Not Quite Sheer Happiness

by Melissa Baldwin

  “That’s true, but there’s no way I’m meeting her. We have nothing to say to each other.”

  Craig spends the next ten minutes trying to convince me to meet her. When I finally get back to work, I lean back against my chair. I really need a vacation, but since that’s not happening any time soon, I need to get back to work. I have two lists in front of me, one for work and one for my wedding. I glance at my wedding list:

  Wedding

  Set date

  Pick location

  Dress shopping

  Catering

  Band

  It’s pretty basic, but it will have to wait. I let out a sigh.

  *~*~*

  Wednesday morning has arrived and I get a text from Craig saying he has a migraine and won’t be able to meet with Lisa and me. I may really fire him this time; he has never had a migraine in his life, and I know for a fact he went out drinking last night. I’m going to warn him that Nicole could very easily step in to take over some of his responsibilities.

  I’m sitting in the café in the lobby trying to relax. I haven’t seen Lisa since I talked to Ace about her, so I’m wondering if it will be awkward.

  “Good morning, Sienna.” I turn around to see her standing behind me. I forgot how attractive she is, or at least I try to forget.

  I smile. “Good morning, I’m sorry Craig can’t be here, he has a migraine.” She joins me at the table.

  “No problem,” she says politely.

  I have to admit that one thing I really like about Lisa is that she gets right down to business. Before I know it, we’ve discussed the welcome ceremony, buffet, and champagne toast. We’re having a great meeting, and she seems so much more relaxed in person than she does in her emails.

  “How are your wedding plans coming?” she asks politely.

  I’m taken aback because the question came out of nowhere.

  “Um, slowly. We haven’t had much time to really start planning yet.”

  “I never understood the whole big wedding thing. I think it’s a waste of time and money. No offense.”

  I shake my head. “None taken. I’ve been in this business long enough to know that people’s views of weddings are very different.”

  “Personally, I would love to get married on the beach at sunset, just me and my man,” she says dramatically.

  “That does sound fantastic,” I agree. “What about you, any marriage plans for you in the future?” I ask. That’s the politically correct way of asking if she’s seeing anyone.

  “Maybe someday, when I find the right person,” she says. “That’s the hard part, right? Where did you meet your fiancé?”

  Crap. This is officially one of the most awkward moments of my life. I don’t exactly want to tell her that I dated two men from her past.

  “Well, I actually met him through my ex-boyfriend. Weird, huh?”

  “This sounds interesting.” She leans in as if I’ve told her some really juicy gossip. “Much more interesting than me having to go back to work.”

  I smile. “Yes. We started out as friends, and it slowly became more.”

  She sips her coffee. “That’s the way it should be. I think if you’re friends first then your relationship is so much deeper.” She stares off in the distance for a few seconds. “I wonder if I had done things differently if I would still be with this one amazing guy. We were just so young.”

  I shift nervously in my seat. “I’m sure everything worked out the way it was supposed to.”

  “Yeah, Ace was a great guy, and gorgeous.” She must notice my awkward reaction. “Oh yeah, I forgot that’s your fiancé’s name. That’s too funny.”

  I take a sip of my water to try to wash away the lump in my throat. I really wish I were somewhere else right now, anywhere else.

  “What’s his last name?”

  Crap. What do I say? Maybe I should pretend to be sick and rush to the bathroom or pull a fire alarm or something. There’s no escape.

  “Eckelund.”

  She gives me a blank stare. “What? Wait, your fiancé is Ace Eckelund?”

  I nod. “Yes.”

  The silence is horrible. Neither of us says a word. I’m absolutely going to kill Craig for bailing on me today.

  She lets out a deep breath she must have been holding in. “Well, this is a small world. It appears that your Ace and my Ace of the past are the same person.”

  I try really hard to act surprised. “Wow. It’s definitely a small world.” The mood has totally changed, and I don’t know what else to say. Honestly, how do you interact with an ex-girlfriend of your fiancé? I’m not one of those women that can be besties with the exes.

