by Amanda Tru
Wait. What just happened? He forgives me?
“Adam, I wasn’t actually—”
“It’s okay, London. I’m sure if you apologize to Rhonda, she’ll forgive you as well. I know you want to make things right, but if you don’t want to move back into the shop, that’s completely fine. I have another solution I think you’ll like!”
Adam’s eyes sparkled with excitement, and London felt like she was lagging behind several miles in her understanding. Did he just completely rewrite what she said? She felt bulldozed over and then dragged along, and she didn’t even know where they were heading.
“Adam, I’m not following what—”
“I just accepted a new position with a law firm in New York!” his face flushed and his features danced with animation. “I went to New York to interview this week. That’s why I was gone, but I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure. I got the job! They’re giving me two months to close or sell my practice here and move to New York. Isn’t that perfect? Isn’t New York like the fashion design capital of the US? You can come with me and set up your shop there! The only question is if you want to get married before we leave Crossroads or in New York.”
“Married? New York?” London repeated, too shocked to form any original thought. It sounded like he was telling her rather than asking her something. This couldn’t be Adam’s version of a proposal, could it? “I don’t—”
A car pulled into the driveway, and London’s words trailed away at the sight of Rhonda stepping from the car.
“Oh, look! What perfect timing!” Adam beamed. “God sent Rhonda at just the right moment for you to apologize! I’ll run inside and chat with your family and give you a little privacy. I might as well get to know my future in-laws a little better!”
“What? Wait! No!”
She made a swipe to grab him, but he moved too fast, and her hand came away empty.
“Oh, London, I’m so glad you’re here,” Rhonda blubbered, swiping at the tears coursing down her flushed cheeks. “TeraLyn said you were at your parents’ house tonight for your brother’s birthday, but I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to disturb you, but then Mr. Snow insisted that I come find you right away. Of course, I couldn’t drive in my condition. I can’t see a blessed thing through these tears. TeraLyn was a dear and said she’d drive me, so then I couldn’t refuse.”
“What do you need, Rhonda?” London asked, trying to mask her impatience as she glanced nervously through the front windows. With her luck, Adam would be announcing their imaginary engagement to her family before she managed to extract herself from Rhonda.
London smiled nervously in greeting as TeraLyn hesitantly approached, wishing her friend hadn’t shared her location with her mother. London had casually mentioned her plans when they’d discussed an upcoming wedding earlier in the day, but she hadn’t intended for that information to become public knowledge—or more specifically, known to a certain public named Rhonda.
“You go ahead inside, my dear. I want to speak to London privately a moment.”
TeraLyn shot London a nervous glance but obediently left them to enter the house.
“Oh, London, dear, I just can’t tell you how happy I am to see you.” Rhonda took London’s hand and clasped it in between her two warm, sweaty ones. “I can’t thank you enough for what you did. You have no idea. I’m just so overwhelmed. You can’t imagine.” Rhonda patted her hand in rhythm to her words, but her sniffling made them difficult to understand.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Rhonda,” London asked, feeling her skin crawl and trying unsuccessfully to extract her hand.
“You don’t? Oh, but of course you know. And I’m just so very thankful!”
“Thankful for what?” London asked bluntly. “Last I knew, you were very angry and upset with me.”
“Oh, I was never angry with you, my dear. I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding. But after what you did, how could I ever feel anything but thankful. Years of sorrow have been washed away, and it’s all because of you.”
She’s being sarcastic. She’s making no sense whatsoever. There’s no way she’s happy over anything I’ve done.
Rhonda removed one of her hands and waved it in front of her face. “It’s so sweltering out here,” she panted. “Would you mind if we continued this inside where it’s cooler?”
“Oh, of course,” London said eagerly. If she had to continue this ridiculous conversation, she’d rather do it indoors where she could better keep an eye on Adam.
