She told Riley everything, trying to include as much detail as possible without injecting too much emotion into it. She found it surprisingly easy to rehash. No lingering pain or resentments. It was what it was. No matter how Riley reacted, Emmy realized she was grateful for this moment. Without this conversation, she wouldn’t have known for a long time—if ever—that she’d truly gotten over this part of her past.
She also couldn’t help thinking about what Lucy said. The book had given her time to get to this point, hadn’t it? She was fairly certain this conversation, this whole encounter, would have gone differently without her brief sojourn into the pages of a novel.
When she finished talking, she sat silently and waited. Riley stared at her, eyes wide, upper lip curled slightly. Finally, she took a deep breath, let it shudder through her, as if shaking off a trance.
“Ew,” she said. “I was trying to prepare myself for some worst-case scenarios, and racism didn’t even factor into it. Ew.Ew!”
“I know it’s weird for me to say this, but I’m sorry,” Emmy told her.
“No. No apologies from you.” Riley dismissed Emmy’s words with a flick of her hand. “You did me a favor. Seriously. Hold on one sec.” She pulled out her phone. “I’m breaking up with this fucker by text.”
Emmy let out an incredulous laugh. “Um… you don’t want to think about it?”
“Not even a little,” she replied, still typing. “Nothing to think about.”
“What are you telling him? Would you mind leaving my name out of it?”
“No worries there, girlfriend. I’m telling him I’ve decided he and I want different things, so he should text me when he’s out of the apartment so I can go get my stuff. There. Sent.” She placed her phone screen-down on the table and reached for her coffee. She shook her head as she drank, stared blankly out the window. “I want the whole deal. The marriage and family thing. Whatever. But I’m young. There’s no rush. Except sometimes I get so sick and tired of the dating thing, you know?” She looked back at Emmy. “I won’t bore you with the details, but the ex I told Andrew about? The most recent one? He fucked me up. Now this. It makes me want to give up. Adopt a Jack Russell terrier, focus on my career, take up a new hobby.” She shook her head again. “Sorry. I shouldn’t dump all this on you.”
Emmy didn’t know who was more surprised when she reached out and took Riley’s hand. “You can dump on me. Trust me, I’ve been there.”
Riley looked down at their joined hands, then back up at Emmy’s face. She cocked her head. “I guess it would be weird if I asked you to get coffee with me again sometime. Or dinner maybe?”
“Oh. Um… no, it wouldn’t be weird. We’d certainly have plenty to talk about. Something tells me neither of us would have any qualms about venting about our most recent exes.” Riley laughed at that and toasted Emmy with her coffee. “The thing is,” Emmy continued, “I… I’m in love with someone.” That seemed to be the safest way to put it, and it was the absolute truth.
“Oh.” Riley squeezed Emmy’s hand once, quickly, and let go. “Well, it was worth a shot. You’re lucky. I’m so petty because all I feel right now is envious of you and sorry for myself.”
Emmy studied her for a moment. “How open-minded would you consider yourself?”
“Well, that sure is a question. Not open-minded enough to consider any kind of throuple situation. You’re hot, and I’m sure your partner is, too, but…”
Emmy laughed hard enough to draw the attention of nearby patrons. “No, not that kind of open-minded. I was wondering how you would react if I told you I’m in love right now because I paid a visit to a local s—romancepsychic.”
Riley snatched up her phone. She snorted in amusement. “Fucker is not pleased. Good.” She swiped away a number of texts and missed call notifications from Andrew and opened her Notes app. “Where do I find the psychic?”
*
Feeling lighter after her chat with Riley, Emmy returned to her apartment with some new clarity and some semblance of hope for her future. Good timing, because the wedding was right around the corner. It was time for May to shine, and Emmy wasn’t going to let any of her own bullshit intrude until the happy bride and groom drove off into the sunset.
After a quiet dinner for one, she pulled the things she’d bought earlier out of the plastic shopping bag. Barry went into her purse. She’d attach him to her keys later, if she remembered. With her new binder, her trusty highlighters, and an assortment of pens, she began the process of planningHikari anew. She enjoyed every moment of it, the planning, the number crunching, the color-coding. By the time she went to bed that night, she’d recreated most of what she’d come up with when she was in the novel, and even added a bit more. Plus, it all had tabs and section headings now. Much more official.
She fell asleep feeling more content than she would have thought possible only a day ago. If she dreamed, she didn’t remember.
Thirty
The “rehearsal” part of the rehearsal dinner went smoothly. Emmy allowed herself to be guided, instructed, reminded. She smiled for her parents when they held up their phones to document it, pretended to hold May’s bouquet while her sister pretended to get married. There was more pretend, more reminders.
They ate well. The meal was full of laughter and nervous jitters, inside jokes and updates about work, family, friends. They’d booked a private room in an upscale restaurant. Waiters passed in and out unobtrusively to deliver food and refill drinks.
Then, before dessert was served, two of Victor’s groomsmen wheeled a furniture cart into the room. The vanity was covered by a lacy, white sheet. May’s mouth dropped open. Victor, like Emmy, smiled in anticipation.
“What is this?” May asked.
“A present for the bride from the bride’s parents,” their mother said. “Come and see.”
May rose to her feet, along with her mother and father. Emmy got up, too, because her parents had entrusted her with picture duty. She had her phone ready to go, and felt she did an admirable job capturing the look of utter joy on May’s face when she pulled the sheet away. Then there were the hugs and kisses for her parents, layered with effusive praise and gratitude for the gift.
Then it was time for dessert and departure.
