Page 111 of Hate You Later
“I will be. Just a little emotional seeing it all come together. Thanks, X.”
I plan the rest of my evening. I’ll go back to the store and get my car. Then I’ll go home and get into a nice hot tub. Maybe light some candles. And cry. Definitely cry.
Cookie nudges me, and I scratch her ear.
“I’ll be okay girl,” I tell her. “I’m used to being alone. I was just being silly. I got swept away with the whole Viking thing.”
My phone dings again. It’s a photo from Kenna this time. The time stamp indicates it’s delayed. The photo is from over an hour ago. It’s Hudson in his costume, standing outside on the patio with Cookie. She’s added flaming stickers all around him.
“Please convey my well wishes to the happy couple,”I reply.
She texts me right back.
“Did you talk to Hudson? He was looking for you. Where’d you go?”
“I’m going home,”I reply.“It just got too peopley for me there. See you tomorrow?”
“Oh, G, you shouldn’t have left.”
Enough. I drop the phone into a pocket in my tulle skirt.
The streets are empty in this area, but I don’t feel unsafe. It’s quiet. Peaceful even. I can hear myself think.
Thank goodness I hadn’t had the chance to tell Hudson how I felt … and if I’m being honest, still feel about him. At least I’d been spared that mortification.
My phone bounces against my thigh as I walk. It continues to light up, buzzing like a winning slot machine. I’ll have to give the phone back to him. What a pain in the ass that is going to be. I only just got all my contacts transferred. And there’s all the photos of Cookie I’ve taken on it.
I pull it out again and open the camera roll. I barely took any photos tonight. Just the one of Cookie for the costume contest, and another of Xander by the gift baskets. I scroll back over the rest of the photos till I get back to the first one. It’s the thumbnail of the video set to theToy Storytheme. My eyes water and my finger hovers over the delete button, but somehow, I can’t bring myself to do it right now.
“Need a lift?” A jeep pulls over, and I recognize some of the teenaged volunteers from the event.
“No thanks, I’m good!” I wave them on, despite the fact that I can feel blisters starting to bloom on the backs of my heels. The pain is distracting in a good way. It gives me something physical to focus on instead of the excruciating way my heart is aching in its lonely hollow.
Besides, I’m almost there.
hudson
Xander takesan alternate route to the store from the one that Georgia is walking.
“Shouldn’t we just pick her up?” I ask.
“No, man, trust me. She’s gotta cool off. Besides, I sent some of the kids from the pet valet to offer her a lift. They just texted me that she said no.”
We get to the store before her. Xander pulls to the curb. I get out and walk around to the driver window.
“This is where I leave you. Good luck, dude,” he says.
“You’re not going to stick around?”
“No. This is between the two of you, like you said before. Plus, I don’t need to see all that stuff like the other night. Maybe save it for somewhere with blinds?” Xander waves as he takes off.
“Gotta get back to the party!”
I wait for what feels like forever, sitting on the sidewalk outside Celestial Pets. The block is dark, save for a couple of streetlights. Normally, the diner would still be open, but they’ve closed early due to all the staff being busy at the masquerade.
Across the street, at the center of the park, I can see a light on in the gazebo near my great-great-grandfather’s plaque. It’s familiar … and reassuring. This town, this street. I realize that this is the exact place I’ve pictured in my mind each and every time I’ve ever been asked, “Where are you from?”
I swing the bag from hand to hand and count to three hundred. Then I go online and pay to vote in the costume contest which is finally live. Ten times for Cookie, and eleven for Oliver.
