Holly's Wishes by Karen Pokras

at the plant. She waited, listening to the sounds of the front door slamming shut, followed by a car racing down the driveway, before heading upstairs.
     

 
     
     
    Chapter 22
     
     “Tessa says she thinks it’s fate that we keep bumping into each other. Do you think that’s true?” Holly sat in the makeshift office she and Jared had set up in the spare bedroom of their apartment doodling hearts in the corner of her memo pad while she talked to Ava on the phone. She always doodled while trying to figure out a problem. It was a habit she’d had since she was a little girl. Not that Ben was a problem. She just hadn’t been able to get him off her mind since the kiss last night.
    After Ben ran out, Holly decided she needed to go home and try to salvage what was left of her own relationship with Jared. Making the excuse her boyfriend needed her to pick up some medicine for his illness , she said goodbye to her parents and their company before they could convince her to stay for dinner. When she got back to her apartment, she could smell the garlic and basil before even opening the front door. Walking in she noticed the unopened beers were still in their carton and the almost full beer bottle that Jared had opened right before she’d stormed out, was still on the coffee table. Continuing into the kitchen she found him washing pots from the dinner he’d prepared. Two plates piled high with pasta sat on the kitchen table along with a loaf of garlic bread and two candlesticks waiting to be lit. A romantic dinner. That seemed to be his way of apologizing lately.
    “What do you think?” Ava asked. “Do you think it’s fate?”
    “I think I was mad at Jared, and I got caught up in the moment?” Holly said with an uncertain tone.
    “Are you asking me or telling me?”
    “I’m giving you the answer I’m supposed to give—the one that’s the most rational. It’s the answer that says I’ve invested three years of my life with Jared, and yeah, he messes up here and there, but he does love me, and he’s hinted he’s getting ready to settle down and start a family. It’s the answer that says I’ve only seen Ben a handful of times, and what I’m feeling can’t be anything more than a leftover high school crush.”
    Holly put down her pen and walked to the kitchen to heat up her dinner—leftover pasta from the night before.
    “Okay, so you gave me the most rational answer. Now what’s the real answer?” Ava asked.
    She took her plate out of the microwave, sat at the kitchen table, and sighed.
    “The real answer is I can’t stop thinking about Ben and the kiss …”
    Twirling her fork in her pasta, she stared at the red and white swirls on her plate.  Why was she still thinking about the kiss? She and Jared had made up over dinner last night, which then carried over into the bedroom. That’s what she should be thinking about.
    “At least he broke up with that woman. I heard she was— just a— I don’t know.”
    Holly laughed. “A bitch?”
    “Yes, a total bitch,” Ava agreed.  “Tessa told me how she acted at Mom and Dad’s house.”
    Holly chuckled again. “I thought maybe I was being a little too judgmental because of what she was like in high school. But I’m glad Tessa noticed, too. Let me tell you, it was so hard to be civil to her the night we all went out. I wanted to smack her upside the head. It’s a good thing our youngest sister wasn’t with us. She definitely would have told her where to stick it. The only reason I was being the slightest bit polite was because Ben is Max’s cousin. You know, that whole family thing. I thought you all might be friends.”
    “Nope, we never met her. And I hope we never do,” Ava said.
    “Anyway, her character is completely irrelevant now that she’s out of the picture. We’ll never have to deal with her again, thank goodness.” Holly shuddered at the thought of her. “It’s just—it was easier not to think about Ben when I thought he was