's okay..."
"So, what, did he stand you up or something? Turn out to be a slime ball?"
"Just the opposite," she winced, her expression falling. "He's perfect. He's, um, he's too perfect, he's--it's me. I, um...we're not...I'm not for him. You know?"
Jason raised an eyebrow. "He say that to you?"
"No," she replied softly. "I said that to him. In, um...probably not the most graceful of ways."
"So...you sabotaged your own relationship..."
"I had to. I just...had to."
Jason eyes darted around the city and he suddenly remembered the food in the bag that dangled from his hand. "Look. Noah's over his crud. How do you feel about a night of General Tso's and board games? That's, uh, that's usually what my rousing Saturday nights consist of nowadays."
Uncertainty flashed in her eyes and she shook her head. "I'm on my way home. I--I couldn't impose, you two probably need--"
"A breath of fresh air," he smirked. "Desperately. Besides, it sounds like you could use the distraction. There's more than enough here and, if I remember correctly, you could never say no to Chinese."
She glanced at the bag in his hand and then back up at him, biting down on her lip. "I still can't..."
He smiled again. "So, come on. What do you say? There's plenty here."
"What, uh, what are we playing?" She asked as she nonchalantly fell into step with him and they started to walk.
"Scrabble," he replied.
"Oh," she sang out. "Scrabble, huh? Kinda fancy for a seven-year-old, isn't it?"
"He's been begging me to teach him to play just because he likes to say Scrabble," he replied, matter-of-factly. "Truth is, I'm using this as a spelling lesson, but he doesn't have to know that. Only four, five, and six letter words tonight. If I'm feeling froggy, though, I might allow you to throw down a whopping seven letters, we'll see."
Juliet giggled and it made him smile. He hated that the thing with the guy didn't work out for her, but he was sure glad that he was in the right place at the right time to soften the blow. That's what he'd always been there for, though. To break her fall whenever she found herself in danger.
As they walked, her cell phone rang and he was surprised that she answered it. It didn't take him long to deduce that Beth was on the other end and had the situation been different, he would have shown his true colors and jerked the phone out of her hand to have a little fun at Beth's expense. Instead, he shamelessly eavesdropped as she nervously tucked her hair behind her ear and said quietly into the phone, "No, I just--he didn't--I mean, he didn't do anything, it's me, it's...I don't really feel like talking about it right now...No, I'm fine. I'm with Jason, I bumped into him on the street...Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Is he--? I'm so sorry, Beth, I--I know, it's just--it's too much too fast, you know? I know...I know...Okay....Okay....I love you, too....Okay, bye."
Besides Juliet's brief phone conversation, the walk back to his place held very little conversation. The silence was deafening and he glanced at her frequently, only to catch her uncomfortable expression under the street lights. She was miles away and each time he opened his mouth it nearly startled her back to reality.
He didn't live in the most impressive of buildings and he let her know it as they walked in and headed for the elevator. "It's small," he said to her. "And probably a mess. I feel so bad for Clara on Mondays when she comes in and sees the tornado we leave behind from the weekend. But what can you expect out of an old bachelor with a hyper kid, huh?"
She cut a her eyes at him and pursed her lips, scolding him as they stepped off the elevator. "You're not old."
He dug his keys out of his pocket and they jingled as he worked them into the locks. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he muttered, swinging the door open.
"CHINESE IS HERE!" The small boy's voice rang out at the top of his lungs. Immediately, he hopped up on the couch and bounced up and down on it, repeating, "Chinese! Chinese! Chinese!" with excitement.
Jason was immediately humiliated by his uncivilized cave boy.
"Get your feet off the couch!" Jason bellowed.
Suddenly, the boy's eyes widened and his backside bounced softly on the cushions.
Setting the food down on the island, he thanked the babysitter and she wasted no time jetting out the door. He figured that would be the case, since she'd harped and harped about her boyfriend picking her up for a date the moment he'd called her.
"Well, here we are," he motioned to Juliet at his small, open floor apartment. "Home sweet home. Here we have the grand tour. You stand in the kitchen, with all the state of the art appliances circa ten years ago or so, ahead of you is the parlor where we take our tea, and over there by the window is my work desk slash breakfast nook...a cozy setting for two. We usually just sit on stools in here at the island, though, and eat with our hands like barbarians."
Juliet giggled once more and Noah's voice rang out as he circled the couch and crossed the floor into the kitchen. "That's not the parlor, Dad! And we don't drink tea!"
Grinning, Jason bent over and scooped his son off the floor and introduced him to Juliet. "Son, I want you to meet my very good friend, Juliet. Juliet, this is my spawn, Noah."
"Hubba hubba!" Noah replied, his eyes wide.
Juliet's jaw dropped and her face turned crimson and Jason wanted to crawl into a hole and die. "Noah," he scolded quietly, fighting to keep a straight face. "We don't say things like that, it's disrespectful."
"But you said that's what we're supposed to say when we see a pretty lady."
He suppressed a grin and straightened his son's shirt. "That's a secret code between us men. The ladies aren't supposed to hear it."
By then, Juliet was giggling and she nodded toward the child in his arms. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Noah. You're very handsome, yourself."
"I lost a tooth!" He announced proudly, cheesing wide enough for the entire world to see.
"Congratulations, that's very impressive!"
