Just one quick note before the story;
Barb, it was you I was talking about at the beginning of chapter 10, because usually you do tell me when I mess up spelling which I love because I mess up a lot and I like to go back and fix it! thanks so much!
By the way, I was wondering, how many people reading this have seen the show Sex and the City?
And one nagging question I have been wondering about…I am so not knowledgeable of the lingo sometimes…someone tell me, what the heck is a Mary Sue?
All is fair in Love and War
There are many landmarks in the relationship timeline; the first date, the first kiss, the first time you have sex, your first fight, the first time you have make up sex, and then there is the first time your friends meet your boyfriend.
It actually came about in a way that was very New York. Erik and I had been sailing along smoothly; he was getting used to being out in public and he was building up a tolerance to other people's opinions. We were spending most of our free time together and I was actually beginning to wonder if it was time for us to reach another landmark in our relationship; moving in together.
It was a normal Monday evening; Erik was sitting at my table, his work scattered all over it trying to figure out how best to re design a certain angle so as to save the company ten days of labor, and I was reading my mail.
Bill, bill, useless letter from my sister in Rochester, bill…and then there it was; a wedding invitation.
"Erik said he does not want to go," I told Susan, Jackie, and Rebecca over dinner the next night,
"Oh no! You have to bring him!" Susan pleaded, "I am going to bring John, and since this is the first time any of you will be meeting him, it would really take the pressure off of him if you brought Erik, that way it would not be all about him meeting us,"
"Well, as much as I want to use my boyfriend as a buffer for you boyfriend, I don't want to make him come," I said as I sipped my cosmopolitan
"Liv," Jackie said, "If you want him there he should come with you; I don't think you are asking too much of him to spend an afternoon at a wedding; and besides," she smiled, "I want to meet him,"
"Me too," Rebecca offered, "You seem crazy about him and yet we still have not met him; you need the friend seal of approval,"
The friend seal of approval I thought to myself later; the point in a relationship in which you drag your boyfriend in front of your friends and wait for them to tell you if he is right for you or not. All and all it's a very important step; your friends know you best, and usually they are right about who is right for you.
I decided I would try my hand again at begging Erik to come with me to the wedding. Years of relationships have taught me one thing; timing is everything; so I waited until what I thought would be the perfect time, right after sex.
He lay on his back next to me and I draped an arm over his chest, "Erik, I need to talk to you about something," I propped my chin on his shoulder,
"What my love?" he asked me and he wrapped an arm around me; I laughed at his use of 'my love' and shook my head; he knew I thought it sounded corny and fake when he called me 'my love' and of course that only made him say it more,
"Erik, I really really want you to come to this wedding with me," I slid as close to him as I could,
Erik sighed and looked at me. He knew he would have to reconsider and go to the wedding with me; he felt in a way he owed me. I had given him everything he had ever asked for, a fact he was reminded of by the touch of my bare skin against his,
"Alright," Erik said reluctantly, "I will go with you,"
"Will you really?" I asked excitedly; and when he nodded and smiled I rewarded his courage at facing the wedding with a hard and passionate kiss, which led to more passionate sex. Afterward, completely exhausted, I fell right to sleep, smiling slightly in the knowledge that the man who was now holding me in bed was also willing to hold my hand at a wedding.
Elizabeth Warren Parker and Dwight R Munroe had been the 'it' couple of New York for as long as they had been dating; which accounted for about two months. He was a doctor with his own private practice and had been rich through inheritance anyway. Elizabeth was a writer for the Times, but she had informed everyone that after her marriage she thought it was time to start focusing on her family so she would be leaving her job; trader. Elizabeth had gone to college with me and Jackie, Dwight was a cousin of Susan's, and Jackie, who had just gone through a breakup, was taking Rebecca as her date.
So, one hot day in early August, I put on my light blue strapless Dior dress and my favorite pair of Jimmy Choo shoes and waited for the knock on my door. Well, I didn't actually wait, it was more like, I rushed to put on finishing touches to my makeup and hair until I heard the knock on the door and I knew time was up.
