Hope for Better Weather

“So no one told you about Laci?”

“Obviously not. Didn’t you see how I was thrown for a loop on Saturday when some random girl who said she was John’s ex showed up at my fake engagement party?” I muttered as I walked down the aisles of the grocery store.

“I just can’t believe no one told you,” Henley said as she picked something up from the shelf, made a face and then set it back down again.

“His family probably assumed that John and told me and John probably thought I didn’t need to know since we’re not actually dating.”

“Engaged. You’re now pretending to be engaged,” Henley corrected me.

“Right,” I sighed.

“Did his family not mention anything about her when you were there for Thanksgiving?”

“Sophie started to say her name but John cut her off pretty quickly. It’s almost as if he didn’t want me to know about Laci.”

“He doesn’t really like to talk about her.”

“Well he obviously is fine with seeing her. At least he was at the engagement party,” I scoffed.

“It’s complicated.”

“Are you going to tell me why it’s so complicated or just keep standing here and giving me these vague hints?”

Henley bit her lip and I knew she was contemplating her next move. “Don’t you think John should be the one to tell you about all of this? It is about him.”

“He lost his chance when his ex showed up at the party and made rude comments to me,” I snapped.

“You’re right,” Henley sighed. “Ok, John and Laci started dating their senior year of high school so this was before I knew them. I don’t know much about the beginning of their relationship except that John had liked her for a while before they finally started going out. Laci is really big on making plans though and she had her and John’s entire life planned out. She said they would go to ASU and then after graduation they’d get married and she’d get a job teaching somewhere and he’d work at his dad’s business.”

“She sounds crazy and controlling,” I interrupted.

“Oh, it gets better,” Henley said. “Laci got pissed when John dropped out of ASU after the first year. I was dating Tim by this time and knew her but hated her – we all did. She toyed with John’s emotions all the time. Even during our freshmen year she broke up with him and got back together with him about five times. Anyway, she broke up with John after he dropped out of college and said there was no way she could date a guy who had no education and thought he was going to make it big with his music. She got back together with him though when The Maine released their first album and it did well. She began to get jealous of how much time the band took and all of the fans fawning over John. Eventually she told John that he had to choose between her and The Maine.”

“Are you kidding me?” I exclaimed.

Henley shook her head. “No, she really did make him choose. That’s why Ross and Shane call her Yoko Ono. The sad thing is that John almost picked her. He told the guys that he loved The Maine but he couldn’t stand the thought of losing Laci. Then he found out that she had cheated on him when the guys were on tour and Tim was able to talk some sense into him. Then she graduated and got a job in San Diego and we all thought we were rid of her. But of course she had to come back to try and mess up John’s life again.”

“Why can’t John see how terrible she is?” I asked after Henley finished the story.

“She’s his first love and I think he’s blinded by that. Like I said, everyone hates her – the guys, his family, everyone. I think the reason he can’t get over her is because he never really got any closure with their relationship. John needs someone who is driven yet supportive of his dreams. Laci isn’t though; she only cares about herself.”

I tried to process the story of Laci as Henley and I continued to walk around the store. So many more things made since after hearing John’s history. I was so consumed by my thoughts that I accidentally ran my grocery cart into someone else’s. Sadly, it was the last person I wanted to see.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled and tried to get past her before she said anything.

“Oh, John’s fiancé…” Laci smirked as she trailed off.

“Clark. My name is Clark,” I forced a smiled.

“I’m sorry. I’m just terrible with names,” she apologized and Henley scoffed from behind me. “It’s actually funny that I ran into you here. I just got off the phone with John.”

“Why the hell are you talking to John? He walked out of his life. Plus, he now has a fiancé so you need to back the fuck off,” Henley fumed.

“As if that’s important,” Laci rolled her eyes.

“Excuse me,” I sputtered.

“Listen, when I want something I get it. And I want John back. I realize that I made a mistake when I let him go so I am going to do anything I can to get him back.”

“He’s my fiancé,” I said, just in case she was too stupid to realize that meant he was taken. Even though he was technically single, there was no way I was going to let Laci have him.

“I’m not worried about you. You don’t seem like much competition. I wouldn’t start making too many wedding plans yet. Have a nice day, ladies.”

I fumed as I watched Laci walk off and I could tell Henley was also trying to control her anger.

I kept my cool until we left the store. As soon as we got into my car I began ranting. “I can’t believe she would do that. I know that John and I aren’t really a couple but she doesn’t know that. She’s fine with being a homewrecker? She really doesn’t care about anyone else, does she?”

“You like him, don’t you?” Henley asked as she cut me off mid-rant.

“What?” I sputtered.

“John. You’re falling for him,” Henley said. “I was worried this was going to happen.”

“Nothing has happened, Hen. I don’t like John. I’m just mad that Laci thinks it’s ok to be a bitch. Plus, she keeps making condescending comments about me.”

Henley sighed. “Clark, you can only deny the truth for so long. Eventually, your true feelings are going to come out.”