"Dad says I'm getting a hundred bucks off of it!"
Jason sat the boy back down on his feet and looked after him sternly as he crawled up onto a bar stool. "Hey, shave a couple zeros off of that, will ya?"
Turning back to Juliet, he smiled at her sheepishly. "Look, I'm sorry about that. Kids, you know?"
"It's fine," she smiled. "I found it adorable, actually."
"Well, you know he gets it from his old man, don't you?"
She scowled at him playfully. "When are we eating, I'm starving."
For the next several minutes, daddy duties prevailed as he got Noah prepped for his dinner. "We have milk, juice, and water," Jason told Juliet in passing. "We don't drink sodas or tea or any other mixes. Help yourself, glasses are in the cabinet left of the sink. Good luck in that fridge."
"I want juice!" Noah announced.
"You're getting milk. Pretend it's juice."
Jason wished he was better company at dinner, but Noah took up so much attention, even at seven years old. He struggled with his chopsticks and Jason had to stop every few bites to reach over and help him readjust.
Juliet had been quiet for the majority of the time before she laid her own chopsticks down and said, "You know what? I think a fork might be easier for me, what do you think?"
He understood where she was coming from, as he'd watched Noah watch Juliet the entire time and try to mimic her actions with the wooden utensils, but he looked over at her as he helped Noah readjust once more and informed her, "You go ahead if you need to. Noah's using chopsticks. That's the deal. He wants Chinese, he uses chopsticks. They're part of his Hawaiian culture and he'll learn to respect them. Chinese food is a prime opportunity to get some practice in. Right, son?"
"I can use chopsticks," Noah said, matter-of-factly. "Sometimes I need help, though, because I forget."
Once Jason had finished with Noah once more, he went back to his own plate, shoveling a few bites in and stealing a glance over at Juliet who, surprisingly, had an admiring smile on her face. "What?" He asked with a cheek full of rice.
"Everything you do with him is a lesson," she reveled quietly. "The game, the chopsticks...do you work a lesson into most activities?"
"I try to," he replied. "I want him to be well-rounded. Kids' minds are like sponges, especially at this age. I want him to learn everything he can possibly learn, even when he doesn't know he's learning it. He only gets things that rot his mind and his teeth in strict moderation. A guy's still gotta have a vice, you know."
"Wow," she whispered in awe. "That's--that's amazing. It really is. There are--there are people out there who...don't really care that much about their children's well-being...you know, to that extent."
"He's all I have," Jason replied. "And I made him, my name's on him. And I'm certainly not going to let something I put my name on grow up to be a cultureless heathen. Isn't that right, son?"
"What?" Noah asked cluelessly.
Jason and Juliet chuckled and Jason shook his head.
Scrabble was...interesting, to put it mildly. Jason couldn't decide if Juliet was actively trying to let Noah win or if she was genuinely drawing blanks. He supposed he couldn't blame her, considering the night she had apparently had before he'd bumped into her. But she grew flustered each time Jason had to reach over and turn a cube around and then inform her she couldn't use the letter. His hands were on her cubes about as much as they were on Noah's.
She seemed relieved when they'd finally tired of the game and he'd managed to convince her to stick around for dessert and a movie. While Noah happily camped out in the floor with a bowl of sugar-free frozen yogurt, Jason and Juliet huddled on the couch together and conducted their conversation in whispers.
Juliet had voluntarily sabotaged whatever it was she'd had budding with her main squeeze. Given her apparent history with men, especially since Jason had been gone, letting herself get this wrapped up in one of them was apparently quite a big deal. "I just--I walked in and I took one look at him and his family and I...I couldn't do it. I don't belong there, Jason. And he doesn't...he doesn't deserve to waste his time on someone who's, you know, not all there. You know?"
"Truthfully, I don't know," he replied. "But don't you think it's slightly unfair to be feeding the guy what he deserves instead of letting him decide on his own?"
"That's just it. He thinks he knows what he's getting into, but he really doesn't. He doesn't--"
"What is he getting into, Jules? Why do you keep painting yourself as some mean, horrible monster? Because you're not, that's not who you are. I know who you are, don't you forget." He pointed to the floor at Noah. "And if the kid, down there, likes you, you can't be all that bad."
"We come from different worlds, he and I. It was easy to fall into step with him and be with him day after day when all we were doing was sleeping in each other's beds every night. It was like, when I walked in there, shit got real. Really real. And I'm not ready for this and he's not ready for this and I never wanted to hurt him, but I didn't know what else to do. I've never...you know, been in that situation before."
Jason sighed and ran a hand through his short, dark hair. "Jules, you know what I think? You are a good, sweet, phenomenal person. You really are. But to be honest, you've made some shit decisions through the years. And I think that making a shit decision that counters one of the good decisions you've managed to make is kinda...stupid. It sounds like you may have jumped the gun a little bit here. Maybe...maybe you had a moment and you reacted to it. Maybe the two of you just need to sit down, talk this out--"
"I know where it's going to go. It'll go the same place it always does, he just--he doesn't understand--"
"How do you know he doesn't understand? And, further more, have you made the effort to help him understand?"
