by Paris Hansen
“Thanks Fin. I knew I could count on you. Now stop hiding in your room. There are people there that I know want to see you, so let them. You’re going to have a good time despite all of the reasons why you think you won’t. Don’t dwell on the past, just keep your mind on Elijah and glue yourself to his side if you can. That’ll help for sure. And if you need me, call me. I’ll give you as many pep talks as I need to until you come home on Sunday.”
“You’re going to be christening every room in your new house with your fiancé this weekend, so I definitely won’t be calling you for a pep talk. But thank you for offering. I don’t know what I’d do without you Savannah,” Finley admitted. “I’ll see you on Sunday. Thanks again for picking me up. I really wasn’t looking forward to leaving my car at the airport, so I owe you.”
“No you don’t. Rides to and from the airport are what friends are for. That and drinks on the house at their night club,” Savannah pointed out with a laugh before ending the call.
Talking to Savannah had been exactly what Finley needed to get herself motivated to head downstairs. She still didn’t know why she was being forced to go to the rehearsal since she wasn’t actually in the wedding, but Elijah had insisted. He said it was some etiquette BS that dictated all out of town guests be invited to the rehearsal and since Amy was a big stickler about etiquette and tradition, he had to invite Finley. She could have declined the invitation, but she knew that Amy wasn’t the only reason she’d been invited. Elijah and his parents were excited to see her and declining would have disappointed them, which wasn’t something she wanted to do again.
A few minutes after downing one of the bottles from her fully stocked mini-bar, Finley found herself staring at her reflection in the mirrored wall of the elevator. The miniscule amount of courage she’d gotten from the harsh sting of the liquor and her quick phone call with Savannah was gone. Once again, she worried about her decision to come to Elijah’s wedding.
Being in L.A. was bringing back memories she’d long forgotten, or thought she had. In a few minutes, when she walked into the rehearsal dinner, she would come face to face with people from her past that she thought she’d never see again. The wedding would be even worse. According to the guest list Elijah shared with her, the wedding was a who’s who of Hollywood and her high school life. In the morning, she was going to be faced with mistakes and regrets both hers and her mothers.
“Sounds like fun,” she muttered to herself, thankful that she was the only one in the elevator.
Part of her hoped the elevator would get stuck and it would take hours to get her free. A malfunction like that would save her from at least one uncomfortable situation which was better than nothing. Finley hated feeling the way she did, especially since she was excited to see Elijah marry the love of his life. She adored Amy and was happy that her best friend had found the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. She knew it hadn’t been easy for him to find the “one”. It never was for those in the spotlight like Elijah. In the last decade, he’d made millions, staring in record breaking movie after record breaking movie. Even though she hated Hollywood and all that it represented, she couldn’t have been prouder of his success. He more than deserved it.
The elevator dinged breaking her from her thoughts. Before the doors could open she took a deep breath and tried to steady her nerves. She forced a small smile onto her face; the best she could manage which she figured was better than the alternative. Voices filtered through as the doors opened up to the lobby. Reluctantly, she stepped out knowing that it was only a matter of time before she was noticed.
“Finley, darling, it’s so good to see you! I’m so glad you were able to make it.”
Before she could react, Finley was enveloped in the arms of Elijah’s mom. The smell of Mrs. Williams’ perfume nearly brought tears to Finley’s eyes, but she held them back. She knew it was going to be difficult not to think about her mom while she was in L.A., but already it seemed to be harder than she thought. The fact that Elijah’s mother was still wearing the same perfume she’d picked out decades before with Finley’s mother didn’t help. Mrs. Williams squeezed her tight, nearly taking her breath away. Finley knew she wasn’t the only one having a difficult time with their reunion. It had been years since she’d seen her mom’s best friend and although she’d done her best to not be her mother’s spitting image, Finley knew that Mrs. Williams still saw her childhood friend whenever she looked into Finley’s eyes.
“Bev you’re squeezing her a little too tightly. I’m sure Finley would like to be able to breathe,” Elijah’s dad said from beside them.
While it was difficult to see Elijah’s mother because she reminded Finley so much of her own mom, it was harder to see Elijah’s dad. Finley never knew her own father, her mom not really having a clue for sure who it was, and the parade of men that came in and out of her mom’s life never wanted to be the father figure that Finley desperately needed. So she’d turned to Mr. Williams and he happily filled the role as best he could. It wasn’t perfect, but it was what Finley needed. She had a man to look up to and a place to go when she had problems or questions.
As soon as Mrs. Williams let her go, Mr. Williams pulled her into the best hug she’d had in years. She missed this man, this family. She hated that she never saw them, but being in L.A. was not an option for her. It was too much. Too many memories, too many feelings, too much hassle. It just wasn’t worth it. Not even for moments like the one she was having.
“Alright, alright, let my best friend go please. It’s my turn to give the girl a hug.”
Elijah grabbed her, wrapping her in arms that had held her more often than she would ever admit. She wrapped her arms around him and breathed him in. He smelled the same, like home and safety.
