Disillusion Meets Delight (14 page)

“Look Ian, I know that you two got off to a rocky start.  She told me about the video store confrontations.  But just think how many times you have seen Natalie on totally random occasions.  Not to mention the connection between the three of us.  Don’t you feel that maybe someone is trying to tell you something?  Personally, I think it’s fate and that is something you don’t want to mess with my friend.”  Jenna says with a raised eyebrow and such conviction that Ian was almost persuaded.

“Does your boyfriend mind you taking such interest in another man’s life?”  Ian asked, almost forgetting the dreadful secret he carried on his shoulders.

“Please, Rob barely knows I’m alive right now.  He meets me at my house for a quick dinner that he barely eats and a booty call and then he’s off to meet clients.  I seriously don’t know anyone who works as much as my boyfriend.”  Listening to Jenna talk about her depressing relationship was almost more than Ian could handle.  He felt a twinge of disloyalty knowing the affair he and Natalie would be attending was exactly that- an affair that could completely destroy Jenna.

I couldn’t believe that I was actually going through with all of this.  Not only was I attending an engagement party for my best friend’s boyfriend, (minus my best friend) I was going with a man that has created more angst in my life than George W. Bush.  Okay, maybe not
that
much but you can see where I’m going with this.  When Jenna called to inform me that Ian agreed to escort me I practically dropped the phone.  Did he feel sorry for me after seeing my emotional display the other night?  Oh that would be splendid, a pity date.  The worst part was that Jenna conveniently forgot to explain to him that everyone would be under the impression that we were, well, seriously involved.  Aren’t first dates difficult enough than to add the pressure of assuming you like one another?  I mean granted, he was very nice looking and every time I saw him he always smelled nice but he was the arrogant video store guy that made my temperature rise and my nostrils flare.  He was not my knight in shining armor.  He was the consolation prize to replace Jake, who apparently didn’t find me as interesting as I hoped. 

I was affected by Jake more than I expected to be.  Maybe it was because he took me by surprise.  Was it possible Jake did have to go out of town?
 
That shouldn’t matter.  There are cell phone towers in Austin and he could have called, especially since he had his friend do the cancellations
. 
That was so low and I could tell his friend was just as embarrassed as I was.  What am I thinking?  This was a blow off fair and square.  It’s time to get on with things and just accept it. 

Accepting denial is quite difficult when a monkey wrench gets thrown into the equation.  The monkey wrench you may ask?  That would be the voicemail I received at 6:27, which would be 8:27 Austin, Texas time, if you are curious.  It went a little like this:

“Hi Natalie, this is Jake.  I am calling to see how your week has been.  I am flying back home in the morning and thought maybe we could get dinner tomorrow night.  I’m really sorry that I had to cancel.  So, uh, give me a call.   It’s about 8:30 here and I’ll be up late finishing up some work.  So, um yeah, I’ll talk to you later.  Bye.”          

Shit!  This isn’t supposed to happen!  My life isn’t complicated because I leave that to cable television.  Usually, I live vicariously through everyone else but lately I am beginning to feel that it’s the other way around.  I don’t know how to handle such complex matters and I really wish my friends would answer their cell phones.  I need to talk to Mya and recently it seems she has joined the witness relocation program.

“Kyle, hey is Mya around?”  I ask in desperation.

“I just got in but she’s not home.  I thought she was meeting you for dinner after work?”  He asks confused.  “Is everything okay?”  Now he asks concerned.  What was she telling him?  This was the second time in one week that Mya had been caught lying to her boyfriend, whom she lives with might I add.  Granted, it was me who caught her but that doesn’t matter.  Something strange is going on and I would very much like to know what it is. 

“Oh, you know, we are but I got caught up late at work and so I had to push back the time and well, you don’t want to hear about it.  I’m sure she will be here any minute so no worries!  Talk to you later!”  I try to say in my most chipper and non suspicious tone. 

“Jenna, have you talked to Mya at all today?”  Finally, one of my friends answers the phone. 

“No, in fact I have yet to talk to her at all.  Is she still mad at me Natalie?  I have called and left two voicemails for her and she hasn’t called me back.  I know she’s busy but some acknowledgement would be nice.” 

“Jenna, I haven’t talked to her.  I think something is going on because she told Kyle that she and I were getting together tonight, but we aren’t.  And then Wednesday she told him that she was doing her practicum but I know that isn’t right.”  I say in a panic. 

“Hmmm that is kind of weird but we can’t jump to conclusions.  You know that Mya can be flighty sometimes, especially now that she is almost done with school.  Just wait till you talk to her before you start conjuring up some outlandish plot, Nat.” 

“I know but, oh that’s her calling right now.  I gotta go, I’ll call you later.” 

“Where have you been woman?  I am in crisis and you have been nowhere!”  I answer the phone in my typical calm and collective nature.

“Slow down, jeez!  I’ve been busy.  What is going on?”  Her tone leads me to believe that Mya is trying to make something less than what it really is but I will humor her for a little while.

“I need to talk over wine.  There is just too much to tell you over the phone.  Where are you anyway?  Are you in a restaurant?”  I could hear the clatter of glasses and silverware while people in the background chattered and laughed.

“I’m having happy hour with someone from the hospital.  Um, I’m downtown so I could meet you at Stanford’s if you want?”  She’s having happy hour with some
one
, singular and the fact that she failed to tell me who that person was makes me rather suspicious.  However, there are bigger issues at hand so right now, it’s going to be about me. 

“Okay, I can be there in twenty minutes.  Hope you’re thirsty because there is a big bottle of Pinot with my name on it.” 

