Granted some of their requests are a little hard to fulfill, I have managed to get everything they have wanted. Until today that is. I have been working on finding an old fashioned bubble gum machine, well two of them actually. The wedding is in three days and the bride called me this morning with this last minute demand.
I cant really complain, she has been anything but a bridezilla. Also this gets me out of the office today; I had planned on it being a paperwork day, boring and stressful and would give me time to think about unwanted and forbidden topics. Instead I will be running around all day to find these damn gumball machines.
I really thought that working a wedding would be depressing, seeing two people in love and ready to share their lives forever. With this wedding I feel the opposite, it gives me hope for the future. They met three years ago, at the age of 42 and 56. They spent so long looking for one another, and they finally found each other. The thought put a smile on my face.
"Welcome, is there anything I can help you with?" I hear from the back of the antique shop I have walked into.
"Hello, are you Mr. Janik?"
"Why yes I am, dear. You must be Ember."
I nod as I make my way to him. "Thank you so much for calling me back, I have a very small window to get these for the event."
He smiles and motions me to follow him. We walk to a small room with old signs lining the walls. "Is this what you are looking for?"
"It is perfect!" I looked at the large dispenser on a pole with five feet. The red paint is worn off in places, but the glass bowl is in perfect condition. The stand looks like rod iron.
"I have a buddy over in Calsgrove. I called him after we spoke, he has one very similar to this. Let me show you, he sent me a photo." he says as he takes his phone out.
He has to be in his late 70's. He sports the Mr. Burns hair style, but he is more on the Homer side body wise. It always makes me giggle watching older people struggle with technology. Not in a make fun of them kind of way, I just think it is cute.
"Hold on here. I know I have it in the dang thing somewhere." he says as he pushes his index finger on to the screen. "Oh, this stupid thing."
He struggles for another minute before the picture is on the screen.
"Here you go dear. Will that one do?" he hands me his phone.
I look at the picture. It has a similar stand but with only three feet, the glass seems to be dirty but intact, but the paint is nearly perfect on this one.
"That would work great. Thank you so much for doing that Mr. Janik. I never expected you to help find the second one." he has just saved me hours of phone calls and driving from shop to shop.
"Oh, it's really no trouble. I don't do much these days but sit in my shop. It gave me something to do, and you're very welcome. Now let's get this out to your car, and I can get you Marks address. That's my buddy's name." he smiles as he picks it up with ease and carries it to the cash register. "Now I don't normally rent things out so this is new to me, but I trust you. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders. How long did you say you would be needing it?”
"That's very kind of you to say, thank you. I would say less than a week. The event is in three days, but I'm not sure I could guarantee getting it back by monday."
"Well whenever you have time, dear. A week is nothing for these antiques." he says as he waves his hand over the room. "I also mentioned to Mark you were looking to rent. He said if I trust you he will be happy to accommodate you."
"Oh Mr. Janik, that is more than I could ever have asked of you. You don't know how much I appreciate this. I will be sure nothing happens to them, and if I fail in that, I will pay the purchase price personally."
He huffs a laugh and shakes his head. "Well let's get you going. Here is the address, he's a good friend of mind and will be happy to help a hard working young lady like yourself. It's not often we get to help you young people. Oh listen to me, wasting your time. I'll call him and let him know you are on your way. I'll also see if you can just drop his off here so you don't have to make the trip back out there later. I have been meaning to get out there anyways."
He picks up the machine again and takes it to my Jeep. It really doesn't look light so watching this sweet old man pick it up makes me a little nervus.
Now I have a two hour drive out to Calsgrove to meet this Mark guy. Hope he is as nice as Mr. Janik. I stop at the gas station to fill up and grab some caffeine and snacks for the drive.
"Ember?"
I turn around to see Janessa. "Oh, hey."
She walks up to me. "I have been wanting to see you. Every time I am at your place you are gone, and you don't come to the show anymore. I can't help but think you are avoiding me."
Well, this sucks. What am I supposed to say? 'Yes I have, I can't look at you without the reminder of your brother'. I doubt that would go over well.
"Yeah, sorry. I guess I have been busy." is all I manage to say.
"I see. So are you free now? We could have lunch or coffee." she asks with a hopeful smile.
"I really can't right now. I am on my way to Calsgrove to pick something up for work. Maybe another time." I start walking to the cashregister to pay for my drink and starburst.
"Oh." I hear from behind me.
"Sorry. See ya." I say over my shoulder as I take my things and walk out the door as fast as I can.
I get in my Jeep and try to keep myself together. I know he left the country so there is no chance he would be with her, but that doesn't stop me from checking my surroundings. All of the sudden my passenger door opens and Janessa gets in. I'm sure the look on my face is one of pure horror.
"What are you doing?" I ask, terrified at what she may say.
"I have decided to go with you. It's only a few hours, no? I have all day, and this way you can't avoid me." she says as she closes the door and buckles herself in.
I just look at her dumbfounded with my jaw on the floor.
