“we hate the sight of raw bacon.”
“I could have done that.”
“You looked as if you needed your sleep, so I called Henry and the next thing you know, everyone came over.”
“What are you eating?” James asked as he saw a bowl with pickles sticking out of it and some creamy substance that looked like ice cream.
“Breakfast,” Willow said.
“What is that?” James pointed to the bowl.
‘Pickles and ice cream,” Willow replied as if it was the breakfast of champions.
“Henry, you let her eat this?”
“I’m not fighting with the appetite of a pregnant woman,” Henry said. “When Daphne was pregnant all she wanted was canned sardines mixed with egg salad. The stuff smelled vile. Taking it away meant going from vile to violent. No sir, I saw the video of a yellow Beetle being pounded to death.”
“Henry!” Willow said incredulously.
“Are they ganging up on you?” It was Cassandra. She had just entered the house. Giles was with her.
“Testosterone,” Willow said.
“Babe, you can’t eat pickles and ice cream for breakfast,” James said.
“I’m not,” she said as Henry plopped a plate of French toast crusted with almonds in front of her. There was a round of French toast for everyone including James. “I’m having French toast and ice cream with a side of pickles and bacon. I think that covers all the major food groups.”
“Did you get the passes?” Cassandra said pouring syrup all over her French toast.
“Oh yes,” Willow replied. “They’re in my pocketbook upstairs.”
“What passes?” James asked.
“We’re going to a by-Jake fashion show,” Larry said. “I thought you got an invite.”
“I forgot to add it to the calendar,” Willow said looking at James.
“Okay,” he replied.
“I’ll add it later.”
They settled down to breakfast. After breakfast, Willow got her pocketbook and briefcase. Everyone was already getting ready to go.
“I’ll call you tonight,” James said before she got into the car with Giles.
“Bye.”
The night had been good but James did not delude himself into thinking they were back together. The ball was in her court. It had always been in her court.
Willow never wanted to be a model. Tonight she was playing the part only so he could see her like this. Michel, her best friend and owner of by-Jake, had constructed a special gown for her for the event. It was his interpretation of her wedding gown. It was beautiful piece, intricately hand embroidered with red lace and Swarovski crystal. It was the final piece for the show. Her intent was to tell James she was ready to move on with their relationship. That she had forgiven him. She hoped by seeing her like this, he would know that it was all for him.
James sat in the front row of the show with Cassandra, Henry, and Larry. This was not his first fashion show, but she had invited him and he wanted to be there. It would give whatever was happening between them some sense of normalcy. When she stepped on to the catwalk in the dress, he saw what he had always seen. She was a powerhouse beauty. The dress was extravagant. It hugged every curve of her body magnificently. The dazzling train of red embroidered flowers glistening as she walked reminded him of rose petals on the train of a wedding dress. That was when it hit him. It was a wedding dress.
It was how he always pictured she would look on their wedding day. The thought that it would never happen filled him with immediate despair. As he looked at her, his heart broke. The emotion cut so deep, he had to get out. He had to get away. He fled the show as a deep searing pain ripped through his heart.
Chapter 15
It was Christmas Eve. The fashion show was over a month ago. They had barely spoken since. Willow planned on moving back to her house after the holidays. Though Edna told her she was always welcomed to stay, Willow wanted her own space again.
Her cousins were visiting for the holidays and the house was especially loud and festive. Her two youngest cousins, Haley who was sixteen and Faith, who was seventeen, had the biggest crush on James. He stopped by once, and they went on a giggle fest for almost an hour. Tonight she could tell he had arrived because she could hear them giggling and running down the stairs. She went out to see him.
“I thought you were spending Christmas with us,” she heard her grandmother say to James. They were in the kitchen.
“I would love to,” he