I opened my door to a fabulous sight. Erik stood, leaning against the door frame, wearing the perfect black suit and tie, and in his hand he held a single red rose. He gave me his most charming smile and handed me the flower.
I was caught between wanting to laugh and wanting to melt into a pile of love sick mush on the floor. Just when I thought the fight with in me would kill me, he grabbed me dramatically by the shoulders and whispered in my ear,
"You can laugh now," he was smiling; it was a game we had with each other. No matter how use to New York life Erik became, he still had a completely different view of romance than I did. He was old world charm and I was a New York realist; still, I could not help but appreciate the gesture,
"I am not going to laugh at you," I smiled, "I love it, thank you," I kissed his cheek, "Just let me put it in water; I don't want it to die while we are gone," I rushed off to see if I had a vase in my kitchen somewhere.
Erik stepped into my apartment and checked his Prada watch; we were going to be late, but he did not care. He would rather not go, but then again, I had practically begged him to come, and wasn't that what he had always wanted? Someone who would want to be with him? He smiled as he watched me put his rose in water to keep it alive. The only tricky thing with the rose was this; it reminded him of Christine. However, he thought, the roses he gave Christine always ended up forgotten on the ground. She had never appreciated it, she had not put it in water, not like I did.
He continued to laugh as he watched me; I could not find a vase in my kitchen, so I put the rose in an empty bottle of pino noir; something Erik decided that Christine definitely would not have done,
"Alright," I said, "I'm ready,"
"Olivia, you forgot your purse," he smiled and shook his head at me, pointing at my bag which was laying on the table by the door,
"Oh God!" I grabbed the bag, "What would I do without you?"
"Turn around," he said with a sly smile,
"Erik; not now," I laughed at him,
"Olivia, I am shocked, you know I am a perfect gentleman," he zipped my dress up the rest of the way; something I had not been aware needed doing,
"Thank you," I turned to face him; in my eyes he was perfect,
"Come, we are going to be late," and he took my arm and led me out of the apartment,
We arrived at the church and surprisingly, we were not late. In fact, it seemed there was something going on and the entire wedding party was waiting outside the church. I found Jackie, Rebecca, and Susan and John Grove standing outside the church.
This was my first look at John businessman Grove; he looked like he was ordered straight out of the perfect boyfriend catalogue, but then again; if he looks too good to be true, than he probably is.
"Girls, this is Erik," I introduced him and he shook hands with each of them, and then Susan introduced him to John. Erik had learned since meeting me that men no longer kissed woman's hands when they met, and so he committed no greeting foul when I introduced him to everyone,
Erik felt that his hands were beginning to sweat, he was nervous; he was outside, in public, people were staring at him; all in all it was his vision of hell, but not being able to stand something like this meant that he would always be alone, so he stood his ground,
"Pleased to meet you all," Erik said with a slight head nod,
"Why isn't anyone going into the church?" I questioned,
"Well, you know how it is hot enough outside to roast a pig?" Jackie said dryly, "The air conditioning in the church is broken and they are trying to fix it; and I think Elizabeth is losing her mind,"
"Or maybe it's melting," I suggested,
"Oh Olivia!" I heard a voice and I saw a white blur run toward me as Elizabeth greeted me, "You look wonderful!"
"So do you!" I cried back as I embraced my old college friend, "I can't believe you are getting married!"
"Oh Olivia, this is terrible! It's so hot my makeup is running and…"
Suddenly a woman dressed in a heinous green gown; the mark of a bridesmaid, rushed up to Elizabeth, "Liz, Mr. Rawson, the organ player, just fainted!"
"Oh God!" Elizabeth wailed, "Can they revive him?"
The bridesmaid shook her head, "He was old and we got worried so we sent him off to the hospital,"
"Oh God!" Elizabeth began to cry, "Now what am I going to do? I can't walk down the aisle without the wedding march!"
Erik felt the words welling up inside of him; he knew a lot had changed, but he did not think that the organ had changed, and to be honest with himself he wanted to play again. He knew that now was his chance, he could leap in and save the day and win the praise of everyone, especially me, or he could stick to what he always did and stand by and hope no one noticed him,
"You know," John spoke just as Erik was going to, "I know a musician, I could call him if you like,"
"Oh what a prince!" Elizabeth said, "Please call him!"
