Chapitre 15: 15. Chapter 15
Waverly wakes up early and goes out to meet Nicole for coffee. By seven, they are seated in the coffee shop with hot drinks in hand.
“How was the rest of your shift last night and this morning?” Waverly asks.
“Pretty uneventful (which I appreciated).” Nicole says, taking a sip of her coffee.
“How was the rest of your night. You all got home really late. I am surprised you actually got up this early.” Nicole says.
Nicole had asked Waverly to text her when she got home later that night, just to know she was safe at home. But by the time she did get into bed, it was close to three in the morning.
“It was good, slept like a rock.” Waverly says with a smile.
“Glad to hear it.” Nicole says. “So, what are you doing with your final day as a free woman… besides getting up early to have coffee with me?”
Waverly smiles at Nicole. The way Nicole can always have her laughing and making jokes to ease her worries… damn this woman is perfect. “Well, I am picking up my dress after this. Then I have the rest of the day free until family dinner tonight. Are you sure you can’t come?” Waverly asks. She was pretty disappointed last night when Nicole politely declined the offer.
“I have a business dinner with my father and some of his associates tonight. But Maybe I can stop by for a few minutes after I finish up with them. If you want? Although, I think tradition states we aren’t supposed to be together the night before the wedding.” Nicole says.
“That would be amazing. But I think you are right.” Waverly says a little sadly. “Wait, so this business dinner? Is it like a casual thing or do you actually have to dress up?”
“It is pretty formal.” Nicole says, sipping from her coffee and taking a bite of Waverly’s muffin.
“Ah so, fancy?”
“Ha, yeah. I can handle it. But I am definitely a sweaters, flannels and jeans type of gal.” Nicole states.
Waverly laughs and nods, Nicole still looked stunning in sweaters, flannels and jeans… in her opinion.
Willa offers to go with Waverly to pick up her dress, meeting her at the shop.
“Hey Sis.” Willa greets as she enters.
“Hey, you made it.” Waverly says.
“Of course.” Willa takes the opportunity to look over her sister. She looks gorgeous in a more casual wedding dress. It is elegant but is also modern as it is a two-piece gown (showing just the barest amount of midriff. “God, Waverly… you look beautiful.” Willa says, a little awestruck.
Waverly blushes and smiles, ducking her head a bit. “You think Nicole will like it? She said most of this is pretty casual.”
“I think she will love it.” Willa says, a hidden smirk playing on her lips.
Willa walks into Shorty’s with Willa and Wynonna at her sides for a much-needed late lunch. As they eat, they talk about the wedding, and the next few days. Both older Earps are curious about Waverly’s feeling on the matter and neither have the patience to beat around the bush.
“So, have you told Nicole you are gay for her yet?” Wynonna asks through a bite of her burger.
Waverly almost spits her drink, trying to instead swallow and respond.
“I knew it!” Willa exclaims in happy victory.
“What?!” Waverly asks, a little horrified by her sisters’ matching smirks
“I knew you were into her!” Willa says, sitting back into her seat with a triumphant smirk.
“Nonna, I’m not gay for her. We are just friends… who are getting married in less than twenty-four hours.” Waverly says lamely. “I still don’t know if I am even into girls, let alone her.”
“Wave you couldn’t stop ogling her when we were at her pool the other day. Don’t pretend you don’t find her attractive.” Wynonna states.
“I was not ogling her and hey! You were staring too!” Waverly fires.
“Because she is hot as hell, even a straight girl can appreciate a body like that.” Wynonna fires back.
“My point exactly. Me appreciating and thinking she is attractive doesn’t make me gay.” Waverly states.
“Wave, no offense. But you were doing a whole lot more than appreciating. You were actually sitting in her lap at one point. You fell asleep in her arms! She carried you out and you clung to her like a koala hugging its favorite tree.” Wynonna continues.
“Oh, I have so much I need to catch up on.” Willa says as she takes a bite of her salad.
Waverly is about to respond when her phone dings, signaling a new text. She gets her phone out and smiles when she sees the text is from Nicole.
Nicole (04:12pm): What do you think?
Nicole (04:12pm): [picture attached]
Waverly’s jaw goes slack as she looks at a picture of her fiancé in a short, slim, black dress looking… drop dead gorgeous.
Nicole (04:13pm): Making those stuck-up suits pay for making me meet with them the night before my wedding ;)
“Holy shit.” Waverly mumbles,
Wynonna grabs Waverly’s phone from the other side of the table and looks at the screen with Willa looking over her shoulder.
“Damn.” Wynonna drawls.
“Agreed.” Willa says and then laughs when she looks at a still blushing Waverly.
Waverly grabs her phone back and types a quick response back before going back to her food as if that hadn’t just happened.
Waves (04:15pm): You look great. Have fun tonight! Try and not murder them with that dress ;)
Nicole (04:16pm): Fun? Unlikely. Haha, I’ll try ;)
The sisters finish up their lunch and begin to walk down the streets of Purgatory. They just talk, catch up on life and do a bit of window shopping. They are walking along a group of restaurants when a flash of red hair catches Wynonna’s eye through one of the restaurant windows. She turns and looks in to see a familiar redhead at a large table with a bunch of business looking people and her father. Wynonna grabs Waverly’s hand, causing the girl to stop and follow Wynonna’s line of sight.
The picture really didn’t do her justice. Nicole is even more jaw dropping in person. She stands up with a young man and they both walk over to the bar. Watching her walk over, Waverly gets a first-hand look at how the dress hugs Nicole’s body in all the right places. She is in a pair of simple, black heals and dons a small, white necklace. She wears a pair of earrings that shine in the light and her makeup is done well as to show off those killer cheekbones. She watches as Nicole stands at the bar with the young man at her side, talking about something that she can tell Nicole is confident about. Waverly feels anger and jealousy rear their ugly heads as she sees the man look Nicole up and down and then move closer to rest his hand on top of hers on the bar. Nicole doesn’t pull away, but it is clear she is fully aware of it all.
