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"It's going to come out at dinner, you know it is."
"Maybe it needs to come out." Casey shrugged. "If people would stop trying to avoid discussing things, maybe things wouldn't blow the hell up."
"I just hate how it upsets my parents, especially my mom." Morgan sighed.
"They're grown-ups too," Casey reminded her. "They'll get over being upset. What gets me about it is that for whatever reason, they're willing to put Brianna's happiness ahead of yours or Jenna's, or even their own."
"Yeah. My mom is conflict-averse, no question. Dad won't back away, but that's why Brianna tends to go after Mom. Then Dad concentrates on diverting Brianna, not confronting her."
"She sure does know how to play people."
"Yep. I try not to play the game, but it's hard when she's always changing the rules. I try to remember her good sides, and yes, she does have them."
"If you say so. Just set out your own rules and keep to them," Casey said. "It's all you can do."
"I guess so." She smiled and squeezed Casey's arm. "Thanks, Casey. I'll let you know how it all goes."
"You better. I need something while I eat my popcorn." Casey patted Morgan's hand. "Now go. You've stalled long enough. Call me if you need anything."
"Will do."
At her parents' house, Morgan wished she could have stalled longer. Brianna needled her constantly about the wedding, although she did it mostly when their parents were out of the room. Morgan could tell her sister was trying to get her blow up, which would make her the bad guy.
Morgan had pushed back as firmly as she could without upsetting her parents, which wasn't nearly as much as she wanted. She did notice that even Evan tried to get Brianna to dial things back, but with little success. If Evan, who Shane said didn't like confrontation, was stepping up, then Brianna must be on the warpath.
Jenna was quieter than usual, which made Morgan suspect the dress fitting had not gone well.
Brianna waited until dessert to launch her final plan.
"Mom, did Morgan tell you she won't come to the wedding?" Brianna took a bite of her pie after shooting a smug look at Morgan.
"What?" Elaine was dismayed. "Morgan, really? You won't go?"
To collect her thoughts, Morgan took a bite of the pie and chewed slowly, then took a sip of coffee. "It's not a matter of won't. I can't afford it, Mom. I'm sorry, I'd like to, but it's simply too expensive."
"I can't believe it," said Brianna. She gave their parents a sad look. "I can't believe one of my sisters would miss my wedding. The biggest day of my life."
"It's too bad," Evan agreed. "But—" He stopped when Brianna glared at him.
Knots formed in Morgan's stomach. She didn't know where this was going, but she was sure it was nowhere good. She darted a look at her father, who was watching everyone but saying nothing.
"You're going, aren't you Jenna?" Brianna asked.
"Hmm?" Jenna looked up from her dessert, which she'd barely touched.
"To the wedding, Jenna," Brianna snapped.
"Yeah," Jenna said. "I just need to work out the details."
"See, Jenna's going. It just won't be right if Morgan isn't there." Brianna sounded wistful, but Morgan knew it was a ploy.
"I'm sorry to miss it," said Morgan, "but I'm afraid it's beyond my budget."
"Oh. Well." Elaine wrung her hands and looked at her husband. "We'll pay for Morgan's ticket, won't we, John?"
"What?" Morgan dropped her fork. "No. No, you will not."
"Really, Mom? You will?" Brianna beamed. "That would be so wonderful."
"Absolutely not." Morgan leaned forward. "Mom, Dad, I don't want you to do that. It is too expensive."
"Morgan, we just want everyone to be able to attend the wedding," said her mother. "Brianna will only have one wedding. It would be a shame for you to miss it. You could pay us back whenever you have the money."
"Mom, if Brianna and Evan wanted to make sure everyone could come, then they could have it somewhere local."
"John, talk to Morgan," Elaine said. "You can convince her."
"No, Dad. You can't." Morgan stood up and looked at Brianna. "I can't believe you even want me at your wedding, because you have insulted just about every aspect of me and my life. I have put up with it as best I can because I didn't want to upset Mom and Dad and Jenna. But I'm done."
Morgan turned to her parents. "I don't get why I have to respect Brianna's wishes, but she doesn't have to respect mine. I am not doing anything wrong, and I refuse to be railroaded. So I am taking myself out of this whole thing. If you want to be upset with me, fine, but I have had enough of this." She took a deep breath. "Now, you'll have to excuse me. Dinner was delicious, Mom, and dessert, so thank you. But now I'm leaving."