"We should get on the road. It has been a long time since I have been on an adventure, it will be fun." she smiles and points out the window. "Lets go."
"Um...are you sure? There has to be something more interesting for you to do than ride around with me for hours."
"I'm sure there is, but I have missed my friend. This is what I have to resort to since you refuse to be near me." Her words come out so sounding so sad and the look on her face matches that.
I sigh and start the engine, might as well get this over with. The first hour is dead silence. I know she is waiting for me to say something, but I have no clue what to say. I didn't think she would still consider me a friend while her brother loathes me. I never wanted to lose her as a friend, but I never really thought she would care either way. This silence is driving me crazy.
"So...um how have you been?" well that sounds stupid, way to go Em.
"Things have been different. I have been at my brother's flat alone, I still only know you and your friends."
"Why did you stay?"
"I came here to be away from the French, I have no intention of going back any earlier than planned. I could have gone to Greece but I didn't want to leave just yet."
"Why not? What is keeping you here? I mean now that...now that you are alone." I couldn't bring myself to mention him.
"You."
"Me, what?" I am confused.
"You are keeping me here." whe smiles and sighs when I don't seem to be understanding her answer. "You may think that it's over, but it's not. You 'll see."
Is this a riddle? What am I supposed to be getting out of this?
"So, can we go back to being friends now? I would really like for you to stop thinking you know what I think or feel. With or without Jonas, you are my friend. I wanted to be there for both of you. You shut me out and he fled the country. You two are ridiculous."
"Oh...yeah, sure." I am not really sure how to take that.
"Look Ember. You can't lock yourself up and punish yourself for the rest of your life. You made a mistake, so did he. Neit
her one of you handled things very well, more so him, but you should have told him. I know you don't want to talk about it, but you need to hear what I have to say. Okay?"
I look at her from the corner of my eye while trying to focus on the road. "Fine, but then we never speak of this again. It hurts too much."
"Deal. So, you have not only shut me out but your very best friend. I can't help but think that's my fault. In my attempts to see and talk to you I have used Spencer as a bridge. He knows this. I feel awful that in order for you to keep away from me you have begun to avoid him as well.I would never judge you for what happend, it's not my place. I would never side with my brother over you, or you over him. You are my friend, and he is my blood, I will not lose either of you.”
“I knew who you were the second I set eyes on you. He had been infatuated with you from the first time he saw you. I could see in your eyes you felt the same. Things aren't always easy. He made the choice to fall for you knowing you were already spoken for. What you feel for him or Kade doesn't matter to me, but I know that things aren't what they seem. Just know that someday...someday things will be right."
"I'm sorry, Nessa. I just couldn't bring myself to face you." I admit.
The pain is still there but somehow less knowing that she still wants me in her life. I can't promise it will be easy for me, she will be a constant reminder of him, but I know the right thing to do is try.
"It does not matter now, it is in the past and cannot be changed. I am just happy to have had the opportunity to trap you and force you to speak to me."
We both laugh. The conversation comes easy after that and I feel a huge weight lifted. I realize I need to apologize to Spence too. I have not been a very good friend these past weeks.
Chapter 18
Jonas
It was a hard few weeks, getting back into the swing of things on this side of the world, but I have made the best of it. Meetings and other work keeps me busy while I get my life back together. Work seems to be the only thing I have that distracts my mind from her, so I keep making more work for myself. I have taken on so much now that I am not sure if I can keep up. Wells has been calling everyday to make sure I am not over doing it. I think I may have to admit to him that I have finally reached that point.
I feel like he and Ness are constantly babysitting me. When she is not around he is calling me. I know they care but I need some time on my own too. I feel like I have been locked in my room for weeks and I am growing restless. I need to get out of here, I need fresh air.
I haven’t seen Ember since that night and it is killing me to be so close but not able to go to her. I want nothing more than to drive over to her place right now and tell her everything I am feeling, the good and the bad. I need her to know. I don't know if she would even let me in, I hope she would. She has to want to see me. I cannot live in a world where she doesn't.
Sleep seems to be the hardest thing for me since I got back here. I lay in bed for hours just looking at the ceiling begging myself to fall asleep. I look worse now than I did when I was strung out back home. Some days I don't sleep at all, no matter what I try.
Nessa knocks on my door and peeks her head in. “Hey we are going to the beach tomorrow for some big end of summer party the queens are having. You should come with, you need a break from all this.” She says as she points at the desk full of paperwork and design sketches Wellington has sent.
“You know that actually sounds like fun. They are a great group to be around, and I do need to get out of…will she be there?” suddenly I’m not so sure I can handle that.
“No, she won’t be there, but Spencer will be of course. She and Spence have had some issues and they are just now getting back to their friendship so don’t expect he will have much to say about her. You should be safe.”
I nod and she leaves my room. I wonder what could have happened for their friendship to have been strained. They were always so close, more like family. I hate to think of her all alone.