“She’s good.” Willa comments, watching the scene as well. “I heard rumors she was as good as her father, but seeing it first-hand…”
“What do you mean?” Waverly asks, trying to keep the bite out of her voice.
“Down girl.” Wynonna teases.
“That guy she is talking to. He is a big player in world trade. Specifically, trans-Atlantic. And from the looks of things, she is playing him like a fiddle. Letting him believe he has the upper hand before she pulls the rug out from under him. Well done. Very impressive.” Willa says, watching the exchange as if studying for a test.
Waverly watches closely as Nicole retrieves her drink and heads back to the table after a few quick words to the man. He looks to be in a bit of a daze, but quickly shakes it off, retrieves his drink and returns to the table.
Waverly returns her gaze to Nicole and almost jumps when she sees the redhead looking back at her through the window. Nicole smirks at the brunette and the two behind her before quickly excusing herself from the table. Walking out of the restaurant, Nicole looks over at the three blushing and embarrassed Earps.
“Stalking me Earps?” She teases with a smirk.
“Oh, you know…” Waverly starts.
“Yeah, totally.” Wynonna interrupts.
Waverly punches her in the shoulder but doesn’t say anything. Thank god Willa cuts in.
“Got some big players in there Haught.” She comments.
“Indeed, but if you are interested, almost all of them will be at the party tomorrow. I can introduce you and Robert to some people if you want?” Nicole offers.
“That would be very kind of you.” Willa says genuinely.
“Well, on that note. I better get back inside before they start to wonder if I took off. See you tomorrow.” She says to all three. “Bye Waves.” She says, focusing on Waverly.
Waverly gives her a shy wave and watches as Nicole walks back inside and back to her table.
The Earp women quickly start walking again and back down the street towards their cars.
Dinner that night with the family was amazing. Everyone laughed and enjoyed themselves. By the end of the night, Wynonna and Doc are both passed out on the couch, Waverly has gone to bed, Robert as well, so just Willa and Ward remain. They sit on the porch, both with a glass of their choice beverage.
“Daddy?” Willa asks after a beat.
“Hm?”
“I’m really happy for Waverly. I think Nicole is going to be really good for her.” Willa says genuinely.
“I think so to… especially if Babygirl can stop lying to herself about how she feels.” Ward comments.
“Wait… you know?” Willa asks, surprised. Waverly was clear she didn’t want to talk to their daddy about this topic.
“She’s my daughter. Of course, I know. Same way I know more than you and Wynonna think I know about you two.” Ward says with a chuckle. “But even if I didn’t, I still would have noticed. She looks at Nicole like she hung the moon. And although she fights it out of fear of getting hurt, Nicole looks at her the same way. When Waverly is with Nicole, she truly acts like herself in a way I have never seen before. She is…”
“Happy.” Willa finishes. She looks at the glass of wine in her hand and tilts it side to side, watching the red liquid move around the glass. “The heartbreaking part is that we are the reason that happiness has been hidden for so long. Ever since we…”
“There is no use in starting up with the guilt again Darling. Waverly isn’t angry with us and forgave us years ago. The hard part is forgiving ourselves. We will never forget, but we will move on. We already have. She is just happy to have all of us in her life.” Ward says, trying to erase the sad look of guilt written all over his eldest daughter’s face.
“We abandoned her, worse actually. I went out of my way to be mean to her, to blame her, to hate her. I was so cruel to her and her forgiveness and love just makes me feel even more guilty about it all.” Willa says honestly, shifting to sit closer to her father.
“I think Waverly is smarter than all of us combined, want to know why? And no, it’s not because of all the books she reads.”
Willa nods softly.
“Because she figured out it wasn’t her we were all so angry at. We might have unfairly let her suffer for it, but we didn’t hate her. You, didn’t hate her. You were angry with your momma, but she wasn’t here for you to take it out on. And I was too drunk to care. So, you took it out on the person you knew would hurt the most from it.” Ward continues.
“That’s horrible.” Willa says, completely disgusted with herself. “She was just a baby when this all started.”
“Yes, but you were also just a girl yourself. We are all responsible for our actions Willa. There is no getting around that. But Waverly wants us all here in her life. The least we can do is honor the second chance she is giving us, even if none of us deserve it.”
“Is that why you don’t drink anymore?” Willa asks.
“I do occasionally have a drink. But in a way, yes. But also, because I missed out on a lot of you girls growing up when I was at the bottom of the bottle. I like life sober. I want to feel and absorb every moment of the rest of my life with you girls and our family. So, I do have a drink from time to time when I go out with the boys… and gals. And that’s okay. As long as it is in moderation and I am doing it for good reasons. I don’t drink when emotional.” Ward explains.
Willa looks at her glass and puts it down. “I think about that a lot. About how Wynonna still drinks, how she can’t seem to face her demons. It makes me sad for her. I wish there was something I could do to help her.”
“Me too Darling. Me too. But have hope. I am beginning to see some changes in that girl. Drinking less, working more, even eating a little better. I think working in the Black Badge Division has finally given her purpose… something worth working at. She wants it, she wants to succeed. I can see it in her eyes.” Ward says. “Plus, for the first time, Wynonna actually has some real friends… and good ones.”
“Seems like Haught is solving a lot of our family’s shitty problems.” Willa comments with a laugh.
“Nah, I think she is just happy to be in our lives. I think her just being herself… it makes us solve our own problems.” Ward states with a chuckle of his own.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone