by DW Cee
None of the texts that were sent throughout the day got any response. It was unlike Emily not to answer back immediately. I got very worried. Thanks to the holidays, my schedule cleared earlier than normal, so I drove to Burbank airport eager to comfort my love.
Remembering Emily telling me everyone was staying at the Palazzo, I drove the rental car there but realized I didn’t know what room they were staying in. I texted one more time, hoping she was able to pick up her messages by now.
Emi. I am here at the Palazzo but don’t know where to go. Please call me or text back a room number.
#2260
Fantastic. She was here. I would be relieved as soon as I saw her. Sarah opened the door to greet me with a worried face.
“Hi, Jake. Does Emily know you’re here? Have you spoken with her today?”
I was alarmed by Sarah’s question. “No, I haven’t spoken with her. You mean she’s not here? Who just texted back?”
“That was me,” Sarah answered.
“I’ve tried calling her all day. Where could she be?” Now I was really worried.
“We’re not quite sure. She’s been gone since early morning. I got up around seven and couldn’t find her. She left her phone and wallet here. Ugh! I shouldn’t have let Charlie fall asleep in our room. I’m so worried about her.” Sarah looked like a mother who had lost her child.
“Sarah, I’m sure she’ll be back soon. I talked to her early this morning and she sounded upset about something. Do you know if something happened with Max again last night?”
“I’m not quite sure. I didn’t see her last night either.” Sarah’s face told me she was hiding something.
“Didn’t you go to the game together?”
“Yeah…” She stopped talking.
“Sarah, please! What happened last night?”
“Well, Peter got all separate tickets and he sent Emily off with Max. Because we were so far from one another we all decided to catch a cab back to the hotel after the game. Emily was with Max the whole time, and I know I heard them come in at some point, but it looked like they were going back out somewhere.”
“Why would she go out with him?” My voice rose, angry and frustrated. I couldn’t understand why she felt the need to spend unnecessary time with her ex.
Sarah tried to defend her friends. “I’m not quite sure what happened, but it probably wasn’t anything serious. Why don’t you hang out with us? Emily should be back soon.
Suddenly, I felt a sick knot in my stomach. Sarah saw it on my face and feared having to answer my next question. “Is Emily with Max right now?” I asked slowly, hoping she wouldn’t confirm my fears.
“We think they’re together, but we’re not sure.”
“Sarah! What does that mean?”
She attempted an explanation, but fortunately for both of us, Peter came in the room and explained what had happened.
“Jake.” Peter looked surprised. “When did you get here?”
“Just now. Do you have news of Emily?”
“Yeah. Max called to say they got stranded at the Grand Canyon. They can’t get back tonight.”
This was only getting worse.
“How come they hadn’t called all day?”
“His phone wouldn’t work down there. They’re at the basin of the canyon. I’ll call him back and let Emily know to call you.”
“Thanks.”
“Jake, it’s not as serious as you think. Please don’t be upset with Emily. Understand that they are still friends. I’m sure it upsets you that she’s with Max, but the two of them together is really no different than Emily being with Peter.”
I appreciated her comforting words though they didn’t comfort at all. My phone finally rang.
“Jake? What are you doing in Vegas?” A guilt-ridden voice greeted me.
“Emi. Where have you been? I got worried when you didn’t answer your phone all day.”
“Well…I’m a bit stuck here in the Grand Canyon right now. A certain ex-boyfriend of mine brought me out to the canyon then got us stranded.”
“Why can’t you get back tonight? How did you get out there in the first place?”
“We got on one of those helicopter rides and we missed the flight out of here. We’re stuck here for the night. I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have come here if I’d known you were coming to see me.”
“Let me get a helicopter to come and get you. I don’t want you to be down there without me.” I couldn’t admit I didn’t want her to spend a night with Max. I’m sure she knew what I meant.
“It’s no use, Jake. They can’t come down here without the Haulapai Indians’ permission. Plus where we are, you have to walk at least another hour. It will be too dark by then.”
I let out an annoyed sigh.
“Why don’t you spend the night in Vegas and come into the Grand Canyon tomorrow morning? I’d love to go to the Skywalk with you. Can you do that, or do you have to work tomorrow?” She was trying to use that same voice she used on me last night before we ended up in bed together. It wasn’t working its charm like it did last night.
“Emily. Where will you sleep tonight?”
“Right here on the ranch. Max and I will stay here, and then we’ll take a mule ride first thing in the morning up to the Skywalk.”
Even more aggravated at the thought of them being anywhere near each other during the night, I questioned, “Why are you there with him?” Then I quickly added, “Never mind, you don’t need to answer that.”
“I love you, Jake, and I miss you. I’ll see you tomorrow morning?”
“All right. I’ll see you then. Sleep well.”
“Good night.”
“Everything OK?” Sarah pierced into my eyes.
“Yeah, I suppose,” I answered glumly.
Sarah asked Peter and Charlie to go have dinner with all the other guys, and she suggested we go and have dinner on our own. She said she wanted to talk to me. We walked into CUT Steakhouse and sat down to have our meal.
