Page 71 of Finding Us
“You’re not going to see him again. Shit, the guy’s gotta be in his eighties. He’ll probably be dead soon.”
I take my jean shorts and sweatshirt off and get into bed. “Your dad was acting strange, don’t you think?”
Garret joins me in bed. “He always acts that way when he’s been doing business stuff all day. It takes him a while to unwind.”
“What do you think they were meeting about?”
Garret covers us with the sheet and kisses me. “Go to sleep, Jade. No more questions. Stop asking about Roth and the organization. It’s over. We’re not going to think about it anymore.”
I feel Garret’s strong arm around my middle, tucking me into him. And I decide right here and now to do as he says and not let that group control us. I can’t spend our future always worrying about what they might do. I won’t let them ruin my wedding or my life with Garret. I take a deep breath and relax into his arms and go to sleep.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Thursday morning at 10,Garret and I pick up Frank and Ryan at the airport. I’m so excited to see them. I run up to Frank first and give him a huge hug. Then I give Ryan a hug.
“I can’t believe I’m here for your wedding,” Ryan says. “I gotta tell you, Jade, I almost passed out when you told us back in May.” He looks at Garret. “I thought you’d have to wait at least 10 years for her to say yes.”
“She didn’t make it easy,” Garret says.
Ryan laughs. “Yeah, I’m sure she didn’t.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask. He doesn’t answer.
“I wasn’t surprised,” Frank says, a smug smile on his face. “I didn’t think the wedding would be this soon, but I knew you two would get married.”
Garret and Ryan grab the luggage off the conveyor belt and we all go out to the car. We took Garret’s car because it’s roomier than mine. I sit in the back seat with Frank and let Ryan sit up front.
“So how do you like the BMW?” Garret asks Ryan.
“Are you kidding? It’s great. Of course, anything would’ve been an improvement over my old car. I just wanted to replace that thing with something that worked, but then I ended up with a BMW.” He looks back at Frank. “Thanks again, Dad.”
Frank just smiles. It makes me so happy to see Frank and Ryan no longer struggling to make ends meet. The best thing about getting that money from Arlin and Grace was being able to give some to Frank.
When Ryan asked his dad where the money came from, Frank said it was left to him by an uncle who died and had no children to leave his fortune to. It’s the long-lost-uncle story I told him to use. I didn’t think he’d actually use it but he did and Ryan believed him.
After I transferred the money to Frank, he put some of it in a separate account for Ryan. That’s what Ryan used to buy the car. He ended up buying a BMW. He started looking at them online after I told him about mine and the more he looked at them, the more he wanted one. He bought a three series. He could afford the more expensive series but he couldn’t bring himself to spend that much on a car. When you’re not used to having money and you finally get it, it can be hard to part with it.
Frank got a car, too. Actually it’s a small SUV. Back when his health was really bad, he wasn’t able to drive but the doctor said he can now. He can’t take a long road trip, but he can drive around town. The SUV is a good choice because it sits higher off the ground so it’s easier for him to get in and out of than a car. He shopped around a lot before he bought it, then decided to get a Honda. It’s new but it wasn’t super expensive. Just like Ryan and me, Frank has a difficult time spending money after not having any for so long.
“They’ll be talking cars all weekend,” Frank says to me.
“Yeah, I know,” I say, smiling. “It’s good they get along because after Saturday, they’ll kind of be like brothers. Not exactly, but kind of.”
“Are you getting nervous about Saturday?”
“No. Are you? You have to walk me down the aisle. That’s a big job.”
He pats my hand. “I think I can handle it.”
Frank’s doing really well, healthwise. He hasn’t even been using his wheelchair. He’s gained some weight, too, and looks much stronger than he did just a few months ago.
When we get to our place, Garret and Ryan walk over to my white BMW convertible which is sitting in the driveway.
“We’ll be right back,” Garret says to me, tossing the car keys to Ryan. “He wants to take it for a drive.”
“Ryan, you just got here. Don’t you want to come inside first? Or check out the beach?”
“I will, but I gotta try out the convertible first. We won’t be gone long.” He gets in the driver’s side and Garret gets in the passenger side and they take off.