The conversation seemed to fizzle from there. He hoped he hadn't upset her and it unnerved him a little bit to have to sit there and give her relationship advice and more or less take up for the mystery guy, especially when Jason had his own eye on her--but he couldn't fight her anymore. She'd made it abundantly clear that they would never be more than friends and he didn't have much choice but to accept it. What he didn't have to accept, however, was the way the bowl of chocolate frozen yogurt was kicked over onto the white carpet as Noah got up to race to the bathroom. Letting out an exhausted sigh, Jason disrupted his rare, adult conversation in order to scrub up the kid's mess before it stained.
Several minutes later, he returned to the couch to find Juliet stretched out on the other end of it, her eyes closed as she lay on her cheek, facing the screen. Half an hour or so more, before the movie had ended, Noah was passed out in the middle of the floor. So that was it, he supposed. Another riveting Saturday night coming to a close before ten o'clock. Turning off the movie, he scooped his son up into his arms and carried him to bed and then he returned to throw a blanket over Juliet. He didn't have the heart to wake her and he ventured to guess that she probably needed the rest.
And, so, he adjourned to his own bedroom--alone. The sex goddess that he had wanted since the day he met her lay asleep under his roof--and he was still going to bed alone. Didn't that beat all? Whoever her guy in question was, was a lucky guy. The poor sap must be miserable right now.
"Manuel. I need you to make me beautiful."
It was Saturday. The week was over, the weekend was upon her, and Juliet tried her hardest to block out all the work-related things she knew she shouldn't put off until Monday. She took a deep breath as she sat in Manuel's chair and she smiled into the mirror, realizing that she hadn't quite kept him up to speed on her current relationship status.
She smiled to herself as Manuel gathered his supplies. The night before, Eric had stayed over at Juliet's and left early that morning so that she could run her errands. He didn't have any extra clothes with him so he walked around her apartment with his shirt unbuttoned and hanging open and it drove her absolutely crazy to the point where dessert consisted of her mauling him and riding him right into the carpet on her living room floor. Afterward, they'd laid up in her bed, cuddling and kissing and whispering sweet nothings to each other to an extent that would make the most avid Lifetime watcher want to vomit. And then she'd fallen asleep in his arms and woken up next to him with a smile on her face.
Manuel had apparently caught Juliet in her reverie as he stopped short behind her in the mirror and nearly dropped the bottles he carried in his hands. "Sweetie, are you finally off your rocker?"
She shook her head. "No. It's finally happened."
His eyes widened and she could see the shortness in his breath. "What happened?"
"I met someone."
"Well...you meet a lot of someones..." He replied warily, carefully depositing the projects onto the counter in front of her.
"Yes, but this one...he's special."
"Jules, sweetheart, my heart can't handle this. Just spill it, okay?"
"His name is Eric. He's twenty-seven--"
"Ooh," Manuel sounded, his eyes lighting up as he began to run his hands through her hair. "A younger man. Now you have my attention."
"He is younger," Juliet giggled. "But it's easy to forget sometimes. He has blonde hair and blue eyes and he can throw me around a bed like I don't weigh a pound."
"Oh, please, tell me more, tell me more!"
"He's right at, maybe six one? And he's built--"
"Like an athletic build or body builder build?"
"Um...I'd say athletic right now, but he works out regularly and I dare say he's put on a little bit in the short time we've known each other."
"He sounds delicious," he replied excitedly.
"Oh, he is," she agreed. "But most importantly, he's good. He's good and he's kind and he's intelligent and he's successful--he's a CEO."
"So, basically, he's the male version of you."
"No. Not even close, trust me. I think that's why we work."
"Wow," he sighed as he began mixing dyes for her hair. "I never thought I'd see the day. Juliet Carson, settling down. This one must be something very special."
"The way he makes me feel is unlike anything anyone's ever made me feel before. The moment I looked into his eyes, it was instantaneous."
"I'm so happy for you," Manuel smiled. "I truly am."
"I'm meeting his family tonight."
Manuel dropped the mixer and clutched his heart. "Call nine-one-one. Tell them to send the hottest paramedics they have because I think this diva is about to drop dead of a heart attack. Did you say you're meeting his family?"
"Well, just his other brother and his sister-in-law. His company is family-owned so I've already met his twin and his father and his uncle."
"He has a twin?! Is he gay? Does he want to be gay? I'm single and ready to mingle, you know."
Juliet laughed and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but Beth's already beat you to the punch."
"You mean that long-haired boy toy beach bum she's hanging around with lately?"
"You've met him?"
"She showed me pictures of him last time she was here. That's the craziest thing I've ever heard, he doesn't even look like your type!"
"Well, Eric doesn't look like that. I mean, he does, they're identical twins. But they're as different as night and day. Eric wears his hair very short and he's a little more conservative--more business-minded. Travis is more like a free spirit."
"Let me just--let me just get this hair of yours done before you kill me. There's only so much I can take in one sitting, you know."
Juliet bit her lip and she grinned as Manuel busied himself with her hair. It felt nice to be sitting in his chair, out from underneath his watchful eye. Manuel had always meant the best every time he scolded her for her dating habits, but today he didn't have to. Today, she could freely sit in the chair and enjoy her visit. It felt so good to be free.
*****************
Juliet was alone that evening. She knew her day would be extensive, what with her workout and her nails and waxing and hair...so she couldn't ask Eric to wait around on her when she knew she would be late for his get-together. She couldn't take up his family time like that. And Beth would be showing up with Travis, so there was no getting ready together or meeting up beforehand, either. Juliet was on her own.
Manuel had run a flat iron through her thick hair that day, softly curling a few strands back away from her face. She knew the curls would never stay, but she loved running her fingers through the silkiness of it, anyway, so she wasn't worried about whether they stayed or disappeared. She never had the patience to straighten it on her own so she always threw some product in it in the mornings and let it go. Letting Manuel straighten it was a rare treat.
She stood there with her closet door open, stressing herself over what to wear. Eric had said it was going to be casual and that she could wear jeans--but did she really want to wear jeans to dinner to meet his family? She let her mind wander for a moment to the various ensembles she'd seen Eric and Travis in, reminded herself what she'd witnessed Eric wearing to work, and decided to go for broke. Sure, why not? Jeans would be more comfortable anyway, right? And he'd like anything she wore and at least she wouldn't freeze. That was logical, wasn't it? That was a good reason to wear jeans to dinner--right?
Taking a deep breath, she'd finally chosen a pair of gray skinny jeans, black stiletto ankle boots, and a white, long-sleeved tee shirt with a black scarf wrapped around her neck. Her gray pea coat would keep her warm during her brisk walk between cabs and she flipped her hair off of her shoulder one last time in the mirror before she took a deep breath and collected her purse. At this point, she was sure she was more concerned for her wardrobe than her destination.
In a cab, headed for Michaelson's Bar and Grille, she'd texted Eric to let him know she was on her way. She never got a reply, but she chose not to let that bother her. He deserved to spend time with his family, uninterrupted. Family was important. It was something Juliet never had and something she knew shouldn't be taken for granted. She couldn't help the sinking of her heart, however, when his reply never came.
Pulling up by the curb in front of the restaurant, the chilly evening air hit her in the face as she opened up the door and stepped out onto the concrete. She paid the driver and she stood and faced the restaurant, adjusting her scarf and ignoring the knot at the pit of her stomach that came accompanied with nervous chills of excitement. It was a bizarre feeling and she now wished she'd had a glass of wine before she came out.
Finally, Juliet took a deep breath and opened the door to the restaurant. She had barely made it over the threshold and mere feet away from the host's podium when her eyes did a once-over of the rustic-themed establishment and landed directly on Eric--and a gorgeous blonde supermodel.
She felt the panic attack coming on fast as her heart sank down into her stomach and she lost the ability--and the will--to breathe. They stood in a small semi-circle, four or five of them, and Eric's arm was hooked casually around the model's neck as his face lit up with laughter while engaged in an apparent rousing conversation with the man across from them.
So this was what she was walking in on, then. One big, happy, beautiful family--and what the inevitable future demise of her relationship with Eric looked like after he'd moved on to the true love of his life when he finally opened his eyes and realized that Juliet wasn't good enough for him. His face read happiness. True, genuine joy and love and it was a face she had never seen before--and knew she never would.
In that moment, that one swift, fleeting moment, Juliet realized that she didn't belong in his world. That she was the serpent, just like her dream had said, that did nothing but taint him and his good name. His family would never accept her because they would take one look at her and they would know--they would know that the only thing she was good for was breaking Eric's heart.
She had tried. She'd tried so hard and, at one point, thought she had finally succeeded. But now her chest closed up as she stood there and faced her reality in the flesh--her place in life was alone. And Eric's place was happy. And those were two worlds that could never co-exist.
She turned on her heel to leave before being seen by anyone, but it was too late. Eric's voice rang out loudly through the restaurant, laden with much more excitement than she deserved to be addressed with. "Juliet! Jules, babe, come here!"
She shouldn't have stopped and turned around. She should have pretended she didn't hear him. But her name on his lips caressed her ears every single time and she could never resist. The smile on his face broke her heart, as undeserving as she knew she was of the joy that radiated from it, and she heard an inaudible, "I'm sorry," creep from her lips as she turned and headed briskly for the door.
But not briskly enough.
"Jules!" His voice came closer, rich with concern, and she fought the urge to stop. "Baby, where are you going?"
And then he caught her elbow and it was over. She had no choice but to face him.
And his face--the picture of hurt and confusion and betrayal and everything else Juliet was made of. He didn't deserve this. "Juliet, wait. Come on. Don't leave."
She looked into his eyes, beautiful and blue and full of pain, and she had nothing left. She cared too much about him to let his world deteriorate at her expense, but he would never understand that. So she did the only thing she knew how to do--she put up her defenses and deflected her own pain. "I shouldn't have come here."
"She's my sister-in-law, Jules," he pleaded.
"Call her whatever makes it work for you," she spat. "I hope she makes you happy."
"She's my brother's wife! Will you just listen to me? I'll introduce you to her, my brother, too--"
She raised her chin in defiance, stalling the tears that threatened her. "No. That's won't be necessary. I can't stay, anyway--"
"That's not true," he replied, shaking his head. "You came here because I invited you--and you accepted because you wanted to be here, by my side. What changed? Why are you trying to run all of a sudden? You are safe here. You're safe with me. And--and these games are getting old, Jules. Honestly. I know you feel something for me, you haven't been making the effort to hide it. I know you're in this just like I am. Why don't you just say it? Tell me you're in this...for me?"
"I have nothing to say except--"
"No. Say it."
"From now on, Beth will be handling all the plans for the building. All business will be dealt with through her. I have too much going on right now, I can't handle it--"
"You mean you can't handle me."
"Have a nice evening."
And with that, she turned and she walked away.
Behind her, Eric was still pleading with her as the tears began to silently stream down her face. "Jules! Juliet! You can't run away from this, it isn't gonna go away! Come on!"
Juliet didn't look back. She couldn't look back. And Eric didn't follow her. She gasped for breath through her tears as the wind bit her face. In time he would understand. He would have to.
_______________________________________
Travis was much too excited to introduce Beth to his brother and his sister-in-law. Beth was a catch and he was lucky as hell to have her and he knew it. She was gorgeous, she was smart, she was successful--and she was willing to take a chance on a construction bum such as himself. Andy would love her but, most importantly, Caroline would love her. Caroline and Beth would have so much in common, Travis knew Beth would mold right on in with the rest of his family.
Ironically, this was the first time Travis had ever actually brought a girl home. Eric had always been the romantic, with the steady girl or two in college and then his ex fiancée. He'd always been the one to wear his heart on his sleeve and to put everything he had into a relationship, but not Travis. Travis never brought his girlfriends home because none of them had been serious. But Beth Knight? She was serious. It took him twenty-seven years to get serious about someone but once he finally did, he went for broke. He couldn't have been more proud.
When they walked into Michaelson's, they'd been a little late due to a wardrobe crisis on Beth's part. The poor thing had been incredibly nervous until he began texting back and forth with Caroline and reading the conversation aloud to Beth. This seemed to ease her nerves a little and she ended up in a spectacular white, long-sleeved dress that he couldn't wait to peel off of her later. She had gotten her hair cut recently and her brand new brow-length bangs were probably the sexiest thing he had ever seen on her. They were cute and they were casual and when she pulled her hair up in a ponytail and changed into workout clothes, she didn't wear them for long. He couldn't resist her. He just couldn't.
Now she walked hand-in-hand inside the restaurant with him, her gray, strappy stilettos clicking against the hard wood and he grinned when he saw his brother and sister-in-law and a couple of cousins that he wasn't expecting. The smiles returned to him and the reunion was jolly, wasting no time with the introductions.
As predicted, Beth and Caroline hit it off almost immediately, which quickly prompted Travis to attempt to guilt Andy into moving back home and, when that proved futile, he finally realized that Eric was nowhere to be found. Looking around, he finally asked, "Hey. Is Eric not here, yet?"
Suddenly, the group grew silent and you could cut the tension with a knife. As Caroline and Andy glanced at each other, Travis's suspicious glare got the best of him. "He's at the bar..." Caroline revealed carefully. "There was, um, an incident...of sorts..."
As if he'd heard his own name, Eric seemed to materialize in front of Travis, between Caroline and Beth, a hand shoved in his pocket and a beer bottle glued to his lips. As Travis looked his brother over, Beth's eyes darted around. "Where's, um, where's Juliet?"
"Gone," Eric announced, probably a little louder than he'd intended. Or maybe he had intended it, Travis had no way of knowing.
"Gone?" Beth repeated.
"She dumped me. Right here in front of my family and God and everybody."
Travis thought Beth might die of shock. "What?"
Eric threw Beth a look of contempt. "I don't know why the hell you're so surprised. I mean, it's what she does best, right?"
"Eric!" Beth scolded.
"Bro," Travis tried to reason gently. "How many have you had?"
"This is my first one. I am stone fucking cold sober right now. My head's on straight and my mind is clear as it's ever been."
Travis let out a breath and glanced around the circle that had tightened around him. "What happened?"
"Shit, everybody here can tell you. She ran. She walked in and then she turned around and she ran. And tried to feed me bullshit in the process. It's just--it's just too much, dude. I can't handle this, if she doesn't want me, fine. Clearly, I was the only one in that relationship, but then what else is new, right?"
"Eric," Beth said softly. "You know that's not true. Where did--where did she go?"
"You think she was going to tell me?" He spat. "I don't know where the fuck she went and I don't care."
"You didn't--you didn't go after her?"
"No! That's what she fucking wants, don't you get it? No, I didn't chase her. My family is here, family I haven't seen in nearly a year. I'm not going to take time away from my family just because she wants to jerk me around again. No. I'm tired of chasing her. If she wanted me--if she truly wanted me--she'd be here right now. Am I right or am I right? It can't always be about her, all the time."
"Eric," Caroline interjected, careful with the eggshells she was walking on. "I understand you're upset. But given the situation, don't you think you're over-reacting just a little--?"
"What situation? You heard her, didn't you--?"
Caroline glanced around at the group before she continued. "I think...I think when she walked in she may have gotten the wrong idea..." She looked around helplessly and addressed Travis and Beth. "Eric's arm was around me for, like, two seconds and that was when she walked in..."
"Oh, Eric," Beth said in disappointment as realization drained the blood in Eric's face. "You know how fragile she is!"
"What--what the fuck are you--? She was explicitly clear that she didn't want to see me again, I'm pretty sure she was using...you know, all of this as an excuse," he sputtered.
