Chapter 2 – Addison
“All that glitters is not gold.” – Williams Shakespeare.
The little silver bells above the door jingled and I looked up from my cell phone for the umpteenth time in a flash. A blonde with crazy blue highlights walked in and her eyes met mine before she stomped over to the counter. My head lowered.
Still not her.
Where the hell is she?
I didn’t even bother to look outside. The clouds had thickened, growing grayer by the minute, and promising a rainstorm that surely no one wanted to be caught under. And when a raindrop hit the window, the frown on my lips deepened.
I buttoned up my black sweater, opened our chat, and sent a text message to join the twenty others.
Me: Maria!!! Where are you???
Me: I’m tired of counting the number of customers that troop in here per hour. Although, if I should say, it’s a pretty decent figure. Enough to keep the place open if the numbers are steady.
Me: But that is to point out that it’s been over an hour already! *pout* Come on, it’s so not funny anymore.
Me: Some blonde chick with bright blue highlights walked in like a minute ago. Wouldn’t you have loved to see that?
A glimmer of hope flickered as the ticks turned blue. She had read the messages and a speech bubble appeared, indicating she was typing. Then it fell flat. My heart sank. The bell above the door jingled again, but I paid no attention. Not anymore. She had stood me up, and in my heart, I knew that the next time I looked up, I would be marching outside with my little purse slung over my shoulder.
Just then, the bubble flashed, and her message appeared.
Maria: Oh, I did. Caught sight of her when the taxi stopped on the curb. And right now, if you look up, she’s flirting with the barista.
There she was, finally—after a million years—shining like a ray of sunshine. Just like me, she was wearing a sweater and jeans. She twirled the tip of her brown ponytail, on which the raindrops shimmered, and flashed what I call the ’I-know-you”ll-forgive-me’ smile.
I scoffed and rolled my eyes, and she dared to consider herself forgiven.
“Just so you know, I have nothing against hair color extensions. I just think it’s best to know what works for you. And that blue does not work for that flirty blonde sweetheart,” she said as she dropped to the gray velvety padded chair facing mine and picked a croissant off my plate. Her teeth sunk into the pastry, and she took a bite. “I can’t believe you ordered without me.”
I glared at her, my eyes narrowed, I crossed my arms, and shook my head. She wasn’t using her happy-go-lucky charm on me and going scot-free. Not today.
“Really, Maria? The nerve. Of course, I ordered without you.”
She dusted her fingers and held her hands up, and true remorse reflected in her hazel eyes. “Okay, I’m sorry—”
“You stood me up,” I fired.
“Uh, no, I did not. The last time I checked, I am here, aren’t I?”
My eyebrows drew further together. I was not angry — on the contrary. I couldn’t be angry with her for five minutes without succumbing to the urgent need for reconciliation, and she knew it. You could say she was taking advantage of my little weakness, but Maria loved me. She had said that she would take a bullet for me if the situation ever arose.
Regardless, I felt like wading in murky waters for a few seconds more.
I leaned back in my chair and gave her a look with a raised nose. “One hour, Maria. You kept me here for an hour watching customers trooping in and out! I feel like being angry for a bit longer. Besides, you owe me.”
Her eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.
“I owe you?”
“That can’t be the only thing you heard.”
I deliberately rubbed my temple and wiggled the fingers of my left hand slightly, silently hoping the glint would catch her attention. It was the reason I wanted to meet in the first place. The reason, I was willing to sit in a busy café for a long time, waiting for her, on a weekday.
But trust Maria to miss the subtle sign.
Her arms flailed and she looked as if she was about to choke on air. “I recommended the best café because I knew I was going to be late ...” she was rambling on and on, making crazy gesticulations without catching the slightest hint. She heaved. “I wanted you to be comfortable. Shit, Addison, you can’t do this to me. I can’t owe you, not right now ... The last time I owed you, you made me buy you breakfast and dinner for two weeks, Addi. Two long weeks! I have ... I have student loans, for crying out loud. And ... and ...”
The sight was so funny I could have laughed. But I had to shut her up for a minute and knew there was only one way. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, afraid to see her reaction, and flipped my middle finger.
Now she was really choking. I heard it, loud and clear, as if oxygen had gotten stuck somewhere in her throat. My cheeks glowed with heat and, knowing Maria, I expected a dramatic squeal. But the silence remained until it was almost deafening.
“Addi, did you just flip me the bird?”
What?
My eyes snapped open, and I groaned. Oh my God. She’d missed it again. “No! I didn’t mean it like that. Look.” I practically shoved my hand in front of her face. “If only you’d stopped yapping and actually taken a good look, you might have seen the pear-shaped thing on my finger.”