London hurriedly led the way inside, scanning the entire premises for Adam while she poured a glass of lemonade and bestowed it into Rhonda’s eager hand. Her heart sank as she saw Adam through the patio window, engaged in a lively conversation with her brother, Dallas, in the backyard.
No, please! Not Dallas!
Of her three brothers, Dallas was the absolute worst tease. If Adam mentioned something of his plans to Dallas, her brother would announce it to the entire family in the most embarrassing way possible.
“So, what were you saying, Rhonda?” London asked, eager to get to the point of the conversation so she could be dismissed to sort through the Adam drama.
Rhonda perched her ample form on one of the kitchen bar stools, reminding London of a plump bird atop a slender pole. When she didn’t respond immediately, London looked closer to see her lip trembling as she struggled to find words. The exuberance from earlier was missing, and her normal pretense seemed to have drained from the stool onto the hardwood floor, leaving the woman looking unusually genuine.
With a shrewd gleam in her eye, she looked up at London and said quietly. “I know you went behind my back and cut up my family wedding dress to make an infant gown for my sister.”
London’s breath caught. So, this was it. All of her earlier thanks had simply been a façade to her true intentions of confronting London with more of her perceived “sabotage.” In this case, London had no defense. She had gone behind Rhonda’s back and essentially destroyed a family heirloom. Of course, she could try to use TeraLyn as a shield, saying quite truthfully that Rhonda’s daughter had granted her permission. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to toss her friend “under the bus” like that in order to spare herself, especially when she knew it wouldn’t make a bit of difference in Rhonda’s opinion of her.
“Yes,” she said firmly, determined to take the full blame. “Yes, I did that. I wish I could apologize, but I can’t. That dress was not yours, and I felt granting the owner's wishes was the right thing to do. I should have come to you about my plan, but I didn’t. I am sorry for the secrecy, but I’m not sorry for what I did.”
Rhonda waved away her words as if they were annoying gnats. “I would have never let you do it. You did the right thing in going behind my back.”
London felt her mouth drop open in shock. “What?”
Rhonda met her gaze, her own eyes shining with both sincerity and unshed tears. “London, you did the right thing. I was wrong to allow anger and resentment to keep me from granting their request, but you did it anyway. When my family received the infant gown, they assumed I had done it. They reached out to me, saying how beautiful it was and how very grateful they are. I haven’t spoken directly to my sister in countless years, and yet today, she called and personally thanked me. We had a good, long talk, and we’re planning to meet for a family reunion at Thanksgiving.”
London shook her head, not believing that this could have actually happened. She hadn’t included a note or anything with the dress, but had simply mailed it. Out of all of the things she’d done, she anticipated this would measure the worst by far in Rhonda’s eyes. Yet, God had apparently used that little baby gown to redeem seemingly hopeless family relationships.
Rhonda’s tears flowed freely now, and she couldn’t keep up with delicately dabbing away the moisture. Instead, she took a cloth napkin and repeatedly mopped her entire face. “Our family has seen years of pain and drama, and you mended them just as surely as you
sewed that infant gown!”
Still in complete shock, London reached out and enfolded Rhonda in a hug.
“I’m sorry, London, but I must confess something to you,” Rhonda hiccupped, pulling away from the embrace. “I took the credit for your work. After Sandy and her family loved it so, I didn’t have the heart to tell them that I didn’t create or send the gown. I let them believe it was me.”
“That’s how it should be,” London said firmly, starting to recover. “I don’t want any credit. I did it for you and your family, and knowing that it brought healing to your family is more than enough.”
A fresh sob caught in Rhonda’s throat. “I’m so very sorry,” she hiccupped. “For the misunderstanding.”
London covered a smile, knowing that was the best Rhonda-apology she would ever get. While it didn’t include any acceptance of fault for her vindictive actions, at least it was something.
“I’m not sure yet what my future plans for the bridal shop are,” Rhonda continued, completely clueless that she could be perceived as anything other than her benevolent self. “I don’t want you to feel like I was angry with you. How could I be angry when you gave me back my family?”
