Karma’s Kiss

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

When Matthew ended our engagement on a Monday, I didn’t immediately have a plan for what to do. I mean, I had a Nordstrom package due to arrive the next day, laundry I needed to switch over, a half-pint of Rocky Road in the freezer I’d be damned if I was going to let him have. Returning to Texas was not even remotely on the agenda, but then things got complicated fast. Take my living situation for instance: outside of our shared apartment, I had no place to stay in Montgomery. It didn’t make sense for me to keep the apartment and Matthew to move out because the lease was in his name and the location was more convenient to his work at the state capitol. Not to mention I wouldn’t have been able to cover the entire rent all on my own. Matthew couldn’t have afforded it either except for his trust fund. Cough cough.

It was actually my mom who had the bright idea for me to return to Texas. We were talking on the phone when she broached it.

“This couldn’t be more perfect. You’re homeless—”

“ Mom. ”

“And I need someone to come down and help me with these weddings this summer. You know Cassie just went on maternity leave. Now what’s she need a fifth baby for?”

“MOM.”

“They’re real cute though. I’ll give her that.”

“I’m not coming back to Oak Hill. Definitely not now. Definitely not during the summer. You’ll have to put an ad out or something if you need help.”

“That’s real nice, Madison. Leave your old mama to fend for herself. I’m beginning to think the ladies at church are right about you.”

“Oh here we go…”

She ignored my sarcasm. “When they bring you up, I argue with them, of course. When they say you’ve gotten a bit uppity, I say, oh no. No ma’am, not my little girl. She knows what’s important. She prioritizes her family above everything else.”

I didn’t let my mom talk me into the move right away, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. My mom is the reason I got into wedding planning in the first place. She started Wildflower Weddings when I was in middle school to help support our family. At the time, my dad’s cancer treatments were taking him back and forth to Houston so much that it wasn’t possible for him to hang on to his job managing the downtown diner. When he quit working, my mom stepped up to the plate, and when I was in high school, after he passed and we were trying to pick up the pieces of our broken family, I started working for her after school and on the weekends, learning the ins and outs of her business.

At Auburn, I double-majored in hospitality management and business administration so I could pursue a career in event planning, and after graduating, I landed the job of my dreams at Evermore Events in Montgomery, in no small part because Tanya, Matthew’s family friend, owns the company.

After things ended with Matthew, the team at Evermore didn’t mind when I told them I needed to step away for a little bit and regroup. The pitying looks were almost unbearable though. I knew deep down they were all sort of hoping I’d scram for good. Tanya was in a tough position, unsure of what to do with me. Since the breakup, we’d mostly avoided each other, and when I mentioned taking time off, she was all too eager to get me out of the office.

“Of course, Madison. Take all the time you need. You know your position will be here when you’re ready.”

My position, sure, but what about the promotion I’ve been working toward? My dream of moving up in the company and one day taking over Tanya’s empire? That’s been my goal from the jump.

Now, of course, everything has changed. Monday morning, bright and early, I’ll join my mom at her small office on Main Street and take Cassie’s place. No more Evermore Events. No more future promotion.

I can’t quite wrap my head around any of it, so this morning, I’ve decided to push all the misery and heartbreak aside so I can have a simple breakfast with my dad. I tug open the door to Cactus Cafe and take stock of the familiar players. Waylon’s back in the kitchen and his wife, Lucinda, is refilling the coffee machine. They’ve worked here since I was a little girl.

“Take any seat you want,” Lucinda instructs before she turns around and sees me. Her face immediately breaks out in a grin. “Never mind, you !” She nods toward my designated booth. “Head on over. I’ll be right there with your coffee.”

The Cactus is an institution in our town. No one serves better pancakes. No one makes better bacon. No one has the old-world charm, cracked plastic seats, and peeling red paint quite like Cactus Cafe. As I slide into the corner booth near the kitchen, I check in on the framed picture of my dad hanging on the wall above the table. The small portrait of him working the fryer is a little more grease-stained than the last time I was here and there’s some ketchup smudged on the bottom corner, but his familiar smile is as comforting as ever.

