Chapter 9
I vote for red
ana
When I found out that Carolina had invited Victoria to the wedding, Mount Vesuvius erupted inside me.
Jorge tried to explain that there were no bad intentions behind that decision, but…
how could that be possible after what happened between them?
I spent weeks angry, ignoring messages and calls until my friend showed up at my doorstep and told me why she did it.
That day I had a feeling something bad was going to happen, but I never expected it to be hell.
Ten minutes ago I found out that Victoria is going back to Ibiza with her new partner, and I’m so furious that I had to step outside for a moment to catch my breath.
I’m livid, and if she were standing right in front of me, I’d slap her to snap her out of it.
What kind of world does she live in? Doesn’t she give a damn about how Elena is going to feel when she sees her with that woman?
With my head about to explode, I take a big gulp from the water bottle and let my bad mood escape in a sigh that I carry with me into the boutique.
After the wedding dress fitting, Carol ushered Elena into the dressing rooms so she wouldn’t realize something was going on.
But it’s going to be impossible for me to control my emotions, and I know I have to do it, because I’ve been chosen to tell her.
“This is fucking crazy…” I exclaim as soon as I sit down in the armchair, waiting for them to finish adjusting the dress on the bride-to-be, though my gaze is fixed on the red fabric visible beyond the curtain. “This is what I meant when I told you I didn’t agree.”
“I didn’t expect something like this!” Carolina mutters. “Do you think I wanted her to meet Victoria like this?”
“Girls, how’s everything going out there? Have you picked out the shoes yet?” Elena interrupts us, and I nudge the bride to answer.
“Yes, we’ve got some here. You’re going to love them…”
“Just so you know, I’m doing this because she’s my best friend,” I snort, grabbing the first pair of shoes that catches my eye to bring them to Elena in the fitting room and then heading back to the couch.
“But I swear on my mother’s life I won’t let that idiot hurt her,” I add, raising a finger.
“I just don’t know what the hell is wrong with her! ” I raise my voice.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, no!” Carolina exclaims, forcing a smile. “Relax. We’re talking about Inaki.”
“That’s right! The guys are coming in a few days too. Are you nervous, honey?” she asks, referring to me.
“I’m a little stressed right now to even think about him…” I reply coldly, and Carol gives me a nudge in the side. “But I am, of course I am. How could I not be?”
As soon as I speak, the sound of the curtain rustling cuts off the conversation, and Elena appears in front of us, leaving me speechless.
The day she cut her hair to shoulder length, I called her crazy; but now, dressed in fiery red, with that neckline plunging to the center of her chest and a slit skirt revealing the length of one of her legs, she is…
“Stunning, and Victoria’s an idiot for letting her get away,” I think almost immediately.
“Damn…” Carolina exclaims, beating me to my comment. “I think we already know who’s going to get lucky on my wedding day.”
“You’re such an idiot!” Elena spins around and starts looking at herself in the mirror from various angles. “The neckline is way too low, don’t you think?”
“It’s the best part of the dress,” I point out and stand up to walk over to her. “I’ve never seen you look so… wow…”
“Wow? What kind of adjective is that?”
“I think what Ana means is that you look stunning.” Carolina comes to my rescue and looks at Elena’s reflection in the mirror. “And even if I am an idiot, I wasn’t joking when I said that. Have you seen those legs!?”
“Every day.” Elena laughs and searches for my gaze in the mirror’s reflection. “Is it really not too much?”
“It’s the perfect dress…” “That’ll really rub it in your ex-wife’s face,” I think. “Maybe Carol’s right and you’ll get lucky on your wedding night,” I confirm, and after Elena playfully punches me, the three of us burst out laughing.
“I don’t know if I want that right now,” she confesses. “I think the purple one was better. It was less…”
“Provocative?” I raise an eyebrow. “Well, you’ve been hiding under cotton dresses since you were twelve—it’s about time you changed your style a bit, don’t you think?”
“You’re something else!” We laugh nonstop, and then we look back at the reflection in the mirror. “I love it, honestly, but…”
“Stop looking for excuses and just take this one. Trust me,” I insist. “You’re going to be the most beautiful date anyone has ever seen in all of Ibiza.”
“Well, it’s decided. I’ll take it…” she nods before hiding in the dressing room once more, leaving Carolina and me alone again.
“Can you imagine the look on Victoria’s face when she sees her like this?” I say, pointing to my right. “I don’t know why Elena hides behind her hippie style; I’ve never seen her so…” I stop talking because I can’t find the words.
“After the divorce, she’s been in a bit of a cocoon, and we’ve just witnessed her rebirth.”
“I wish the change were complete,” I say with a small sigh. “But five years have passed, and she’s still in love with Victoria.”
“How do you know?”
“Are you really asking me that?” I ask, giving her a smile. “Elena and I are much more than just best friends. We have a special bond, and well…”
“I imagine she must have told you.”
“Not exactly, but I know,” I state simply. “She’s the kind of person who puts on a tough exterior so no one can see how she really feels.”
“She’s always done that. Yesterday, for example.”
“What happened yesterday?”
“Well, Jorge and I visited her and told her that Victoria would be my maid of honor,” she explains. “And before you tell me I could have done it sooner, I’ll say that I didn’t know how, and in the end, I put it off even longer.”
“I’m sure she pretended everything was fine…”
“That’s exactly what she did,” she nods and lets out a sigh as she hugs herself.
“Jorge was pretty worried, but I tried to downplay it until Victoria called us and told us about her girlfriend. He’s nervous; he doesn’t want this whole situation to turn into complete chaos. I don’t know how to fix it anymore.”
“There’s no way to fix it,” I say, shaking my head a couple of times.
“They’re going to have to face each other and confront everything that’s changed over the years,” I muse quietly, looking toward the fitting room.
“It’ll be a trial by fire, but maybe it’ll be good for Elena to take a step forward and move on with her life. She deserves to be happy.”
“What if the opposite happens?”
“We’ll be here, as always.”
“Well, what? Are we going to get that ice cream?” Elena asks, catching us off guard, looking at both of us curiously.