"You know better than that, Eric, she adores you," Beth spat suddenly, a tone that was completely out of character for her. "You are the greatest thing that ever happened to her and you know it and now you've let her walk out there, in the dark, alone and upset--"
"What about me?" Eric nearly screeched. "She didn't give two shits about how dark it was outside when she was busy throwing me to the fucking wolves and humiliating the shit out of me, did she? No. Like I said, I'm fucking done, dude. All I've done is chase that woman since the day we met and I'm fucking exhausted. I'm fucking done. When the hell is someone finally going to chase me? Must be nice to be on the receiving end of someone else's agony."
"Don't you dare say another word about whose agony is whose," Beth threatened through her teeth. "I'm calling her. Right now."
"You do that," Eric shot back. "What's it gonna do? Her mind's made up already."
The tension among the group was miles thick and it would have taken more than a mere knife to cut it. While Beth stepped away for a moment or two to use her phone, Eric chugged his beer, draining it at the same time. He was shaking his empty bottle as Beth walked back up. "She's okay, she's with Jason."
"Who the fuck is Jason?" Eric spat in a tone that was damn near sinister enough to startle Travis.
"He's a friend of ours," she replied nonchalantly. "He's an old friend, the three of us go way back." Then her eyes shot into Eric's. "But it's not like that, though, so don't even think about it."
Eric was seething and Travis could feel it. His face turned red and his nostrils flared, but instead of bursting into a rage like Travis knew he wanted to, he simply smiled and shook his head. "You know, I don't even care. I don't. I've wasted enough time on this tonight already. Fuck it." Then he looked at their older brother and nodded behind him. "You wanna go shoot some pool? Let's go shoot some pool."
As Travis and Beth and Caroline watched Eric and Andy walk away, the three of them glanced at each other and Caroline's face fell. "Is he going to be okay?" She asked.
Travis sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I wish I knew. She, uh, I think she was the one."
Caroline looked at him, puzzled. "But--but Samantha--"
"No," Travis shook his head. "No, this one--she was it. It's been...complicated, I don't know. This one's a tough one to crack and it looks like this time was finally the straw that broke the camel's back. I don't really know what to think right now."
Then he looked over at Beth and she shook her head. "Juliet's my best friend in the entire world. She's so smitten with Eric, he's the first man she's ever cared about in...well, he actually is the first man she's ever cared about. To hear her tell it, things were great. They were inseparable, she was happy, she never missed a chance to dote on him every time we talked. I don't--I couldn't imagine what in the world could have changed all of a sudden. Anyway, I apologize on her behalf for anything that--"
"Don't apologize," Caroline smiled. "I can't fault her for anything and I can't fault Eric, either, as much as he showed his rear end tonight. Sometimes things just...erupt at the wrong place at the wrong time. And sometimes they affect people in different ways. Whatever happened tonight, I hope they find a way to work it out for both their sakes."
______________________________________
Jason was thrilled that Noah was finally over his illness. What wasn't so thrilling, however, was the sudden onslaught of his appetite. Since his throat wasn't hurting him anymore, the kid ate everything that wasn't nailed down. Jason didn't have the heart to tell him no, especially since he had been so pitiful for the last week, and this was how Jason ended up paying the girl across the hall to keep the kid out of trouble while he walked several streets over to the only Chinese place in Manhattan that didn't deliver. But it was Noah's favorite Chinese joint and Jason loved Noah--mostly.
What caught him completely off guard was walking out of the restaurant with his takeout and literally bumping into of the dark-haired beauty with the distressed expression--who turned out to be Juliet. His heart skipped a beat, surprised to see her, and a smile immediately formed across his lips. "Juliet. Hey! You know, we gotta stop meeting like this. This is pretty much an omen that we need to have dinner together." As she forced a smile, he studied her for a second. "So what, uh, what are you doing out here? It's Saturday night, shouldn't you be out with...you know, the guy?"
She fidgeted with her hands, then adjusted her purse on her shoulder and hugged her coat closer to her as her eyes darted around shamefully. "Uh, yeah...that, um, that didn't work out..."
"I'm sorry to hear that," he replied, filling his tone with as much sympathy as he could muster.
"It's okay..."
"So, what, did he stand you up or something? Turn out to be a slime ball?"
"Just the opposite," she winced, her expression falling. "He's perfect. He's, um, he's too perfect, he's--it's me. I, um...we're not...I'm not for him. You know?"
Jason raised an eyebrow. "He say that to you?"
"No," she replied softly. "I said that to him. In, um...probably not the most graceful of ways."
"So...you sabotaged your own relationship..."
"I had to. I just...had to."
Jason eyes darted around the city and he suddenly remembered the food in the bag that dangled from his hand. "Look. Noah's over his crud. How do you feel about a night of General Tso's and board games? That's, uh, that's usually what my rousing Saturday nights consist of nowadays."
Uncertainty flashed in her eyes and she shook her head. "I'm on my way home. I--I couldn't impose, you two probably need--"
"A breath of fresh air," he smirked. "Desperately. Besides, it sounds like you could use the distraction. There's more than enough here and, if I remember correctly, you could never say no to Chinese."
She glanced at the bag in his hand and then back up at him, biting down on her lip. "I still can't..."
He smiled again. "So, come on. What do you say? There's plenty here."
