While You Were Here

Chapter 17

Normally on a Ryan and Colette Date Night, I'd throw on a flannel, jeans, and Converse but I decide to try tonight. I have a fancy white and gold dress that fits my curves. The sleeves are puffy and the skirt is fluffed with tulle. The gold sequins ombre themselves to the end of the knee length. Yes, even though it's December in New Jersey, I am wearing a knee length dress. I slip into a pair of black heels and set to doing my hair. It takes two hours before I'm happy with it. I pull some side bits back and overall, I'm happy. I go all out with makeup. I make my eyes a dusty pink and line them with brown. I add a line of gold glitter eye liner over the brown and decide to dust the outside corners of my lids with gold. I paint my cheeks a light pink and i'm ecstatic at how good I look. I spin around in fron my mirror, giggling. My mother pokes her head out of her bathroom and smiles.

"You look good, Col," she says. 

"Thanks," I smile back.

"Keep that smile, it looks good on you," she adds, before shutting the door. I laugh and roll my eyes in the mirror. I add some pink tinted gloss to my lips and sit on my bed waiting for Ryan. The door rings and my dad lets him up. 

"Damn," he says when he sees me. 

"You're not so bad yourself," I say, straightening his tie. 

"What would I do without you?" he jokes.

"Probably cry," I answer. He kisses me lightly and i feel myself slipping deeper. 

Ryan breaks the kiss. "Don't start something you can't finish."

"Don't underestimate me," I say, raising an eyebrow.

'Wouldn't dream of it," he says, holding his hands up innocently. 

"So where you taking me?" I ask, as he walks me to his car. He opens my door. "Somewhere fancy." He slips a blindfold around my eyes.

"If you rape me, I'm going to have to kill you," I say and he laughs loudly. Our playlist provides a calming background to Ryan teasing me with jokes about how he'd had to sell his sister to afford this date. 

I feel the car stop and Ryan slides off the blindfold. My eyes adjust and my breath hitches as I see the restaurant sign. Antonio's. AKA the best pasta place in the world.

"OHMYGOD ARE WE SERIOUSLY EATING THERE!" I squeal. 

"Umhmm," says Ryan, opening my door. I follow him into the restuarant and the hostess takes us to a little table for two hidden away in a nook of the massive restuarant. 

"What can I get you, sir?" 

"A Coke please," Ryan says, his eyes twinkling. 

"And for his wife?" she says, turning to me. I nearly die laughing but Ryan holds a straight face so i say, "the same as my husband." When she walks away, Ryan and I collapse into laughter.

"I have one rule for tonight, well two," says Ryan holding up two fingers. I kiss them both and make his mouth turn up in a half smile. 

"One, no leaving with any other man but me. You're hot shit, darling, but you're MY hot shit." 

If anyone else said this to me, I'd probably punch them in the face but i make an allowance because it's Ryan and what else am I supposed to do. 

"Two, you have to order desert and desert only." I kiss his finger again. "Okay." 

I order tiramisu and a cappucino. Ryan orders two cannolis and an esspresso. The waitress asks us if we have any children and would we like to take some food to take home to them. I respond with yes, two and absolutely. 

"What would you name our kids?" asks Ryan, sipping his coke as the waitress leaves. I think for a minute before saying, "Darcy and Elliott." 

"Why?" challenges Ryan.

"Darcy because Jane Austen and Elliott because it's your middle name and I like it and I like you and I have a feeling I'll like our kids," I fire back, grinning. Ryan laughs. 

"Goddamn, you're something else." 

I make a posh gesture and he smiles. We talk easy and the time flies until the waitress comes back to our table with our desert. She's stuck a candle in the two cannolis.

"Oh it's not our anniversary," Ryan says hurriedly.

The waitress smiles pensively at us. "Sometimes you should have a candle even when there's no reason. Will there be anything else?" We shake our heads no and she leaves.

"What's your candle for?" I ask Ryan. He concentrates and says slowly, "You." 

"Me?" 

"No the other Colette Anders I'm on a date with," he says sarcastically.

"You cheating on me?" I ask. 

"You betcha," he grins. I hit his arm. "Seriously, Ry." 

"Okay okay. My candle is for you because it shines in darkness."

"You totally stole that from Dumbledore," I say.

"No mocking the Wish Boy. What's yours for?"

"You."

"Oh how original." 

"Do you want the wish or would you like to jack off into a pillow all alone and girlfriendless?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" 

"Okay fine." I clear my throat. "My candle is for you because sometimes I need help remembering to turn the lights back on."

"Who's Dumbledore now?" tease Ryan. We blow out our candles together. 

We eat in comfortable silence and when we're done the waitress brings the check. 

"How was everything?" she asks. 

"Amazing," I say. 

She waves goodbye as we leave. 

Ryan puts on the radio and turns it to a pop station. 

"What are you doing, fool, we have a playlist," I say, surprised. 

"Leave it Colette," he snaps. I don't speak for the rest of the ride. When he pulls up in front of my house, he doesn't move to get my door. He just turns the radio up. 

"I guess chivalry really is dead," I say coldly.

"We need a divorce," he says suddenly. I freeze.

"What?"

"We need a divorce." 

"Are you breaking up with me or is this a joke?" I ask, unsure. 

"Oh no, it's over. Your relationship with Nick was a joke. You were just a stupid little bitch who tried to save a dead man," he throws at me. 

I'm speechless.

"Ryan..."

"Oh save it," Ryan dismisses me. He turns the radio back on full blast. I yank his phone out of the charger and hurl it into a puddle near my car door.

"YOU BITCH!" He screams at me, lunging for it. I shut the door on his hand. 

I stalk up my driveway and hear him drive away. 

"How'd it go, Col?" my dad calls from the living room. I run straight upstairs and slam my door. I stand in the middle of the room for a minute before falling to the floor.