Page 52 of On the Double
“Four,” I corrected. “I was at the bar.”
“Right, four.”
Oliver looked at me, then at Edu. “And…you don’t like her.”
“Not enough to marry her.”
“But you daydream about him.”
“A girl is allowed a fantasy or two,” I said, hiding just how much Iactually liked Edu. He’d made it perfectly clear that he would not marry me or anyone else. That was probably why he was so at ease right now. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t fantasize about the day I would walk down the aisle toward him—imaginary or not.
“Do you realize how fucked up this is?” Oliver hissed.
“Keep your voice down,” I reprimanded. “It’s for one day.”
“That’s not what Gram is going to think.”
“I’ll make up some excuse why we broke up. It’s not the end of the world.”
“You’re the worst liar ever!” he snapped. “There’s no way she’ll believe you.”
Edu was starting to look worried and I had to find a way to reassure him that everything would be fine. “It’s true. I am a terrible liar, so whatever happens, we’ll have to act it out or something.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. You’ll cheat on me or something.”
He looked offended by that. “I may not ever want to get married, but I would never cheat on someone if I was committed to them.”
“Fine,” I huffed. “Then…I say you got shot and the stress of the job was too much for me. That’s realistic enough, right?”
He looked positively disgruntled by my suggestion. “Whatever.”
“I’m sorry, do you find it offensive that you might get shot?”
“No, that’s very much a real possibility. But why am I the douchebag in all these scenarios?”
“Well, obviously, I can’t have it be my fault that we broke up. Gram would never let me live it down.”
“And then she’d be surrounded by those creepy dolls,” Oliver shuddered.
“Fine, I’ll be the jerk. I can play that part quite well.”
“Just not yet,” I said, grabbing his shirt. “Today has to go off without a hitch.”
Just as he opened his mouth, I saw Gram and Grandpa approaching and put a smile on my face. “Hey! I’m glad you could make it. Let me introduce you to Edu, my fiancé. Edu, these are my grandparents. Gram and Grandpa.”
“Um…nice to see you again, and meet you…Grandpa.”
The man looked at Edu like he was an idiot. I suppose I should have used a name for introductions, but it slipped my mind. I never referred to Grandpa as anything other than that.
“It’s Chuck,” Grandpa muttered.
Edu laughed. “Like Chuck Norris? I’d better watch out.”
Grandpa narrowed his eyes at Edu. “You think you’re a funny man?”
Edu straightened immediately, his smile slipping. “Uh…no.”