GABBY KNEW SHE had to tell Tony the truth the second he placed the ring on her finger, but it had been a month, and every time she tried to tell him, something came up. The night of the engagement, he’d covered his whole apartment in roses and candles and she couldn’t bring herself to ruin that moment. The next day, he’d found out his granny had suffered a stroke, and Gabby didn’t want to hurt him with more bad news. And a week later, he found out his work was sending him to DC for a monthlong stay. As frustrating as it was to have this hanging over her head, she also felt relieved, like she’d been granted a reprieve.
But Tony would be back the following week, and she’d been thinking about every possible approach to telling him.
She could try nonchalance, prefacing the whole conversation with, “So, I have a funny story. . . .” The only problem with that scenario was that every time she pictured it in her head, Tony did not actually laugh. Scratch that one.
Another option was to skip over the awkward conversation and surprise Tony with a visit to her mom. While there was a chance he’d be so confused that he would just accept everything, there was a much bigger chance he’d dump her on the spot. Scratch.
Out of all of the scenarios in her head, not one of them actually ended with Tony saying, “It’s okay, babe. I forgive you.”
Gabby’s cell phone rang, jolting her from worries. Tony.
“Hey, babe,” she answered with a smile. Her mom once told her people could hear your expression on the other end. “How’s DC?”
“Hey, baby,” he said, the sounds of a city in the background. “I’m just checking out the Washington Monument and wishing you were here with me.”
Gabby pictured him elbowing his way through throngs of tourists. “Me, too. I’m excited to see you next week!” Excited . . . nervous . . . those were the same, right?
“Actually, that’s what I’m calling you about. My mom wanted to make sure you knew you were invited to Thanksgiving dinner next week—I’ve been so busy with work, I completely forgot it was even coming up.”
Gabby grew silent. Turkey with a side of heartbreak?
“It’s just going to be me, my mom, my brother, and my sister. Unfortunately my dad won’t be there—he’s going to be helping the governor pardon a turkey.”
She paused, thinking about the invitation. “Sure, I’ll join,” she said reluctantly. While it would be nice to spend the holiday with a family—she usually went to Claire’s and felt like she was intruding—this meant she would have to wait until after Thanksgiving to tell him. She didn’t want to embarrass him in front of his family.
“Great! I gotta run, babe. I’m meeting up with an old law school buddy for lunch.”
“Okay, I love you,” she said softly into the phone, but he’d already hung up.
? ? ?
CLAIRE OPENED THE front door with a crying baby on her hip and flour on her cheek. “Hey,” she said, sounding tired. “Come on in.”
“You sure now’s an okay time?” Gabby asked, peeking into the house. “You seem busy.”
“Girl, I’m a working mom,” Claire huffed. “I’m always busy. Get in here and take off your shoes. I just vacuumed the living room.”
Gabby obeyed her friend and followed Claire and the sounds of Sadie’s screams into the kitchen, which looked like it’d been turned into a cookie factory.
“I’m putting you to work,” Claire said, throwing her a floral apron. She put Sadie down in her high chair and slid a bowl of Cheerios to her. “I signed up to make six dozen cranberry cookies for the Thanksgiving potluck at church tomorrow and am definitely regretting that decision right now.”
“Well, how many have you made so far?” Gabby looked around.
“One batch.” Claire opened up the oven and pulled out a baking sheet covered with twelve perfect cookies. She frowned. “It’s gonna be a long day.”
“Well, I’m here, don’t worry.” Gabby tied the apron around her waist and started mixing some of the ingredients together in the stainless steel bowl.
“Thank you,” Claire said. “Sorry I was so short with you on the phone. I’m just—” She paused and threw her hands up in the air. “All of this, you know?”
Gabby nodded. “No need to explain.” She often wondered how Claire did it all—it was impressive, albeit a bit stressful, to see her in action sometimes.
“So, what did you want advice on? I’m all ears—well, one of my ears might be busted thanks to screamin’ Sadie over there. . . .” The girls both looked over at the baby, who was beginning to calm down as she picked at the cereal curiously. “But let’s hear it.”
Gabby grabbed some of the dough and began rolling it into a ball in her hands. “Claire, I’m in a big ol’ mess.”
Her friend looked up from the measuring cup of flour, her eyes widening. “What is it?”
Gabby braced herself; she still hadn’t said these words aloud to anyone yet. “I may have lied a little to Tony.”
“What do you mean? What did you say?” Claire put the measuring cup down on the table.
Gabby began furiously rolling the dough in her hands, unable to look at her friend. “So, he thinks I’m a senior at U.L. about to apply for my master’s in education, and that my parents are . . .” She dropped the ball of dough back into the bowl. “Dead.” She shook her head in disgust, and tears began rolling down her cheeks. As if on cue, Sadie knocked over her Cheerios and began screaming again.
Claire gasped and put her hand over her mouth. “Why in the world would you have said that?” This was the first time Gabby had ever seen Claire ignore her baby’s cries.
Gabby lowered her head. “It just happened. . . .”
Her friend pulled out the two chairs from under the table and sat down in one of them. “This is major,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief.
Gabby sat down next to Claire, wiping away the tears with the back of her hand. “I’m going to lose him, huh?”
“I just don’t understand why you said all this to him in the first place. . . .” Claire swept the Cheerios off the table and back into their bowl, and put it back on Sadie’s tray. The little girl calmed down again.
“He just was a guy in a bar—I never thought anything would come of it, so when he assumed I was at college, I just went along with it.” She put her head in her hands. “It was nice to pretend for a second that I actually got to live out my dream. There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by in the last four years where I don’t feel ashamed of how my life has turned out.” She sniffled and looked up. “But when I told him my parents weren’t around anymore, he took it to mean they were dead. Once we started dating, I wanted to correct him, but that would’ve meant explaining everything with my mom, and I just . . . I just couldn’t.”
Claire raised her right eyebrow but thankfully withheld judgment.
“He would have never asked me out if he had known the truth. There’s a reason I haven’t dated anyone seriously since high school.” She sighed, fidgeting with her fingers. “I know I sound like a crazy person, but when I’m with him, I feel like I’m finally living the life I was always supposed to have.” Her heart ached. “He’s the only guy I’ve ever met who appreciates my ideas—he tells me I’m smart all the time, and I swear, Claire, I feel smarter when I’m with him. When we’re together, he looks at me like I’m perfect.”