Not Like The Movies

Denise spent her off-day lounging on the couch, watching reruns of Friends, while painting her toe nails in a bright pink color. She was enjoying the time she had to herself before she had to face the world again. Lately, it seemed like being cooped up in her own home made her feel safe and a lot better than when she was at work or just being outside for all of Chicago to see her. It had been nearly two weeks since everything went down between her and the Toews’ brothers. She had not spoken to either one of them. She received numerous text messages and phone calls from Jonathan and only received two text messages from David. She answered none.

Julianne managed to get her out of bed after her breakdown and took her out for some retail therapy. Though it did make Denise feel a bit better than she did the night before, everywhere she looked she saw Jonathan’s face. It was difficult living in a place like Chicago where sports was a really big deal. It was also difficult living in a place like Chicago where Jonathan Toews’ face practically ruled every corner of it.

While waiting for the nail polish to dry, she picked up the ringing cell phone and answered it without looking at who the caller was.

“Hey sis!” called out her brother, Peter, on the other line. “I have great news for you!”

Denise smiled and shook her head. She had not even gotten a word in yet and here comes her big brother, coming at her with some news that was probably going to shock her. Nothing about her brother, Peter, was ever simple and predictable. His life was always full of surprises and he always managed to keep everyone on their toes, jumping up and down in anticipation for whatever he was going to say or do.

“What is it, Pirate?,” she asked, using the nickname she came up with for him when she was seven. She always told him it was because his name sounded like a name of a pirate. “Are you moving to Chicago?” Denise asked in a hopeful voice. She really missed her big brother. Ever since her brother moved back to New York—even after dropping out of NYU after the first month—all Denise ever wanted was for her big brother, her role model, her hero, and best friend to be closer to where she was. He was the only one who understood Denise and always defended her against those who have done her wrong. She missed having her superhero right beside her—the sidekick.

“Nope,” he said which made Denise to frown a little. “I’m moving to Canada!”

“What!” Denise yelled out suddenly. “Wha…what do you mean Canada?!”

“C’mon Denny, ya know…right above the U.S. Maple leaf of their flag, moose, hockey, maple syrup…ring any bells?” Peter joked on the other line but Denise was not amused.

“I know where freaking Canada is, Peter but what the hell do you mean you’re moving?!” Denise stood up quickly, causing the open bottle of nail polish to knock over on its side and spread all over her couch. Normally, she would have freaked out and probably drop her phone along the way but at the moment, she did not care. What she cared about was on the other line, ready to move on with his life and move as far away as he possibly could from his little sister.

“I’m getting married!” Peter finally announced.

“Peter, that’s great! But what does that have anything to do with moving to Canada?” She asked, calming down briefly at the news. She was genuinely happy for Peter because she knew how long he and his longtime girlfriend, Melissa, have been together. It was only a matter of time before they got married and started to create a family of their own.

“Well, Melissa’s originally from Canada so we talked about where to do the wedding and about moving and stuff. Trust me, Denny, we talked about this whole thing for a long time. It wasn’t just a spur of the moment thing. We eventually decided that its best if we moved to Canada so she could be a lot closer to her family.” Her big brother explained.

“But what about your family? I love Mel and all but what about us? Are you just gonna leave us here?” Denise asked sadly.

“Didn’t mom and dad tell you?” Peter asked.

“Tell me what?”

“They moved to Minnesota a couple months ago. Turns out Aunt Josie owns some kind of lodging place up there and she’s letting them live in one of the rooms for free! Mom is working at the lodge too so they’re not completely free loading, ya know?” Peter babbled on.

“Nobody told me anything…” Denise grumbled, annoyed at the fact that her own parents failed to tell her that they had all moved far away from her.

“Don’t get mad them, Den. It was a sudden thing. I didn’t even know until I called them this morning to tell them that I’m moving.”

“I can’t believe you’re getting married, Pirate.” Denise said and decided to just let go of the information her parents had not told her. “I’m very happy for you and Melissa. I know you guys have been together since forever! When’s the wedding?”

“Next week and before you get mad at me for not telling you sooner, I already have your plane ticket and a hotel reserved for you. I just need you in Winnipeg for one day then you can leave whenever you want.”

