Before she calls Chris on FaceTime to ask about the wedding, Haley looks through his sunglasses and sees another woman. All of her thoughts about the wedding turn into nightmares all of a sudden. Haley knows where Chris is and is ready to catch him in the act. When she does, the drinks and her engagement ring start flying.
The early morning light came in through my blinds and started my day like any other. It wasn’t meant to be that bad before; it was just another day of doing chores and marking off the last eight weeks until our wedding.
Last but not least, I had to choose the flowers. I had planned to check out the mock-ups at our local florist around noon.
On the one hand, I thought things were going well. However, I couldn’t help but worry that Chris wasn’t paying any attention to the wedding plans.
He worked with me completely and rarely gave me feedback, like he hadn’t given things much thought.
Something was making me feel bad, but I didn’t know how to deal with it. I only wanted the best day.
When I told Claudia what was going on at the beach, she told me to “talk to him, Haley.” “Tell him how much you value his work.”
I wanted to do it too. Even though everything was going wrong, I wanted to tell Chris that we were getting married. My folks were against the wedding from the start, and I was only 23 years old.
My mom told Haley to get going. What’s the rush? You have a lot to see before you settle down because you are still so young.
I thought it was enough to just say, “I love him.”
“Since you’re my daughter, I want you to be happy, so I’ll back you up. But please don’t take my support as my blessing.”
I smiled and nodded. I believed my mom would change for the better because she always did.
Still, my dad wouldn’t even think about the subject.
He told her, “I don’t have anything to say about this, Haley.” “You are too young.” Also, what kind of boy is this? Chris is a few years younger than you, but he’s just starting out in his career. Could he help you?”
That was more than a year ago. After that, my parents seemed to thaw out. They weren’t sure about us getting married, but they were okay with Chris.
Before going to the florist, I made coffee and got ready for the day by sitting down in my home office.
I quickly looked at the framed picture of Chris and me in Paris. That was a long time ago.
When I looked at my phone, his happy smile lit up the background. I sighed. In the middle of the day, I had to call him again to find out what he wanted for the reception food and flowers.
As was our habit, I opened FaceTime and looked forward to another short chat.
When the call went through, Chris was enjoying his time in his car while listening to loud music.
He said, “Hey, babe,” and then popped a mint in his mouth. “I’m on my way to meet the guys. Is this important right now, or can I call you back?”
Before I could even think of an answer, something strange caught my eye. Through the sparkle of the sun on his glasses, he might have been able to see the grey interior of his car or the road.
I didn’t see that, though.
Instead, there were the clear shapes of two legs lying loosely on his dashboard. The wild, bare legs of a woman. A gold anklet that shone in the sun.
When my heart hit the ground, I lost all sense of what was real.
It took all I had to say to keep my voice normal: “No, it’s not important.”
I quickly took a shot of the last picture on the screen before Chris hung up.
Even after the phone call was over, my heart beat loudly and accusingly in my ears.
As I looked at it, my hands started to shake because it was so clear—yet so hard to believe—that someone had betrayed me. So I emailed Claudia about it to get a second view.
“Do I understand this right?” As the picture played on our shared computer screen, I sent a text message.
She quickly replied and called me right away.
“Those are definitely woman’s legs,” she said. “Why the hell is he did that?”
I said, “I’m not sure.” “What now?”
Look up his address to see where he is. Go over and check on him. I can meet you there if you’d like.
I opened Chris’s position on my phone. There it was—a small blinking dot moving slowly down the motorway. Soon after, it settled down at a nearby restaurant and pub that our friends often went to.
I wasn’t mulling. I wasn’t able to.
I was planning our wedding while Chris was hanging out with a woman. She likely would have jumped into the frame and met me if he had said it on the phone while he was with one of our friends.
It was a new face, though.
They were seeing someone else when they were together.
As I tried to find something to change into, I stood in front of my wardrobe and moved like a robot. I was furious and shocked at the same time.
We were having a bad dream that kept getting worse as we drove to the pub.
I didn’t know what I would find, but I was sure that whatever Chris had planned would break my heart.
I had to get some fresh air, so I drove while the radio was too loud.
Many people laughed and clinked their glasses in the restaurant, which was very different from the storm inside me. It makes sense that’s where I found Chris.
He was laughing with a woman at a table. She had to be the same woman from the car because she had a small gold anklet on. He smiled at her like he used to smile at me, and she put her hand on his arm.
I thought about sitting down at a table and watching them. My crazy mind tried to tell itself that maybe I was wrong. Reason, on the other hand, told me that the scene was exactly what I had imagined.
The only thing I would get from watching was stress.
My engagement ring felt like a chain. It used to stand for promises and hopes for the future. With careful thought, I slid it off my finger.
I bought a glass of champagne at the bar, feeling more stable in my hands than I did inside. It was Chris who looked up at me as I walked up to their table. His smile turned into shock.
“Hey Haley, what—”
But he stopped talking as soon as I threw the champagne at him. The ring next, and his glass hit the table with a clink.
When I was angry, I hissed and said, “You can choke on your proposal.” The words tasted bad. “Because it was clear you didn’t care about it.”
The woman next to him let out a gasp, but I didn’t pay attention to her. As I turned to leave, the noise of people around me spread out like a sea.
I cancelled the whole order and drove straight to the florist, where I made it in time for our meeting. After that, I drove straight to my parents’ house.
My mum opened the door and said, “Hello, honey,” soon after I rang the bell.
I hugged her and said, “Hi, Mom.”
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Along with tea, my mom brought out cookies, ice cream and other treats that we usually have.
The woman asked, “So, that’s it?”
I nodded.
“You can say it,” I told her.
She smiled and asked, “What?”
I said in a low voice, “That you told me so.”
She didn’t, though. She instead gave me a hug and got ready to come stay with me for a while. I didn’t want Chris to move in with me until we were married. Before that, I was living alone.
“I’ll take care of you while you figure it out,” my mom told me.
I went back to my flat by myself. My mother would meet me there later, after she told my dad about what had happened when he got home.
I’m sitting in bed and having a bowl of ice cream right now. Being that I have no idea what to do.
What would you say?