No one said a word as Morgan gathered her things and left.
Well, she thought, at least I have a story to tell Casey.
x-x-x-x-x-x
It was noon. On a Wednesday. Shane stared at his phone as he sat in his apartment. He'd taken the day off on something of a whim, and didn't know what to do with himself. Various chores around the house, ranging from sawing to sanding to painting were available, but he wasn't interested in doing that. Or in playing his video games.
What he wanted was to see Morgan. He'd thought about her a lot since his lunch with Mark, and the more he did, the more he thought he'd been an idiot. Regardless of Morgan's interests, how was he supposed to know if he liked her if he didn't try to get to know her?
Which you still won't do, he told himself, if you don't ask her. Fine, he thought, I'll text her. It's easy, it's quick, and if she can't answer right now, she won't, so I won't feel like I'm interrupting her.
Before he could overthink it, he typed and sent a message. "Hi. It's Shane. Are you free for lunch or dinner?"
He stared at the screen, wondering if he sounded too formal.
His phone chirped when Morgan replied. Hi. I'd love some dinner.
"Okay. What time is good?"
I finish at six today if that works.
"Six is fine. Any preference for anything?"
No pizza. She added a green emoji face.I have had so much pizza the last few days I'm sick of it.
"How about a calzone?" Shane suggested.
Funny. I don't want rolled up pizza either. There was a pause and then another message.Do you like Asian food? There's a great little Thai restaurant near the store.
"Sounds great. I'll come by around six."
Okay. Thanks. I could use the company.
Shane smiled. "Uh oh. Rough weekend?"
Family drama never ends. I'll tell you more later if you want. A few seconds later she added,No, you don't want. I don't want, and it's my family.
He chuckled. "I know the feeling. See you tonight."
Shane knew from his own experience that family drama could cover quite a range, so he hoped nothing serious had happened with Morgan. It probably had to do with the wedding, he thought. Which reminded him he needed to look into arrangements for a bachelor party and for travel.
He busied himself with finding some lunch and then searching for ideas and prices online. He felt a little more relaxed with a task ahead of him.
Evan wouldn't want a party at a strip club, Shane knew. Which was fine because he didn't either. What he should do, Shane decided, was get in touch with the other groomsmen. He might be nominally in charge as best man, but he wasn't going to commit people's time or money without getting a little input first.
He texted Evan to get contact information, and while he waited, started looking at air fares. Jesus, he thought. The cheapest he could find was $1800, and he was wary of taking the cheapest fare. Sometimes, he thought, you got what you paid for, and not in the best way. Plus, that price likely didn't include baggage fees or taxes or any other incidentals he'd have, such as transportation to and from the airport, the hotel in Fiji and food.
No wonder Morgan had been so upset, he thought. If her parents paid for themselves and their daughters, and maybe Evan, they'd be looking at over ten grand. He hoped Evan would find a way to draw a line, but if Morgan was right about everyone appeasing her sister, he doubted Evan could do much.
With everything that had happened with his parents, and now this, Shane's desire to avoid a big wedding became more entrenched. His first choice, he told himself, if he fell in love with someone, was simply to agree to be together. If getting married was that important to her, he was willing to have a simple ceremony. If he had to.
Shane wondered what Morgan thought of it all. Was she jealous of Brianna's lavish wedding? He supposed there was some sibling rivalry but he had the impression that came more from Brianna than Morgan. Brianna was the one who had accused Morgan of trying to draw attention, of trying to ruin her wedding, and whatever else. In his experience, those kinds of accusation reflected on the person making them, but he didn't know this situation.
Growing up, he'd often been jealous of families that were more stable than his. He'd seen families with two or three kids and when the kids were close and kidding around, he'd wished his family had been like that. He and Mark and Chloe had worked hard to be close, and it hadn't been easy. He could see with Morgan and her sisters that living in the same house didn't necessarily make it any easier.
Families, he thought. What a mess.
Evan sent the contact information for the other groomsmen, and Shane composed a text regarding the bachelor party and sent it out. He poked around on the internet for a bit looking for bachelor party ideas and checking more airfares.
After a while, bored with it all, he debated going to The Neutral Zone. He'd be early, but he could occupy himself.
It was too bad he couldn't bring Mark along, he thought. His brother could explain the games and comics while he waited for Morgan. Then again, maybe not. Mark might be competition he didn't want. Shane groaned to himself; when had he started thinking that way?
