“I sleep here on this bottom bunk. Why don’t you take the other bottom bunk?”
“Why are there so many beds in here?”
Jane’s pretty face broke into a laugh. “There was a time in undergrad when we had so much rain, our sorority house got flooded. My room, endearingly called, ‘the jungle,’ had twelve girls and twelve beds. When we were all displaced, we brought as many beds into this apartment as possible, and we all lived here for a month until the house got fixed. The other two rooms got rid of the bunk beds, but I kept my room the same. I guess you could call it nostalgia. I feel like I’m back in college whenever I sleep in here.”
“How fun! Maybe I should have rushed as a freshman. It would have been the perfect solution to not having any siblings.”
“So…” Jane had a devilish look about her.
“Yes..?” Fearful—I was definitely fearful of what was coming next.
“Are we good enough friends for me to ask why you are sleeping here rather than with my brother? I promise, he has a very large bed in his room. You’ll be more comfortable there than in here.”
“Oh…that. Though she didn’t know what she was doing to me at the time, my mom made me promise her—right before she died—that I would stay a virgin maid till I got married. I think she just said that hoping to push off the inevitable for as long as possible, but since that was one of my last promises to her, I feel like I have to keep it.”
“Oh. My. Gosh! Seriously? This is so hilarious that Jake has to wait till you guys get married to sleep with you. I bet you he’s out there running miles on the treadmill to work off his suppressed expectations or he’s scheming to see how he can work around your vow.”
“He seemed to take it OK when I told him tonight.”
The laughter that ensued could be heard all the way to AT&T Park. Perhaps I was a bit hasty in thinking that Jake would be OK with my chastity agreement.
“Oh, this is his comeuppance!” Jane brushed away the natural tears that came from her guffaw. “He always thought he could get whatever girl he wanted and unfortunately, that was the case. I don’t know of too many women who have refused my brother anything…till now. He’s finally found the girl and she won’t play to his tune. Oh, I love it!”
Jane’s rambling roused out of me a new set of insecurities. “Has he been with a lot of women? Kelley was the only girl I heard about but…I guess it’s silly of me to think that with his looks and at his age that there weren’t many more…”
Jealousy, along with sadness, speared through my heart knowing that there had been copious girls who had been a part of Jake’s life. Jane quickly defended her brother and tried to turn me around.
“No, no! Don’t get the wrong idea, Emily. Yes, there have been other women, but I promise you this—there has never been a girl like you.”
I must not have look convinced.
“Life has always been easy for my brother. He’s smart, good looking, charming, and fairly wealthy. He’s never had to work very hard for anything—especially women. But, seeing him with you this weekend, and without you Thanksgiving weekend, made me do a double take. Regardless of what he’s told you, from what my mom and I can tell, he is madly in love with you. We’ve never seen him so anxious about pleasing a girl.”
Her comment brought forth a weak smile.
“I see you’re wearing the ring. Did you know he bought it after just one date with you?”
I nodded yes. “He told me today.”
“Did you also know that he was miserable the whole week you and Sarah were gone to New York? He looked like a lost puppy. Every member of the Reid family teased him mercilessly during Thanksgiving dinner. Uncle Henry says he’s ‘whipped’!”
“Jane, you don’t have to say anymore. I understand what you’re trying to do. It’s not so much Jake that worries me. It’s more me. He’s so perfect. This whole weekend is like a scene out of a movie—it can’t be real in my life. My life hasn’t been easy since middle school and I don’t want to start believing it’s changed for this much the better.”
Before she could rebut my statement, I gave Jane the long version of my life and told her about all my insecurities. Deep into the night we spoke about my fears. Jane listened like a sibling and encouraged and admonished all in appropriate ways. Similar to the comfort I found in Jake, his sister was no different. I could picture us being fast friends and sisters.
We talked into the wee hours of the morning, but I still found myself awake before the sun was up. The light outside encouraged me to get up, brush my teeth, put on Jane’s borrowed clothes, and step into the living room. Surprisingly Jake was up already, reading the paper.
“Good morning,” I whispered.
“Good morning, Beautiful. Why are you up so early?”
“I can’t ever sleep well outside of my own bed. Are you going somewhere? Why are you dressed like Lance Armstrong?”