Erik felt ashamed of himself; there had been the perfect opportunity to show me, and himself, that he could function in public, and he had missed it because he had hesitated. Erik felt angry at his cowardice, how hard was it to speak up? And so, he thought maybe the game was not over yet,
As John took out his cell phone Erik made his play; "Actually, I play the organ, if you like I will play for you,"
I whipped around, "I didn't know you played the organ!" I said brightly, grabbing him by the arm,
"I wanted to keep a little mystery in our relationship," he smirked at me; and then he wondered how I would react if I found out just how much he was not telling me; like the fact that he had been transported to New York from Paris and from 1881 to 2005,
"W-who are you?" Elizabeth asked, looking at Erik for the first time and making a slight face at his face,
"Oh! Liz this is Erik Duval, he is here with me," I could not believe it had not occurred to me to introduce him,
Elizabeth nodded, "Well if you really can play…it would be a great favor…" Elizabeth did not look too excited about having a man with a face like Erik's involved with her wedding,
"It would be my pleasure Mademoiselle," Erik said, and I realized how charming and beautiful his voice could sound,
"Well," it appeared Erik's voice and his slight French accent were having an effect of Elizabeth as well, because her face cleared slightly, "If you are sure," she turned to her disgustingly dressed bridesmaid, "Kim, will you take him into the church and show him where to go?"
The unfortunate girl in the green dress nodded and motioned for Erik to follow her; Erik turned to me, "I will see you after," he kissed me swiftly and followed the ugly green beacon off to where ever the hell the organ was,
"Alright you guys," Elizabeth beamed at us, "I have to go and get married!" with this she scooted off,
The air conditioning fixed, the bride's makeup retouched, the grooms breath fresh, and my Erik in the front of the church at the organ, the wedding guests began to file into the church,
I walked between Rebecca and Jackie,
"Well, that give him bonus points in my book," Jackie whispered to me, "Knowing how to play the organ and saving your friends wedding from certain silence,"
"Honestly, I did not even know he could play the organ," I whispered back, and I wondered, if he had not told me that, what else was he hiding? Or was I looking at it all wrong? Perhaps he was not hiding things from me so much as I was still discovering new aspects of him. Since my second version did not mean relationship panic, I decided he was just a complicated man with many talents, all of which I was determined to find out.
Erik sat in the front of the church, waiting for the signal from the priest which meant he should start playing. He was taking deep, calming breaths; he had no fear that he would make a mistake; he knew he knew music like other people knew breathing; it was effortless and automatic. What did worry him were the countless sets of eyes which would be focused on his back.
He tried to tell himself that everyone would be looking at the bride but the situation remained nerve wracking for him; and there was something else on his mind.
When I had introduced him to Elizabeth, I said that "he is here with me," Erik thought; I had not said 'this is the love of my life and the only man I ever want to be with.' Erik knew that an introduction like this would not be give, but he had picked up on the word 'boyfriend' and he assumed that that was what he was to me. And the more he thought about it, he realized; I had never told him I loved him out loud.
At this moment, the priest made the signal to Erik put his long fingers over the keys in an almost reverent manner, he was truly excided about being able to make music again, and then he began to play,
Sitting in my pew, I listened as the loud, hauntingly beautiful organ notes began to rise from the long tubes; I had never heard anything sound so wonderful; I did not know what he was playing as the vomit green bridesmaids walked down the aisle, prelude to the bridal march I guess, but the music filled my head and all my senses until all I could think about was the heat of the room and my own personal desire to run to his side and let him take me right there on the organ; which was a bad thing to think in a church,
Erik had almost forgotten how much he loved to play the organ. As he let the notes lose to ring through the church, he remembered every time music had nurtured his tortured soul, much in the same way that shoe shopping tended to make me feel whole again.
For one twisted, sly moment Erik thought of forgetting the entire world around him and the wedding march and just pounding out his own tune, but the new New York side of him won out and he restrained himself.