“Emily will be green with envy if she knows I’m here with you. She’s been dying to come here,” Sarah informed me. I’d have to dine here again tomorrow if that was Emily’s culinary wish.
“Jake.” I was still in my own world, worried about Emily and Max having spent too many days together. Sarah understood my woes. “Emily deeply loves you and only you. She hasn’t loved Max in a long time.” It was kind of Sarah to care about my feelings.
“I know she loves me but she gets in this weird funk whenever she spends too much time with Max. I don’t want him to undo all the progress we’ve made. It wasn’t easy getting this far with your overly cautious best friend.”
Sarah started cracking up. “I wouldn’t worry if I were you. She’s head over heels in love with you. She told me you proposed after Hawaii?”
“Yeah, only to be rejected without a second thought.”
“You are always so sure of yourself, and you come on so strong, it scares her. Though she hasn’t admitted it, she regrets saying no.” I was happy to hear Sarah’s conclusion. “Do you know what it took for her to agree to sleep with you? Just the consent alone tells me she wants to be with you the rest of her life. She never once wavered with Max. Give her some time, she’ll come around.”
“Sarah, I don’t understand why she’s so scared all the time. Why does she always believe I’ll leave her?”
“Because she thinks you’re too perfect. You shower her with love and gifts and do whatever you can to give her everything she wants. Max was an introvert just like Emily. He could never express his love for her like you did. This really bothered her. She was never fully sure that he loved her as much as she loved him. Maybe because she had been alone for so long, she always wanted assurance from Max and he couldn’t give that to her.”
“But I give her that assurance continually and yet she’s still not convinced.”
Sarah laughed in the middle of chewing her steak. “When Emily used to describe her perfect guy to me long before
you came along, she described you to a T. Her ideals have come to life, and it scares her. She just told me yesterday you were too good to be true in her mind. You’re like a dream and she’s waiting to wake up to her reality. But she loves you madly.”
“So if she loves me so much, why do tears glisten in her eyes every time Max enters the picture?”
“Have you not seen how tenderhearted your girlfriend is? Max was her best friend, and she considered him her family. Someone this close to her betrayed her one day. If I or Peter or Charlie had done this to her, she would be just as hurt. Obviously, it’s worse, because Max was her boyfriend. Don’t take those tears so personally. She’s just being Emily.”
I felt much better after our talk. Prior to our talk, I knew Emily loved me. But now I believed Emily loved only me.
“Can you tell me about Max? Why did he leave Emily? I can’t understand how Emily could have been so wrong about him. She thought he was going to propose to her but instead he leaves her…I don’t get it.”
Sarah’s mouth twisted oddly and she stopped eating. Her silence scared me. “Do you really want to know?”
“Do you know something Emily doesn’t know?”
She nodded yes.
“I’ll tell you if you promise not to tell Emily. I guess it won’t matter. Emily has you now.” Her comment frightened me even more.
“Emily was right. Max was going to propose to her on graduation night.”
“What?” I dropped my utensils. “What happened?”
“To make a long story short, he couldn’t reconcile his desire to marry her with his lack of a future. He let her go, thinking it was the best thing to do for her. After all she’d been through with her parents, he wanted her to have a stable and secure life with someone... like you, perhaps. Maybe Max knew you were just around the corner. It literally almost killed him to be away from her. As much as you don’t want to hear this, Max loved Emily just as much as you love her.”
Sarah’s words absolutely changed the way I viewed Max. While Sarah perused the dessert menu, my mind couldn’t let go of Max’s selfless act. Could I give up my love so she could have a better life? It was a gamble I wouldn’t take, but for Max, he gave up Emily believing she would find someone better than himself. He truly did love Emily more than his own life. Did he love her more than I loved her?
A chilling thought crept into my mind. “Sarah, you don’t think Max will try to win Emily back, do you? He wouldn’t propose to her or anything like that, right?”
“I don’t think so, and even if he did try, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Charlie and I were bowled over when we saw you and Emily that first weekend you two met. She was a whole other person the way she flirted with you.”
“That was a fun weekend,” I agreed. “Thanks, Sarah. I feel much better.”
“Thank you. What a fantastic dinner. I’ll have to gloat when I see your girlfriend tomorrow. I promise you, she’ll pout.”
I chuckled, as I enjoyed watching my Emily pout.
Early the next morning, I left Vegas along with Sarah, Charlie, and Peter, who wanted to visit the Skywalk. Charlie rode with me while Sarah hung out in Peter’s car. During the three-hour ride, we talked mostly about our girlfriends.
“So…can I ask if you and Sarah are getting married anytime soon?” Possibly it was too personal to ask this, but I felt comfortable enough.
“Well, can I trust you to keep this information from your girlfriend? If Emily finds out, there’s no way I can keep it a secret from Sarah.”
“I promise. I won’t say a word.”
“I bought a ring a few weeks ago and I was going to propose on Christmas but Sarah seemed suspicious so I didn’t go through with it. After eight and a half years, it’s hard to surprise her. She reads me like a romance novel.” We both cracked up at this comment. “I heard you popped the question already.” Charlie had an I-feel-for-you look on his face.
