Holly's Wishes (6 page)

“I’m sort of in a production, too,” Holly began.

“Really? Tell me more.”

“Well, it’s not quite as exciting as a college musical. It’s an elementary school talent show. I’m going to be doing a rap about math with my principal.”

Tessa choked on her beer mid-swallow. “Rap? About math?” she managed to say between coughing and laughing. “Is it open to the public? Because this I have to see … and possibly video tape.”

Nodding, Holly giggled. “Just call me M.C. Multiply.”

“Let me guess, this was your idea,” she said, trying to calm herself down. “Only a math nerd like you would come up with something so crazy.”

“Actually, it was my principal.” She paused to recall the meeting earlier this afternoon.

“You’re smiling. Is he cute?”

“Tessa, I have a boyfriend, remember?”

“So? It’s okay to think another guy is cute. Just because you have a boyfriend, doesn’t mean you have to be blind to the rest of the male population.”

She shook her head and rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, let’s get out of here,” Tessa suggested, finishing her beer. “The smell is starting to get to me. You want to grab a burger down the street?”

“Sounds good.” Grabbing her purse, Holly followed her sister’s lead as she tried to navigate through the drunken crowd.

Chapter 11

Trying to get out of the bar was no easy feat. Tessa grabbed Holly’s hand and pulled her through the unruly mob. Of course, that only lasted about thirty seconds as the partiers quickly separated them. Holly felt like a pinball stuck on play as she bounced around in failed attempts to make her way to the exit sign. Every time she was close to making it out, the force of the crowd pushed her back. Maybe it was more like a Ping-Pong match. She’d surely be covered in bruises … and beer, which seemed to splash on her with every shove. It gave a whole new meaning to Beer Pong. She finally tumbled out onto the sidewalk like a caged animal being set free.

“Sorry,” she said to the back of the black ski jacket she slammed into upon her escape. She hadn’t meant to go flying into the guy standing by the telephone pole. She would have much preferred to walk out the door like a civilized human being. Instead, she was forced out as though shot from a cannon like a freakish circus act. She continued to walk down the street with Tessa, not waiting for him to turn around. She was in no mood for some guy’s cocky college attitude.

 “No prob—” the voice said from behind her. “Holly?”

Startling at the sound of her name, she stopped walking, slowly twisting her head to meet the familiar voice. No, this was most definitely not a cocky college student.

“Ben?” She laughed and walked back over to him. “Wow, we don’t see each other for years, and then we bump into each other twice in two weeks. This time literally. Sorry about that … again. It was a little rough in there.”

“I can see that.” His eyes gleamed as he smiled down on her. Apparently all was forgiven.

Holly tried to smooth down her hair. She imagined she was a mess after that escapade, and she knew she smelled like a brewery. The stink was beyond overpowering. Hopefully he didn’t think she was wasted. It was time to do some damage control.

“Well, I’m not going back in that place … ever, that’s for sure. I’m way too old for that scene. I’m not even a big drinker.”

 “To be honest, I’m a bit surprised you were in there at all,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “I didn’t take you for a dollar Heinie girl.”

“A what?” she asked. She’d been called a lot of things over the course of her life, but she’d never been called a dollar Heinie girl. It didn’t sound good. She could feel her cheeks getting hot.

“Dollar Heinies,” Tessa repeated, now standing next to Holly, pointing to the sign hanging in the bar window. “You know, Heinekens? They’re a dollar every Wednesday here. It’s a big deal for us college kids. We usually don’t get to drink the good stuff for cheap. That’s one of the reasons it’s so packed in there.”

“Ah,” Holly said. “Well, no, I can’t say that I am one … even tonight. In fact, I definitely have more Heinie
on
me, than in me.” She sniffed her arm and cringed. “Yeah. This will be going to the dry cleaner tomorrow. Tessa, maybe the next time you invite me out on a Wednesday, we can go somewhere where they don’t
have imported beer on the clearance rack.”

Her sister rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t
that
bad in there.”

“Uh-huh. Ben, you remember my younger sister, Tessa. Apparently
she
is a dollar Heinie girl.”

He laughed. “Yes, I do remember. We didn’t really get a chance to talk at the wedding.”