“Winnipeg?!” Denise said, alarmed. Out of all the places in Canada, it had to be Winnipeg. She knew that there was no chance of her ever bumping into David because Winnipeg was just too big of a place for her and her family to run into a Toews.

“Don’t hate me for this, Denny. Mel and I will explain everything to you guys when you get up here,” Peter promised. “I have to go now. I have a fitting in thirty minutes and I’m not even out the door yet. Mel is going to kill me.”

“I’ll talk to you later, Pirate.” She said before ending the call.

--

After spending a good hour or two on googling solutions on how to get rid of a nail polish stain off a couch, Denise found absolutely nothing that helped her current situation and decided to just ignore it for the rest of the day.

Besides her couch situation, her mind had been running all day, thinking about traveling all the way to another country to go to her brother's wedding. She was happy for him and she was happy at the fact that he will finally get the chance to start the family he had always dreamed of having one day. But in the back of her mind, all she could think about was the fact that the wedding is next week and she was leaving all her troubles behind. She did not want to face all of her family knowing that she left Chicago with a big hunk of mess.

"Maybe you're overreacting." She shook the thought out of her head and started to check her calendar. She wanted to plan ahead so that she could tell her manager that she would just need the weekend to go to the wedding.

During the middle of her Google fest, Denise had sent Julianne a text message telling her that she needed to borrow a dress that would be appropriate for a wedding. Julianne replied seconds later with a giddy reply and a photo attached to her message. Denise saw a gorgeous pale pink dress that looked like it would reach above her knees. Denise loved it. It was cute and very appropriate for a weekend wedding. Julianne insisted that she keep the dress but she declined and said she would only need it for a couple of days. Along with the dress, Julianne paired it with simple nude colored pumps. The whole outfit looked simply elegant.

As Denise ended her call with her manager, her cellphone buzzed in her hand. She looked down at the screen and saw Jonathan's name appear. He had sent her a text message and she did not know whether or not she should open it. She had gone awhile without talking to him and she did not know if today would be a good idea to spark up the conversation that was desperately needed. Her thumb slid across the lock screen and opened up the text message. She closed her eyes briefly before looking down at her cell phone.

Jonathan: I know u dont want to talk but pls give me a chance to explain everything

It was a simple text but Denise re-read it over and over again. She was not sure of what he really wanted from her because in her mind, there was nothing left to explain. Her fingers started to tap away at the touch screen without even realizing it and replied to Jonathan, telling him to meet up with her at the Starbucks a mile away from her apartment. She knew she had to face him sooner or later. She knew that if she let the problem drag out any longer, the feeling of dread would keep pulling her down until there was nothing left of her.

—

Jonathan replied back at Denise’s text message and immediately left. He was meeting her in less than thirty minutes and he did not want to be late. He was surprised that she even answered back after days of not speaking to him. He even called up David to ask if she had contacted him in any way but his brother’s luck was as bad as his. Jonathan had forgiven his younger brother for the events that happen within the couple of days he was in Chicago. But he could not simply forget and move on from it. David was family and no matter what, he would always forgive him. However, what he did ruined any chance he had with Denise. From the moment they met, he felt an instant connection with her that he had not felt with anyone else. Not even with Lindsey. He had fun with Lindsey and she was absolutely gorgeous (or smokin’ hot, as his teammates like to say) but he knew that there was nothing going on for both of them besides their exciting bedroom activities.

He wanted another chance with Denise and meeting up with her might just give him that opportunity.

He had about ten minutes to kill before Denise would arrive. He looked down at his watch at least five times before the next minute passed. He was anxious to see her face after his run in with her coworker, Julianne. She had given him a hard time but he saw the look on her face that read “I-know-you’re-the-good-guy-but-give-my-friend-some-space.” He knew at that moment that he had not completely lost his chance just yet. Another minute passed before a pair of silver high heels appeared right in front of his feet. He followed the long, tan legs that disappeared in a pair of high waisted shorts and white dolman top. It was Lindsey looking right at him with a smile and a cup of coffee she was offering him.

“I saw you sitting here by yourself and thought you might need this,” Lindsey placed the cup of coffee on the table and took a seat right across from him. Jonathan carefully looked out the window for any signs of Denise.

