Emily silently got out of bed and slipped out of the room. She was relieved to see the common area was empty so she sat down on the couch and called Hanna. Hanna picked up after the first ring, "Jesus Emily, take your time much? I've been trying to call you all morning." Emily furrowed her brow, "Is everything alright? Is your mom okay?" Hanna countered, "Well, since you took so long to call, maybe I should be asking YOU if everything is all right." "Come on Hanna, what's up?" Emily heard Hanna sigh and then excitedly say, "Guess who's getting married?" Emily quickly sat up, "What? Caleb proposed?"
The proposal had been unexpected. The two had been off and on since high school, but things had been going very well for the past year and a half. Caleb had been living in Philadelphia but made the decision to move to New York about seven months ago to be with Hanna.
They had made no special plans for that evening. Hanna had expected they would have their normal Friday in—takeout and a night on the couch catching up on their DVR recordings. When she got home from work, Hanna found a note on the bathroom mirror asking her to meet Caleb at their favorite Spanish restaurant at seven. Hanna quickly freshened up and made the three-block walk to the restaurant. When she arrived, she found Caleb sitting at a small table.
According to Hanna, he had changed out of his normal t-shirt and jeans and was wearing a new suit. Hanna had apparently asked if he had a job interview that she wasn't aware of. He said no and then nervously launched into a speech about what Hanna meant to him. At the end, Hanna said that he got down on one knee and proposed before their hors d'oeuvres had arrived. Hanna said that she started to cry and said that of course she would marry him.
Emily was so happy for her friends that eyes suddenly welled up with tears. She was very excited for them; they had had their ups and downs, but they always ended up back together. After Hanna told the story in great detail, she paused for a second. "Emily, I have a serious question for you." Emily stammered, "Um, okay—shoot." "I want you to be my maid of honor. I am going to ask Spencer and Aria to be bride's maids, but I want you to be the maid of honor. You have been there for me, literally, through thick and thin and your friendship means more to me than just about anything. If I'm honest, you're the closest thing to a sister that I have ever had."
As Hanna asked her this, Emily went from a few tears in her eyes to fully blubbering. "Of course Hanna, of course I'll be your maid of honor. You have no idea what that means to me." From the sounds coming from Emily's phone, it sounded as though Hanna had also started to cry. Hanna gathered herself and let her know that they were planning the wedding for early June. She paused for a moment, "So I have an even bigger favor to ask you." "Anything—what is it?" Hanna paused, "When I told my mom this morning she got very excited and started planning 'events'." Emily nodded, "okay…" "She wants to host an engagement party for us in Rosewood, two weeks from today. I tried to get her to push it out farther, but you know how she gets when she sets her mind to something."
Emily didn't hesitate, "I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'll talk to my boss and see if I can take that Thursday and Friday off so we can spend some time together before the party." Emil could hear Hanna beaming, "That's amazing. Of course you'll stay with us at my mom's house. I'll even make Caleb sleep downstairs so we can share my room, just like old times." Emily laughed, "I'm sure Caleb will be delighted to hear that. Actually, speaking of Caleb, is Lukas going to be his best man?" Hanna became quiet, "Lukas is going to be one of his groomsmen, but not the best man." Hanna was silent again, "I wasn't sure how to tell you this, but Paige is going to be his best man." Emily sat there silently; of all the things she had expected to hear, this was not one of them. She composed herself, "I wasn't aware that they were still friends." "Yeah, they got along really well in high school, and I guess that they kept in touch and have become pretty close. She moved back to Rosewood after graduating from Michigan. Caleb says that she's enrolled in a master's program at Hollis and is the assistant swim coach for Rosewood High."
Emily sat there dumfounded. Hanna stammered, "This doesn't change anything does it? You'll still be my maid of honor?" Emily shook her head, "No, of course this doesn't change anything. There is nothing that would stop me from fulfilling my duties as your maid of honor." Emily could hear the relief in Hanna's voice, "So explain what kept you from your phone for so long this morning." That snapped Emily back into reality as she realized the strangeness of having this conversation on a virtual stranger's couch. "That's kind of an odd story that is going to sound way worse than it actually is." "So now I'm intrigued, spill it Fields."
Emily attempted to explain the series of events that landed her chastely in the bed of a girl she had just met. Hanna started to razz her. "So you slept with a girl you just met? That's not very Emily of you." Emily tried to reiterate that nothing happened and that Mariana was also newly out of a relationship and was not looking to start a new one. Hanna continued to give her a hard time. "Is this Mariana cute?" Emily thought about it for a second, "Yeah, I guess she is." Hanna continued to press, "So what's stopping you? I think you should sleep with her." Emily interrupted, "I told you that neither of us want a relationship." "Oh serial monogamist Emily—you can have sex without being in a relationship." Emily rolled her eyes, "Whatever Hanna." Hanna persisted, "Wait a minute…are you telling me that you have never had a one night stand, or done the 'friends with benefits' thing?" Emily could feel her face going red. "No, not really. I've made out with a few girls at parties, but never anything more. It's not my thing." "How do you know it's not your thing unless you've actually tried it? Even tight ass Spencer has had her share of flings." Emily continued to shake her head, "Hanna, let's drop it for now." The other girl acquiesced, "I'm only going to drop it because my mom has left three messages on my phone since we started talking and I can see that she's calling again."
Emily let Hanna know that she would email her the itinerary once she gets her flights scheduled. After they hung up, Emily sat on the couch and attempted to take in everything that had transpired over the phone call—her best friend was getting married and she was going to be her maid of honor; she would be going to Rosewood in less than two weeks; and Paige, who she had not even spoke to in nearly four years, was going to be Caleb's best man.