4
A REMINDER OF YOU
After the week at work since my return, I was glad it was finally the weekend. I couldn't wait to spend the evening with my best friend Ivy; it was our monthly reunion. Since university, we agreed that one Saturday a month we would meet up to have dinner; plan a day thing or hang out with takeaway and wine to just to catch up. No matter what life threw at us or how busy it got, we kept our promise. When she started dating Jude we stuck to our commitment, and even more so after Kyle and I broke up over a year ago. We weren’t going to be those girlfriends who didn't see each other once we settled. We were sisters by choice, our bond unbreakable. It also meant that I spent more time with Ivy than my own family.
I spent the afternoon tidying the apartment then unpacking the neglected suitcase from the trip. Angelina insisted I keep everything for my troubles, she knew I’d had plans instead of the meeting but the fact I had sacrificed them for work wouldn’t go unnoticed. I removed the scrunched up black dress from the case.
As my hand made contact with the material, flashbacks of my night with the stranger projected in my mind. His hands, those dimples, his lips on my skin. A mild trace of his cologne imprinted on the fabric heightened my senses, a subtle musky scent that harmonised with his voice. I unravelled the dress to place it on a hanger, ready to take to the dry cleaners in the morning.
I was startled as something weighty clunked on the ground in front of me. I looked down, catching a glimmer of the silver metal; it was a Rolex. My heart leaped in my chest. I was afraid to touch it, as if it was going to burn me. I had inadvertently stolen his watch and it wasn’t a cheap watch either.
I threw the dress on the bed, bending down slowly to retrieve it. It was hidden within the material of my dress, it must have gotten lost when things heated up and I must have scooped it up as I rushed to pack. I rolled the band between my fingers as I examined it looking for some kind of clue, an engraved name or something so I could at least try and return to the owner. But there was nothing, not one scratch or dent. Just the hands flawlessly rotating on the clock face. I pictured it around his wrist that night at the bar as he lifted his whiskey glass to hide his smirking lips. My mind raced as I thought about those lustful chocolate eyes running over me, making me melt in the process, giving me flashbacks of the evening's events. This watch was a tiny token to prove he wasn't a dream; he was real, the moment was real.
The doorbell blasted through the apartment startling me from my thoughts. I had lost track of time, forgetting that Ivy was coming over. Quickly, I placed the watch on my bedside cabinet before closing the bedroom door and greeting Ivy. The petite, overexcited woman pulled me in for a constricted hug. I missed her so much and once a month seemed like a long time between meet ups.
Ivy was the positive ray of sunshine you needed in your life, she always knew how to cheer you up when you were down and she just radiated goodness wherever she went. Her heart was pure and even though she came from a rich family and worked incredibly hard for her own success, she remained humble.
She danced past me into my kitchen to pull some glasses out of the cupboard as I seized the chilled wine from the fridge. Ivy knew her way around my apartment a lot more than I did. To be fair when I moved in she did organise the whole place; she was obsessed with Home Organisation videos. She instructed me to pour generously before we made our way to the couch to settle and start our monthly run down of events.
It was the same routine before we decided to eat or get the evening started, kind of like a breather. Her caramel curls bounded as she leapt onto the couch to face me, her sapphire eyes meeting mine. Ivy’s energy tonight was all over the place, she was bouncing off the walls more than usual, like she was bursting to tell me something. She placed our wine glasses on the small coffee table, turning her body fully to face me so we could focus on the conversation.
“So,” she began, “Oh, I can't wait any longer,” she squealed, her voice matched her energy and she spoke so fast I couldn’t keep up. I gave her a confused look before she held out her left hand towards me. And that’s when I saw it on her delicate slender hand, a diamond illuminating her finger. It was so sparkly that I was surprised I hadn’t noticed it sooner. My hand flew up to my mouth covering the loud gasp. It finally happened!
“Oh. My. God,” I stuttered out in shock, meeting her eyes, my grin so wide I felt like the Cheshire cat. She squealed again in excitement.
“I know! Oh Gi, I have been dying to tell you but I wanted to tell you in person. I haven’t been wearing my ring or telling anyone as I wanted to tell you first!” Her eyes welled up, she was so happy and I was so ecstatic for her that my emotions mirrored hers. I was so touched that she wanted to tell me before everyone else, that she hadn’t displayed her news like I probably would have, just out of excitement.
“Congratulations, I am so happy for you,” I smiled, tearing up even more. I grabbed her for another tight embrace to stop myself from blubbering like a baby. I wanted to hear this whole story but before that I snatched her hand back to admire the ring. The rock was enormous compared to her dainty fingers, nails freshly painted. A white gold band complete with an oval diamond, no bigger than a teardrop. Jude has chosen well, it’s exactly what Ivy said she wanted.
“Tell me everything,” I said, offering her rosé back from the table as I took mine, encouraging us to take the first sip of the gifted luxury beverage as she spilled the romantic story of the proposal.
