“No,” I sigh. “It seemed like the only thing he wanted out of the whole conversation was to get me to admit my feelings, and once that was done, he was satisfied.” I shrug. “Besides, I don’t need child support. I mean, at this point, I’m fine. Maybe when they get older and start costing more. With things like sports, cars, and college, he can pitch in, but not until then. I’m sure we’ll figure something out for visitation, especially since I’ll be home a lot to see my parents.”
“So you basically say you love each other, and just like that, shazam, you’re fine now?” Poppy’s hand flies up exaggeratedly. Her tipsiness would be cuter if she weren’t giving me shit.
“Just like that,” I confirm. “It’s almost like all I needed was to get everything off my chest. Once I did, it felt like a ton of bricks lifted off my shoulders. I’d been carrying this around for so long that I didn’t even realize how much it weighed me down.”
“Well, I’m happy for you. And I believe you when you say you’re good, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have bad days. You can’t simply shut off your feelings, so if you do have a bad day, you’ll call one of us, right? Because we won’t fault you if you slip up now and then.”Leave it to Matt to be the clearheaded one who evidently handles his alcohol better.
“Thank you, Matt. That means a lot. I couldn’t have made it this far without both of you. And I’m sure I’ll be leaning on you more over the next couple of months until this little one makes their appearance,” I say while rubbing my stomach.
“I see someone’s ready for breakfast. Hope you’re all hungry,” the waitress says as she sets down three heaping plates of food before us.
I get a few minutes of reprieve while we dig in until Poppy picks up where she left off.
“So let me get this straight,” Poppy starts in between mouthfuls of food. “You’re by his side for two weeks, he wakes up, asks to see you before his fiancée, you both profess your love, you admit to wanting to be with him, and then he just lets you go? That’s fucked up. It sure doesn’t sound like everything’s great to me.”
Matt’s eyes go wide, and he’s about to intervene, but I shoo him off.
“I’m choosing to focus on the positive and not dwell on the negative. The ideal scenario would be that he’s not engaged to another woman he doesn’t remember falling in love with. But guess what, he is, so it doesn’t matter how fucked up it sounds—it is what it is, and there’s nothing me, you, or anyone else can do about it. What would you expect him to do? Call off the wedding and choose me? What happens when his memory returns and he realizes he’s already gotten over me and loves Rebecca? How would that feel, huh? It’d be far worse than being at peace with where we left things. So please just let it be.”
Between the food she’s been shoveling in and my speech, Poppy sobers right up. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. What am I thinking? You’re trying to move on, and I’m acting like a total bitch about it. Please forgive me,” she says and rises to hug me.
“Of course I forgive you. It’s probably my fault anyway for not warning you about bottomless mimosas. Been there, done that.”
Matt’s looking at us like we’re from another planet. “Women. I don’t think I’ll ever understand you creatures.”
We all laugh and stick to lighter topics for the rest of the meal, and I’m happy that my parents now fit into that category as I relay the details of our visit. We end on a good note with Poppy going home to nap. And because it’s Sunday and I have the greatest excuse in the world, I do too.
The following week flies by with periodic updates from Lily about Eli’s recovery. She’s been somewhat vague—I’m assuming not to hurt my feelings—but it’s probably for the best with my new take on the situation. It really has been quite freeing not to constantly be thinking of him and all he entails. Although it never fails that when you’re basking in the calm, something always comes along to rock the boat.
Poppy saunters into my office late one morning, holding an article she must’ve printed. “Cici, have you been reading the gossip columns recently?”
“Nope. Because I decided whoever said ‘ignorance is bliss’ was right, and ever since I stopped reading them, I’ve been blissfully ignorant.” I smile sardonically as she rolls her eyes.
“That’s what I thought. Well, Ms. Ignorant, something came out today you might be interested in hearing.”
“Uh-uh.” My hand goes up, palm out. “Don’t do it. I donotwant to know.”
“You do. You really, really do. You’d be mad at me if I knew about it anddidn’ttell you, I swear. Just hear me out.” She gives me her best puppy dog eyes.
“Ugh.” I look to the ceiling and breathe deeply. It’s probably something I’ll find out sooner or later anyway if she’s this insistent. Plus, I don’t think she’d be this excited if it was something bad, so I should just let her tell me and move on. Otherwise, she’ll probably pester me until I relent anyway. “Fine. Spit it out.”
She holds up the article and takes a dramatic breath beforereading, “The illustrious Eli Dubree of Dubree Enterprises called off his engagement after two months.” She looks at me with hearts in her eyes. “Would you like to hear his statement?” I’m stunned speechless, which is fine since she doesn’t give me time to answer. “While Rebecca is a wonderful person, my recent near-death experience shed light on how important life is and reminded me that it’s too short to accept anything less than what one truly wants. It would not have been fair to either of us to follow through with the wedding when my heart belongs to someone else.” She pauses dramatically and brings the paper to her chest for effect before continuing, “When asked about the other woman, Dubree responded that if all goes accordingly, the world will know soon enough.” The smile on her face tells me she knows exactly who he’s talking about, while my thumping heart happily agrees.
“That came out today?” It’s the only thing I come up with.
“Yes! So now what? Have you heard from him?” she asks, beaming.
“He was on your shit list last we talked, and now you’re suddenly team Eli?” I snap in defense because no, I haven’t heard from him. At. All.
“I was always team Eli. I was just mad at him for forfeiting the game. But look.” She holds up the article. “He’s back in!”
Her enthusiasm makes me laugh. “What should I do? Do you think he meant for me to see it?”
“Of course he did. This is Eli announcing that he’s coming for you. If I were you, I’d hurry home and do a full body makeover before he gets here since it’s been ages since you’ve had to shave for anyone.”
“Gee, thanks. Not bad advice, though. But he could just make a phone call.”
Ironically enough, my phone rings at that exact moment. My heart jolts until I look and see that it’s Lily.