  “I hope this doesn’t affect our working relationship,” she adds. “We were practically kids, you know . . . puppy love,” she says, rolling her eyes.

  I force a smile. “Of course, it won’t.”

  “Good, because I see a great partnership ahead for us.” She holds up her coffee to make a toast.

  This nightmare is never going to end.

  Chapter 9

  I’m exhausted and not because of lack of sleep. I am emotionally exhausted. I’m well aware of my bad qualities and I know my overthinking and worrying about every detail are among the worst. Ever since my meeting with Lisa, something has been gnawing at me. Maybe it was my own insecurities, but it almost felt like Lisa was even more eager to work with me after hearing about Ace than she was before. Of course, I could be imagining it. Between this drama and Carrie’s phone call, I’m a hot mess.

  At least I’m having dinner with Madison and Abby tonight. I’m hoping they will take my mind off this new drama. Madison is leaving town again, which makes me sad; I’ve only had time to visit with her the other night after the engagement party.

  I’ve spent the last few days getting Nicole up to speed on our event this week. I think it’s best to get her right into the action. Craig has been walking around the office like a spoiled child who isn’t getting all the attention. I’ve told Nicole to ignore his snide comments.

  After Craig missed our meeting with Lisa, I had to sit him down and lecture him, which I hate doing. He finally agreed to help make things easy on Nicole.

  *~*~*

  “I would like to toast to best friends,” Abby says, holding up her wine glass. “You two are the best and I love you.” Madison and I look at each other and try not to laugh. Abby has had a few too many glasses of wine. She doesn’t drink often, so when she does, it’s quite entertaining. She got really drunk at Madison’s bachelorette weekend, was out of control, and then cried all night long because she missed Matt and little Ace.

  “That’s your last drink,” I tell her.

  She starts giggling uncontrollably. “Oh, come on. I never get to do this because I’m a mom, and you know what, moms deserve a break, too.” She’s practically yelling.

  “You’re right, they do,” Madison agrees.

  All of a sudden, Abby starts to cry. “I just want to be a good mom.” She sobs. “I’m doing a horrible job.”

  What is she talking about?

  “Abby, calm down,” I whisper loudly. “You’re an awesome mom.”

  She shakes her head quickly. “No, I’m so overwhelmed and I’m tired. You guys all come to me with your problems. But what about my problems?”

  As usual, alcohol brings out the truth. I feel so guilty because she’s absolutely right; every time one of us has an issue we go to Abby. I just assumed she had it all together because she never complains.

  “I’m sorry, Abby,” I tell her, putting my arm around her.

  “Me, too,” Madison agrees.

  We manage to calm her down before she makes a huge scene, even though some people have been watching.

  “I don’t understand. I thought everything was going great for you,” I say. Madie and I glance at each other and Madie makes a face.

  “Tell us what we can do,” she says, grabbing Abby’s hand.

  Abby shakes her head. “There’s nothing th
at anyone can do. I have the best life,” she wails. She starts crying again . . . I’m so confused. Maybe this is just her reaction to alcohol. I know people handle it differently. Some get in fights and some run around naked. I guess Abby just cries.

  She continues, “My life is so perfect that it’s ridiculous. My husband is wonderful and my kids are adorable. My biggest problem is that I have three more pounds of baby weight to lose. How pathetic is that?”

  Could this actually be happening? Could Abby be losing it? I’m not sure if she is crying because her life is too perfect or because she doesn’t have any problems?

  Madie doesn’t say a word and just rubs her back.

  “Abby, is there something else going on?” I ask. She dabs the corners of her eyes with a cocktail napkin.

  “I don’t know,” she whispers. “You two have such exciting lives. Madie is traveling and you are running a successful company and getting married.” She trails off. “I love my life more than anything, but sometimes I feel like a failure.”