This whole thing was messing him up, Shane decided, and his brother was right. He liked Morgan, and just because she was into comics or fantasy or whatever was no reason to limit her to being a platonic friend. Shane realized when he thought about her that it wasn't her tattoos that came to mind; it was her eyes, her smile, and her laugh. They were worth an effort.
He stood up to get ready to go and a flash of color caught his eye, and he saw Morgan's book. No need to be early after all, he thought.
x-x-x-x-x-x
"Hey, hey, sexy Shane is here." Casey nudged Morgan.
"What? Stop that. That's embarrassing." Morgan ran a hand through her hair and looked up. Shane was outside, talking on his phone. "And how would you know if he's sexy or not? He's not your type."
"Morgan, come on. I might be gay, but even I can appreciate a hottie like him."
"Hottie? Really?" Morgan winced. "I hate that word."
"Jesus, I can't say he's sexy and I can't say he's a hottie. You're limiting me terribly. What am I supposed to say now?" Casey tsked.
"I'm sure there's a thesaurus around somewhere." Morgan stood and tugged at her shirt.
Casey laughed. "Are you nervous? Look at you."
"He's early."
"You are nervous. You like him." Casey laughed, more like a cackle, then stopped. "You do like him, don't you? I mean, you really like him."
"I do, and nothing will come of it, so stop." Morgan took a deep breath and managed not to jump much when the bell rang to signal someone had come in the store. "We're just friends."
"Right." Casey nodded. "Whatever you say."
"It's not what I said, it's what he said," Morgan said, and Casey nodded, but it was clear Casey didn't believe her. Morgan narrowed her eyes but Shane's arrival kept her from saying anything.
"Hi, Morgan. Casey." Shane waved.
"Hi." Casey gave him a huge grin.
"Hi, Shane." Morgan darted a warning look at Casey. "How's your day been?"
"A little dull." He looked sheepish. "I took the day off and didn't know what to do with myself, then realized I was bored." He cleared his throat. "I'm not very good at taking days off."
"In general, or just today?" Morgan asked.
"In general. I've been working a lot lately, and got it into my head that I should take a day off. So yesterday I decided I might as well take today off, and my boss was good with it and then I sat there today and couldn't figure out what to do."
"Really?" Morgan was curious now. "You didn't have anywhere to go? Or things you wanted to do? Play video games or something?"
"I admit I did not plan ahead. Spontaneity is not my strong suit. I thought I might work on my house, or play some games, but I didn't feel like it."
"I could give you lots of ideas for free time," Casey said with a grin.
"Go away, you." Morgan waved her hand. "Shoo."
"So strict," Casey said with an exaggerated eyeroll.
Shane laughed as she went into the game room.
Casey wasn't wrong that Morgan was attracted to Shane, even if he didn't return the feeling. She found she couldn't help it. At the engagement party, he'd been a little flustered but good-natured, and funny. When she'd been stuck with the check at the dinner, he had been sympathetic and generous. After the events at the Magic draft, he'd gone above and beyond the call of friendly duty.
Now he seemed at loose ends, and Morgan hoped she could pay back his kindnesses.
"You must have done something today," she said.
"I tried to be productive," he allowed. "I checked into flights, ran some ideas by the guys for bachelor party ideas."
"Working hard even though you took time off."
"Yeah, I guess so. What do you do on your days off?" he asked.
"Nothing very exciting, mostly," she said. "Catch up on stuff like laundry and whatnot."
"No, not that." He shook his head. "You have hobbies and stuff. You must. So what do you do?"
"I read books, I play some games, maybe look around for more games." Morgan thought. "I like to take a walk, maybe even a hike if I can get to a nearby park. Sometimes I take a pad with me so I can draw."
"How did you do all that and write a book?"
She laughed. "I didn't do all of that while I wrote the book. I did some of it from time to time, because I needed a break. I don't do all of it all the time anyway. Those are just some things I like to do when I can."
"That's a relief, because I was thinking that if I had that much to do in my down time, it'd be worse than working."
"Maybe you need to work a little less," she suggested. "Would the place fall apart without you?"
"My boss thinks it will." Shane shrugged. "I don't know. We're kind of swamped and I'm not officially in charge but I'm the one that ended up in charge."
"Do your coworkers take time off?"
"Yeah, they do. A lot of them are married, have kids. Some have parents with health issues. I'm unattached, so I don't mind filling in when they need to go."