“Ava’s Wedding?” Tessa asked, shaking the hand Ben offered.

“Yes,” Holly said. She gave Tessa a strange look as if it would help jar her memory. “He’s Max’s cousin, and … he was my Soph Hop date from high school. I introduced the two of you as we were finishing up dinner.”

“Right! You’re yellow frilly tux guy!”

“Awesome,” Ben said. “Is that how I’m forever going to be known in your family?”

“Pretty much,” Holly said, grinning.

“Not to worry,” Tessa added. “Your choice of attire at Ava’s wedding was a big improvement.”

“Ah, thank you,” he laughed. “I’ve been redeemed. I swear on all of my most prized possessions to never wear yellow ruffles again … or any ruffles. That was just a bad fashion trend. Very, very bad—one that will hopefully never come back.” He flashed his smile at Holly. She’d forgotten what a great sense of humor he’d always had.

“Agreed. So, um, do you normally hang out around here?” Holly asked, shoving her hands in her pockets to keep them warm. She knew the plant he worked at was not far from campus, but this was kind of a young scene for him—although with that smile and his new and improved haircut, he could probably get any girl in there he wanted.

“No. My car broke down.” He pointed to an old blue clunker sitting on the side of the road. “I’m waiting for the tow truck.”

“Oh, no. Can I give you a ride somewhere?”

“Thanks, but I’ve got to stick around for the repair guy,” he replied. “Listen, I don’t want to hold the two of you up. You seemed like you were headed somewhere. It was great seeing you both again.”

Holly couldn’t help but notice while he said
both,
he was only looking at her, gazing at her, really.

“Actually, we were going to grab a burger from the place around the corner. Can we bring you something back while you wait?” she asked, her heart fluttering from his stare.

Ben’s dark eyes appeared even more intense under the dim light of the setting sun. She’d always loved his eyes. They were almost an exact match to his wavy dark brown hair… yet, she’d never noticed the golden flecks in them until now, or the way they glimmered in just the right amount of light. All these years later, and she was still so attracted to him.
It’s okay to think another guy is cute.
Why did Tessa’s words suddenly pop into her head? Maybe she really didn’t imagine the spark in his eyes at Ava’s wedding.

“You know what?” Ben replied. “That would be great. I was just getting off of work, and of course I picked today to skip lunch.” He reached into his pants pocket, pulled out his wallet, and handed Holly a twenty. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure,” she answered, noticing he held her hand a little longer than he probably should have as he placed the money into her palm.

Chapter 12

“So what’s the deal with him?” Tessa asked as they walked back toward Holly’s car. They’d brought Ben his burger right as the tow truck pulled up. While they’d offered to stay to make sure everything went okay, he’d insisted they go. They said their goodbyes and decided to head back to Holly’s apartment.

“What do you mean?” Holly stopped to fish her keys out of her purse. She knew exactly what Tessa meant. She just wasn’t sure how to answer the question. She had Jared, and he was doing all the right things now. And even her sister had said it was okay to think another guy was cute. It’s not like she was going to go after him or anything. Besides, even if there were no Jared, Ben was already in a relationship.

“I told you,” Holly said, as she and Tessa got into the car, “we’ve known each other since high school.  Besides, he’s Max’s cousin. I guess that makes us family.”

“Not really. I mean, not in a
your DNA could mix and your babies would have three arms
sense.”

“How did we jump to making babies with him all of a sudden?”

“It was the way he was staring at you, Hol. I don’t know, like he was sizing you up or something. And not in an
I’m your cousin
way. It was more romantic.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. He has a girlfriend.”

“He does? She wasn’t at the wedding, was she? If I remember correctly, you and Ben danced—slow danced.”

“We did, and she wasn’t. She was away on a business trip, but that doesn’t mean anything. Jared wasn’t there either. Well he was, but he wasn’t. You know.”

“And why wasn’t she here tonight? Helping him when his car broke down? You would have come in a second if Jared’s car had broken down.”

“Jared doesn’t have a car,” Holly reminded her. “He takes the bus most of the time.”

“I mean if he borrowed yours. Which he does a lot, by the way, when you’re not using it. And your car isn’t much better than Ben’s, no offense.”