  Madie and I remind her that she was a beloved teacher for years and she can go back to doing that whenever she’s ready. She doesn’t take that very well.

  “Are you two crazy? I could never leave my babies,” she yells, and stands up. “Where’s our server? I need another drink.”

  I gently guide her to sit back in her seat. “I think you’re done for the night.”

  Abby folds her arms in protest. “Sienna, you have to stop being so boring. Our friend Madison is leaving town and it may be a long time before we’re all together again.”

  She has a point but that certainly is not a reason for her to have another drink, ever again. She lays her head down on the table, and before we know it, I hear snoring.

  Madison leans over and lifts her head by her chin. Sure enough, she’s fast asleep.

  “Great. Now we have to try to get her to the car,” I say. “Sorry, Madie, this was supposed to be a fun night.”

  She gives me a big smile. “Are you kidding me? Nothing is more fun than drunk Abby.” We both start to giggle. “Although, what do you think about what she had to say? Do you think there is more going on with her?”

  I frown. “I’m not sure. Maybe she has that postpartum depression? I don’t really know much about it, but I guess I never considered that was a possibility. She always seems like she has everything together.” I look at our friend who’s fast asleep on the table in the middle of the restaurant.

  “Obviously not.”

  We manage to get Abby to the car and bring her home. Matt picks her up and carries her into the house like a knight in shining armor. We don’t give him any details other than the fact she had a few too many glasses of wine.

  When I get home, I lie awake in my bed for hours looking online at wedding gowns and trying to decide on a color scheme. I can’t stop thinking about what Abby said and I feel so guilty. I can’t count how many times I’ve gone to Abby for advice. Not to mention she has been a huge important part of Ace and me finally getting together. I can’t remember the last time I asked Abby how she was or if she needed something. I feel like the worst friend ever.

  *~*~*

  As Craig, Nicole, and Lisa are excitedly talking about the party, I’m mentally counting the days until her event. Actually, I’m counting the days, hours, minutes, and seconds. As it turns out, she hasn’t been as difficult as I initially thought she would be. If it weren’t for the Ace connection, we would probably be friends. We’re only a few days out, and then I will be finished with her . . . hopefully forever.

  “Don’t you think, Sienna?” Craig asks. I give him a blank stare.

  “What?”

  He lets out a frustrated sigh. “You know you sure give me a hard time about not being serious at work but you’re zoning out every chance you get. Pull yourself together,” he scolds.

  I try to talk my way out. “No, I’m totally fine. You know how I am always thinking ahead, always a planner.” I glance casually at my watch. I’m trying not to be too obvious but it’s almost closing time, I have a million things to do, and Ace and I are supposed to set our wedding date tonight.

  “Sienna, are you able to go out for drinks with us?” Lisa asks. Interestingly enough, it appears that Craig and Lisa are becoming good friends now.

  Just then we hear the door, and we all turn to see Ace standing in the doorway. I quickly look at Lisa and her reaction says it all.

  “Oh, I’m terribly sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt your meeting,” he apologizes.

  “Ace, is that you?” Lisa exclaims. Oh please, like she doesn’t know that’s him. She stands up and reaches up to give him a hug. Craig’s eyes get big and he looks toward me, probably waiting for me to react. I calmly take a deep breath.

  “Lisa,” he replies with a warm smile. “It’s very nice seeing you. Sienna told me that you two were working together.”

  She looks surprised. “It’s nice to see you. How many years has it been?”

  Ace puts his hand to his chin. “Many years. And congratulations on the job; Welsh and Taylor is a fantastic firm.”

  Lisa looks surprised. “How do you know them? They just started their practice.”

  “Oh, Ace knows everyone,” Craig interrupts. “He’s an international man of mystery.”

  I roll my eyes. “Craig, he’s not Austin Powers.”

  Everyone laughs. So far so good, it’s not completely awkward.