“Please direct your thanks to God,” London smiled gently. While she didn’t know that she could ever work in the same building as Rhonda again, she could accept her offered olive branch. “He may have used my work, but a miracle of this magnitude can only come from His hands.”
London caught movement out of the corner of her eye and turned slightly to see Adam enter through the patio door with Dallas no longer in tow. She watched him saunter toward where London’s mom set out plates on a table.
A wave of alarm immediately shot through London.
No, not Mom! She’s worse than Dallas! She’ll announce any and all fake news to every cousin, uncle, and person I’ve ever met before I have a chance to issue any kind of retraction! When Mom happens upon any bit of family info, it’s the equivalent of the shot heard around the world!
“Mom!” she called hoarsely, trying to mount an interception from across the room. It took several calls before Lydia turned around. London eagerly beckoned her over, pointing a subtle nod toward the still-blubbering Rhonda.
Concern immediately creased Lydia’s forehead, and she hurried over. “Rhonda, are you okay?”
Rhonda waved her off. “Oh, these are happy tears, Lydia, dear. Your daughter is just so wonderful. I need to tell you about the miracle she arranged for me.”
With that expertly-arranged switch, London stepped away, confident that she would not be missed now that Rhonda had secured a new audience.
London immediately made a beeline for Adam, grabbed his hand, and pulled him into her dad’s office. She needed to get this over with right now, even if it meant allowing the potential of listening ears.
“Adam, I need to talk to you about New York,” she said firmly, wasting no time.
“Did you make things right with Rhonda?” Adam asked eagerly, choosing his own topic of conversation.
“Yes, but not in the way you expected,” London said hesitantly. “She was thanking me. God used one of the wrongs I righted in order to heal some old family wounds for her.” She didn’t want to take the time to tell him the whole story. She needed to keep it vague and get on to the breakup part.
Adam beamed. “See? Everything is working out the way it should. Your clients’ wedding was a success, and now Rhonda has forgiven you. Maybe all of this trouble happened for a reason. Since you’ve already moved things out of Rhonda’s shop, it will be simple for you to move your business to New York, but you’ll be on good terms with Rhonda when you leave.”
Adam paused. Just when London was about to jump in, he continued with his mouth turning up in the corner at a teasing angle. “Speaking of your clients’ wedding, I do have to say that seeing you in that wedding dress on TV was pretty startling.”
Sidetracked with the detour in conversation, London answered, “When you couldn’t help me that day, I had to talk to Mason about filling the part of the groom.”
“No, that isn’t the reason it was startling. London, I saw you in that dress, and you looked so beautiful and perfect. I wanted it to be me standing up there across from you, and I wanted it to be for real.”
London shook her head in confusion. “You thought the dress I wore was perfect?”
“Yes, such a shame you had to use it with a fake wedding, but maybe you could just use it again for a real one.” Adam wiggled his eyebrows up and down suggestively. “What do you think? Do you want to wear it again in Crossroads or New York?”
London suddenly couldn’t swallow. That was the dress he liked? But that wasn’t “The Adam” dress! It was “The Mason”! And this really IS a proposal… sort of!
“Can you believe it?” he enthused. “We’re going to New York! It’s all we’ve ever wanted!” Adam excitedly scooped her into her arms and swung her around. When she landed on her feet, he bent to kiss her, and she raised her fingers to rest over his lips, blocking his intention.
She stood for a moment in silence, studying him and willing him to understand what she was about to say.
They’d both changed since high school. They weren’t the same people, nor should they be. While his personality remained unchanged as the same rule-abiding boy scout that he was as a teen, his goals had matured. He discovered a drive that translated directly to his profession. He wanted more than Crossroads, and London firmly believed he should pursue his dreams.
But she wasn’t the same person either, not personally nor professionally. Whereas she was a strict rule-follower in high school, militant about following everyone else’s ideas and rules, now she held her own convictions and wasn’t opposed to backing them up with actions. She didn’t blindly follow rules anymore, but she considered the merit, deciding what was right or wrong based on a moral code and faith that didn’t just belong to her parents. It was her own.
