The One

by Danielle Allen

  After a quick kiss on the cheek from Bryce, I took my seat closest to Bryce and crossed my legs. “Hello!” I greeted him and everyone in the audience, flashing a huge smile.

  Bryce ran his hand down the black tuxedo he wore to ensure it was still in pristine condition and settled in his chair. “You look beautiful. Thank you for being here.”

  “You look very nice as well. Thank you for having me.”

  Not that I really had a choice.

  Bryce looked at the audience. “Next we have the woman who almost went the distance. She took our eligible bachelor home to meet her parents where we all discovered a bombshell. She is a mother! Roll the clip!”

  As the clip played, I thought about how difficult it would be for me to leave my child or job for a period of time on just the hope that things work out with some guy I hadn’t met yet. The clip was one of the many chunks of the episode we missed because Ana was telling us about a lot of other things that went down behind the scenes. In the scene being projected on the screen, Ana introduced her children to a surprised Julian. Although he looked completely surprised, he was also very good with those kids. Ana looked worn out before he did.

  When Ana was called to come out, she sauntered out looking great. She gave me a wink when she got onto the stage. She was placed on the other couch, closest to Bryce.

  Bryce went on to introduce the eight other women, playing a brief clip of their most notable moment on The One before each of them came out and took a seat. From the way the seating was organized, I was fortunate enough to be next to Mya.

  Once everyone was on stage, there was twenty minutes before the video footage from Leah and Bailey’s first meeting with Julian’s family that took place over the last week would be showcased.

  “Hello and welcome to The One: Live Finale. Before we show you part one of the finale, we are opening the floor to have your questions answered. Our live studio audience members have submitted their most pressing question and the creators and producers have chosen a few for the ladies to answer. Are you ready?”

  The crowd cheered and stomped and yelled excitedly.

  “Are you ready ladies?”

  We smiled and laughed uneasily.

  “Good!” He chuckled. “Let’s do this!”

  He opened up a sealed envelope and pulled out a handful of questions. “Oh! This is a good one. Question is for Ana… you seemed more angry than sad when you were sent home after the home visit. Do you think that’s fair since you didn’t tell Julian about your children?”

  Ana eyed me for a second before turning on the charm. “I was advised by someone on the production crew to keep my children out of it, both for their protection and for Julian to get to know me, the woman and not me the mom.” She positioned her body to the audience. “I’m sure many of the single mothers out there can agree that being a single mother is a rewarding, but all consuming job. When I meet a man, I want a man to make me feel like a woman. I’ve wanted to be honest with Julian this entire time, but I was told that Julian wouldn’t be able to see me for who I am if I told him. I’d forever be seen in his eyes as ‘the mom’ and for the first time since my ex passed away suddenly, I wanted to be seen as Ana. I wanted to be seen as me.”

  The crowd’s thunderous applause was the redemption that Ana clearly needed as her entire face lit up.

  “It wasn’t that I was mad at Julian and not sad about losing him. I was especially sad after seeing what a good father he would be. But I understood where he was coming from. He felt blindsided. And after thinking about it, I don’t know why I listened to the crew members. But I did and I was mad at myself.”

  After the applause and Ana dabbing her eye with a tissue, Bryce asked the next question. “This is for Tori and Mya… Ladies, have you two squashed the beef between you after Abuela-gate?” Bryce chuckled under his breath. “Abuela-gate,” he repeated to himself, clearly amused.

  Tori and Mya, who were sitting directly across from one another, looked at each other before Tori gestured to Mya. “I’ve apologized to Mya both publically and privately. And I apologize to anyone who was offended by my actions. I’m a lot of things—bitch being one of them. But I am not prejudiced. So from the bottom of my heart, I’m sorry to everyone I offended with my recklessness. Also, I wanted to now take this take and apologize to Mya’s abuela.” She looked at Mya who gave her a smile and a nod. “Lo siento. Su hermosa abuela, lo siento mucho.”

  The crowd applauded.

  “Last question before we tune in to see how the home visits went with Leah and Bailey. Zoe, this is for you. Oh…” Bryce looked at me, clearly uncomfortable by what was written.

  My heart rate picked up. What could be written on the page that has thrown him off so much?

  “Um…this question is…” He cleared his throat. “Zoe…do you love Julian Winters? Because it seemed like it. If so, how after so little time together?”

  It was as if everything shut down and powered off. All I could hear was my staggered breathing and erratic heart beats. Everyone’s eyes were on me and I didn’t know how much time had passed between when the question was asked and when I started to have an out of body experience.

  Tell him how you feel.

  I heard my mom’s voice in my head, urging me, rooting for me. I could see Mom and Dad on the couch watching this moment. I could almost feel my parents’ disappointment in me if I gave up, if I walked away.

  I took a breath and I answered. “Time won’t permit the long form answer,” I started, gathering courage along the way. “But long story short, yes. I love Julian Winters. The how isn’t as important as the why. But to answer the question… You can’t quantify your feelings in time. You don’t have to know someone for a long time to feel and connect with their heart. Now would I marry someone I’ve known for a week? No. Absolutely not. But are my feelings real? Yes. Absolutely.”

  Mya grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Bryce gave me his Ken doll smile. And the overall crowd response was positive, but it was definitely a mixed positive reaction. While some cheered loudly, others said ‘awww’ as the reality of the situation settled in.

  I’m sitting on the couch because I’m not in the top two. I’m not one of the women Julian will pick.

  “Wow, very powerful words, Zoe. I wish we had time for one more question so this segue wouldn’t be awkward.” He paused and then looked at the camera. “But um…Thursday and Friday, Bailey spent time with Julian and his family. Saturday and Sunday, Leah spent time with them. On Monday, Julian had lunch with the ladies and then they were sent to two different locations to wait to see if Julian arrives today to tell them that they are the one. So without further ado, here are the home visits.”

  The studio darkened. The episode started with a sign that said ‘Welcome to Palo Alto.’ Once Bailey appeared on the screen, walking down the street, the live studio audience cheered happily. Her thick blonde hair bounced behind her as she moved. She had on jeans, knee-high, black boots, and a tight purple, blue and black sweater. The colors brought out her blue eyes and she truly looked gorgeous.

  Bailey arrived at a bar and when she walked in, the camera panned over to Julian. He stood up and greeted her, kissing her lightly. He introduced her to his friends and when he went to the bar, his best friends, James, Omar, and Scott, each took turns asking her questions.

  Bailey had dialed back the dumb blonde routine significantly, only using it in a flirtatious way. She held her own in conversations with his friends and when Julian returned, he seemed pleased with what he saw.

  Leaving the friends, Julian and Bailey headed to a restaurant where a jazz band was playing. The music sounded familiar.

  That was one of the songs that played that night we spent together, I realized, taking a deep breath.

  After a romantic night at the jazz venue, Julian and Bailey headed into her room at the Palo Alto Bed and Breakfast. In the room, she stripped out of her sweater. In just a shelf bra that, admittedly, made her natural breasts look awesome, B
ailey said something flirty and went into the bathroom to change. She came back out in a small red bikini and her thick hair piled on top of her head. Julian went into the bathroom and changed into swim trunks. His muscular body was on display and I saw a flicker of interest in Bailey’s eyes.

  I felt a nagging in my gut.

  Bailey wants to be a celebrity, not be with a celebrity. Or at least, not Julian Winters. That’s what she said. That’s what she assured me. I swallowed hard as it showed Julian and Bailey in the hot tub.

  Although the camera only alluded to things getting hot and heavy, I chose to believe that didn’t happen.

  The next scene showed Julian taking Bailey to meet his parents. The adorable couple in the photo in the gazebo came to life on the screen.

  Brian and Susan Winters were great as a couple. They were really sweet and engaging with one another. They were also very warm and welcoming to Bailey. As much as Julian tried to do for them and serve them, his parents would not allow him to clean a dish or pick up a plate. Each parent took a turn talking to Bailey and at the end of the visit, they hugged her and told Julian they liked her.

  The lights in the studio came back on and the crowd started with the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs.’

  I could feel the cameras and the eyes in the room boring into me. My skin crawled.

  “Well, that was Bailey’s home visit and it seemed like it went well. How do you think it went…Zoe?”

  Shit! Why me?

  I gave him a small smile. “I think it went well. Julian’s parents, who are lovely, seemed to like her which is understandable because Bailey really is easy to like.”

  I hope my voice doesn’t sound as sad as I feel.

  Bryce proceeded down the couch asking the same question to Mya, then Emma and lastly Tiffany. He then pulled four more questions out of the envelope to ask and be answered.

  “Wow, that was wow, Emma,” Bryce overreacted, raising his eyebrows in shock as Emma finished oversharing in the fourth and final question.

  We’re going to have to stop Emma from drinking anymore.

  Bryce calmed everyone down from the raucous laughter that Emma’s story caused. “Now, we are ready to take a look at Leah’s home visit with Julian in Palo Alto. Let’s watch!”

  Leah came onto the screen and the crowd cheered gleefully. She wore a turquoise dress with a black and grey polka dotted sweater. Her shoes also had black and grey polka dots. Her wavy hair was flowing in the wind as she made her way to a different bar.

  The bar was casual so when Leah walked in, she stood out like a sore thumb. Her face as she scanned the dive bar was priceless. With her nose crinkled and her lips curled, Leah looked truly disgusted when two bar patrons exited the building and got close to her.

  The camera panned to Julian and when he saw her, he rose to his feet. With her face lighting up, she pushed her way to him and jumped into his arms. Julian laughed and spun her around.

  After introducing his best friends to Leah, she sat down and talked with them. The questions were rather tame and she answered each one flawlessly as if she had rehearsed. Julian stepped away in order for the real questioning to begin and when Scott mentioned something about Lillian, Leah’s sweet mask slipped and she made a catty remark.

  ***

  Omar smiled. “You think Lillian is a bitch?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry!” Leah put her hands to her cheeks. “I don’t know how that slipped out. It’s just that she rubbed me the wrong way when we met. She was kind of brutal to me.”

  “So you think her sweet act is a routine?” James followed up.

  “Certainly. I think she’s phony because of the way she handled herself with me and the rest of the girls in the house. She was smiling in our faces, but in her eyes, she was looking down at us. Do you know what I mean?” She batted her eyelashes and smiled at the men.

  “Looking down at you like the way you looked when you walked into this bar?”

  Leah’s face froze. “What?”

  “We caught the way you looked when you walked in here.” He paused. “You remind us a lot of Lillian. A lot,” Omar explained. “You sure as hell look like her. We just wanted to spend some time with you to make sure your personalities weren’t alike.”

  “She wasn’t good for our boy.” James leaned forward and looked at her hard. “And we don’t want to see him end up in another situation like that.”

  Leah looked indignant. “I don’t think Julian would have moved me along this far if he didn’t feel the spark between us. We’ve built something special. I don’t think he would have even selected me if he thought I reminded him of the bad portions of Lillian.”

  The men nodded.

  “I agree with that,” Omar stated with a laugh. He lifted his beer bottle to her. “We just wanted to make sure you passed the test. Cheers!”

  Leah, Scott, and James all lifted their drinks and clinked them together. “Cheers!”

  Julian returned and invited Leah to go with him to a restaurant. She took his hand and waved goodbye to his friends. As they walked through the door, the camera returned to Julian’s best friends.

  Omar made a face. “Hell no. If I don’t know anything else, I know for damn sure that Leah’s not the one.”

  ***

  Everyone in the studio cracked up laughing. I had been holding my breath since the moment Julian wrapped her in his arms and spun her around. The laughter was a good reprieve. I was feeling heavy hearted and anxious up until that point.

