Chapter Sixteen
“Yes.”
“Yes to what? This one? Or that one?” Larisa asks me, but I’m not able to focus.
“Umm … the … one with the … yeah,” I reply vaguely and wave a hand in the direction of the dresses on the racks.
“Em, come on, please focus. At least a little bit. I know you have much bigger things going on in your life right now, and that the last few months haven’t been easy between breaking your arm and quitting your job. But can you do this for me for just a few minutes, please?” she begs.
A feeling of guilt and shame takes over me, and I try to concentrate on the task at hand. “I’m so sorry, Larisa. You’re totally right. And, please, don’t get me wrong. Your wedding is one of the most important things in my life. I hope you know that!”
She smiles warmly at me. “So, which bridesmaid dress do you want to wear? Because the stylist has been grilling me about it for the last three weeks.”
“Is it true that she did the costumes for that Kate Winslet movie?” Jo comes out of the changing room.
“Oh, yes. It’s true alright!” Larisa smiles. “Emmy, did you know that … Emmy? What are you doing over there?”
“Huh? What? Nothing, I was just … looking at these … umm … dresses,” I lie.
“Those are teddies. You’re supposed to wear them on the wedding night. Are you even paying attention to what you’re looking at or … oh, my gosh! Emmy Williams, is there a new man in your life? Is that why you’re looking at those?” she asks me.
I move away from the display of fine, silky lingerie and head in the direction of the candy bar. The brightly colored macarons smell of decadent almonds and sugary milk. I grab a pink one and take a bite.
The taste does not disappoint.
“Wow, this stylist surely knows how to spoil us, Larisa. Look at this candy bar! And the prosecco … not to mention this selection of dresses that she has on display just for our appointment,” I tell the girls, still chewing the buttery dessert.
They look at each other and then back to me.
Jo takes me by the hand and pulls me toward the white couch in the middle of the room. “Why are you changing the subject, Em? Come on, tell us what’s wrong. You’ve been acting aloof all afternoon. What is it?”
“Guys … I’m not okay,” I blurt out, my feelings getting the best of me.
“What? What are you talking about? Is it your arm? Did it not heal well? Does it hurt?” Jo asks, her voice laced with concern.
“Is it about your job? Honey, we can fix that. Let me talk to Gianluca and see what we can do. We’ll pull some strings and find you a new job as a freelance makeup artist in no time!” Larisa adds.
“Thank you so much, Larisa. That would be wonderful,” I smile. “But … I wasn’t talking about that. I—I think I did something bad and now I don’t know how to … undo it.”
They huddle closer to me on the white couch, everything about the dresses and wedding accessories completely forgotten.
Both Larisa and Jo can see just how serious I am.
“What happened, honey? Tell us.” Larisa says.
“Guys, two weeks ago, I went to have my cast taken off. And when I did, Evan and I kissed.”
As if on cue, both of them gasp very loudly like they do when they’re watching a particularly twisted episode of Game of Thrones.
They cover their mouths with their hands and stare at me in disbelief.
“Whaaaat? No way!! You two kissed? Why … why didn’t you tell us until now??” Larisa asks me.
“I needed time to process it and … everything else that happened after. Because … it was difficult. It’s difficult talking about it even now. You’ll understand why in a minute.”
Their eyes grow even wider, just as I expected.
“Everything … else? More things happened between you and Evan?” Jo asks.
“Many more things,” I reply. “First of all, you should know that I’m the one who initiated the kiss that day.”
“What?? No way!! Get out of here!!” they react simultaneously, shaking their heads in total disbelief.
“Yes, it’s true. I guess that, for a while now, I’ve started to see Evan in a new light. You know, all these years, he’s been my best friend. And I’ve always seen him as that awkward teenage boy that he used to be. But lately … I started seeing this … incredibly handsome, attractive man. This charming, funny, spectacular man who was … right there. On my couch, bringing me wine and making me laugh. In my bathroom helping me wrap my cast so it wouldn’t get wet. In my kitchen, making me pasta—and then when he had to take off his T-shirt in my kitchen with the pasta because some sauce spilled on him and … I guess I realized how attracted I am to him. I mean … extremely attracted. I could barely stand, I couldn’t take my eyes off him, I couldn’t think about anything else!”
Larisa fans herself with her hand while Jo just grins.
“So, when I went to have my cast removed, I couldn’t resist him anymore. We kissed. And it was … heavenly. Better than anything I could’ve ever imagined. Not only was it electric and passionate but it also felt like … home. Like coming back home after being gone for a very long time. But then—”
“Oh, no. What happened?” Larisa asks.
“Well, right after the kiss, things got very awkward. It was almost as if we didn’t know how to be with each other anymore, just because we kissed. All of a sudden, there was nothing to talk about. All the topics of conversation just disappeared and were replaced by embarrassing silences and silly stares.”
“Oh no. I did not see that coming.”
“Me either!” I reply. “We decided to go to dinner that evening to celebrate my cast coming off and … it was so … cold and unwelcoming. The whole ride there was ridiculous! I felt like I was in the car with a stranger! And that’s when it hit me. Is this what it would be like? Our relationship?”
Larisa and Jo look puzzled as if they don’t necessarily agree with me.
“Emmy, that’s not really true. Don’t you think that you judged things somewhat fast? You kissed once and then went out to dinner. Sure, it was awkward. That kiss and that dinner came after seventeen years of friendship. What were you expecting? You two are not Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in The Notebook! This is real life. Things are different,” Jo says wisely, as usual.
“Well, you might be right. But, in the moment, I didn’t think so. And then, dinner came.”
“Oh, no! What happened at dinner?” they ask me, horrified looks on their faces.
