The guys escort me to Tuesday’s shop, and thankfully, leave me on my own to speak with her. This afternoon’s confessions have been humiliating enough.
The metallic clink of a bell above the door chimes, and the beautiful girl at the counter makes eye contact with me as I enter. She has light brown hair, big green eyes, and a captivating smile I would anticipate is befitting of someone like Tuesday. “Good afternoon. How can I help you today?”
“Hi. I’m hoping you can assist me. I’m planning to surprise my girlfriend this weekend. I want to go all out.” I beam.
Girlfriend?Well, it feels odd announcing to anyone that we’retechnically married. When evenIdon’t know if Grace would still consider us married. We really should’ve had a real conversation before flying back home. Instead, we spent the entire next day in bed before obtaining a bikini for Grace so we could hit the pool. I mean, itwason theViva Las Vegasbucket list. And I can safely say I’ll never get the vision of her in that royal blue bikini out of my head.
When morning came far too quickly, we managed to make our flight but slept through the majority of it. Once we landed, I was running late to a meeting, and she was in a rush to get home to her mother.
“Oh, how fun.” Tuesday claps. “Is it a special occasion, like an anniversary or her birthday?”
Should I tell her I want to propose?How do you ask someone to marry you, who’s already married to you?“No. Someone really wise told me to up my game. That I needed to push myself in the romance department.” I smirk.
“Wait. What did you say?” She closes her eyes dramatically and waves her hands in the air. “Okay, say it again.”
I chuckle. “Someone really wise told me to up my game. That I needed to push myself in the romance department.”
A wide grin inhabits her face. “Would you mind if I asked your name?” She reaches for an order form, seeming to act all business.
“Ben. My name is Ben Banks. You wouldn’t happen to be Tuesday?”
“Oh, my gosh. Yes!” she blurts. “It is you! It’s so rare I ever have the good fortune to meet people I connect with over the phone. And admittedly, your situation has stuck with me. I’m so glad it all worked out.”
“It did.” I snicker. “But not like you think.” I can feel a bit of embarrassment stain my cheeks at the memory of that humiliating time in my life. “Your advice was spot on. I admit I haven’t been the most attentive boyfriend in the past. My focus has always been on my work. But that ridiculous relationship was a wake-up call.” I reach back to rub the back of my neck.
“I’m embarrassed to admit, I think at that time, I was trying to pullout all of the stops to keep her from leaving again. But not because I loved her.”
Her face scrunches in confusion.
“I’ve learned a lot about myself since the day we spoke on the phone. I’m quite driven. It’s how I’ve managed to pursue a successful business. Failure isn’t an option. I did as you suggested. Wined and dined her. Showed her how much I cared. But the whole time, something seemed off.”
Tuesday gives me her undivided attention. Either because that’s simply the type of girl she is, or perhaps because my ridiculous life is like watching a car wreck or a reality TV episode.
“Even though she wasn’t rubbing my nose in my mistakes, and she was still giving us a chance, it began to feel like I was forcing a square peg into a round hole.”
“It’s good you were observant of your feelings,” she adds.
Am I the only floral customer who treats this place like I’m spilling my emotions at the local pub? “Yes. You’re right. There’s a time I would’ve been so fixated on closing the deal that I might not have. Anyway, I started to pull back a bit. When she seemed unbothered by all of it, I questioned whether she wasn’t really committed to this anymore. To us. And it got me wondering. Was I really ever the problem?”
She stands up straight. “What do you mean?”
“Basically, the long and short of it was, I got tested, and I was clean. She had the nerve to blame me when it was her all along. She’d been having an affair with some guy she was dating before I moved to the States. I’d go to work, and she’d go to him.” I shake my head.
“Oh, Ben.”
“Yeah. But the silver lining was, I realized I was ready for more. Just not with her.”
“And now you’ve found her?” Tuesday steeples her hands together in anticipation of my sharing my happily ever after.
“Yes. And I never would’ve met her if I hadn’t listened to you.”
“How so?”
“You said something that stuck with me. You said to show her your actions are more than asking for forgiveness. It’s because you love her. Somewhere along the way, it dawned on me that I should be excited to shower the woman I love with flowers and gifts. But I wasn’t focused on forgiveness with Chanel. Just avoiding failure.”
My head drops recalling that time. How I attempted to hold on to something that was never a good fit. “I’d finally taken a chance on a mature, committed relationship and didn’t want to admit I couldn’t make it work. But those test results proved I wasn’t a failure at relationships. I simply chose the wrong girl.”
“You’re absolutely right. How would anyone ever find the right person for them without trying a few on for size?” She giggles. “Well, that’s what my friend Grace says to do.”