The rest of the day passes much like the past week, uneventful. I had a few video meetings and talked to my parents. I haven't told them anything about what has been going on. I can't bring myself to tell them, especially my mother. She was over the moon when I had told her I met someone. I can't bring myself to disappoint her now.
The night is restless and when the sun rises I feel like I might as well have been working through the night. I get up and make breakfast for Ness and I. She has been on my ass about making sure I eat, so I might as well put some effort into it.
“What is this?” she asks as she comes into the kitchen from her room.
“I thought I would make you breakfast.” I pull the pancake from the pan, put it on the stack and pour the last of the batter into the pan.
“Well I could get used to this.” she sits on one of the stools at the kitchen island.
I put the plate full of pancakes in front of her. She piles a few onto her plate then covers them with berries and honey. She takes a second plate and does the same then places it in front of the empty stool for me. I pull the last one from the pan, turn off the burner and join her to eat.
“You look tired. Still not sleeping?” she says as she cuts her pancakes into wedges like a pie.
“No, not much. I think I will have Ma send some of that tea she used to give us when we were children, it always seemed to help when we were restless.” I reply as I put a fork full in my mouth.
“That sounds like a good idea. Do you still want to go out tonight? I know you said you want to get out of the flat, but maybe you should try to get some rest instead.”
“No, I still want to go. Sleep will come eventually. Besides I could really do with the fresh air and no offense, I would like to see someone other than you for a change.” I say and nudge her with my elbow.
“Oh, I see. My company is not enough?” she laughs.
“No, definitely not.” I smile and shovel more food in my mouth.
“Some brother you are.” She shoves me nearly knocking me off the stool. “Well be ready by noon, or I will leave without you.”
“Oh, leave me here and take my car?” I joke.
She nods with a smirk then takes our plates to washes them.
I return to my room and text my mother to see if she has any of her miracle sleep inducing tea. She used to mix all sorts of herbs to make teas for different things. I am not sure if she still does, but it is worth a shot. I would do almost anything at this point to get just one good night of sleep.
Noon is nearing so I take my time changing for the beach. I pick out a pair of navy trunks with white anchors on them and then pull a white t-shirt out of my dresser. Ness is waiting for me in a purple sun dress and beach bag in her hand.
“Well since I don't have to leave you here, you can drive.”
“Oh, so that is the real reason you invited me? You don't want to drive?” I chuckle and take my keys from her.
“You caught me.” she replies sarcastically and walks out.
We make our way to meet Spencer and his friends. The beach front properties all have excessively large houses, turns out Sam and his partner Dan are very well off. It seems to be set up in the same way the last beach party was. Only this time we are much further north. The city has been left behind and we are on a private part of the beach.
We pull up to a very large cream colored house. If you can call it a house. Mansion maybe? It has an Iron gate that is propped open and the drive curves under an awning at the front door. I park off to the north side where other cars are lined up. Just as we make our way to the heavy decorative doors Sam opens the left side.
“Nessa, look at you, beautiful as ever.” he says as he hugs her and kisses each of her cheeks. “Jonas, nice to see you again.” he extends his hand to me and I shake it.
“Nice to see you as well Sam. Thank you for inviting me, it looks like quite the party.” I say motioning down to the beach that can be seen to the right of the house.
“Oh, you know we
don’t do anything half-ass. This is our third year in the house and we decided after the first year this was going to be a tradition. Let me show you two around.” he motions us inside.
He shows us around the house and then out one of the many glass doors to the pool. The house is far too big for my liking but they have made it very homey. I would have thought it would have been cold and lacking, but there is nothing unappealing about this place.
“Sam this place is truly beautiful, you and Dan have made quite a home for yourselves.” Janessa says with excitement. She has always loved seeing the biggest and most beautiful houses.
“Yes, it is very nice Sam, but the view. Now that is beautiful.” I say as we walk toward the stairs leading down to the beach. Something about the waves and salty air has always brought me a calming feeling.
“Oh, honey you have no idea how long we searched for the perfect place to call home. I would not settle for anything but the best, and when I saw this view I knew this was my forever home. Dan on the other hand was more interested in the pool than the beach. He could care less about the view. That silly man of mine.” he says adoringly as he looks at his lover sitting in one of the loungers by the pool. They really are a great couple.
“Not everyone likes salty water.” I say.
He crosses his arms over his chest. “Hump, well it's better than soaking in chlorine.”
Nessa and I both laugh at him.
It was a good idea to get out of my flat and socialize with some good people. The party is full of laughter and just an all around good atmosphere, yet I still find myself wanting to leave. It’s not that I’m not having a good time, I just feel something pulling me away from the loud music toward a quiet strip of beach.
It's past midday, though the sun is still high and warm on my skin. I wander along the shore letting the water wash over my feet as the tide pulls and gives. I know Nessa told me she wouldn’t be here but I can’t help to wish she were wrong. I find it hard to keep my thoughts from going in that direction. I shake my head trying to push her from my thoughts, but it is nearly impossible.
Ribbon of Fate: Love or lust? Page 16