Now, she saw it. How could she have not when my fingers were so close to her face, her warm breath fanned the back of my hand. Her hand flew to her mouth. She gasped and eyed me. “No.”
“Yes.”
“No. Freaking. Way.” Her eyes flickered from my hand to my face, and her voice dropped to a whisper when she leaned forward. “He ... He proposed?”
I could no longer hide my excitement and didn’t bother to wait for Maria’s squeal, at that moment mine was enough. I wiggled my fingers, bobbed my head up and down, and was almost out of my seat, partially bouncing and laughing.
“He did. I am so happy. I didn’t expect it. Last week, on Friday, he, um, texted me, asking me out to dinner. Of course, I said yes. And he picked me up. Seven o’clock sharp. Took me to some fancy grand hotel that had French-customized everything. Uh, what was the name of that place? Le Chateau?”
I barely noticed the downward curve of Maria’s lips when she mumbled, “But he’s not French.”
“Right?” I hadn’t recovered from the shock of seeing him go down on one knee, in the presence of all those people. “But that’s what made it so special. It was surreal. He put in a lot of effort to make it so beautiful, and worth remembering. Lights, candles, music. I swear, Maria, I sobbed. And I said yes.”
“Hm.”
I still wasn’t listening to the little noises my friend was making. I was trapped in the world where my fiancé made me happy. More raindrops pattered against the window and soon a low rumble of thunder sounded from outside.
Propping my elbows up on the table, I tilted forward, with a dreamy smile. “Maria, I can’t explain, the way Logan makes me feel. Excited, thrilled. He’s like unpredictable, you know ...?”
“No, I couldn’t possibly know.”
“...keeps me on my toes, and I find myself looking forward to something new and different every time. For me, he is simply the best there is. I never thought I would meet someone like him. I thought men like him no longer existed. Can you imagine that? He was talking about a vacation in the Bahamas. Just the two of us, in one of my dad’s beach houses. I mean, right now I’m not sure I want to travel, but that doesn’t mean I’m not considering it.” I sighed and noticed the small eye roll from Maria. “He’s so caring, so affectionate, so handsome, so—”
“Bahamas, huh? Strange.” I heard her murmuring to herself.
That got my full attention. “Huh?”
Her shoulders rose and fell in the most casual way I had ever seen. “I said he was strange.”
I should not have cared. I was the one who was in love, not her. She didn’t know Logan like I did. But my smile faded, and I straightened in my seat. Outside, a heavy rumble echoed through the sky, lightning flashed through the air and the rain intensified. But the weather didn’t concern me. What Maria said did, and it made everything else sound like an unpleasant noise.
“What are you talking about? What do you mean by strange?”
Happy, talkative Maria, I could handle. But when she was solemn, like now, it worried me. She bit off more of the croissant from my plate and frowned. “You two haven’t known each other for very long.”
“Logan and I have been together for five months now.”
“Months, Addison.” She twirled a strand of hair around her finger and glanced out of the window. Then she looked at me again. “Five months doesn’t sound like a long time to me to get to know someone who bumps into you on the way out of the elevator.”
“Five years would suffice?” I didn’t bother hiding the sarcasm in my tone and, surprisingly, she picked it.
She shifted in her seat, took my hand in hers, and gave me a warm smile. “I don’t mean to rain on your parade, Addi, but marriage is a serious matter. In my opinion, it’s really too early to be thinking about marriage. You’re twenty-one, you”ve got your whole life ahead of you. You’re so young—”
“We’re both so young, grandma.”
She laughed, and the tension rolled off my shoulders. I relaxed and patted her hand. As I said, Maria loved me. This display of overprotectiveness was her way of looking out for me.
“Honestly, I thought about it—the early marriage thing—and brought it up. But he said he was already too much in love and couldn’t wait to make things official between us. He wants to marry me as soon as possible.”
I blushed, but Maria didn’t look at all convinced. “And your father?”
I withdrew my hands.
“Addison?” Her voice was soft, and it wasn’t meant to be, but it brought me to the edge. She had hit a sore spot. Hot tears burned my eyes. “Is he okay?”
I shook my head fast and sniffled. Besides Logan, Maria was the only other person who knew.
“He is, um ... better, I guess? Logan and I, we, um ... we”ve spoken to the doctors. They”re not hopeful and it’s not encouraging, but that’s another reason Logan says he wants to speed up the wedding preparations. He knows my father ...” I swallowed and suppressed a smile. “So, he wants to be there to take care of me.”
Maria and I sat together in a comfortable silence before she gave me a reassuring smile. “Fine then. If he makes you happy, I’m happy.”