Chapter 28 — Miscommunication
Wade’s POV:
I looked at Jude and rolled my eyes. I stopped myself from banging my head on the table. When was this idiot going to understand that Stephanie was bad news? When was he going to get in his stupid head that she had come back to him not because she loved him? Most importantly, it was high time he kept his stupid male ego aside and he realized that he was and had always been Stephanie’s back-up plan. I made a mental note to call Sean and update him on this latest development. He had named this whole agenda of getting Natasha and Jude together ‘covert ops bringing douche Jude to his senses’ yeah it was too big to even make an acronym out of it so I had just given up and refused to call it that when Sean asked me to.
I stared at Stephanie and gave her the evil eye; I wanted her to know that I could see through her act. I smirked in satisfaction as she shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Then I turned to look at Jude, who looked away immediately. He had definitely been jealous when he had seen Natasha and I goofing around. Of course he didn’t know that I was goofing around. I turned to look at Natasha, who was licking her lips nervously. I felt really bad for her, the moment she became happy, Jude burst her bubble. Well, more specifically Stephanie burst her bubble. I had become incredibly fond of Natasha in the short time that I knew her; she was just the kind of person you instantly became friends with. She was perfect for Jude. She complemented him perfectly; all of us could see that except for Jude.
“So” I looked up to see Jude was finally speaking, “Natasha I have something to tell you. I didn’t realize you’d be here too Wade but anyway, Natasha I still have feelings for Stephanie.”
“Oh k,” Natasha looked so confused it was hilarious! It's like she was torn, she didn’t know whether she was supposed to pretend to be mad or not react at all because we didn’t know yet whether Stephanie knew the truth or not.
“It's ok, Nats. She knows.”
“Oh alright.”
Stephanie smiled and said, “We were just discussing how do we take things forward from here.”
“What do you mean?” I asked her coldly.
She smiled that sickeningly sweet and fake smile of hers again and said, “Well obviously I wouldn’t be comfortable with Natasha staying here with Jude, all alone.”
“Seriously?” I asked, now I was furious “you’re the one to talk? Its Jude’s decision and not yours!”
Jude looked like a deer that had been caught in headlights. “What?
Yeah, Stephanie and I spoke about it—”
“And?” Natasha cut him off before I could. I had to agree with Sean, Jude was being a douche. “Well I realized that she is right, I mean I was uncomfortable with her staying with Nick.”
“So…” spoke up Stephanie whom I shall name THE BITCH from now on, I was getting really pissed. “We decided you could stay at your place and Jude stays here and you can come over when his family is here and pretend all is good.”
If I was the kind of guy who hit girls, Stephanie would be knocked out cold by now. I hated her guts. Who the hell was she to come waltzing in and disrupt everyone else’s lives, as long as she was happy? “Ok,” I began really annoyed right now, “Who died and made you the queen of all humans? Who the hell said that you can just come in here and tell everybody what to do?”
Natasha placed a hand on my knee and whispered, “Wade, it's ok.”
“No! It's not ok, Tasha. She cannot order people around. She walks in right here pretending that everything is alright, that she didn’t break my brother’s heart three years ago, what’s the guarantee that she won’t do it ever again? Huh, Stephanie? What’s the proof?” I got up and my chair fell over.
“Wade, calm down man!” said Jude.
“Do not ask me to calm down. Jude I was there when she broke your heart and left you alone to mend it by yourself. I know what she did to you then and I know what she will do now.”
“Oh really?” asked Stephanie, good lord she even had fake tears in her eyes; I will kill this woman, so help me Lord! “I know what I did was a mistake, Wade. I am truly sorry for what I did. It was rash, impulsive and the biggest mistake of my life. But I have changed, I swear. I would never do that ever again, yo-you have to believe me! Jude I—”
“Shh it's ok, babe,” Jude got up and hugged her. I looked away in disgust, he was actually consoling her. While Natasha just stared at the scene numbly.
“Ok, er, Natasha and I spent the better part of the day cooking this food. I am hungry and I want to eat. So just complete what you started so we can all eat.”
“Ok, well, I guess we will do what Stephanie just said.”
“Ok,” said Natasha.
“Cool,” I said, “but when your parents come here to give you a surprise and find Stephanie here with you, don’t tell me.”