“Hey there, Dad.”

I’ve just finished cleaning off the ketchup and straightening the frame when I hear Lucinda come up behind me.

“You look more and more like him every time I see you. You got a lot of your mama in you too, but you’ve got his eyes. No one can deny that.”

They’re a bright cornflower blue. No one had eyes like my dad.

I smile and happily accept the coffee mug she slides across the table toward me. “Lots of cream, no sugar?” she ventures.

“You nailed it.”

While the diner’s mostly empty, she lingers at my booth, asking me about Montgomery while purposefully skirting around the juiciest topics. I’m grateful; it’s too early for all of that. Once we’ve caught up and the diner door chimes with a few new customers, she confirms my order: “Two pancakes, two eggs over-medium, two pieces of bacon?”

I smile wide. “Just like always.”

She reaches over to squeeze my shoulder. “I’ll go put it in, honey. Holler if you run low on that coffee.”

When I’m sure she’s busy with a customer across the room, I take my phone out of my purse and dial Kendra. When the call connects, I’m greeted with the dulcet sounds of absolute chaos.

“ MOM! ” a tiny voice bellows. “Nathan just put my dinosaur in the toilet!”

“BECAUSE SHE ATE MY GRAPE!” Nathan shouts back.

“Hey. Give me a sec,” Kendra says to me before addressing her kids in the tone of a drill sergeant. “Listen up, you two. It’s barely eight AM and you guys have been awake and running amok in this house for nearly three hours already. I’m tired. You’re tired. Please, please , I beg you. Nathan! Stop wiping your ketchup fingers on the couch! ”

She groans.

I smile. “Ketchup at eight AM?”

“Nathan only eats corn dogs right now. For every meal. Every day.”

I shiver at the thought.

“Oh thank god.” She sighs. “The trash truck just pulled onto our street. That’ll buy me at least five to ten minutes. Hold on, let me go outside. They’ll never find me.”

A door closes and then Kendra sighs again like she’s bone-weary.

“I can’t believe you still want to join me in motherhood one day. Every time you call, the kids are doing something crazy. It should be warning enough.”

“It sounds crazy, sure, but fun.”

“Fun, right. I’m staring at a pile of my fancy kitchen utensils the kids must have snuck back out here without me looking. Think they were using them to make mud pies.”

I laugh. “I’m sitting in the Cactus right now.”

“Aw. Tell your dad I said hi.”

I flit my gaze over to his picture and smile.

“So you got in last night as planned?” she asks.

“Yes and no. My mom ended up dragging me to John’s Ice House after I landed.”

She cracks up at this. “Oh god. How’d that go? Bet everyone was excited to see you and tell you straight to your face just what they think of your current predicament.”

“ Ding ding ding. ” I laugh. “Honestly though, it really wasn’t so bad. Pam O’Neal was there. Haven’t seen her in a while. She was nice. But you’ll never believe who I ended up talking to the most.”

“Who?”

I lower my voice and whisper into the phone. “Sawyer Garnett.”

Her response is immediate and vehement. “Oh god. Ew. I hope you told him to go screw himself.”

“Not exactly…”

“What do you mean? What was he like? He doesn’t have Facebook.”

“Arrogant as ever. Handsome as ever.”

She gags, totally disgusted. “He led me on like you wouldn’t believe. I fell hard for him and he didn’t give two shits about me. Same thing happened to Jenna and Laura too.”

“But that’s all water under the bridge now.”

“Water under the bridge? Pfft. You think because I have a husband I adore and two wonderful but insane children, I’ve forgiven Sawyer? Absolutely not. I rue the day I first laid eyes on him.”

“All right…forget I mentioned it.”

“What’d he want with you anyway?”

I run my finger pad along the handle of my coffee cup wondering if it even bears mentioning. I don’t want to lie to her though, even by omission.

“He sort of…I don’t know, acted like he was asking me out.”

Her voice reaches a new scary octave. “DID HE ASK YOU OUT?”