“Well, after he—”
“Ladies,” the stylist’s voice interrupts us. “Would you like to come to the other room and try on the new designs that—”
“Dresses? There are more important things at stake here!! What dresses?” Larisa tells the stylist.
The woman makes an indignant face and retreats to the back room, leaving us alone again.
“Sorry about that. So, what happened then?” Larisa asks me.
I take a deep breath and continue the story. “Evan asked me to marry him.”
To my surprise, their reaction is not what I thought it’d be. I thought the girls would be shocked, but instead, they exhale and wave it away, patiently.
“Yeah. For the millionth time.” Larisa laughs.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask.
“Come on, Em. He’s been asking you to marry him since you were … what, in high school? He’s probably asked you to marry him like a million times by now. First, there was the marriage pact. Then there was every time he asked you if you wanted to honor the marriage pact…” Larisa explains.
“Yeah, sure, but this time he meant it!”
“What?” Jo asks.
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you! Guys, this time it was for real. He didn’t have a ring or anything like that, but it was a real proposal. He looked into my face and explicitly asked me if I wanted to be his wife!”
Still, to my surprise, the girls don’t react to this piece of news either.
“Emmy, this might come as a surprise to you, but Evan has meant it every single time he’s asked you.”
Now I’m the shocked one. “What are you talking about?”
“Em, you’re the only one who never took this seriously. And frankly, I have no idea why. I’m certain that Evan meant every single proposal he’s made—including back then, in high school, when he came up with the idea of the marriage pact. Sure, he wouldn’t have married you at that very moment—since you both were so young—but he’d have tied himself to you. And, in a way, he did. He’s never faltered, never left. He’s always been loyal and has always stayed by your side,” Jo says.
I listen to her speak and realize that she’s right.
“I just don’t understand how I could’ve been so blind. Guys, during dinner, he told me that he loves me and always has. That I’m his soulmate…”
Jo and Larisa start to smile.
“Em, I think he’s right,” Jo says, grabbing my hand. “Of course, this decision is entirely yours to make, but I do think you two are soulmates. I always have. And I think there’s a reason why, up until now, you’ve never been able to find someone to your liking. Because whether you realize it or not, you’ve always compared every man to Evan. And they all failed.”
“And perhaps, because, in your heart, you were waiting for him. Now he’s here,” Larisa adds.
“Guys, I told him no.”
“What does that mean?”
“When he asked me if I wanted to honor the marriage pact, or at least to be in a relationship, I said no. I didn’t think it was a good idea.”
“So? Is that how you still feel about it?”
“No. Now that I’ve had some time to think about it, I’ve changed my mind.”
“Then there you go! Run to him! Tell him that you are in love with him as well. Can you imagine how happy he’ll be?”
“But guys, I haven’t spoken to Evan in weeks—which was probably for the best … since it allowed me to see how I truly feel about this,” I reply. “But … now I’m scared. What if it’s too late?”
“Emmy, the man has been waiting for this since he was a teenager. He’s asked you to marry him a thousand times. Come on!” Jo starts to laugh.
I feel a rush of electricity course through me until the very tips of my fingers seem to tingle. Suddenly, I get a crazy urge to see Evan, to talk to him, to jump into his arms and kiss his entire beautiful face.
This is it.
The last step of the saga.
Me and him.
“You’re right. I’m going to do it, guys. There’s no turning back now!”
Larisa and Jo squeal in excitement and hug me.
“Goodness, can you believe it? The three of us have found the loves of our lives. Our soulmates!” Larisa says.
“I guess fairy tales do come true, right?” Jo adds.
“I guess they do!”
Not able to wait any longer, I retreat into a corner of the room and call Evan. As usual, he picks up almost instantly.
“Hey there, Dolly. What’s up? Everything alright?”
“Hey! Yes, everything’s fine. Jo and I are shopping for bridesmaid dresses with Larisa for her wedding and … I was thinking about you.”
“Dress shopping made you think about me?”
My heart climbs up to my very throat where I can feel it beating painfully. “Yeah, I guess all these wedding dresses got me thinking. So … we haven’t seen each other in a hot minute. How about dinner tonight? My place? To catch up?”
“Um, yeah. Sure. I’ll bring over that cake you like. Do you want anything else?”
“No, no. Just bring … yourself.”
“Alright. Well, I’ve got to get back to my patients. But I’ll see you tonight as soon as I’m done, okay?” he says.
“Yes, yes! I can’t wait. Oh, and, Evan…”
“What’s up?”
“I miss you … I mean, I’ve missed you since … we haven’t seen each other,” I tell him, my heart now beating so strongly I feel as if I’m going to choke,
“It hasn’t been that long, Dolly.” He laughs. “But, yes. I’ve missed you too! As always.”
“Always,” I repeat into the telephone.
There’s a slight pause during which I can hear him breathing, and I realize, perhaps for the first time, that I don’t want to hang up the phone. Even though we’ve known each other and have been friends for over half our lives now—even though we are long past the adolescent phases of our lives, I’m now in love with my best friend like a teenage girl. Perhaps, the way I should’ve been all along.
“Anything else, Dolly?” he asks me.
“No, no. Just that I’ve missed you,” I repeat, grinning.
“Same here. Okay, now I’ve really got to go. Duty calls.”
“Yup. Go and be the superhero that you are!” I reply.
Shortly after, we hang up.
Behind me, the girls—who were pretending not to listen but clearly absorbed every word—are grinning from ear to ear.
“You know, we came here to find bridesmaids dresses, but I think we should’ve been looking for a wedding dress for you, Emmy!” Jo says.
“Guys, come on.”
“Now introducing for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Emmy and Evan Davis!” Larisa calls out to the empty room.
Despite the silliness of the game, I can’t help but grin.
My heart is happy, and I’m glad to be sharing this moment with my friends. And, of course, my best friend.