“I’m glad you came, Peaches. My wedding wouldn’t have been the same without you. In fact, I don’t know if I’d have been able to go through with it without you here.”
Playfully, Finley tried to push him away, laughing at the use of the childhood nickname he’d given her. He let go of her, then wrapped an arm around her shoulder so he could pull her against his side. She looked around the lobby seeing many faces that she recognized from her childhood, but even more that she recognized from movies and show that Savannah had made her watch. There were more people in attendance for the rehearsal dinner than she had expected. It made her wish she was upstairs in her luxurious room watching bad made for TV movies with a bottle of wine…or two.
“Bullshit. Quit being so dramatic Bean. You love Amy way too much to let a missing guest keep you from getting married. Even if that missing guest is the most amazing friend in the whole wide world.”
“Okay, you’re right, but it would be really, really hard to get married without you here. I still wish you’d have agreed to be my best man.”
“You know I couldn’t, but I was honored that you asked. It just…you know.”
“I know Fin, I know. But you’re here for two days, so at least I get you for that long.”
“Elijah, you’re getting married tomorrow. You don’t really have time to have me for two days.”
“All my free time is yours…even if that free time is a few minutes here and a couple minutes there. I want you to follow me around so that I can ask you questions and just bask in your presence.”
“God you’re weird. Where’s that beautiful soon to be wife of yours? I need to make sure she’s aware of your craziness.”
Elijah laughed. “Don’t worry; Amy’s very aware of my craziness. She has pretty much seen it all, that’s why I’m marrying her. If she can deal with all this and not run screaming for the hills, I’ve got to keep her. Let’s go find her. I know she was dying to see you and get the latest scoop on club life.”
Grabbing her hand, Elijah led her through the lobby to the hall that was being used for the rehearsal. The space was decorated beautifully, with ribbon and tulle on nearly every surface and vases filled with light pink roses set in the center of each tab
le. The room was filling up fast, only a few tables weren’t completely occupied. For a moment, Finley worried about who she was going to end up sitting with, but she should have known better. She followed Elijah to a table at the front where Amy was talking to her parents. As soon as Amy saw her, she jumped up to give Finley a hug.
“Finley, I’m so glad you’re here.”
“There isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be,” Finley told her friend, hoping that Amy couldn’t tell she was lying.
Amy immediately started to talk about the wedding and the preparations which was exactly what Finley needed. If she could focus on her friends and the happy occasion, she might be able to make it through the weekend. But everywhere she looked something triggered a memory of the first 18 years of her life; a time that she would do anything to forget. She just had to make it through the next two days. In less than 48 hours she would be back in Seattle, where no one aside from Savannah knew about her past or how badly it still affected her.
Taking a deep breath, Finley took the seat that Elijah pulled out for her. She knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but as she looked around at the table full of the only family she had left, she vowed to herself that she would do whatever it took to make sure she had a great time while she was with them. Or at the very least she would do such an amazing job faking it that they would never know the difference.
Loud laughter from the table next to them drew her attention away from her depressing thoughts. From what she could gather the table was occupied by members of the wedding party and their dates. One particular person caught her eye; a man that she knew for a fact was one of Elijah’s groomsmen. He was even more gorgeous in person than he was on the big screen, although Finley had always thought he was a bit too pretty for her. Seeing him in person, definitely put him in a whole new light, but she still preferred her men a little more rugged.
“You know I could introduce you…maybe hook you guys up for the evening,” Amy threw out when she noticed Finley’s attention was not on their conversation. The entire table turned to see who Finley was looking at, then laughed when he waved at them.
Finley laughed, shaking her head. “I was just thinking how much Savannah is going to hate me when she finds out that he was here. Although it is totally not my fault that she fell in love and got engaged before she could be my plus one to your wedding. She knew what she’d be missing if she didn’t come. Maybe I’ll see if I can get a picture with him later just so I can rub it in her face when I get home.”
Everyone at the table started to laugh again. Elijah and Amy offered to help her with her plan and then asked if there was anyone else on the guest list that Savannah might wish she’d met. The conversation at the table turned to laminated lists with each of the couples admitting which celebrities had made their list. Finley was surprised that even Elijah’s parents had gotten in on the game. After a while she was laughing so hard her sides started to hurt and she knew that if the rest of her trip was anything like this, she wouldn’t have to fake having a good time.
* * * * *
“This is almost like old times, the two of us hanging out in your room, drinking and talking about life.”
“Yeah, but this time we’re in a hotel room, we’re drinking legally and the booze isn’t stolen from your mom,” Elijah pointed out before kicking off his shoes and throwing his feet up on the overstuffed ottoman at the foot of his chair.
“That’s true. Although part of me misses those days when we were breaking all the rules and no one seemed to notice or care.”
“No you don’t. I don’t think you’d go back to those days even if someone paid you a billion dollars.”
Finley knew Elijah was right, although she missed the times they shared and wished they could hang out together more often, she was glad those days were in her past. She didn’t have to deal with her mother’s drinking or the men she brought around. She didn’t have to deal with the woe is me attitude that her mom had toward the end when her career and her love life were in shambles; when she tried to force Finley into a life she didn’t want.