“Kind of?” I wince. “It was just some teasing banter over a game of pool.”

“Yuck. I hope you put him in his place. Wait—” She cackles maniacally. “Oh— OH , this is perfect! Don’t you see?!”

“I don’t see,” I drawl sarcastically.

“Oh ho. Oh my god. This is going to be the best thing ever. If you go out with him, we can give him a taste of his own medicine! Teach him a lesson! You’re going to be karma! A vigilante hero! My vigilante hero.”

“What are you on about?”

“Don’t act like it wouldn’t be insanely satisfying to take Sawyer down a peg or two. The shining prince of Oak Hill.” She sounds disgusted. “And hey, you can channel all that rage you have for Matthew—kill two birds with one stone. You’ll be doing the entire female population a huge favor.” I don’t say anything, which means she’s forced to double down on her plea. “ Please do this for me. You’re so freaking hot! What a huge waste to have won the genetic lottery and not use it to help others! Think of it as charity!”

“I don’t even understand what you’re going on about, but I don’t like it. Me messing with Sawyer isn’t going to make you feel better,” I assure her.

I hate having to be the adult here, but one of us has to think sensibly! What she’s suggesting is truly out of the question.

“No, actually I’m pretty confident it will. I love when horrible things happen to my enemies.”

“See, that’s the sort of thing you’re supposed to just think and not say.”

“I didn’t say it. You’re my best friend—anything I say to you doesn’t count. Of course I wouldn’t tell anyone else this stuff. Do you think I’m a monster or something?”

I sigh, knowing I won’t make any headway with her. Kendra didn’t have a tiny crush on Sawyer. She had a deep-seated obsession and he acted pretty heartlessly toward her. Just like Matthew, and millions of other men who think they can toy with hearts and not deal with the consequences of their actions.

Kendra must sense that my stance is weakening.

“One date. That’s it. You just lead him on, same as he did me and Jenna and Laura and countless others. Oh my god, I bet I could get them all to sign a petition. There are potentially hundreds!”

“Kendra.” I say her name as a warning knowing she’s the type to actually go through with something like that.

“Okay, forget about the petition, but seriously all you have to do is make him think you’re interested and then wham, pull the rug out from under him. Break his heart. Make him weep. Tear him to shreds.”

“You need therapy.”

“I do therapy.” She sounds offended that I’d suggest otherwise. “Every day at noon when my kids go down for their nap, I get to watch an hour of uninterrupted Housewives and tuck into the ice cream bars I hide inside an empty bag of frozen peas. Oh my god, it’s bliss.”

“MOM!” a tiny voice bellows. “NATHAN PUT MY DINOSAUR IN THE TOILET AGAIN!”

“Duty calls,” Kendra groans. “Keep me posted though. I want minute-by-minute updates.”

“I’m not going through with this,” I insist.

“You will. For me.”

While I eat my breakfast, I contemplate our conversation. There’s no way I’m going to carry out Kendra’s ludicrous plan, but she does have a point about someone needing to humble these men. Matthew, Sawyer…they’re all the same.

I let Matthew break up with me on a Monday and he moved his new girlfriend into our apartment on Tuesday. In fact, it wasn’t even one full calendar day before another woman was flossing at my sink! Using my cereal bowls! Kissing Matthew’s smug face!

Regretfully, I never showed him my anger or my hurt before I left Montgomery. I kept it bottled up because even at the end, I felt like I had to maintain the perfect girlfriend status. Matthew Mason fell in love with the shiny version of me, the blonde put-together sorority president. The popular Auburn girl.

“Madison, I just don’t think it’s right to continue to lead you on,” he said the night he ended our relationship, as if we hadn’t been together for four years, cohabitating for the last two. As if he hadn’t slipped his mother’s antique engagement ring onto my left finger and proclaimed I was the love of his life in front of all our college friends.

I almost wish I hadn’t made it so easy for him. The same evening he ended our engagement, we started packing up my things. Matthew already had moving boxes ready to go. This fact hadn’t stood out to me at the time, but now I wonder if he picked them up earlier that day or if he’d had them stowed somewhere for weeks.

