Boyfriend by Christmas

Chapter 5

"Did you bring the flash cards?"

I hold up my huge stack of index cards so Garrett can see them. "Of course I did."

"Good. You ready to get started?"

I yawn. "In a minute?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I say through another yawn. "I'm just really tired. My sister... It's complicated."

He puts a hand on my arm. "You can talk to me."

I look into his eyes. "I know," I sigh. "It's just... I'm so mad. And sad, I guess."

Garrett waits for me to continue. I know we should get as much studying in as possible or I might not pass my test tomorrow, but it might be nice to talk to him. I've tried talking to Niyata and she always interrupts me with advice or whatever. Sometimes I just want to talk it out.

"So my sister Magenta, she and her boyfriend have been dating forever right? So like, I knew they'd get engaged. It was destined to happen. I just assumed when they did, she would be in a rush to tell me. We used to tell each other everything.

"But she didn't tell me. They got engaged more than two weeks ago and she just told me last weekend. It took her twelve days to tell me that she was getting married. She lives in my house! She hid the ring so I wouldn't see it. I don't even know why...

"And I thought, okay, my parents are going to be just as pissed because she kept it a secret from them too. Only she didn't! My dad knew first because Colton asked him for permission to marry Mags. And my mom knew second because Magenta told her right after it happened!

"And, the absolute worst part is that she didn't plan on telling me last weekend. She told me by accident because she got a bridal magazine in the mail and I was like 'Oh, are you getting ready for when Colton finally proposes?' and she gets all flustered and spills the whole thing."

I wipe a tear from my eye.

"That's rotten," Garrett says. "Why didn't she tell you?"

"I don't know!" I tell him. "She said she was waiting for a good time. It's true, our paths hadn't crossed much before Saturday. But I feel like an engagement is something you make time to tell someone. Wake me up at two am so we can scream over how beautiful the ring is! That's what you do, not wait twelve days and let it slip over a magazine."

"I'm sorry," he says. "But you should forgive her."

I laugh. "I will. She just has to apologize first."

"Have you given her a chance to?"

"No," I say. "I'm not ready to forgive her yet. It hurts too much..."

Garrett nods. "Makes sense. But you should try to get ready soon. Otherwise you'll miss out on more milestones. How far off is the wedding?"

"Not until next year but my house is wedding central right now. I feel like they'll have the whole thing planned before the year is over."

"All the more reason to forgive her," he says. "You don't want to miss out on all of the planning, you know? That's all part of it."

I wipe another stray tear from my eye. "You sure know a lot about this stuff," I say.

"My sister got married a couple of years ago."

"How long did she wait to tell you she was engaged?"

He bites his lip. "She never had to tell me because I was there. He did it at family dinner. Saves the hassle."

"Oh. That's smart. I would like that, I think."