Claudia turned away, heading inside. “I need another glass of wine. You need more too, Elena?”
Elena looked down at her nearly-full glass. “I could use a top-off. Want anything, Nate?”
“Uh… I’ll get a drink in a minute. I’m good right now, thanks.” I wasn’t giving up this chance to speak to Tammy alone.
The two women disappeared inside in a flutter of stylish dresses. Giggles floated out of the open doors as I took a couple of steps closer to Tammy, leaning casually against the railing of the balcony. “Is there a reason I don’t feel like our meeting this evening was a coincidence?”
“Wellll, maybe not,” Tammy admitted with a full, genuine smile. “It was kind of a shock seeing you at Zeke’s wedding. I had no idea you two were friends, or even that you lived in the Hamptons.”
“What?” I smirked, holding a dramatic hand to my chest. “But I’m the Hamptons’ most beloved football star.”
Tammy rolled her eyes, and I felt some of the awkwardness between us melting away. “The Hamptons cockiest football star, maybe. Either way, I only moved here a few months before Zeke’s wedding. And I don’t follow sports.”
I wanted to say sarcastically, “Yeah, right. You don’t follow sports?” But I managed to furrow my brow and keep quiet instead.
Tammy had been the captain of the cheerleading squad when we were in high school. She never missed a game, and I never missed watching her cheer at every one, rain or shine, home or away. And we even enjoyed college and NFL games together on TV at her house, rooting for our favorite teams, and arguing about plays while her mother fixed us plates of spaghetti, beef stroganoff and sometimes just a hamburger and french fries.
“The Lexington Colonels won the Super Bowl this year,” I mentioned almost apologetically.
Tammy crossed her arms and started to laugh. “Gotcha!!! Congratulations, Nate!” With a genuine warmth in her voice, she told me. “I know winning the Super Bowl was always one of your dreams. And I just happened to be at a Super Bowl party, so I couldn’t help but see what was going on.” The next moment, her smile melted away, and she scowled, touching my arm. “I saw the play where…” She glanced down at my knee. “I’m…I’m very sorry that happened. But… don’t get me wrong I’m still mad at you.”
I shrugged, ignoring her last remark, I tried to mask my hurt and confusion with my bluster. “I said I would win the Super Bowl back in high school, and I did… And… And I’ll figure out what comes next soon enough.”
Rubbing the back of my neck, I looked away, frustrated. I wanted to delve deeper into why she had written me that letter, but I didn’t think tonight was the time or place to dig up the past in front of our friends. Finally, Tammy took a sip of her wine and broke the silence. “Well, I ended up becoming a wedding planner. Can you believe that?”
I shifted from one foot to the other, and suddenly, my suit felt tighter, constricting my breath. I wished there was a place to sit down out here on this balcony so we could push the re-set button and start our conversation afresh. But that wasn’t happening, so I muttered, “Uh, the Hamptons must be a great place for a wedding planner… Was that why you moved here?”
This time, I was the one saying the wrong thing. Tammy turned slightly and gazed over the gardens. The light of the setting sun illuminating her serious expression as she searched for an answer. “There are definitely a lot of fancy weddings here in the Hamptons. But it’s like any business. It takes a while to get established.”
I felt she had only exposed the tip of the iceberg of some situation she was dealing with, but I didn’t have a chance to ask more because Elena and Riker appeared at the door. “I know you said you would get your own drink,” Elena told me as Riker held out a glass of vodka and orange juice, “but this guy insisted. By the way, the appetizer is here. Duck empanadas.”
Tammy turned back toward me, arranging her beautiful hair over her shoulders. “Well, I’d better get in there before Claudia eats them all. They’re her favorite and mine too.”
I watched her go inside, regretting this whole dinner party thing; not regretting that it had given me a chance to talk to Tammy - regretting that I couldn’t talk to her alone. We needed time to reconnect. I had so many questions, and I sensed she did too, but this evening wasn’t the time and place. My breath hitched at my thought.Maybe, I’m kidding myself. What if she was done talking to me?
As I followed the three of them inside, my mind flashed back to my past, and the attitude I had toward women. Since high school, I had kept my relationships with college gals and later women I’d met here in the Hamptons or while traveling with the team, casual. I had observed the heartache and general challenges my teammates endured while trying to maintain a healthy relationship with someone, or with their kids, and I didn’t want that headache. Plain and simple, I wanted to pursue my dreams, but I never had forgotten about Tammy or actually dealt with my regrets about how things had ended between us.
Tammy was different. She was fun-loving, an adventuresome go-getter. She had probably left our past exactly where it should be - in the past.
I shrugged off my doubts and decided just to do something I did well - have a good time with my friends, both old and new. The chef had prepared the duck empanadas to perfection, and precisely when we finished the appetizer, our entrees arrived.
Throughout dinner, chatter and laughter accompanied the clinking of polished silverware against fine china. I thought that keeping myself from blatantly admiring Tammy would be an issue. Thankfully, I was wrong, since she was sitting opposite me. I could glance at her in between bites.If only I could talk to her alone!
I learned quite a lot, though, from just listening to the conversation between the women. Tammy and Claudia met at New York University, and after they graduated, Tammy had moved back to Somerset while Claudia pursued her modeling career. When Tammy’s mother remarried and moved away from Somerset, Tammy started off on a new adventure and relocated to the Hamptons - something I somehow didn’t know until Zeke’s wedding.
By this time, we had finished the main course and sat back in our seats to talk. However, the servers weren’t finished yet. The delicious food was more than enough to satisfy us, and yet everyone began picking up their pastry forks for their serving of key lime pie.
Everyone except for me. As the server set the slice of pie on the table, my phone buzzed in my jacket pocket. A quick, subtle glance into my jacket told me that I really needed to take this call. “Excuse me,” I said politely, sliding back my chair. “Hello, Mack,” I greeted the owner of the Lexington Colonels as I stepped out of the Wisteria Room and into the hallway, seeking privacy.
“Hey, Nate. How’s the knee?”
“Great, actually.” I stretched my knee out, gratified when I felt no discomfort whatsoever. “Therapy is paying off.”
“That’s good news. I’m so glad to hear that.”
“Yeah, well…”
“Your timing was perfect as always.” Mack chuckled.