"That's good of you." Morgan smiled. "But sometimes you need time for yourself, too, even if you don't have those obligations."
"What about you?" Shane asked. "This place must demand a lot of your time. I bet one of you is here every day, if not both of you, for most of the day."
"Touché." Morgan laughed. "We are, but we also try to balance it. And I don't know if it's true for you with your job, but we both love being here. We chose to get in this deep. That's not to say it isn't hard, or that we don't get tired or frustrated or worried, but it makes a lot of difference."
Shane sighed. "Deep conversations make me hungry. We should be discussing this over Thai food."
"Agreed. Let me just check with Casey and I'm good to go."
Morgan pondered things while she got ready to leave. She wasn't quite sure why Shane had asked her to dinner, although she supposed he didn't need a reason besides that they were friends. There might not be romance in the air, but she did like him and her social calendar hadn't exactly been filled to the brim lately.
She'd have to be careful, she told herself. Morgan knew she had a crush on Shane, and had no problem admitting it to herself. She also knew that hanging around him might get more difficult as the feelings weren't returned. Still, that point wasn't there yet, and perhaps her own feelings would change.
Overall, she sensed that Shane needed a friend, and she could do that, even at a little risk to herself.
x-x-x-x-x-x
"What's on your mind?" Morgan asked as they finished up their meal.
"It just occurred to me that I have been—I don't know exactly," Shane said. "Tense, wired, whatever. For a long time. But right now, I am not. I am actually the opposite of that." He smiled. "Must be the company."
"I'm happy to help," said Morgan. "I have to admit, it's nice to see you without some drama playing out in the background."
"I figure something will happen any minute now. Just given our track record."
"I hope you're wrong. I was enjoying an evening without arguing with someone."
Shane glanced around. "I think you could take the waiter. He's skinny."
Morgan laughed. "You're terrible. And why should I do that? You're the one who works out. Shouldn't you put all that time at the gym to practical use?"
"I'm adjusting to being outside the office. You can't expect me to jump into the real world so quickly."
"So what made you hide in your office?"
"Hide? I wasn't hiding. I've been working."
"You just told me you haven't been relaxed in ages. I'm betting that's more than just work. Am I wrong?" Morgan raised an eyebrow.
Shane wanted to protest, but couldn't. "No. You're not. I just didn't know it. Not until recently anyway."
Morgan sat back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."
"You didn't. My brother brought it up when I saw him last week. I had a bad run with relationships, and work was a good way to avoid any more. You know: sorry, can't go, have to work. Helped with parents too. Sorry, Mom, have to run."
"Bad times with relationships and parents?" Morgan asked. "That's enough to make anyone hide."
"Do you hide?"
"I suppose a bit. I try not to, but I get it. Sometimes things happen and you just want to avoid more of it." She gave him a small smile. "I haven't had the best luck with relationships lately, either, and you know about the family side of things."
"I had an ex stalk me for two months online," Shane said.
"That's bad. I made the mistake of voicing my opinions on some movies and books. I got some creative, if somewhat upsetting, online reactions. And then some threats."
"That sucks. Sorry."
Morgan shrugged. "Happens. Comes with the territory."
Shane filed that away for further thought. "Then with my parents," he continued, "it's more about getting fed up with things not changing."
"Yeah." Morgan nodded. "I can understand that. What do you get fed up with? If you don't mind me asking."
"I don't. They divorced when I was really small, and ever since then there's been a lot of power plays, and a lot of them involved me."
"I'm sorry," said Morgan. "That's a terrible thing for a child, whether you remember or not."
"My grandparents were terrific," Shane said, "and they kept it from being as bad as it could have been. Then my parents each remarried, and I have a brother and a sister, and they went through it too when those marriages broke up. My parents each got married again after that, but I still get calls where each one tries to get me on their side. It is so—" he sighed "—exhausting."
"It would be."
Shane studied her. "You know, you are one of few people who has not tried to convince me to give my parents another chance, forgive them, whatever."
"I can try if you like," she said.
"No, please. It's refreshing and honestly, it's futile. Don't get me wrong. I always had a place to live and such, and so did my siblings, and there were some good times, if not great ones. But they were wrapped up in their own stuff, and that took precedence. I've had enough counseling and therapy to get by." He said the last with a small grin, trying to lighten the mood. That was more than he'd said to anyone besides Evan about the whole situation in a long time.
