by Jade White
Tiffany took a deep breath and ordered a Coke, listening to them talk about how happy they were that things had started to turn around for her. They remembered the previous night she had called them all together and it felt like the most depressing moment in her life. She was going to cry in front of all of them.
“Do you have any plans made yet?” Caitlin asked, her mind getting shattered by the idea of all the excitement and fun that they were going to experience.
She could feel her friend’s energy building with each passing second, swelling and growing with an eagerness to start helping out in any way that she could. It was the kind of contagious excitement Tiffany needed in her life. She needed to have someone like Caitlin next to her to help with all of the planning. She wanted her there every step of the way.
“No,” Tiffany said with a grin spreading across her lips, filling her with joy and excitement. “I’ve told my parents and Gus has told his parents, but I haven’t told my sisters or my brother yet. I haven’t even started thinking about what I’m going to wear. I’m just kind of letting it soak in right now.”
“Good,” Caitlin said with a grin on her lips. “I’ve got a million different ideas. I knew it was only a matter of time before you got married. I definitely knew you were going to get married, long before this guy over here.”
“Hey,” Mark grumbled. “I’ve gotten pretty close.”
“Yeah, not this close though,” Caitlin said, pointing to the ring on Tiffany’s finger.
Joey chuckled at that and shook his head. He was silent, still not quite comfortable with the whole situation and the group. Over the years, they had gone through their fair share of people who served as the fourth member of the group and sometimes they had expanded to double their numbers, but Joey was getting there.
“Well, I’m going to need all the help I can get,” Tiffany assured her friend with a smile on her lips.
There was something buried deep in her mind that made her wonder if she was going to actually be able to pull this off. She was going to need to do everything in her power to make sure she didn’t screw things up. This was going to be the most important day in her life and if she did screw it up, she was going to be in a lot of trouble.
She was going to have to figure out what she was going to do. She needed to come up with a theme, the colors, a destination, a venue, the ceremony, the reception, the catering, and a million other things that needed to go into this event. She knew her family was going to be talking about it, the fact that she was getting married so quickly after the engagement, but she was fine with that.
She didn’t mind telling them she had gotten pregnant and they were having a quick marriage. All she cared about was getting married as quickly as possible and making sure everything was perfect for the two of them.
“Well, then consider it done,” Caitlin assured her. There was nothing more exciting in the world than knowing her friend was here with her. Nothing was going to make this whole thing a lot more exciting and a lot more enjoyable than having her there.
Everyone she knew from college and high school that would be fun to have in this event with her were long gone. They had all spread to the far corners of the world without any ability to help her right now.
“Well, I hope that you two have many fantastic days and many enjoyable nights,” Mark said, raising his glass in joyous celebration of the two of them.
It was something she felt deeply in her heart as she raised her glass and had a cheer with all of them.
“May they be the happiest days of your life,” Caitlin said with a smile on her lips.
“Thank you all so much,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
When they were done with their toast, they hung out for a while and laughed, sharing jokes and talking about how excited they were that she was marrying Gus. They talked about how he was perfect for her and that she should be extremely excited about everything.
Eventually, the night wore on and there was nothing left to talk about. They all had things to deal with in the morning and Tiffany said goodnight to all of them.
She said her goodbyes to Caitlin and Joey, waving goodbye to Mark who shouted after her to say hi to Gus for him. He had already asked her if Gus would be throwing a bachelor party. She had told him she didn’t know, but she knew he was interested in it.
She looked at her phone and saw it was not too late. There were a couple of hours before Gus was going to be home and she realized there was nothing for her to do. She wasn’t sure if she should go home to her own apartment for the night or if she should spend the night at his apartment. He had given her a key to his place and it was an exciting kind of feeling to have a key to the nicest apartment she had ever seen.
She wondered how much longer it would be until things started to feel like it was just a normal home and there was nothing special about it at all. She felt sad that eventually that day was going to come. She didn’t want to deal with that. She didn’t want to have a tolerance to wealth and opulence.
Walking a few blocks, she fished her phone back out of her pocket and dialed Gus's number, knowing he was working late and there was no chance in the world that he was going to answer the phone. He was way too busy and she would just leave a voice mail, but it didn't bother her.
In fact, she was starting to get used to the rhythm of their relationship and how things were going to be. She understood he would not be able to talk while he was at work. That was just a common practice across the board. He helped run a major international business in New York City. She was going to have to be comfortable with not being the center of attention. That was definitely something she could get used to.
