Coffee in Common (28 page)

"Jilli was the good girl," Julie said. "Don't you remember? The new Madonna. And I don't mean the singer. Ma would believe anything her little pet told her."

"Well, you and Jo made it so easy. All I had to do was stay out of trouble. If you two had just…"

"Stop! Finish the story. And will you two please keep quiet."

"I have a better idea. Come on, Jo. I have to pee."

As her sisters stood, Jillian continued.

"Do you remember the wedding was going to be at the end of June, about a month after Aiden graduated?"

Jessie nodded.

"Well, after his parents left, we went to a big party that lasted all night. When we finally got home we…" She felt her face growing hot again. "ummm…fooled around for most of the morning and then fell asleep.

"I woke up a little after five in the afternoon and Aiden was gone. At first, I thought he ran out for food or wine. But once I got out of bed, I found a note leaning against the wine bottle we used as a candle holder."

She didn't realize how much of the pain of recalling that day showed on her face and in her eyes until she saw Jessie's face change.

"Oh, Jilli. This is really hurting you. I'm sorry. Just stop. I don't need to know this now. Maybe some other time, when it…"

"No. No. I've avoided this ghost for too long. I'll tell you then I'll lock him away forever." Her eyes dropped to her empty plate. "I must have read that letter a hundred times. However many it was, I can remember it like it was yesterday. It said

Dearest Jillian,

I am sorry, but I cannot marry you. By the time you read this, I will be far away. Please know that it is not you. You have always been my heart and soul and I will always love you.

I cannot explain why I am leaving for I don't really understand it myself. I only know that what I thought was true is not and I must search for the real truth or never find a moment's peace.

I will return someday, I hope, once I have found the answers to the questions that now haunt me. When that day comes, I'll find you, and hope that no matter where your life has led you, you'll have found a way to forgive me.

Please think of me now and then, once you have stopped hating me, for I will think of you always, and hold you in my heart no matter where I am.

Aiden

When she looked up, Jillian saw tears in her sister's eyes.

"Oh, Jilli. How could he do that? How could he hurt you like that? What an asshole. Now I understand why you cried so much. And now I feel even worse for making you tell me. I'm so sorry. I…"

"Jess, it's okay. I wanted to tell you. Really. Just let me finish so I can put an end to him."

Jessica nodded as she wiped her eyes.

"It took me almost a full year to let go of him, of the love and the hate. But I did. I moved on. And now…now it's been five years…and I hardly ever think about him and what might have been."

Jessica heard the words, but could see the change in her sister.

She was so happy before when she was talking about new guy. And now she looks so sad. And it's my fault. No wonder Ethan dumped me. What a loser I am.

Jillian shook her head to dislodge the ghost. She didn't want to think of Aiden ever again. A small part of her might still be conflicted about her feelings for him, but now that she'd met the man who might share her life, she would not allow any phantoms or feelings from the past to mess things up.

"Are you planning to tell Paul about him?"

"Of course. But not right away. I mean, your past lovers aren't something you share on the second date."

She heard Julia chuckle as she and Joanne took their seats. "It seems to me last night could have qualified for at least four pretty fabulous dates."

"That's right," Jessie said, "and now that you've had four dates, it's about time for the horizontal hokey-pokey."

Her sisters burst out laughing.

"Where did you come up with that?" Joanne asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Some old romance novel I found in the attic. Mom has tons of them up there."

Julia reached over and touched Jillian's hand. "May we assume the story's over?"

Jillian nodded.

"Good. So when do we get to meet this new dreamboat?"

"Never. Or at least not until I have a chance to warn him. You three would scare the poor guy half to death. I'd never see him again."

"We wouldn't do that. Really!" Joanne almost sounded sincere. "Come on, call him and have him come over here to meet us."

Jillian refused, but her sisters began to protest and whine, promise and beg, wheedle and nag until they convinced her they would be on their best behavior.

"But I don't even know where he is. He said he might be going out with friends." She really didn't like this idea but was running out of reasonable excuses.

"Just call him and see," Jessie said. "Come on, how often do Jo and Julie get a whole day off like this? It will be fun. And we promise to be good, don't we?"

Her sisters held up their right hands and crossed their hearts with their left as they did when they were all little girls.

Crap! There's no way out of this.

He answered on the third ring.

"Hey Jilli! What a nice surprise! Are you done with your sisters already?"

He knew it was me. Oh, right, Caller ID.

"Hi Paul. No we're in Delaney's Grille. We had sandwiches and were talking, and I thought I'd call to see where you were."

"I'm at DHL with a bunch of people. Are your sisters there? Did you tell them about me?"

"Yes and yes."

"That's great. I'll bet they've been bugging you to call me so they can meet me, right?"

"Uh, yes, how did you know?"

How does he keep knowing these things?

"It's what I'd do if I were them. Hey, if no one is in a hurry to go home, why don't you all come over and hang out for a while?"

He wants to meet my sisters? He wants his friends to meet me and my sisters?

"Um, hold on a second." She pressed the mute button. "He's with some people in this bar about a mile from here. He wants to know if you all want to go hang out for a while."

"Oooo," Julia said, impressed. "I think I like this boy already!"

7:50 PM

Fifteen minutes, two phone calls to understanding husbands, and a quick taxi ride later, Jillian and her sisters walked through the doors of DHL. Paul jumped up as heads turned throughout the bar to see who had come in, then lingered at the sight of the four lovely women.

Jillian was suddenly nervous as she realized she wasn't sure how to greet him in front of her sisters.

Should I offer my hand or kiss him? If I kiss him, for how long? Maybe I should just say hello?

Paul solved the dilemma by moving right in and giving her a polite kiss on the lips.

She introduced him to her sisters and he hugged each of them in turn.

"I am very happy to meet you all." A mischievous grin crept onto his face. "Jilli's told me so little about you, and to get back at her for the oversight, I'm hoping you'll all spend the next few hours telling me all the embarrassing stories from her childhood she doesn't want me to hear. You know, like the time she decided to streak through the house buck naked in front of a party full of people."

He'd been going for a big laugh with that, but the four sisters stared at him and then at each other in disbelief. After a few seconds, it dawned on him why and his grin transformed into a look that matched their own. "No way." He turned to Jillian. "I was kidding. You didn't really do that? Did you?"

Jillian's suddenly bright red cheeks were all the encouragement her sisters needed.

"What's the matter, Jilli? You had such a cute little behind back then."

"Come on, that's not half as bad as the time dad caught you playing doctor with Billy Tanner in the garage."

"Don't be embarrassed. He's probably already undressed you in his head a dozen times."

Jillian's face went from red to scarlet, drawing laughter from her tormentors. She turned to Paul, who was grinning broadly, and mouthed, "I'm sorry." Then she turned back to her sisters and protested through clenched teeth, "You promised" as Paul slipped his arm around her waist, and pressed her closer to him.

When the girls realized how upset she was, they hurried to apologize. "We're sorry, sweetie," Joanne said. "We got a little carried away. Please don't be mad. We'll be good the whole rest of the time we're here. Our word to Grampa."

Joanne looked at Julia and Jessica who both nodded gravely and repeated, "Our word to Grampa."

Giving one's word to Grampa was sacrosanct and Jillian began to relax.

Paul led them all to several tables that had been pushed together to accommodate everyone.

"So how
do
parents with five kids get out of the house on a school night?" Lisa asked Patti.

"Wonderful in-laws," she replied, drawing a chuckle as Paul and the new arrivals reached the table.

Paul introduced Rob and Lisa, Priya, and Tom and Patti Driscoll.

Jillian nodded politely and said hello to everyone, then walked around the table, leaned over, and gave Priya a warm hug.

"Paul said the date went well last night. But he's being awfully cagey about providing details," Priya whispered.

"It was wonderful, so romantic," she murmured back. "Lunch Monday, okay? Lisa, too."

"Absolutely!"

Jillian took a seat next to Paul. She turned to Lisa and said, "I understand you were responsible for arranging the dinner reservation last night. It was wonderful. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," she replied. "It was my pleasure." Then she reached across Rob and smacked Paul on the arm. "You dope! Why did you tell her I set it up? She was supposed to think you were a magician!"

Paul shrugged. "I couldn't lie to her."

That drew a round of ‘oooos' and ‘awwws' from the women and rolling eyes from the guys, but it sent a little spark through Jillian, who leaned closer and kissed him on the cheek.

Over the next hour, and several rounds of drinks, everyone got acquainted. Spirits were high all around, except for Jessica, who seemed to have reverted to her pre-shopping depression. Jillian wondered if her sister's funk was due to the presence of three obviously happy couples at the table, plus so many others throughout the room.

Much to everyone's amusement, Julia and Joanne took every opportunity to casually inquire about Paul and his life story as they bantered with him and his friends until, unable to stand it any longer, Jillian all but dragged them into the ladies room and told them to stop.

The Saturday night crowd in the bar was large and in a good mood. As a result, the jukebox had been steadily cranking out tunes. Several times, Tom, who loved to sing, broke out in song and most of the group joined in. Just before eight-thirty, the bouncy rhythm of the oldie
You Don't Mess Around With Jim
faded away as the group applauded themselves for their performance. It took only a second or two for Jillian to realize the next song was
Always And Forever,
the last song they'd danced to last night.

She turned to Paul who was only a half-second behind her in recognizing the tune. Their eyes met and a silent message passed from each to the other. Paul stood and extended his hand.

DHL did not have a dance floor, so Paul led her to the small space that opened up when they had earlier pushed the tables together.

Her heart was racing and she felt a lump in her throat as she followed him. Was it the song or his very public romantic gesture that was causing her to feel suddenly lightheaded?

When he took her in his arms, she settled herself against him. Memories of the previous night flooded through her as she lay her head on his shoulder, loving the way his strong arms held her close and made her feel warm and desired.

They moved together as they had last night. They swayed and turned more than danced, each lost in the sensation of holding and being held, of moving as one body, feeling as one soul.

All conversation stopped at their table as Paul's friends and Jillian's sisters watched them dance. Priya sat with her hand to her throat, filled with joy for Paul and Jillian and with pride at knowing she'd played a part in helping them get to this moment.

Tom was getting poked by his wife who whispered, "Why don't you ever do romantic things like that for me?"

Rob and Lisa held hands and watched, happy their friend appeared to have found the girl of his dreams.

Julia drew her two sisters into a huddle. "This guy's good. He wants her so bad you can see it in his eyes."

"And she's just as horny for him," Joanne added.

"Whatever." Jessica was contemplating the scratches on the table instead of the happy couple.

As the song reached its conclusion, everyone saw Paul lean down to give Jillian a soft, tender kiss, a kiss that made her heart flutter and the other five women feel the slightest twinge of jealously mixed in with their happiness for her.

"Hey dude," Rob said to Paul about an hour later, "Lisa and I are hitting the road. We're heading down to the Cape tonight. Lisa's parents have a summer house in Brewster."

Tom, Patti, and Priya had split about twenty minutes earlier.

After the goodbyes, Julie, Jo, and Jessie headed to the ladies room.

"So what's up with Jessie? She hasn't seemed too happy to be here tonight."

Jillian explained about the breakup and how she would miss her prom as a result.

"That really stinks. Guys like that give the rest of us a bad name."

When her sisters returned, Paul turned on the charm, telling jokes, making little comments and observations that had them laughing and feeling good. Without it seeming obvious, he tried to pay extra attention to Jessie. He succeeded in lifting her spirits a little, and sensed the sisters all appreciated his efforts. After polling them about their favorite songs, he asked Jillian to help him play them all on the jukebox.