After the story, Ivy presented me with an eggshell gift bag, her eyes glistened as she watched me reveal its contents. Inside was a miniature card covered in tiny pink hearts with a gold engraved proposal on the front 'Will you be my maid of honour?' and inside she had handwritten a cute sentimental message. Keep it together Gi… No crying. I pulled out a Pandora box containing a silver necklace and earring set with baby blue stones embedded. I couldn’t control my emotions and the tears fell before I could stop them. I sniffed, taking a breath to compose myself and appreciating that Ivy had really thought about this gesture.
“Will you?” she asked, studying my reaction. I nodded as more tears slipped down my cheek, she wiped them away laughing before she joined in. Her tears started to flow and before we knew it, we didn’t know if we were crying at this moment or laughing at each other.
“Oh, Iv, of course I will.” I sobbed. She hugged me close, planting a kiss on my cheek.
“You're also my something blue if you hadn’t guessed” she chimed, looking down at the set in the box between us. “This means more wine nights,” she sang, tilting her glass towards mine and we toasted. “I honestly can't do this without you," she stated.
We did everything together and I was so excited to be by her side at this moment in her life. I couldn’t wait to see how beautiful she was going to look in her gown and to watch her marry the love of her life. After crying it out like two adult babies, we composed ourselves to order dinner before the emotions took over again and we forgot to eat.
Dinner arrived; we’d ordered the usual Chinese feast, chicken noodles, spring rolls and spicy beef. We dished up the meal and poured more wine as we sat on the sofa ready to put on a chick flick. I let Ivy choose the movie, with no surprise she happened to pick ‘Bridesmaids’.
“Don’t you be an Annie on me!” Ivy laughed.
“Only if you don’t replace me with a Helen,” I chuckled as we watched the maid of honour and one of the bridesmaids fight over the bride’s best interest. We laughed at how ridiculous the movie was and were thankful our friendship was strong and that we didn't need to worry about falling out like that.
“I promise,” she smiled, “no one would ever replace you. And if they try to overthrow you, they are out!” We clinked our glasses together.
After the movie, I updated her on Brie’s party, the spa day and work, which got me confessing to her about the stranger. I saved most of the dirty details despite Ivy pressuring me to spill. I wasn’t prude about my sex life but I also didn't need to share the intimate details. He made me feel good and the sex was the best of my life, that was all she needed to know. It had been a year since Kyle so to her this was super exciting, she wanted to know everything. The shock on her face was clear as she learned about my one-night stand, the gentleman experience, the fact this wasn’t my usual behaviour. This stoked the fire of the conversation, making her nosier, it was a milestone in my life.
“So, you don't know his name?” she asked, getting emotional again, the wine was now in control of us at this point as we were on our third bottle.
“No, at the time I didn't want to know,” I said, staring into the pink liquid before me.
“And now?” she asked, her eyes widening as she waited for my answer; she was invested. I pulled my thoughts together in one place before meeting her eyes.
“And now, I kind of wished I did. He was different... It was just sex but we clicked. He seemed a little disappointed when he left without my name,” I said, remembering, “he made me feel a way I never knew I could.” This was true. I felt beautiful, empowered, and not just that, the intimacy was there, in the way he looked at me. A one-night stand wouldn’t have been so intimate.
“Do you know anything about him?” she asked, her doe-eyes focused on my emotions.
“No, not really we talked a little, but it's foggy. We were playful, very flirty, the attraction was definitely there. We fucked a couple of times that night and then he left after I coldly said goodbye.” I shrugged, trying to brush this guilty feeling off.
“What happens in Barcelona stays in Barcelona I guess.” I took the last sip of my wine. “Come on let's go to bed, I'll text Jude you're staying tonight,” I said, guiding her to my room. It was time to call it a night, it had been an intense and overwhelming evening with Ivy’s news and then this conversation. She was drunk spinning around my spacious room when she noticed his watch.
“Ooooh is this his?” she teased, making her way over to my bedside cabinet, she picked it up and quickly admired it before I took it out her hand and popped it back in its temporary place.
“You've got good, but expensive, taste, Gi,” she slurred as she climbed onto the other side of the bed.
“That's true, that's why I have you,” I smiled, bopping her nose playfully as I pulled the duvet over her. I retrieved a bucket to place beside the bed, ready for if she was sick. I knew how Ivy handled her drinks, that’s what sharing a dorm at uni does.
Finally, I texted Jude to let him know Ivy was staying and would be home in the morning; she fell asleep fast. My brain was currently in a whirlwind from the past half an hour’s conversation. I knew sleep wouldn’t come so I wandered back into my living room to clean up our mess before trying to settle into bed myself. The apartment was immaculate and ready for a new day.
Exhausted, I climbed in next to Ivy, rolling over to get the light, when I caught a glimpse of the watch on my nightstand. I paused for a moment, replaying my confession to Ivy before sighing and shoving it in the drawer, until I figured out what to do with it. But for now, I needed it out of sight out of mind.