“Expecting someone?” His ex-girlfriend asked. He looked at her and absentmindedly shook his head.

“What are you doing here?” He asked dumbly.

She’s obviously here for coffee, idiot.

“Just hanging out with Elina. Her and Nik are leaving for Sweden soon and I just wanted to catch up with her and the girls before she leaves.” Lindsey replied after she took a sip of her coffee. “What about you? What are you doing here all by yourself?”

“I’m just—“

“Jonathan?” Denise’s voice stopped him midway and his eyes immediately locked with hers, the same way it did the day he marched in the movie theater unexpectedly.

“Hey, you!” Lindsey smiled up at Denise and gave her a quick hug. Denise was shocked and did not have any time to react. “Oh honey, I am so sorry about you and David. I always knew he was a bone head anyway.”

Lindsey shot Jonathan a quick, apologetic look but he did not catch it. He was too busy looking at Denise and her beautiful auburn hair, straightened with her bangs braided loosely on the side. Her eyes were focused on Lindsey and whatever it was she was saying and so Jonathan took in what she was wearing. Denise wore a pair of dark washed jeans that were rolled up high above her ankles. She wore her black chucks and a plain black tee to go along with it. Her outfit of choice was simple yet Jonathan found himself drooling like a starving animal in front of her.

“I was seeing her.” Jonathan blurted out causing Lindsey to stop what she was telling Denise. Denise froze in her spot when she heard Jonathan speak.

“What?” Lindsey’s eyes flashed something Jonathan had not seen before.

“I broke up with you because of her,” Jonathan quickly explained after hearing how bad that sounded. “It was all me. She had no idea I was even with you. She didn’t even know who I was.”

Both Jonathan and Denise watched Lindsey to see how she would react upon hearing the latest news. Her mouth twitched and her eyes started to look like it would bug out any time soon. Then all of a sudden, she stood up and a sense of calm took over the plains of her face.

“At least she’s pretty, Jon. I’m glad that out of all the girls who replaced me with, it was someone who is pretty.” The smile returned to her face as she grabbed her cup of coffee that was sitting by Jonathan’s cup. Then she turned to Denise and whispered into her ear, “Better watch your back, bitch.”

Denise stood there, dumbfounded, and watched as Lindsey walked out with her friend. She watched through the window as the two talked and then laughed shortly after. She watched as their cars disappeared out of the Starbucks parking lot before turning to look at Jonathan.

“What just happened?” She asked more to herself.

“I wanted the lies to stopped. I lied to Lindsey when I broke up with her and I lied to you about it. I’m sorry but I figured this was the only way it could happen.” He apologized, offering the seat across from him for her to sit on.

“You asked her to come here?” Denise asked curiously.

“No! She just happened to be here when I came. I guess I was too early and the timing was just…I don’t know. I guess I’ve been dragging a shit load of bad luck lately.” Jonathan hung his head low, unable to look at Denise. He did not deserve to have a girl like her in his life. He was always shit with relationships and he knew after everything with Denise, he would never find anyone like her.

From Denise’s side, she examined the wooden table beneath her palms and slid her hand across the table to feel the heat of the cup near Jonathan’s arm. Without even thinking about it, she slid her hand further and touched his arm. This obviously caught him off guard as she felt the muscles on his arm become suddenly stiff.

“I’ve been feeling the same way these past few days. I feel like I’ve been carrying around my anger and sadness everywhere I go except…except for right now.” Jonathan looked up at her and saw that she was smiling a little.

“I’m so sorry what I did, Denise. I’m sorry what me and my brother did. Everything just got messed up and David started to like you and I just…I just felt like I was losing my chance with you.”

Denise felt her heart skip a beat hearing Jonathan’s words. Had he been feeling the same thing that she did? She tried desperately to keep her smile to herself but could not help herself.

“Here’s your second chance.” Denise said in a way that only the two of them could her. She squeezed his arm before standing up to leave.

Jonathan was confused but felt a sense of happiness all at once. He turned his head and saw Denise’s back heading out the door. He turned his head towards the window and saw her head turn a little with the same smile playing on her lips. He smiled right back without her even knowing. He left the untouched cup of coffee his ex-girlfriend had given him earlier and followed Denise out the door. He knew from that moment that he would follow her anywhere. Always.