“Oh, but Stephanie won’t be staying with me.”
Both Natasha and I raised our eyebrows and he rolled his eyes and said, “Really! We have decided to take this nice and slow.”
“Ok, then when your mom calls you and asks to pass the phone to Natasha and you run out of excuses, I ain’t helping you.”
Both Jude and Natasha looked at each other. I saw Jude’s face soften and I was sure he almost changed his mind when the bitch spoke up again and said, “So we’ll call them before they call us.”
Ok, did I say I hate Stephanie? I hate her!
“Whatever,” I said ignoring Stephanie, “your call,” I said looking at Jude.
I started eating, the food was delicious. If I ever got married I would want my wife to be like Natasha. That girl was perfect!
Natasha ate in silence; she had barely uttered a word tonight. Just moments ago she had been so happy and all chirpy while cooking. I had to call Sean tonight; we needed to step up on our game.
“This is delicious!” said Jude.
Silence.
“The mushrooms are cooked perfectly and the garlic bread is delicious.”
Silence, I was really enjoying watching Jude squirm, he was trying to get Natasha to talk. He looked at me pleadingly but I ignored him.
“Natasha,” I said, “the chicken curry is absolutely delicious.”
“Thanks,” she said smiling at me. I smirked at Jude who was sulking now. He had completely given up. Natasha finished eating quickly and got up and left the kitchen. I sat and took a second helping. So did Jude, Stephanie finished but stayed there. I ignored both of them and ate at a leisurely pace. Natasha came back with a backpack.
“Wade, will you drop me home?”
I glared at Jude and said, “Sure.”
“Ok cool, when you’re done, we’ll leave.”
“Oh, I almost forgot the dessert,” she said with false cheerfulness.
Jude and I got up and started clearing the table while Natasha served the dessert and Stephanie, well let's say she was sitting and surveying everything like she was the queen. When Jude was near me I coughed ‘Douche!’
“I heard that,” whispered Jude.
“Good, you were meant to hear it.”
Jude glared at me and was about to say something when Natasha cut in, “Wade, here’s your dessert and, Jude, I have kept yours on the table.”
Neither Jude nor I moved. We continued our glaring match, when finally Natasha stepped in between us and smiled at me, “Wade come on! I wanna go home” she pouted. I smiled and gave in. I quickly ate the delicious chocolate mousse and asked, “Ready?”
“Yep,” she got up and picked her bag.
“Is that all you had?” asked Stephanie, in what she thought was a kind tone when really it was condescending.
“No, but the rest of the stuff Jude has bought for me, so I will keep it here.”
“Oh alright.”
Then Natasha wore the jacket that I had bought her and Jude spoke up, “When did you get that?”
“Oh this? Wade bought it for me.”
“Oh, I thought we had decided I would buy you one?”
“No, actually we had decided no such thing.”
“Besides,” I said, “I insisted on buying her one.”
“Well, let’s leave, Wade.”
“Yep,” I said picking my jacket.
“Call me when you get there?” Jude said.
“Yeah,” said Natasha and walked out without looking back even once. I got my car out and she got in without saying a word.
“Are you alright?”
“Is it weird that I feel discarded? Unwanted?”
I sighed and pulled over. “Natasha you are beautiful, smart, intelligent, you have a sense of humor and you are an excellent cook. Who would not want you?”
“Jude.”
“Oh he’s just being a douche, he’ll come around eventually.”
“What if he doesn’t? What if it’s too late?”
“It won’t be,” I said with more confidence than I actually felt. She smiled and said, “Can you drop me off to Joey’s, I really don’t want to be alone right now”
“Sure, but don’t you want to call her and check first?”
“Yeah sure,” I started the car as she dialed her friend’s number.
“Hello?”
I listened to the monologue with amusement.
“Oh God! I am sorry, how I was supposed to know that you were busy! Well, why did you answer? Argh, no, nothing urgent. I will call you later.”
I looked at her and said, “Well?”
“Er, she was busy.”
“Doing what?”
“I’d rather not say.”
I started laughing and said, “Why did she answer, I pity the poor guy!”
“Oh shut up,” said Natasha burying her face in her hands in embarrassment.
“Ok, so I was thinking, you could bunk at my place.”
She looked at me incredulously, “Er, Wade, we don’t have to keep pretenses, Jude isn’t here.”