  “Oh, and congratulations on your engagement,” she says, pointing at me. His gorgeous smile widens and my heart speeds up a little.

  “Thank you. I’m very lucky.” He looks at me lovingly, which gives me chills.

  Lisa nods. Okay, this is going better than I thought it would. I guess I was reading too much into it. Craig motions for me to go to his office. We excuse ourselves, leaving Ace and Lisa talking about her firm.

  “What?” I ask as soon as we get in his office.

  “Everything seems to be going good. I told you that you were overreacting,” he says.

  “I know,” I agree. “I feel a little guilty about not having more trust in Ace. Am I a horrible person?”

  “I wouldn’t say you’re horrible,” he says unconvincingly. “I do think you acted like a jealous girlfriend, though, and that’s not very attractive. But I get it, a first love can be hard to beat.”

  What is he talking about? Who said anything about a first love?

  “Craig, they dated but that doesn’t mean that they were each other’s first loves?” Or were they? I realize I don’t know much about the details other than Lisa was the one to end their relationship. My palms are starting to sweat. “We should probably get back in there,” I say quickly.

  I head back to our tiny conference room, which is actually just a small office with a table in it. I don’t want Ace to think that I’m bothered even though I am. When I walk back in, my heart sinks. Ace and Lisa are leaning in, looking at her phone, their heads closer together than before. It’s not that they’re doing anything wrong; they just look too . . . comfortable.

  “I’m so sorry,” I interrupt loudly. “Craig had a question about another event we are working on.”

  “That’s fine,” Lisa says happily. “I was catching Ace up on some old friends. He doesn’t keep in touch with anyone. I think he works too much. Sienna, you need to talk to him about that.”

  I smile. “I know . . . but he loves his career and I’m supportive.”

  Ace winks at me. “Yes, you are. Although, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to be away so much.”

  I can feel myself start to blush. It could be my imagination but I think Lisa looks uncomfortable. Craig silently watches from the doorway.

  “Speaking of work, Lisa, is there anything else we need to go over?” I ask politely.

  She looks thoughtful. “Not that I can think of right now, but I’m sure I will think of something in the next few days.”

  I’m sure you will, I think to myself.

  She reaches for her
bag. “Why don’t you two join us for drinks? Come on, just one or two?”

  I’m about to say no when Ace speaks up, “I think a drink would be fine, right, love?”

  I really don’t want to go, but I can’t be the one to say no. So, I agree. Craig claps and puts his arm around me for a squeeze. Isn’t this cozy . . . drinks with my fiancé and his ex, who may or may not be his first love? Craig whispers to me to relax and I really want to, but for some reason I can’t.

  *~*~*

  One drink turned into three, but thankfully, Ace was the one to excuse us from the bar. He follows me to my apartment and the whole ride home I’m talking to myself. I play over how I think our conversation should go. I want to ask him more about Lisa and if she was his first love. They talked about old times, but the only really awkward moment was when she brought up Luke. I thought I was going to choke to death on my wine.

  When we get home, I quickly change and then sit down with Ace and my calendar.

  “What about Valentine’s Day?” Ace asks with smirk. He thinks he’s so funny.

  I make a face. “Very funny. You know me well enough to know that I won’t be getting married on Valentine’s Day. Seriously, though, let’s pick one of the dates we already decided on. Which one . . . May 7, June 2, or August 5?”

  Ace folds his arms. “Any of those days are fine. All I care about is marrying you.” I throw my head back in frustration. This should be the easiest of our decisions. Ace must sense my frustration. “All right, let’s get married on May 7, only because it’s the soonest and I want to marry you as quick as I can.”

  I open my mouth to say something, but before I know it, Ace pulls me into his lap like he has done plenty of times before. “Sienna Harris, will you become my wife on May 7?” He cradles my face in his hands and kisses me.

  My eyes are still closed after he stops kissing me. I open my eyes to see him looking at me. “Is that okay with you?”