“Hey Babe,” she said when the voice message ended and the beep let her know that it was time to talk. “I was just calling to see what your plans were for tonight. I know you told me to come over and stay the night, but I also know you’re working late. I don’t want to make you feel rushed, so I was just wondering if you still wanted me to come over. I’ll let you know what I decide if you don’t get back to me. I hope work is going well. I miss you. Bye.”
There was a pause and she felt like there was something burning in the back of her mind, telling her that she needed to just be patient and he would get back to her in a few minutes. He wasn’t in meetings back to back.
He was going to be able to get to her and she was going to know what he wanted to do. All she had to do was sit tight and wait. So, she took the time to go for a walk, experiencing the city at night. There really wasn’t anything more beautiful than New York City at night. She looked at the lights and listened to the sounds flooding the air all around her.
A few minutes later, her phone vibrated.
“Hey,” she said, knowing it was Gus.
“Hey, Beautiful,” he said with a charming tone to his voice. He sounded tired. “I’m going to be a few more hours, but I totally would love it if you were back at the apartment when I was done here. Are you looking for a place to spend the night?”
“Sure,” she said with a grin on her lips. “I love couch surfing. I know this rich guy who is definitely going to want me to stay the night.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Gus laughed. “If he tries hitting on you in the middle of the night, I’m going to kill him.”
“I don’t know,” she said jokingly. “He’s pretty hot.”
“Oh, I hate him already,” Gus replied.
“I hope work is going well,” Tiffany said to him softly.
“It’s work,” he sighed. “I can’t wait to see you. I have to head back. I’ll see you soon, Beautiful.”
Something about tonight told her she should walk as much as she could. She longed for the nights when she would walk back to her place without a care in the world; those were the nights she relished the most. She wanted to have that peace and quiet for one more night.
She wanted to know what it was like to live in a city where she was as poor or as middle class as everyone else, and most people moved
away because it was too expensive to live. She wanted to have that experience one last time. She wanted it engrained in her so that she would never lose sight of who she was.
Walking in the direction of his home, she decided she was going to take the subway and ride it all the way to the nearest station to where his home was. Getting out, she looked at the city, taking it all in. Depending on where you were standing in New York City, there were always different personalities living in the buildings around you. She looked at all of the stone and all of the glass around her. There was something bizarre about it. This city was living and breathing.
The moment was ruined when she felt someone slam into her and the sting of hot liquid all over the front of her body. She let out a cry and stepped back, holding up her hands and knowing she had just been doused with tea or coffee. The person who hit her was traveling with a group of friends who all let out a similar sound of surprise and mock disappointment at their friend.
The bearded man who had slammed into her stepped back and looked at her, surveying the damage. At first, he was stunned by the sight of the woman he had run into and stopped for a moment, looking at her like she was some sort of vision for him to take in. She would have smiled at the flattering expression on his face but she was pissed.
The stench of coffee filled her nose and she knew that she was wearing this man’s latte.
“I’m so sorry, Miss,” the bearded guy said, shaking his head in shame. “I didn’t even look where I was going, like some kind of amateur. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she said, trying her hardest not to get mad at him. Mistakes happened and she wasn’t going to rail at some guy because he accidentally spilled his coffee on her.
“No, no, no, I’m so sorry,” the man said. “Can I give you some money to cover the dry cleaning?”
“No, I’m headed home anyway,” she assured him. “It’s okay.”
“Really? I’m so sorry,” he apologized again as she turned away from him and headed toward the familiar building a few blocks away; she could already see it from where she was.
She could hear him shouting apologies down the street toward her, but she didn’t want any of it. She wasn’t going to make him pay for dry cleaning because of an accident. She would just have it cleaned herself.
The doorman, Kevin, smiled at her until he noticed that she was covered in coffee stains and then he looked at her with a sort of horrified and sorry look on his face. She shook her head and told him she was just fine.
“Some guy accidentally ran into me with his latte,” she explained. “It was an accident.”
“Did he pay you for the dry cleaning bill?” Kevin asked her, like this was some kind of standard she didn't know about when the guy had offered it to her. She shook her head as Kevin opened the door for her. “Men in this city have got no class anymore. They’re a bunch of animals. There should be people out there giving tickets for men who don’t know how to treat ladies properly.”
“If only,” she smiled at him, thinking that it sounded like the most ridiculous idea she had ever heard.