“Well, he may be your pretend husband, but I am your true friend. So we are going to my place. Oh yippee we will have so much fun. Let's see a movie and then some good old gossip and—”
“Oh, and swapping ghost stories.”
I looked at her in alarm, “gh-ghost stories?”
“Oh my God! You’re scared too!” she started laughing.
“Hey! Not funny. Jude and I saw The Exorcist when we were wee kids. We were scared for months!”
She started laughing harder, “O yeah we are so gonna swap ghost stories.”
I smiled and said, “Alright if that makes you happy.”
We got home soon enough. The weather was chilly. I tidied up the spare bedroom so that Natasha could sleep in there. She kept her bag in the room and changed. By the time I had changed and come out she was going through my DVD collection. She kept shaking her head at all the movies, and finally picked one. Speed, my all-time favorite.
“The rest have too much blood and gore for me.” She said.
We watched the movie in comfortable silence and as the end credits rolled I yawned and glanced at Natasha. She got up and went and sat in one of the bean bag chairs in my balcony. I followed her after switching off the TV.
“What are you thinking about?”
“What my life has become, you know sometimes I wonder if my parents ever thought that their daughter would be in a situation like this?”
“Well I don’t know about that Tasha, but I know that they would be really proud of you”
She laughed bitterly and said, “Proud of what? Proud of the fact that the only way I am earning money is by being someone’s pretend wife?”
Uh oh, she’s really moody and emotional right now. All my male instincts were telling me to run away, soon the crying would start, no sooner had I thought that I saw tears roll down her cheeks. I was really bad with this, I looked at her helplessly as she vented out her feelings.
“Natasha they would be proud because of the person you have become. You are strong and you do what it takes to keep your loved ones happy.”
She smiled tearfully and said, “You think?”
“I know.” I got up and hugged her. I sat down next to her with one arm around her shoulder and she leaned in and put her head on my shoulder. “Thank you Wade, you are a good friend.”
“You’re most welcome.”
“So about those ghost stories...”
“Natasha!” I groaned but she just laughed and started, “Well have you heard the urban legend of a Japanese woman who face was disfigured by her husband?”
I jumped as there was a breeze and said “No.”
“Well, they say that her husband caught her cheating on him and slashed her face with a sword and disfigured it.”
“oh-kay,” I really didn’t want to hear the rest but it seemed to distract Natasha so I went along with it. “He then told her now no one will find you beautiful. Legend has it that she roams the streets of Japan till date and wears a mask.”
I looked at her disbelievingly, “No listen, in Japan a lot of people wear surgical masks when they have the flu, so then she stops strangers randomly and will ask ‘Am I beautiful?’ If you say yes she will kill you for lying, if you say no she will kill you in rage.
They say that the perfect answer to give is average because then it will confuse her and give you time to escape.”
“Wow I sure am glad that I don’t live in Japan, but I wish Stephanie did.”
Natasha stared at me for the longest time and then busted out laughing. “oh God Wade, you are so funny!”
“I know right?”
“Yeah now you go next!”
“Er I don’t think so I am pretty sure I am going to have nightmares about women with disfigured faces.”
Natasha giggled and said, Oh you are so funny Wade! Are you sleepy yet?”
“Nope.”
“Me neither. There are so many stars tonight! Just like yesterday! Let's just stay here.”
“Yeah, it's cold though let me get some blankets.”
I got the blankets and we lay on them and covered ourselves with a quilt. We lay there in silence staring at the sky when suddenly Natasha started singing:
“Can we pretend that airplanes
in the night sky
are like shooting stars?
I could really use a wish right now,
wish right now,
wish right now.”
I glanced at her and realized she had been crying silently.
“Don’t worry, Tasha, he will come around.”
“Yeah one can always hope, right?”
“Right.”
We lay there staring at the sky and I didn’t even know when we fell asleep over there. I was woken up in the morning by a very harassed Sean.
“OH MY GOD!!”
Both Natasha and I woke up with a start and looked around. Natasha glanced at me and sat up blushing. Sometime during the night her head had landed on my shoulder and my arm around her waist. However I didn’t feel anything wrong. We were good friends and none of us had dirt on our mind.
“On days like these you make me regret giving you a key to my apartment.”