She’d also followed her professional big-city dreams to the point where they had changed. She’d been there and done that, deciding that what they offered, she no longer wanted. Her dream now included the paradox of a high-class fashion designer in a small town.
She didn’t want New York. She wanted Crossroads. More to the point, she didn’t want Adam.
“Adam, I’m happy for your new job, but I won’t be going to New York with you,” she said gently. “I’m not the same person I was in high school. I’ve done the big city and found that my heart is here in Crossroads.”
“Okay,” Adam said slowly. “Well, if you’re not ready to move, I guess we can do the long-distance relationship thing for a while.”
He was doing it again—not listening but rewriting what she said into what he wanted her to say. Unfortunately, being blunt was the only way he would understand.
London spoke firmly, “No, Adam, I’m not interested in a long-distance relationship with you. Our goals are different. I want you to go to New York. I’m happy for you, but I’m not a part of that exciting future.”
Adam shook his head in confusion. “But we love each other, London. All of the details can be worked out. I’ve loved you since high school, and that’s not going to change.”
London swallowed, her confidence wavering slightly. “I don’t love you, Adam, and I really don’t think you love me either. You love that eighteen-year-old girl, but she doesn’t exist anymore. You don’t love the person I am now. You don’t love my goals and interests and my tendencies to bend your definition of rules. I’m sorry, but we really need to go our separate ways. Someday you’ll find someone you can love today and can join in your future. But that isn’t me.”
Adam stared intently at her and slowly nodded. “I lost, didn’t I? Mason is the one you want.”
London shrugged and smiled sadly. “I don’t know that it was ever really a fair contest, Adam. Since high school, I’ve only felt a strong friendship for you. I wanted to feel more, but I didn’t. And I’m sorry. I don’t know if th
ings will work out with Mason, but I know they won’t work with you, at least in anything beyond friendship.”
Adam smiled sadly, and London stood on her tiptoes to give him a little peck on the cheek.
“Don’t feel bad, Adam. Someday you’ll meet a woman you want to give a real proposal to. Instead of marrying her as a matter of course, you’ll get down on one knee, and the thought of marrying her will make your excitement over New York seem boring.”
Adam’s eyes lit with understanding. “Touché,” he said, seeming to finally accept that maybe his heart wasn’t where it should be where London was concerned.
“There you are!” Dallas said, bursting into the office. “Mom is ready to serve dinner, and I promised her you two needed to make a big announcement before saying grace. Or I’d be happy to do the honors!”
Dallas rubbed his hands together eagerly. “What did we decide on? Rings before or after New York? Or if you want, I can grab some rings off a few plastic water bottles, and we can get the job done tonight! Did you know that Sydney is ordained?”
“Dallas Hutchins, you breathe a word, and I’ll make sure it’s your last!” London said fiercely.
Laughing, Dallas danced away from her swipe and sprinted away. London took off after her ornery brother, exactly as she remembered doing many years before. Only this time, she couldn’t manage to find her rose-colored glasses.
With the ceremony concluded and the food at the reception served, London stepped away from the wedding party, seeking a hiding place in her parents’ backyard. With all of the stress of the past few days, she longed for just a minute of isolation when she could take a few deep breaths. Stepping to the outer tables bordering the edge of the lawn, she sought the lengthening shadows and turned around to survey the scene before her.
The yard where she’d grown up had been transformed once again into a wedding fantasy. Her gaze drifted across the tables and perfectly white tablecloths crowned with beautiful, unique floral arrangements. Beyond the table, the chairs for the ceremony still stood at attention in neat rows facing a gorgeous archway interlaced with more flowers. Above the laughter and happy chatter of the wedding party and guests, the day slowly relinquished its hold to evening and beckoned the sunset to soon make its appearance.