Traffic was surprisingly light on a Friday night and it didn’t take me long to get to the restaurant.  I waited impatiently for Mya to arrive and when she got there she had a look of panic on her face.  Her trendy black locks were now dyed a deep shade of red and I must say that she looked very cute for simple happy hour with a work friend.

“Good lord Natalie what is going on that you can’t talk to me over the phone about it?”

“Well, I need to start from the beginning.  Oh, but first, Jenna has been trying to reach you to apologize and I must say you’re making it really hard for her to do that.  So, call her back.  But anyway, remember when I went to that brunch with my mother and the Wellington’s?” 

“Yeah so?”  Obviously, I was going to need to speed up the story because I could tell the patience level was low tonight. 

“You are not going to believe it but Mallory Wellington is engaged to Rob!”  I exclaim with so much vigor that I almost knocked over my glass of wine.

“Rob?”  Mya replies with a blank stare and shaking head until it all starts coming together and she catches on that it isn’t any ordinary Rob like, Rob Lowe or Rob Zombie.  “Rob?!  Jenna’s Rob?  Rob What’s-his-face?  Oh my god you have got to be kidding!” 

“No, I am not and that isn’t all.  Jesus Mya I have so much to catch you up on.  Where the hell have you been all week?”

“I have been busy.  Some of us aren’t finished with school you know Natalie.  Do you have any idea what kind of pressure I’m under, not to mention the fact that my live-in boyfriend is emotionally non-existent!  I’m like invisible right now!  I don’t want to talk about it.  Carry on, will you?”  I could tell that something was seriously wrong with Mya.  In spite of the constant stress that Mya goes through, she typically lets it roll off her back and never lets it show.  It appeared however, that she didn’t want to get into it right now and I was really enjoying the fact that all attention was on me tonight.  It isn’t selfish it is simply taking advantage of the opportunity. 

“Okay, so my mother told Jan Wellington that I also had a fabulous boyfriend and that I would be bringing him to tomorrow night’s engagement party.”

“Which is not true!”  Mya replies while pointing at me as though she had just figured out that it was the butler in the kitchen with the candlestick. 

“Exactly.”  I reply, confirming her proclamation.

“Now, this is where it’s going to get a bit sticky so keep up with me.  More wine?”  I ask as I fill up her glass with more Pinot Grigio. 

By the time I finished catching Mya up on the tales of my life, she seemed to loosen up a bit and was much easier to be around.  Some would contest that the bottle of wine and Cosmopolitan helped but I would like to think it was my storytelling.  Either way, I was happy to see my dear carefree friend back to normal, even if it did mean she was er, tipsy.

“Natalie, I can’t believe that you are going to this shindig with that guy.  I think it has been decided in the stars!”  Mya said, wide-eyed and giggly.  “What if he is your soul mate?  Picture it:  You and he are old and you are sitting around the fire with the grandchildren telling the story of how you met!  Oh it’s so romantic.  You can be like the old people in
When Harry Met Sally
!”  By this time, the booze has come in full force and Mya is laughing so hard that she has developed a high pitch cackle.  When she sobers up I will have to inform her that she has given Jenna competition.

“I really don’t think so.  I like Jake, Mya.  I know I shouldn’t because he is all wrong for me, but I do.  Besides, I don’t know how this Ian guy feels about me.  You know how persuasive Jenna can be.  The only reason why he probably agreed to do this is to shut her up.  He dislikes me as much as I do him.  If we can just pull off tomorrow night then everything will be fine.  My mother can come up with a new story as to why we broke up and everything can go back to normal.”  I say with a deep breath and a longing to be right, although instinctively, I know that may be a rather extravagant wish.

I awoke on Saturday morning with a twinge of a headache and the ringing of my phone.  Surprisingly, it was my drinking buddy, Mya.  After last night’s wine tasting gone wild, I thought sure I wouldn’t hear from her till late afternoon.

“Good morning sunshine.  Are you really calling me at 8:45 in the morning?  Do you ever sleep in?”  I ask with a whiny yawn and terrible morning breath. 

“Natalie, I feel like a truck ran over me and then backed up to finish me off.  Ugh, but anyway, I had a dream last night, I mean, I think it was a dream, I don’t know.  We were having drinks and you told me that Jenna’s boyfriend was marrying someone else but Jenna didn’t know.  That was a dream, right?”  Mya asks in a soft tone.

“That wasn’t a dream Mya, I did tell you that.”  There is nothing like reality to wake you up first thing in the morning. 

“Crap, I was afraid you would say that.  What are we going to do Natalie?  She needs to know and if she finds out that we have known for this long, especially you, things are not going to look good.”  Mya has always been the one who lays it out on the table and doesn’t try to act like it will all go away.  I, on the other hand like to spend time at the River Denial.  It’s a great place.   

“I know I just keep hoping that maybe they’ll break up or something and then we won’t have to worry about it.  I am just dumbfounded how he can lie to her day in and day out.  He’s getting married for crying out loud! How am I going to make it through tonight without throwing up or punching him?”  Now I was actually becoming panicked.  I was actually going through with it.  Forget the preposterous charade my mother made up, that was the least of my worries.  I was going to partake in the jubilations of the scum of the earth.  It made my skin crawl.

“Well, you can play dumb until then and act like you didn’t know who the girl’s fiancé was but after that we have to do something.  This is more than a crazy wedding dress purchase; this is our best friend’s life.  She needs us Natalie, whether we want to deal with it or not.”

“So does this mean you are going to finally call her back?  Maybe we could all meet up here and you two could help me get ready.  Although, I guess that would be kind of weird.  I hate lying to her Mya.”  Yes, I am definitely panicked now and it’s barely 9 A.M. and I haven’t even had my first cup of coffee.