“Oh no no no. No mister you do not get to say that. I got to Jude’s and I saw him and Stephanie on his couch, I come here and I see you and Natasha in each other’s arms! What is the world coming to? Is it apocalypse?”
Yep, that’s why we all love Sean, forever the dramatist, I sighed and got up.
“You saw Jude and Stephanie on the couch together?” asked Natasha. I winced, she could’ve done without knowing that.
“Yes and—”
She didn’t let him finish, “were they, you know?”
“No they weren’t, thank goodness for that!”
“Sean buddy Stephanie and Jude are back together and Stephanie knows about their arrangement.”
“Uhuh I already figured that out, Mr. Obvious.”
“Dude, stop with the yelling early in the morning,” I said.
“Don’t call me dude.”
“Ok. Hold on let me brush my teeth, let's all have breakfast together.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Natasha was silent, she went to the washroom and I pounced on Sean.
“What did you have to mention Jude and Stephanie sleeping on the couch together in front of Natasha for?”
Sean stared at me and said, “Damn! I didn’t realize. You guys startled me! What were you guys in one blanket for?”
“Dude we were star gazing, we didn’t realize when we fell asleep.”
“Oh star gazing,” he said sarcastically, “why on earth why were you star gazing like a love-struck couple?”
“Long story,” I quickly brought him up to date on the situation and told him about the whole fiasco.
He smacked his palm to his forehead and said, “this just keeps getting worse” Just then Natasha came out and asked us “So what are you guys going to have for breakfast?”
“I’ll have French toast and a glass of juice,” said Sean, Natasha nodded. “What about you Wade?”
“um, I will just have a cup of coffee, but I will make breakfast while you catch up with Sean, what are you going to eat?”
“I am not very hungry, I’ll pass.”
“Nonsense” said Sean, “you will eat. Just make French toast for both of us, Wade.”
“sure sir,” I muttered and started cooking.
Jude’s POV:
The scene from the evening kept playing in my head. Wade licking chocolate off Natasha’s fingers. The way they jumped apart when I came in. He even bought her a damn jacket! I was going to buy her one. Then I realized what am I doing? She seemed happy with Wade. I was annoyed with Stephanie for putting me in a spot. I hated telling Natasha to leave but it wouldn’t have been fair, after all I wasn’t happy with the idea that she would have been living with Nick. I hated myself for making Natasha feel dejected but if she liked Wade then I guess it was ok, right? I glanced at Stephanie thinking, yeah it was ok. Natasha liked Wade so I guess I was giving them a fair chance to work something out. Stephanie and I had fallen asleep on the couch and were awakened by Sean entering and yelling, “Surprise!” but he stopped short when he saw Stephanie.
“Jesus Jude!”
“Hi Sean,” said Stephanie waking up and leaning into me.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” said Sean rudely.
“Sean let me exp—”
“Er, no, I think I’ll pass, but you know what, Jude? You are an idiot.” And he walked off.
I looked at Stephanie who looked at me and smiled, “Don’t worry we will win them over.”
We? Did she just say we? I didn’t have to win them over she did and she had better start quick. I needed my cousins with me on this. I still had to go ahead with my crazy scheme and I would need their support.
I had just gotten out of the shower when I got a call from Sean.
“Jude we are all at Wade’s place drop in for lunch.”
“Sure. Who is all?”
“Nats, Wade, and I.”
“Wait a minute, what is Natasha doing there?”
“Oh well,” gushed Sean and lowered his voice, “she stayed over here.”
“WHAT?”
“Ow! What did you yell for?”
“Sorry, but how did she end up at Wade’s?”
“Dunno. All I know that they looked really cute all snuggled up in a blanket on his balcony when I came here this morning. They apparently fell asleep while star gazing! Isn’t that cute?”
Silence.
“Jude?”
“Yeah, it's cute,” I whispered.
“Come drop in for lunch, and just for your information, Stephanie isn’t invited.”
“Yeah, I’ll meet you guys there.”
I hung up and stared at my phone for a minute. I got up and went to my closet I searched for my clothes I began pulling them out then stopped as I thought Natasha will kill you and then I realized with a pang that she wasn’t here. I glanced at her clothes that were folded neatly and kept one the other side. I touched them and sighed, she was gone one day and I missed her already. Fair chance said a voice in my head; I am giving Wade and Natasha a fair chance.