At the elevator, she tried her hardest to not mess with the stains. She knew that if she touched them, she would probably make them worse, which was only going to ruin the clothes even more. Part of her knew she was going to have to go to the dry cleaners anyway, but another part was telling her she could totally take care of it. It was a lie, of course, but she wanted to think she could do it.
When the elevator came to Gus’s floor, she realized she had told the man she was headed home; she had said this was her home. There was a moment where that clicked with her and she realized she was thinking of this place as her home now.
It made sense. She was starting to spend more time here than she was spending at her own home and she knew this would only get worse and worse as time went on. She was going to spend more and more time with Gus and that meant staying at his home.
The elevator doors closed behind her and she fished the key out of her pocket. She hadn’t put it on her key chain yet, but she realized it was only a matter of time before this key was more familiar to her than her own apartment’s key. That was a terrifying thought. She reached forward and unlocked the door in front of her, letting herself into her fiancé’s apartment.
Fiancé.
That was a strange thing to think about.
Of course, they were going to have her move into this apartment. There was no way he would even consider moving into the little hovel that passed as her apartment. He had been kind and called it cute and very nice when they had first started dating, but she knew he thought it was a shit hole. The reason for that was simple. It was a shit hole.
It had been all she could afford when she had first moved to the city. It was the only place where she could afford to pay the rent and utilities on a receptionist’s salary and as she rose through the ranks of her company, she hadn’t left. So, when it came to sharing a place with her fiancé, there was only one option. She was moving into his place.
She walked into the front room, letting the door swing shut behind her and she realized this enormous, vast room was going to be her home. This wasn’t just his place any more. This was her place. She was going to have to get used to the idea of living in luxury now. She was going to have to get comfortable with all of this. She thought about that and it made her feel like she was cheating at life. Could you just marry into wealth? Was that an option? She thought you had to work for it a little.
It was then that she realized that even though she was standing in the nicest living room she had ever seen, she was drenched in coffee and she stank like it. She grimaced and started to take off her clothes, heading to his laundry room, something that baffled her. She looked at the equipment and realized it was practically new. How often did he actually do laundry in this room that was larger than her own bedroom?
She doubted very much that he did any of his own laundry. It was like having all these other rooms in his apartment. She wanted to know how often he actually went into any of these rooms. Did he know that some of them existed? Was he even aware? She doubted it.
Taking off her shirt, she saw her bra was stained too and her heart sank a little. This was her favorite hot pink bra. What was she going to wear? She hadn’t brought over any clothes yet. She knew he probably had something for her to borrow, but she felt practically homeless in this laundry room with most of her clothes off, sitting on the counter on display for anyone to see.
She’d been splashed with a latte and she felt like a vagabond. Gus was going to judge her. Never in her life had she been more afraid of letting someone down than she did about Gus right now. What was that all about?
Maybe it was because he was so honest and open with her. There was something about him gnawing at her, like she wasn’t taking care of him or that there was something he needed to tell her. A woman can always tell when there is something not right with a relationship and it bothers them. She thought about what might be wrong with them and she came up empty. He was a good man and he was a good boyfriend since she’d told him about their new addition to their lives. She just felt off.
Turning on the shower in his bathroom, she stepped into the familiar space, looking up at the shower head glistening silver and enormous. He could do anything with this shower head and she made sure she knew how to use it before she ever showered alone. It was an intimidating little room and she didn’t want to break anything or to screw anything up.
She wanted to make sure she was the perfect house guest. She made sure not to get her hair wet or to damage her makeup. She just wanted to get the coffee and its smell off of her before he got home, whenever that was going to be. As she rubbed soap over her body, her mind began to wander.
She thought about the first time she had seen him. He had shown up at her company, going to overlook the offices and see if it was something he wanted to buy. At first, she had just seen him as one of the many suits that had arrived in their lobby, waiting to meet with
the higher ups who were standing by eagerly, desperate to make a good impression to all of these strange men.
She couldn’t tell any of them apart and she really didn’t care when she saw them. They all looked like your typical wealthy businessmen in New York City, but Gus had wandered over and started chatting with her. He’d been charming and funny and she had found herself drawn to him.
When he asked her if she was interested in getting drinks after work that night, she wasn’t sure if it was going to infringe upon anything. She gladly went with him to get drinks and it was only then that she realized it was Gus Anderson she was having drinks with and that she was dating the man who owned her company, the building it was in, and the company that owned them.
