Hope, Heartbreak & High Heels (HHH)

by Sheryl

  “Well he better not assume that a stupid bottle is going to impress me. That’s the problem with rich kids…especially rich, arrogant lawyers,” Eva snapped back.

  “You really dislike him that much?” Vivek questioned.

  Eva seemed to be thinking for a minute. “It’s not that. Honestly, he just beguiles me.”

  “What do you mean?” I was confused.

  “I think he’s a really nice guy. I know the couple of times I’ve spoken to him that he’s smart and funny and we could probably be good friends. We share a confused heritage that seesaws between what we’ve been taught and what we want to do, constantly struggle under familial pressure and we even work in the same fields. But sometimes he just ends up overstepping and trying too hard. Whether it was the first time where his comment came off as a rude stereotype or tonight where his action seems arrogant,” she explained.

  “Have you ever thought that maybe you’re just too quick to judge him?” Vivek raised an eyebrow, “After all, from the way you’ve put it, seems like he’s just made an effort to be nice and you’ve always misunderstood it for something else.”

  Eva didn’t answer. “I don’t know. Maybe. Honestly I’ve never looked at it that way…”

  “Well now might be a good time considering he just walked in,” I winked.

  24 – EVA

  I spun around on my colourful heel. Sure enough, there he was in his well-cut jeans and fitted black shirt that left him looking simply delectable.

  He walked towards us.

  “You called - here I am!” He announced with a triumphant smile.

  “Great,” I replied sarcastically earning myself an elbow in the ribs from Tish. “I meant… how nice of you to join us. Meet Latisha the birthday girl.”

  Daniel held out his hand, “Happy Birthday! Hope you didn’t mind my dropping by.”

  “Thanks and of course not. It was the least we could do after the unnecessary delivery” Latisha gushed.

  “Well it seemed like the only way left for me to fish for an invite,” he winked.

  I gaped at his audacity. He really was something! Latisha laughed.

  “Either way, it was really nice of you. Meet my fiancé Vivek,” Tish continued.

  “Nice to meet you. Congratulations!” They shook hands.

  “Likewise. Thanks so much for the wine.” Vivek thanked.

  Aimee and Ezra joined us then.

  “This is Aimee, she’s our third room mate. And her boyfriend Ezra. This is Daniel Hartman, a friend of Eva’s from back home,” Latisha introduced.

  Aimee gave him a smile, “Nice to finally meet you. Heard so much about you.”

  Daniel raised an eyebrow. “All good things I hope?”

  “Well they definitely didn’t do you justice,” Aim winked.

  I groaned silently. I could murder her just about now.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” offered Vivek, always the polite host.

  “I’ll get myself a beer. Eva, will you join me?” Daniel turned to me.

  “Sure,” I forced out between gritted teeth.

  Latisha giggled. I rolled my eyes at her schoolgirl behaviour. Really – she was the one turning 27?

  Daniel picked out a bottle of beer. “What will you be having?”

  “I’m fine, thanks.” I said curtly.

  “Awww come on, after everything I did just to have a drink with you? I shlepped all this way just to see you. Least you can do is grant my wish!” he grinned.

  I sighed. I didn’t want to be rude. “Fine. I’ll have one glass of wine.”

  He handed me a glass of wine. When I reached out to take it, he held onto my hand for a second, forcing me to looking into his gorgeous green eyes.

  “By the way, I’ve been meaning to tell you something since I walked in…You look absolutely radiant. I haven’t been able to take my eyes off of you.”

  I felt my cheeks warm and looked down at my colourful heels to avert his powerful gaze.

  “So, now that we’re finally here. What’ll it be?” he leaned back towards the table.

  “What’ll what be?” I was confused.

  “Will you go out with me? Like on a proper date?”

  I snapped. “What’s your problem?”

  Daniel looked startled. “Excuse me?”

  “This. All. Of. This. I mean what is this, a prank to you? Why are you trying so hard to embarrass me?”

  “Eva, what are you talking about?”

  I pulled him into a kitchen corner. I didn’t want to make a scene in front of everyone.

  “Dropping by my office. Taking me to lunch. Sending me wine. Flirting with me. Asking me out. What is this about? Did your parents push you into this? Is that what this is? Let’s humour poor, single Eva and please the neighbourly Goldsteins by pretending to like their daughter?”

  “Eva, you’re drawing baseless conclusions…”

  “No. I know exactly what’s going on. It was obvious since Noa’s Bat Mitzvah. My parents tried setting us up. And obviously being the good little Jewish boy, you didn’t want to offend them. So you went about your little shtik. You’ve been dropping by and flirting with me so that I have positive things to report to them. Well I’ve got news for you; I’m not interested.”

  Daniel’s easy smile disappeared and he put down his beer. He moved in on me before I could continue, cornering me between the wall and his arm and placing one hand across my mouth effectively shutting me up. His green eyes had turned into dark emeralds and were blazing down at me.

  “Eva Goldstein. You really need to learn how to hold your tongue and listen from time to time. You’re so high up there on your horse that you’ve lost touch of reality. Not everything is always about you. Ok I confess that our parents were interested in setting us up. And I also admit that I would never be rude to you simply because our families are friends. But that’s it.”

  I wiggled under his hold. He let out a low growl.

  “I’m not done yet. The first time I met you at the shop, I had no idea who you were. And I just tried to pay you a compliment. But you bit my head off. Then I met you at the Bat Mitzvah. I was intrigued by your fiery personality. It’s been a long time since I met a girl from the community that’s so… comfortable being herself.”

  I stopped squirming and listened.

  “I dropped by your office because I was there for a case. Like I explained. Talking to you I realised we had a lot in common and I enjoyed spending time with you. Hence I asked you to lunch the next time around.

  And the bottle today – like I explained – I had it lying around. I thought I’d send it over and someone here might actually appreciate it. Besides…I really did want to see you again.”

  Daniel took a step back.

  “Eva, all I’ve tried and wanted is to get to know you better. I moved into the city a while ago and its nice to meet someone from back home that gets what its like to be a next generation Jewish kid. But if my words and actions upset you so much, I’ll stop. And I’ll leave. But I won’t apologise for asking you out or saying that you look nice – because you honestly look amazing tonight. And I meant everything I just said.”

  “Look, I didn’t mean to offend you. I just thought…” I started shakily.

  “It doesn’t matter. I guess I was wrong to think that we could be friends. And I shouldn’t have ever thought that we could be more. I’m sorry that you found my actions inappropriate. Please tell your friends it was nice meeting them. And I guess I’ll see you around.”

  And with that he was gone.

  25 – ANYA

  I was the first one awake. The living room was a mess. I knew Latisha would go all ‘Monica’ on us so I figured I might as well get started.

  I got out a large black trash bag and started throwing away the plastic cups and plates. By the time I had almost filled up one bag, Eva stumbled out.

  “Morning,” she yawned.

  “Hey,” I greeted back.

  “Wow, what a mess.”
She looked around, “Here, let me give you a hand.” Eva grabbed another bag and started picking up the cans and glass bottles for recycling.

  “So… did you have fun last night?” I ventured.

  “Yeah of course. You?” she replied.

  “Yeah. I think it was a perfect last birthday celebration for Tish. Besides, I’m glad Andrew got to meet everyone… what did you think of him?” I tried to keep my voice nonchalant. Eva’s opinion mattered to me.

  Eva shrugged. “He seems nice. Typical country club kid – rich, good looking, well-mannered... Didn’t get to speak to him for too long so can’t say much otherwise…”

  “Yeah, I saw Daniel walk in. But then he disappeared just as quickly. What was that about?” I asked.

  Her back went stiff as a rod.

  “Uh…nothing really. He had to be somewhere…” I heard her voice shake just a little. I have known Eva for long enough now to know when she was unsure of herself.

  I walked over to her and took the bag out of her hands.

  “Eva, what happened?” I asked softly.

  “Nothing. He came. He met everyone. We talked and then he left,” she said a little more articulately.