"What, uh, what are we playing?" She asked as she nonchalantly fell into step with him and they started to walk.
"Scrabble," he replied.
"Oh," she sang out. "Scrabble, huh? Kinda fancy for a seven-year-old, isn't it?"
"He's been begging me to teach him to play just because he likes to say Scrabble," he replied, matter-of-factly. "Truth is, I'm using this as a spelling lesson, but he doesn't have to know that. Only four, five, and six letter words tonight. If I'm feeling froggy, though, I might allow you to throw down a whopping seven letters, we'll see."
Juliet giggled and it made him smile. He hated that the thing with the guy didn't work out for her, but he was sure glad that he was in the right place at the right time to soften the blow. That's what he'd always been there for, though. To break her fall whenever she found herself in danger.
As they walked, her cell phone rang and he was surprised that she answered it. It didn't take him long to deduce that Beth was on the other end and had the situation been different, he would have shown his true colors and jerked the phone out of her hand to have a little fun at Beth's expense. Instead, he shamelessly eavesdropped as she nervously tucked her hair behind her ear and said quietly into the phone, "No, I just--he didn't--I mean, he didn't do anything, it's me, it's...I don't really feel like talking about it right now...No, I'm fine. I'm with Jason, I bumped into him on the street...Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Is he--? I'm so sorry, Beth, I--I know, it's just--it's too much too fast, you know? I know...I know...Okay....Okay....I love you, too....Okay, bye."
Besides Juliet's brief phone conversation, the walk back to his place held very little conversation. The silence was deafening and he glanced at her frequently, only to catch her uncomfortable expression under the street lights. She was miles away and each time he opened his mouth it nearly startled her back to reality.
He didn't live in the most impressive of buildings and he let her know it as they walked in and headed for the elevator. "It's small," he said to her. "And probably a mess. I feel so bad for Clara on Mondays when she comes in and sees the tornado we leave behind from the weekend. But what can you expect out of an old bachelor with a hyper kid, huh?"
She cut a her eyes at him and pursed her lips, scolding him as they stepped off the elevator. "You're not old."
He dug his keys out of his pocket and they jingled as he worked them into the locks. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he muttered, swinging the door open.
"CHINESE IS HERE!" The small boy's voice rang out at the top of his lungs. Immediately, he hopped up on the couch and bounced up and down on it, repeating, "Chinese! Chinese! Chinese!" with excitement.
Jason was immediately humiliated by his uncivilized cave boy.
"Get your feet off the couch!" Jason bellowed.
Suddenly, the boy's eyes widened and his backside bounced softly on the cushions.
Setting the food down on the island, he thanked the babysitter and she wasted no time jetting out the door. He figured that would be the case, since she'd harped and harped about her boyfriend picking her up for a date the moment he'd called her.
"Well, here we are," he motioned to Juliet at his small, open floor apartment. "Home sweet home. Here we have the grand tour. You stand in the kitchen, with all the state of the art appliances circa ten years ago or so, ahead of you is the parlor where we take our tea, and over there by the window is my work desk slash breakfast nook...a cozy setting for two. We usually just sit on stools in here at the island, though, and eat with our hands like barbarians."
Juliet giggled once more and Noah's voice rang out as he circled the couch and crossed the floor into the kitchen. "That's not the parlor, Dad! And we don't drink tea!"
Grinning, Jason bent over and scooped his son off the floor and introduced him to Juliet. "Son, I want you to meet my very good friend, Juliet. Juliet, this is my spawn, Noah."
"Hubba hubba!" Noah replied, his eyes wide.
Juliet's jaw dropped and her face turned crimson and Jason wanted to crawl into a hole and die. "Noah," he scolded quietly, fighting to keep a straight face. "We don't say things like that, it's disrespectful."
"But you said that's what we're supposed to say when we see a pretty lady."
He suppressed a grin and straightened his son's shirt. "That's a secret code between us men. The ladies aren't supposed to hear it."
By then, Juliet was giggling and she nodded toward the child in his arms. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Noah. You're very handsome, yourself."
"I lost a tooth!" He announced proudly, cheesing wide enough for the entire world to see.
"Congratulations, that's very impressive!"
"Dad says I'm getting a hundred bucks off of it!"
Jason sat the boy back down on his feet and looked after him sternly as he crawled up onto a bar stool. "Hey, shave a couple zeros off of that, will ya?"
Turning back to Juliet, he smiled at her sheepishly. "Look, I'm sorry about that. Kids, you know?"
"It's fine," she smiled. "I found it adorable, actually."
"Well, you know he gets it from his old man, don't you?"
She scowled at him playfully. "When are we eating, I'm starving."
For the next several minutes, daddy duties prevailed as he got Noah prepped for his dinner. "We have milk, juice, and water," Jason told Juliet in passing. "We don't drink sodas or tea or any other mixes. Help yourself, glasses are in the cabinet left of the sink. Good luck in that fridge."
"I want juice!" Noah announced.
"You're getting milk. Pretend it's juice."
Jason wished he was better company at dinner, but Noah took up so much attention, even at seven years old. He struggled with his chopsticks and Jason had to stop every few bites to reach over and help him readjust.
Juliet had been quiet for the majority of the time before she laid her own chopsticks down and said, "You know what? I think a fork might be easier for me, what do you think?"
