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“You ready?” Dylan asked as the plane landed and we grabbed our belongings.
I shrugged, not exactly knowing what he was referring to, but it didn’t matter. I wasn’t ready for whatever was about to greet us in the city. I turned on my phone for the first time in several days, and I was immediately flooded with messages and missed calls. Surprisingly, there were none from Ella. I wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but I knew I wasn’t ready to find out.
“I’ll seeyou in a few months,” Dylan said quietly as his driver pulled up in front of my building.
I leaned over to kiss him, but he pulled me on top of him and cradled my face in his hands. He stared into my eyes for a long time before finally finding my lips with his.
“I’m going to miss you,” he said solemnly.
“I’ll miss you, too.”
“Good luck with Ella.”
“Thanks,” I said with one last kiss before getting out of the car.
While on the plane, we had decided that it would probably be best if Ella heard the news, or at least discussed the news, in person for the first time, rather than on the phone. She still had a few days before she was back from her honeymoon, and Dylan was going to be across the country before she returned.
That meant the responsibility landed on me. I was certainly nervous, but it made me even more anxious knowing that she probably already knew and hadn’t said a word about it to me or Dylan.
I turned back to look at the car as I walked up the stairs to my building. Dylan had the window cracked open, and I tried with all my might not to let him see me tear up. But as soon as I unlocked my front door a few minutes later, the tears started to pour, and they didn’t let up.
The next fewdays passed in a blur. I was almost too busy to notice Dylan’s absence. Almost. As much as I longed for his presence, I had plenty to keep me busy, and to keep my mind off of, well, everything.
Late one evening as I was taking the subway home from work, my phone started buzzing in my bag. I knew Dylan was in concert then, and I honestly didn’t get many calls, so I scrambled to pull it out.
When I saw Ella’s name on the screen, I felt my throat start to close up. My chest was tight and my stomach was in a knot. I hesitated before answering, but I knew I had to just get it over with.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Grace! Are you still at work?”
“No, um, I’m on my way home.”
“Oh, good. Well, Jonas and I just got home, and I was thinking about you. I feel like we haven’t talked in forever.”
“How was the honeymoon? Did you guys have a good time?”
“It was incredible. I can’t wait to tell you all about it.”
“Well, I can’t wait to hear about it.”
“Are you free for lunch tomorrow?”
“Oh, sure!”
“Jonas and I met this older couple and their son owns this bistro downtown. It sounds incredible. I’ll text you the address.”
“Sounds good. See you then.”
We said goodbye and ended the call, and for some reason, I didn’t feel any more reassured than I had a few moments ago. Did she really not know? Hadn’t she seen the picture? Or at least been told about it?
I tried to swallow the lump in my throat as I got off at my stop, but I knew I wouldn’t be getting any sleep that night. What was in store for me at lunch tomorrow? And would I still have a best friend afterwards?
I leftmy office preparing for the worst. Ella was a reasonable person, right? Maybe she would be cool with all of this. I shook my head at myself for even considering that fact.
“Headed to meet Ella now. Wish me luck,” I messaged Dylan.
He responded immediately with a series of red hearts.