  “And I guess nothing happened in the kitchen corner either?” I pushed.

  Eva looked at me for a moment. “No nothing happened. I just told him he didn’t need to humour my parents or me by pretending that he liked me.”

  I was shocked. “Eva Goldstein! Please tell me you did not say that to his face!”

  She turned her chin up defiantly. “Yes I did. Look, since the day I’ve met him he’s been too nice and I didn’t want him to feel like he had to be. I mean I know our parents think we should date but that doesn’t mean forcing something that’s not there…I don’t need anyone’s pity.”

  “Not there? Eva, I’ve seen the way you guys look at each other. Don’t tell me there’s nothing there. And why do you always need to jump the gun? I mean maybe he was just trying to be nice. Why can’t you ever just give someone a chance?”

  “You mean like you?” she shot back. “Because that’s always worked out great hasn’t it?”

  My voice dropped. “At least I put myself out there instead of hiding behind a wall.”

  Eva took a step back, put a hand on her hip and stared at me, her bright blue eyes ablaze with anger. “Right. You put yourself out there and get your heart broken. Every single time. And then you sit at home crying until you meet someone else and get your heart broken all over again. Do you even like the guys you date? Have you ever heard the saying; Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results? You might want to engage in this sort of behaviour but I’m definitely not insane. Do you even know what you want or will you just keep dating till someone sticks?”

  I winced. Her words were sharp and bitter but weren’t meant to inflict pain. Eva was just trying to shut me up.

  “Eva that’s not fair…”

  “What’s not fair?” came a voice from behind.

  We turned around to find Aimee staring at us sleepily.

  Eva straightened up. “Nothing,” she replied stiffly. Aimee turned her questioning gaze towards me.

  “Yeah, nothing…” I mumbled. “Let’s just finish this up. I need coffee.”

  “I’ll get it,” Aim volunteered. I glanced towards Eva and I could tell she wasn’t in the mood to continue talking. Fine.

  Quietly we resumed our cleaning tasks. Aimee walked over to the coffee machine and started both the coffee machine and the kettle before pulling out the Lysol. She grabbed the Bounty roll and started wiping down the surfaces.

  By the time Latisha joined us in the living room around noon, we were almost done restoring the loft to its previous cleanliness.

  “Wow…” she admired.

  “We didn’t want you cleaning on your birthday!” I smiled.

  She laughed. “But my birthday was yesterday!”

  “Well, you still have half a day left in your birthday weekend!” Aimee reminded.

  “Thanks guys, you’re the best. And thanks for last night. I had an amazing time. I hope all of you did too? I mean I know Anya was too busy to even notice anything…” Tish winked at me.

  I blushed.

  “Yeah Anya, why don’t you tell us about your night,” Aimee nudged me.

  “It was…erm…nice. I’m glad Andrew got to meet you guys and there was no awkwardness after he discovered all the common links. Too much of a coincidence for it not to be a setup! What did you guys think of him?”

  “Yeah, I mean I know him from before but he seems nuts about you…I like that,” Latisha smiled.

  Aim nodded in acquiescence. “Agreed. I mean you guys know I’m not a fan of the country club lot, but Andrew seemed friendly and less… shallow? What did you think Eva? I mean it was actually your first time meeting him.”

  “He seems ok. Can’t really say much just based on yesterday… there was so much going on,” Eva managed in a tight voice. She was still upset over our argument.

  Latisha’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “It was nice officially meeting Daniel too. I mean we all had a chance to admire his good looks at the Bat Mitzvah but this was the first time I actually spoke to him…”

  Eva didn’t respond.

  “And it was really nice of him to send the wine…” Tish continued.

  “Tish, I really don’t want another lecture on ‘Why Eva should be with Daniel’. I heard it from my parents. I heard it from all of you. Why can’t people just let me be?” Eva snapped.

  “Eva. Relax. No one’s telling you to marry him,” Aimee fought back.

  “Look Eva. Who you like, who you decide to be with, that’s your choice. We just don’t see why you’re always biting his head off. I mean you can be nice to him can’t you?” Tish explained patiently.