  I’m so glad someone finally called Leah out on her bullshit. I wish he would’ve done it when Julian was there, but my hope is that he will talk some sense into his best friend. I exhaled. Omar will receive an anonymous thank you card once this is all over.

  Julian and Leah entered into the same restaurant with the jazz band playing. When she complained that the music was too loud, Julian said ‘okay,’ but I saw the annoyance in his eyes. Instead of where he had planned a nice dinner, Julian took Leah up the block to a swanky French bistro. They ordered wine and through conversation, I saw the slow spark between the two of them as they talked about the commonalities in their lifestyles.

  The spark wasn’t as nonexistent as the one between him and Bailey and it wasn’t as intense as the one between him and I. But there was a spark as they talked about places they’ve been and their experiences there. As this date was featured more prominently than other dates, I did notice that it seemed as though they were swapping stories as opposed to getting to know one another by unpacking those stories.

  ***

  “Have you been to Paris?” Leah asked, looking around the bistro.

  “Yeah. Every time I’ve gone, it’s been nice. But I’m always so busy when I go. I’m making time to do something for me. There’s this one thing I’ve always wanted to do, but there’s never time to squeeze it in.” Julian replied.

  “Oh good! I love that you’re so cultured. I’m tired of meeting men who don’t have stamps in their passports. Paris Fashion Week was electrifying. We’ll have to go together sometime.”

  Julian smiled, but on the one hundred foot screen, his smile didn’t reach his eyes. “What year did you go to Fashion Week there?”

  “Last year.” Leah took a sip of wine. “Were you there?”

  Julian’s eyes lit up with amusement. “I was, actually!”

  “Did you see when—”

  “—the model fell and pushed everyone down with her?”

  “Yes!”

  They laughed together.

  ***

  The knife twisted in my back so deeply that I sat up straighter to alleviate the pain. But things only got worse from there.

  I watched as Julian fed Leah a bite of his chocolate éclair and then when Leah did the same with her strawberry one, she dripped a bit of sauce on the side of his mouth. Instead of getting it with a napkin, she used her mouth.

  I wanted to vomit.

  After dinner, Julian escorted Leah to the Palo Alto Bed and Breakfast. I was glad s
he didn’t strip and take him to the hot tub, but she did ‘slip into something more comfortable’ and asked if he wanted to relax. He accepted and I was sure my eyes started to bleed.

  I couldn’t show any emotions or even close my eyes because I was positive a camera was pointed directly at me. So I was forced to watch Julian and Leah kiss and I felt like I was dying a slow death. I kept hoping it would cut back to Omar, but it didn’t. It just showed Julian and Leah kissing and Leah closing the bedroom door with her foot.

  I couldn’t take anymore and I turned away.

  The music changed and when I looked up, Julian and Leah were walking up to his parents’ house. It seemed as though Leah rubbed his parents the wrong way immediately when she made a comment about their home being impressive seeing as how they were just teachers. Julian’s mother, who was so sweet and doting with Bailey, glared at Leah as she repeated the word ‘just.’ Leah backtracked as best she could, but the damage was done.

  Leah was good at bullshitting so it wasn’t long before she had won Julian’s dad over. She was still working on his mom when it was time to go. Stiff hugs were given all around and a pleasant goodbye followed. Brian Winters told the camera that he liked Leah. His wife stood beside him and smiled sweetly. When pushed, for thoughts on Leah, Susan Winters simply said, “Bless her heart.”

  Because I knew Susan was originally from the South, I snickered at the Southern insult.

  The lights came back on and the crowd clapped excitedly.

  Bryce turned toward the other couch. “What did you think about the home visit, Ana?”

  “I think Leah is an underhanded bitch and I was pleased that both his friends and his family were able to see through her B.S.,” Ana snapped, rolling her eyes.

  “Wow!” Bryce kept his face as straight as he could, but his lips turned up as if he were holding in a laugh.