“Thanks, I think,” Holly said, scanning the interior of her car. It was old, yes, but reliable. She’d bought it used when she was in college, and so far, it had been fine.

“My point
is,
if Jared
was
driving your car, and it
had
broken down, you would have figured out a way to get here to help … and not just because it’s your car.”

Her sister was right. She would have been there for Jared. Why wasn’t Michelle here helping Ben? Hadn’t he said she didn’t travel much?

“I don’t know. He mentioned she’s an executive or something. She probably couldn’t get out of work, or maybe he didn’t call her. Anyway, it’s really none of our business.”

Holly watched as the driver finished hitching Ben’s car up to the tow bar. When they climbed into the cab of the truck, she started her engine and headed in the opposite direction.

“Do you believe in fate?” Tessa asked.

“I don’t know, why?”

“I think it’s odd, that’s all. I mean, what are the chances of running into Ben again after all these years—first at Ava’s wedding, then again tonight right as we’re leaving the bar. I feel like the universe is trying to tell you something. There was no mistaking the way Ben was looking at you. Trust me.”

“It’s a small town. We were bound to meet again eventually. I don’t think fate, or the universe, had anything to do with it. Besides, if the universe was so interested in reuniting us, why would they give him a girlfriend and me a boyfriend? A boyfriend, who by the way, after three years
finally
wants to have a committed relationship.”

Tessa looked over to her sister with a stunned expression. “Are you saying Jared proposed? Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded.

“No, not that,” Holly said. “At least not yet, but he’s so devoted to our relationship right now. Things between us have never been better. Plus, he’s been talking about a big surprise, and you know, my birthday
is
coming up in a couple of months.” She felt like a schoolgirl the way she was gushing, but she couldn’t help it. Everything she dreamed of was finally falling into place. “He’s even hinted at starting a family, and you know how much I want to have children one day. If the universe is trying to say anything, it’s that Jared is the one for me.”

 “So what are you going to do?”

“About what?” Holly asked.

“About Ben? I wasn’t imagining what I witnessed back there, Hol. And to be honest, I was getting vibes from you, too.”

“I already told you. He has a girlfriend, I have Jared, and you have an overactive imagination. Case closed. Come on. Let’s go eat our dinner.”

Chapter 13

“Knock, knock. Do you have a minute?”

Holly looked up from her desk to see Gus Shaw standing in the doorway. He must have been filling in for the gym teacher again based on the whistle around his neck and the bright blue oversized mesh tank top, which hung over his red T-shirt and running shorts like a dress. Interesting outfit.
What was he doing here?
She only had one free period before the next group of fifth-graders were due to arrive, and she’d hoped to get a jump on grading homework from the previous class.

“Sure, Gus, what’s up?” she asked, regretting the words as she spoke them.

“Well, it’s about this talent show,” Gus responded, bounding into the room.

“What about it?”

“I know Dan didn’t ask me directly, but you may remember I’m actually pretty good with these sorts of things. I guess he didn’t know since this is his first year at West Place Elementary.”

Holly did her best to hold in her sarcastic remarks. Last year, Gus performed some sort of modern interpretive dance wearing a neon green spandex outfit that covered him from head to toe, including his face. He looked like a monstrous inchworm that escaped from a nuclear science lab. He not only scared the kids, he scared most of the parents and staff as well. She was fairly sure Dan knew about Gus’ horrific act.

“I’ve been giving it some thought,” he continued, “and have come up with a few math related ideas for the show. I’ve also got costumes planned. Believe it or not, I’m pretty good with a sewing machine.” He came closer to her desk. She leaned back in her chair as far as she could to avoid his breath as he whispered, “I have a lot of down time, and the sewing room is empty most of the day.” He cleared his throat and, thankfully, backed out of Holly’s personal space. “Anyway, I thought I could make you look like a giant addition sign, while I could be multiplication.” He jumped out like he was doing a jumping jack to make his arms and legs into the shape of an ‘X’. “See? There’s a ton of fabric left over to work with. I could make them puff out with pillow stuffing, like the Pillsbury Dough Boy.” He filled air in his cheeks and walked around with a stiff gait, but looked more like a robot than a lovable squishy icon. “Then we can do a dance together. Or I can play piano and sing, while you do acrobatics. You know, somersaults and whatnot.”