“Do you want to take this shampoo?” he asked me. “The purple one?”

“Oh…” I responded numbly. “Sure.”

He dumped it into a box along with my other toiletries.

“What about your shaving cream?”

When I didn’t answer, couldn’t answer, he glanced over to see me staring down at my shining square-cut engagement ring.

“Listen, why don’t you stay the night? I’ll take the couch in the living room and you can sleep in here. Then you can figure out where you want to go in the morning.”

At the time, it sounded like he was doing me a huge favor. His tone, his inflection, the pitying little smile. Look at me, such a gentleman, taking the couch. I’m even packing up your soaps!

“Matthew,” I called quietly after he’d gone back to packing in the bathroom. “Where’d you meet her? The other woman?”

“Oh, she’s my secretary.”

There was no remorse in his words, no hint of shame.

I feel disgusted thinking back on that night. When did I become so meek? Such a pushover?! Sure, there’s having dignity and poise, but I missed a perfectly good opportunity to chuck a shoe at Matthew’s head, to call him a slew of colorful names. I could have… I could have …oh my god, I could have taken a page out of little Nathan’s book and plunged his beloved Rolex into the toilet. Surely that would have taught him a lesson.

It’s actually wild to think I was going to marry this man! I was going to have kids with him! I was desperate to do it, in fact. Have kids, I mean. That’s the source of most of my pain, knowing I’m that much farther away from starting a family. Thanks to Matthew.

It wasn’t that I was completely delusional during our relationship. I thought I was happy. Sure, there were cracks (in retrospect, more like huge gaping chasms), but I thought it was easier to push forward and proceed as planned than to pull the plug on the entire thing.

I was obsessed with the notion of being perfect and looking perfect . The way Matthew and I seemed from the outside, no one could deny we were a great couple. He was on his way up in politics and I was the smart, capable, aesthetically pleasing woman by his side, ready to plan his campaign parties and host influential donor dinners.

My mom—god love Queenie—was the first person to call bullshit on all of it. When I called her the night of our breakup, she wasn’t surprised in the least. “That man wasn’t your soulmate.”

“Thanks for telling me that now . Were you just going to let me marry him?”

“Honey, now why would I insert myself into your relationship when all I had to do was bide my time and let that fool show his true colors? I swear, one day you will come to appreciate him ending things like this, before you walked down the aisle.”

I snorted in disbelief, but she continued, “Think about it, Madison. If he’s the kind of asshole to cheat on you for lord knows how long , he’s doing you a real favor ending things. You were going to have children with him!” She shuddered at the thought. “This way, at least, you can get a nice clean break.”

It doesn’t feel nice and clean. It feels messy and ugly and scary.

For the first time in a long time, I don’t know what my life is going to look like in five years. I probably won’t have the cute little family I was so excited about, but I do know one thing: I will never be Mrs. Matthew Mason.

Thank god for that.

After breakfast at Cactus Cafe, I’m browsing the produce section at our local grocery store, trying to decide what I want to make Queenie and me for dinner when I get a call from my brother. He might have disappeared for a little while last night, leaving me alone with Sawyer for far too long, but when I hit the dance floor with Queenie, he was right there with us, spinning us around, dipping Mom so low her head skimmed the floor. God it was fun.

“Hey, sis. Get your butt down to the ballfields,” he says first thing when the call connects. “We need you.”

“Ballfields? What are you talking about?”

“We have a game against Cedar Valley in thirty minutes and we need another girl on our team or we forfeit.”

“So ask Lindsey.”

His wife played softball in high school; she’s really good.

“Lindsey’s already playing. Cassie’s the one who’s out, having her fifth baby. Now what’s she need a fifth—”

Like mother, like son.

“I’m not coming. Find someone else.”

“I know damn well you have nothing else going on. You’re probably standing around wallowing, so get your ass out here right now.”

I drop the tomato I was inspecting—while wallowing—and scowl.

“I haven’t played in years.”

“Who cares? We just need a warm body. See you in fifteen.”