He understood where she was coming from, as he'd watched Noah watch Juliet the entire time and try to mimic her actions with the wooden utensils, but he looked over at her as he helped Noah readjust once more and informed her, "You go ahead if you need to. Noah's using chopsticks. That's the deal. He wants Chinese, he uses chopsticks. They're part of his Hawaiian culture and he'll learn to respect them. Chinese food is a prime opportunity to get some practice in. Right, son?"
"I can use chopsticks," Noah said, matter-of-factly. "Sometimes I need help, though, because I forget."
Once Jason had finished with Noah once more, he went back to his own plate, shoveling a few bites in and stealing a glance over at Juliet who, surprisingly, had an admiring smile on her face. "What?" He asked with a cheek full of rice.
"Everything you do with him is a lesson," she reveled quietly. "The game, the chopsticks...do you work a lesson into most activities?"
"I try to," he replied. "I want him to be well-rounded. Kids' minds are like sponges, especially at this age. I want him to learn everything he can possibly learn, even when he doesn't know he's learning it. He only gets things that rot his mind and his teeth in strict moderation. A guy's still gotta have a vice, you know."
"Wow," she whispered in awe. "That's--that's amazing. It really is. There are--there are people out there who...don't really care that much about their children's well-being...you know, to that extent."
"He's all I have," Jason replied. "And I made him, my name's on him. And I'm certainly not going to let something I put my name on grow up to be a cultureless heathen. Isn't that right, son?"
"What?" Noah asked cluelessly.
Jason and Juliet chuckled and Jason shook his head.
Scrabble was...interesting, to put it mildly. Jason couldn't decide if Juliet was actively trying to let Noah win or if she was genuinely drawing blanks. He supposed he couldn't blame her, considering the night she had apparently had before he'd bumped into her. But she grew flustered each time Jason had to reach over and turn a cube around and then inform her she couldn't use the letter. His hands were on her cubes about as much as they were on Noah's.
She seemed relieved when they'd finally tired of the game and he'd managed to convince her to stick around for dessert and a movie. While Noah happily camped out in the floor with a bowl of sugar-free frozen yogurt, Jason and Juliet huddled on the couch together and conducted their conversation in whispers.
Juliet had voluntarily sabotaged whatever it was she'd had budding with her main squeeze. Given her apparent history with men, especially since Jason had been gone, letting herself get this wrapped up in one of them was apparently quite a big deal. "I just--I walked in and I took one look at him and his family and I...I couldn't do it. I don't belong there, Jason. And he doesn't...he doesn't deserve to waste his time on someone who's, you know, not all there. You know?"
"Truthfully, I don't know," he replied. "But don't you think it's slightly unfair to be feeding the guy what he deserves instead of letting him decide on his own?"
"That's just it. He thinks he knows what he's getting into, but he really doesn't. He doesn't--"
"What is he getting into, Jules? Why do you keep painting yourself as some mean, horrible monster? Because you're not, that's not who you are. I know who you are, don't you forget." He pointed to the floor at Noah. "And if the kid, down there, likes you, you can't be all that bad."
"We come from different worlds, he and I. It was easy to fall into step with him and be with him day after day when all we were doing was sleeping in each other's beds every night. It was like, when I walked in there, shit got real. Really real. And I'm not ready for this and he's not ready for this and I never wanted to hurt him, but I didn't know what else to do. I've never...you know, been in that situation before."
Jason sighed and ran a hand through his short, dark hair. "Jules, you know what I think? You are a good, sweet, phenomenal person. You really are. But to be honest, you've made some shit decisions through the years. And I think that making a shit decision that counters one of the good decisions you've managed to make is kinda...stupid. It sounds like you may have jumped the gun a little bit here. Maybe...maybe you had a moment and you reacted to it. Maybe the two of you just need to sit down, talk this out--"
"I know where it's going to go. It'll go the same place it always does, he just--he doesn't understand--"
"How do you know he doesn't understand? And, further more, have you made the effort to help him understand?"
The conversation seemed to fizzle from there. He hoped he hadn't upset her and it unnerved him a little bit to have to sit there and give her relationship advice and more or less take up for the mystery guy, especially when Jason had his own eye on her--but he couldn't fight her anymore. She'd made it abundantly clear that they would never be more than friends and he didn't have much choice but to accept it. What he didn't have to accept, however, was the way the bowl of chocolate frozen yogurt was kicked over onto the white carpet as Noah got up to race to the bathroom. Letting out an exhausted sigh, Jason disrupted his rare, adult conversation in order to scrub up the kid's mess before it stained.
Several minutes later, he returned to the couch to find Juliet stretched out on the other end of it, her eyes closed as she lay on her cheek, facing the screen. Half an hour or so more, before the movie had ended, Noah was passed out in the middle of the floor. So that was it, he supposed. Another riveting Saturday night coming to a close before ten o'clock. Turning off the movie, he scooped his son up into his arms and carried him to bed and then he returned to throw a blanket over Juliet. He didn't have the heart to wake her and he ventured to guess that she probably needed the rest.
And, so, he adjourned to his own bedroom--alone. The sex goddess that he had wanted since the day he met her lay asleep under his roof--and he was still going to bed alone. Didn't that beat all? Whoever her guy in question was, was a lucky guy. The poor sap must be miserable right now.