The crack of hail against the window is jarring as Blair adjusts her veil and inspires her to promptly rip it off. Rain on your wedding day, what a blessing.
What a sign, she thinks.
Without thinking, she tears angrily at the buttons on the black of powdery sky dress. Outside, the storm angers and lets out a ferocious crack of thunder. The unmistakable sound of ripping pleases Blair as she frees herself from her dress, clad in her baby blue lingerie. Her something blue, something to be rued.
The cashmere sweater and pair of leggings of Serena's neatly folded on the nightstand are the only blessing today. They fit snugly and she stuffs her feet into her Bloch ballerina flats.
Outside, the hail has subsided and phased into rain drops, smattering her airbrushed face. She squeezes her eyes shut letting the gentle downpour wash over her, the cool reprieve against her hot cheeks. She realizes she didn't bring a phone or wallet. Her fingers touch the subtle pocket against her lower back, a sneaky design for Serena to tuck a credit card into on the way to hot yoga. Blair feels a stiff rectangle and retrieves the sleek card with a smile.
A cab in front of her stopped along the curb with the window rolled down honks. "You want a ride or not? You look like a drowned mouse."
"I appreciate you not saying rat," She says as she climbs in, swiping the card against the reader along the meter.
"You're welcome. Where is the emergency? Weather like this you must be desperate to stand out as long as you did." The cabbie asks with a soft smile.
"Williamsburg, please."
The cab driver looks amused but nods.
As the car lurches forward, a weight dislodges from Blair's chest and she lets in the first full breath she's taken all day.
The storm has caused the worst traffic Blair thought possible on a Sunday but the cabbie has his shortcuts.
As the car veers done another alley, her hands nervously clench and unclench. She imagines all the things he'll say when she reaches him in Williamsburg. The things he won't say. The thought of him not forgiving her doesn't stop her though. Instead, she sinks back into the seat until she's where she belongs.
Dashing out of the car, she manages a quick thank you to the cabbie. The slick soles of her flats slide through the puddles but she doesn't fall. Her feet push off the ground and launch her through the doors of the complex she had seen the last of.
At his door, her fingertips reach for the door handle before her mind remembers. Her left hand guides itself to the doorbell and that's when she sees the ring and flings it down the hall. Let someone else take it, pawn it, rid her of it.
Teeth chattering, the cold hits her all at once. The strands of her wet hair have likely wrecked Serena's best sweater and she frowns down, thinking what a waste if this was for nothing.
Afterall, what did she expect? It's not like he would have reason to stand on the other side of the door awaiting her.
Ten minutes go by.
Fifteen.
Then, she knows.
By the time she's outside, the storm is gone. A crack begins to split open her heart as the realization hits her. He's gone.
She wants to feel guilty for running out on her wedding. Wills herself to go back and beg Chuck to forgive her. But the sun is out now and as her heart breaks more than it already was, she knows this must be a sign.
Feet guiding her back east, she decides to walk as far as she can until she reaches the subway station. For old time's sake, she tells herself.
'There's no way I'm going down there. It smells like mustard and BO.'
'How would you know if you've never been?'
'I just know Dan, some things are instinct.'
'Yeah I do know,' his lips catching hers.
Two blocks go by and there's a rainbow behind her. She catches a glimpse of it in the window of a mirrored building. Turning, her legs carry her back the way she came. The noise of cars rushing after being stuck in gridlock fills her eardrums.
At the corner of his block, she draws breath - looking at the pastel sky and saying a prayer to a god she's certain will not forgive her for the sin she committed today leaving a man at the altar. But she prays anyway.
When she looks ahead, his building is just in sight and the sidewalk empty, that's when. That's when she sees his face.
"When?" She asks in wonder as they reach one another. When did he decide she was worth looking for in the rain. Because certainly, that's where he's been.
"When I woke up in the morning," Dan says. "I went looking for the bride and didn't find her. They stopped me at the front gate and told me I was too late. I was walking around Williamsburg all afternoon with a broken heart. But I suppose I was only too late because she was out looking for me. So for you, when?"
"When it was sunny then storming." The first smile of the day breaks open on her face "Every day I waited for a sign. It came in the form of a magnificent storm that made me realize the only sign I needed was the incessant voice in my head telling me I was a fool."
Blair fights the urge to shut her eyes to rewind time to the moment she told him she had to leave - the moment she wrecked it all.
Forgiving hands entwine hers and she feels his fingertips trace her ring finger, relief filling his face as he finds no ring.
"Did you walk in the storm?" Dan's touch reaches her damp hair and smiles wryly. "You look like Cat in Breakfast At Tiffany's."
"I feel it. I've felt so alone and lost." Glancing down, she admits the feeling that's been with her since the moment she last walked out of his apartment.
"I know." He grins. "But so was I."
"Maybe I just wanted a Breakfast at Tiffany's ending?" Blair looks up hopefully. "I needed to make a mistake to know where I belonged.
"I don't want an ending, Blair." Dan's tone is gentle but firm. "I want a beginning."
"I can give you one, I promise." The hand at the back of her hair pulls her nearer and she closes the distance. "If you can forgive me."
"I already did."
"When?"
"When I saw your face."