“I’m a little surprised Amy has allowed you out of her sight tonight,” Finley joked, eager to change the subject.
“Her parents are really traditional, so no seeing the bride before the wedding once the rehearsal dinner is over. So, she’s in a hotel room with her maid of honor working on last minute wedding stuff and I’m hanging out with you. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the night before my wedding.”
“Bullshit. I can think of at least one thing you’d rather be doing…your future wife.”
Elijah laughed, throwing the cap from the airplane sized bottle of vodka at Finley. She caught it in midair, quickly tossing it back at him before he could react, laughing when it popped him in the nose. As soon as they were cleared to leave the rehearsal dinner, they’d practically ran to the elevator so they could get up to his suite and raid the mini-bar. Amy’s parents had asked that they only have wine at dinner, which had been fine at the time, but now that they could relax it was time for the hard stuff.
“Hey, watch the face. I can’t be anything less than perfect for tomorrow.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t mess up your money maker. Gotta make sure your wedding pictures are perfect so they can be sold to the highest bidder,” Finley joked.
“God, you don’t even know the half of it. The minute we announced we were getting married, we’ve had tabloids and magazines beating down our door for exclusives. I just want to get married and spend the rest of my life with the woman I love, I don’t give a shit about pictures or publicity or any of that crap. I told my mom and my agent to get together with Amy’s parents and deal with it. She could care less too, although she doesn’t want any of the skanky tabloids to get a hold of them. They’ve already done enough damage or tried to anyway.”
Finley cringed as Elijah alluded to the drama that had plagued him and Amy the year before. Every time they turned around a new picture was being printed in one of the tabloid rags. One headline had Amy using him for his money as she shopped downtown with her best friend. It didn’t matter that Amy had her own money and was a success in her own right. Another headline had Elijah cheating on Amy, when he was pictured with his friend’s wife. Then when he was pictured with that same friend’s wife a few months later and she was pregnant, the rags tried to pass it off like he was having some love child with his mistress.
No matter what, Amy and Elijah both knew the truth, but that didn’t keep the public from causing trouble. People were rude to her in public and online, calling her a gold digger and a whore, on top of the fact that most of Elijah’s fans hated her in the first place because she had stolen “their man”. Then when the “cheating” pictures were published, they felt horrible for her and told her she needed to leave his two-timing ass and chastised him online and in public. For nearly a year it was difficult for them to leave the house.
Finley was just glad Elijah had found a woman who loved him enough to deal with all of that garbage. For years, he struggled to fine someone who loved him for him and not for his fame and money. When he met Amy, she had no idea who he was. Over the years, she hadn’t made time for movies or television, instead opting to focus on her craft. As a writer, she spent most of her time with her face buried in a book or up close and personal with a computer. They’d met because she was lucky enough to be part of the casting process for the movie that was being adapted from one of her books. He was in the running for the lead role and when they locked eyes over the casting table, they were both goners. It made Finley’s teeth hurt when she thought about how ridiculously sweet their story was.
“So, now that we’re alone, how is it really up in Seattle?” Elijah asked breaking her from her thoughts.
“Why do you say it like that? I told you how Seattle was when we were talking before dinner. Do you think I lied?”
“No. I don’t think you lied exactly, but you weren’t completely forthcoming. You kept something back and
I want to know what it was.”
“Everything’s fine Elijah. I didn’t keep anything back. The club’s great. Savannah’s great. Everything’s great.”
“Bullshit.”
“You’re not going to leave this alone are you?”
Elijah shook his head, his eyes locked on hers. She sighed before finishing off the bottle of vodka in her hands.
“Fine. The club’s great, but I’m bored with it. The crowds get more annoying every week. The guys are douches and the girls act like entitled bitches. Every day I get closer and closer to losing my shit when I have to kick yet another meathead out or someone complains about the music or the fact we don’t sell a particular type of booze. We have lines out the door almost every night that we’re open, but I don’t know how much longer I care to deal with it. I just don’t know what else I’d do if I sold the club,” Finley admitted. “And yes, I might be a tad bit jealous of Gabriel. Savannah is really my only friend and now I see less of her because of him. It’s stupid and I’m happy for her, but that coupled with my growing disdain for the club leaves me feeling like I have no reason to be in Seattle anymore.”
“So ultimately you’re feeling sorry for yourself cause you’re all alone with nothing to do?”
“Fuck off Eli! That’s not what I said.”
“Isn’t it though Fin? What’s stopping you from making new friends? Or from going back to school? Or from getting back to designing clothes? You moved to Seattle to go to the Art Institute and you quit school when your mom died. Instead of coming back to L.A., you stayed in Seattle and opened up a nightclub. Why? You could have gone anywhere and used your money on anything. Why Seattle and why that club?” Elijah asked. “With your mom gone, why couldn’t you come home? To me, to my family? We would have gladly taken you in, helped you in any way you needed. We would have been there for you no matter what, but you stayed up there and that was fine, but I didn’t understand it then and I still don’t get it now.”