  Eva didn’t reply.

  “We’re just trying to help you ‘cause we care. I mean it’s your life at the end of the day,” Aimee added.

  “Look, if you don’t like him that way that’s fine. But you can at least be nice. After all he does go out of his way for you…” I pointed out quietly.

  Eva sat down slowly. I could tell she was thinking about everything we had just said. “Maybe you’re right. I’m sorry I lost it. I didn’t mean to snap at any one of you. I know you’re just trying to help. Its just…”

  I sat down beside her and held her hand.

  “It’s just that everyone keeps pushing me. Daniel is a nice guy and I enjoy hanging out with him. But I don’t want to feel pressured into feeling something for him. Or pressure him into being with me.”

  “Alright, we’ll back off. But for what it counts, I think he really likes you and isn’t just being nice about it. And just know we’re here for you.” Latisha consoled.

  Eva smiled for the first time this morning. “I know.”

  26 – AIMEE

  “I’ll have a Pomtini and some French toast s’il vous plait,” I ordered.

  “Alright, I’ll be back with your drinks soon. Enjoy,” the waiter said.

  We were starving. Cleaning up the loft had taken longer than we had thought and once we were done we’d jumped into showers and decided to go out for some brunch. More like a late lunch but a lot of brasseries around the city had special brunch menus on Sundays. This would be the last leg of Latisha’s Birthday Weekend as she was having dinner with Vivek, his parents and her parents tonight.

  The restaurant was full but not overly crowded. Perfect for a lazy Sunday brunch. Our drinks arrived quickly.

  “To Latisha on her 27th birthday… the start of a new chapter in more ways than one,” Eva raised her mimosa.

  “And to you guys – the best friends and room mates a girl could ask for,” Latisha added as she raised her Virgin Colada.

  “Cheers!” Anya and I joined in.

  “I can’t believe the weekend is almost over! Especially after all the planning and excitement!” Latisha lamented.

  “I k
now. It went by in a blur. What would you say was your favourite part?” Anya asked taking another sip of her Bellini.

  “Hmmm… let me see. Well Friday was awesome. I loved it because it was just the four of us. Dinner was delicious and the bar was…well…fun,” Tish recalled.

  Anya giggled.

  Latisha blushed. “I mean I guess it was the night I felt most like myself and where I could let go without having to worry about what anyone else would think. Yesterday was good too – Lunch with Vivek had been fun and last night had been perfect. I got to see all my friends from around the city and work and obviously all the guys had been there too. I guess I can’t really choose…”

  “Yeah it was nice of everyone to make it over last night,” Anya agreed. “By the way, who was that cute, blond guy…what was his name again?”

  “Which one?” I asked.

  “You know, Tish’s colleague from work. Had that insane tattoo going up his neck?”

  I felt Latisha tense up beside me.

  “Chris something…Ethan?” Anya tried to remember.

  “Chris Evans,” Latisha answered in a soft voice.

  “Yeah him! He was hot!” Anya exclaimed.

  “I agree. Who was he and how come we’ve never seen him before?” I probed.

  “He’s new. Just joined a couple of weeks ago. Nice guy…” Tish trailed off.

  I looked at her. There was something off. Her buzz from five minutes ago seemed to have vanished. Bizarre…

  “Reminded me of David Beckham. Plus an awesome tattoo,” Eva sighed.

  “Yeah and he totally has the whole smouldering-sexy-bedroom-eyes-look down,” Anya joked.

  “Engaged or not engaged, boyfriend or no boyfriend; I’d try that if I were in your place,” I confessed. “Luckily for Vivek, you’re you and he has nothing to be worried about.”

  Latisha choked on her drink.

  “You ok?” Eva asked suspiciously.

  “Fine, fine. Ice went down the wrong pipe,” Latisha coughed.

  “You sure?” Eva probed.

  “Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry,” Tish said as she took a huge gulp of water.

  “Well, we have something to make you feel better!” Anya squealed excitedly.