“Yeah. I think it was way too soon for my girlfriend. She rejected me even before I finished my question.”
“Sarah told me Emily sounded like she regretted saying no to you. Since I divulged my only secret, will you tell me something?”
I looked over at him, wondering what he would want to know.
“The text message you sent while we were driving over to Vegas…there’s no way you and Emily…not after she held out for four years with Max.” His head shook automatically along with a “no...”
I laughed at him. “Emily warned me never to kiss and tell.”
“No way! I don’t believe you. Not our Emily.”
“Correction, she’s my Emily, and no…we didn’t do anything to change your views of her. Her status hasn’t changed.”
“So what was the text all about?” Charlie wouldn’t let it go. I had to tell him something.
“Emily was extremely tired in Hawaii after our first day, and I coaxed her into bed with me but nothing happened. We were probably both snoring away. It was an exhausting day.”
“Oh…” He sounded disappointed there wasn’t much else. “That’s still huge you slept in the same room with her—in the same bed.”
“Yeah, she was pretty freaked out when she got up in the morning.” A silly smiled appeared on my face as I pictured Emily in that white robe, hair all knotted because it was wet from the night before, and unable to walk from all the exercise. “So when are you going to propose? Do you have another date in mind?”
“Yeah. We are supposed to go to Napa over the three-day weekend, so I thought I’d do it there on a hot air balloon.”
“That sounds great. Maybe proposing in a car wasn’t the best idea. Next time it’ll be in a much more romantic setting.”
“There’s a next time already?” Charlie looked surprised.
“Oh yeah. We’re going to Paris in February for a week and I plan to ask again. With that kind of setting, Emily’s bound to say yes. If she rejects me again, I might keep her hostage there until she changes her mind.” We both got a good chuckle.
Finally arriving at the Skywalk a bit after 8:00 a.m., we all walked over, looking for Emily and Max. There were so many people on the Skywalk it was hard locating the two of them. I scanned everyone who looked to be about Emily’s build, and finally I found her right in the middle of the skywalk. Delighted to see her, I hastened my pace. Oddly, she looked frozen; she only looked down even though I continued to call out her name.
Following her eye, I stared at her view and saw Max on one knee holding on to Emily’s left hand. If I didn’t know better, it looked like Max was proposing to my girlfriend. Angrily I shouted her name. “Emi!”
All eyes peered her way and I could hear Sarah groaning. “What is he doing? Why is Max on his knee?” Sarah sounded as aghast as I felt.
“Sweetheart.” I got to Emily as quickly as possible and turned her away from Max. “Are you all right?” She looked scared. “What just happened?” I angrily turned this question toward Max.
Charlie and Peter came and pulled Max away while Sarah made sure Emily was OK. Adding to my anger, Max put his hands on Emily’s arms and told her, “Em, take your time, I’ll wait.” I didn’t have to ask Emily to figure out what had just happened. He used his time with Emily to try to win her back.
But, I still needed Emily to explain what I had just witnessed.
“What happened, Emily? What was that all about?”
She stayed silent.
“Emi, please. Can you tell me why I saw Max on his knee?” She still wouldn’t talk. Her silence agitated and infuriated me. To me this silence was no different than a confession. Something happened between the two of them yesterday and she was defending their actions. Frustration mounted, and I yelled at her. “EMILY!”
Tears brimmed to the edge of her eyes but she didn’t cry. She kept her head down and quietly answered, “Max just proposed to me.”
She confirmed my fear. “Why would he do that? What happened between you two yesterday? Did something happen last nigh
t?” I yelled even louder.
As soon as I said those words Emily’s big brown eyes looked betrayed and the tears flowed. Initially I felt guilty for accusing her of something I knew she would never do, but my anger got the best of me.
“What happened last night?” I asked again angrier than I should’ve been.
She defended herself and Max and told me nothing happened. In my heart I knew Emily didn’t love Max and I knew she would do nothing to hurt me but my words kept betraying me.
“Why would he be encouraged enough to propose to you, if nothing happened?”
Emily explained what Sarah told me last night at dinner and at this point, I wanted to apologize to Emily for being so furious with her and forget Max’s proposal ever happened.
“So what did you say to him?” Of course I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear how she rejected Max’s proposal.
“Jake…” She stopped and my heart sank. Was that fear or contrition in her voice? “I didn’t get a chance to answer Max.”
“What do you mean you didn’t answer him? Emily, I don’t understand.” There must be something wrong here, I thought. This was all a serious nightmare.
Emily’s face, full of sorrow and pain, explained it all. “Jake, I’m sorry. I don’t know why but I went mute. I was in such shock when he asked me…and I knew the right answer was no…but it wouldn’t come out. Then you came and…I don’t know what happened.”
Now, I was the one in pain. “How could you turn down my proposal without a second thought but give his proposal a second chance?” I couldn’t believe my ears. The woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with was contemplating whether she wanted to spend the rest of her life with not me—but Max.