Maybe she only said yes because of the crowd. Maybe she didn’t mean it.
Maybe she’s even breaking up with him right now.
Yeah, that’s it.
I can feel the tightness in my chest loosening, the hope building back up. Maybe this was all just temporary.
I take another cleansing ocean breath and exhale slowly. Just wait until tomorrow. Maybe it’ll all be over.
It’s not over.
She’s actually engaged.
I got to work extra early, knowing Claire shows up around eight every Monday. I couldn’t start my day until I knew for sure whether or not she’s engaged, and surfing would have been a disaster. I probably would’ve gotten caught in a riptide or something if I didn’t get this out of my head.
The goal was to beat her to the office, but I don’t get in until eight fifteen. And when I walk through the door, standing right at the front with the administrative assistants is Claire.
She’s holding out her hand so Grace, the young and fun administrative assistant, can see her ring. A huge, gaudy ring that looks nothing like what Claire would have chosen. How in the world did Zach find the money to afford something like that?
Betsy, the other administrative assistant, an irritable older woman, sits at her desk, looking grumpy as ever.
That makes two of us.
“Ryan, did you hear?” Grace calls to me, a huge grin on her face. “Claire is ENGAGED!”
“Oh, no way,” I say, trying to sound casual.
Claire furrows her brow. “Didn’t you see it on TV? I thought you were watching the game. I wondered why you didn’t text me.”
“I-I was. I was watching the game,” I stammer. Crap. How am I going to get out of this one? “But I must have missed it during a bathroom break.”
Yeah, that’s super believable. And not embarrassing at all.
She studies my face for a moment, and I swear she can tell that I’m lying. But then she smiles brightly, the smile that usually sends me down a love spiral. This time, it makes my stomach turn. “Yep! I’m really engaged!”
My heart drops, and I have to intentionally decide how to react. What would she expect? What would a best friend do if he didn’t have romantic feelings for the girl who just got engaged?
I smile as big as I can. “Wow. Congrats!” I squeeze her in a side hug. “That’s great. When’s the wedding?”
She leans into me for a moment, then pulls away. “Uh, we didn’t really decide that yet. Soon, I guess?”
Soon.Each word is just another knife in my heart. “Awesome.”
She tilts her head at me. “You’re here early. Bad waves today?”
Actually, the waves were incredible this morning. And now I wish I were anywhere but here. But what am I supposed to say?I wanted to see if my nightmare was reality and couldn’t stand another minute of wondering.I make something up instead. “I figured I’d get some grading done. I’ll just…” I jerk my head toward my cubicle.
Claire furrows her brow, probably about to ask why in the world I’d show up early to grade, but Grace starts asking her questions about a dress and decor and saves me from making up more lies. I hurry to my desk, sit in my seat, set my elbows on the desk, and hold my head in my hands.
She’s engaged. Really, truly engaged. She’s about to promise herself to another man, and I don’t know how to handle it.
She seemed happy. Excited, even. Maybe I’ve misread everything up to this point and she actuallyisin love with Zach.
Not that I have any idea why.
Now what? She’s still my friend. A good friend would encourage her to be happy. So if this is what’s going to make her happy, I need to support her decision. Even if it kills me.
But at the same time…I need to protect myself. I have to pull back from our friendship. Because there’s no way I can be her best friend anymore once she gets married.