Elizabeth appeared at the back of the church, arm and arm with her father, and Erik, at another slight signal from the priest, began the ever familiar wedding march.
After the ceremony, the happy couple jumped into their decorated mustang convertible and darted off to the reception. I shoved through the crowd leaving the church until I found Erik's side.
"You were amazing!" I grabbed his arm,
"You enjoyed it then?" he asked, still wondering why exactly I had not introduced him as a boyfriend,
"Yes! Why didn't you tell me you played?" I asked him as we left the church; I was still wondering slightly why he had kept information about himself back from me,
"It never came up," he said simply, which was a truthful answer; he had wanted to forget music and all it had meant to him, and so he did not want to think about it; it really had nothing to do with wanting to keep any information about himself away from me, but of course this was far too logical for me to accept,
We spotted Rebecca and Jackie standing with Susan and John Businessman,
"You played beautifully," Jackie complemented Erik as we joined them,
"You really do have a way with those keys," Rebecca commented, and I smiled; it looked like Erik was well on his way to being signed in with perfect boyfriend status,
The reception was going to be held at the Plaza Hotel, and we broke off into threes to take cabs to the site; Rebecca, Susan and John and Jackie, myself, and Erik,
"Where did you learn to play the organ?" Jackie questioned Erik in the cab,
"I know it is going to sound as though I am trying to be impressive, but I taught myself," Erik admitted; he supposed he could have said something else but he was in no mood to lie; he was still wondering; was I going to say I loved him? I had said that I was falling in love with him but it was not the same. He had never heard those ever so important three words directed at him and now more than anything he wanted to hear me say them,
"Wow! I couldn't even figure out how to play the harmonica," Jackie admitted, "Liv, do you still have your violin?"
I thought for a moment; I had played the violin in high school and then for two years in college before it became too much work, "I think so; somewhere; I think one of the strings is popped though; and I could never tune the damn thing without the tuning machine,"
"Why didn't you tell me that you played the violin?" Erik asked, momentarily forgetting his questions about the intensity of my feelings for him in the excitement of finding out I had a little music in me,
Suddenly I felt embarrassed; I had been thinking that he had been intentionally keeping facts about his past away from me just because he had not told me he could play the organ; I had forgotten that with all the millions of things people do, it is impossible to share them all,
"I guess it never came up," I admitted sheepishly, "I haven't played in years though,"
"Why did you stop? The violin is a beautiful instrument," Erik pressed, and I shrugged,
"It was too much, I had a lot of other things going on, and I didn't have time for it,"
Erik mentally re strung my violin and tuned it; I would play again, and I would tell him I loved him,
We stepped out in front of the Plaza Hotel, I put my arm through Erik's as we walked inside. As we walked I sensed the feeling of panic he was experiencing as we traversed the crowded lobby. Erik could not help it; every time he went out in public he fought an inner war with himself to hold his ground.
In fact, Erik felt he was in a constant battle with his feelings; he was always pushing Christine away from his thoughts; he knew he did not really love her anymore, but she was like an old battle injury, every now and then her memory stung painfully again. He also had to concentrate on not concentrating on what other people thought of him. It would be easier, he knew, to not fight everyday against his desire to be reclusive, but with out the fight he would not gain the victory; which was being happy with me.
Rebecca, Susan and John were already seated when we walked in. We sat down in the remaining chairs and then the fun began;
Elizabeth had seen us enter and she pushed her way over to our table, thanking Erik profusely before rushing off to take pictures with the rest of the wedding party,
"I guess it was a good thing you knew how to play," John the businessman said as he sipped some of the champagne which had been on the table already poured when we had sat down, "I never played an instrument myself, it always seemed that the guys in the band or the orchestra were…you know…dandies," And the I realized, we were dealing with alpha male guy here; it had been Erik who had saved the day at the wedding, and now John the businessman wanted to reassert his manliness,
Erik felt like he had just been attacked by a formerly friendly nation. There was no thought in his mind of appeasement; there would be no civil ignoring of the bomb John Grove had just dropped on Erik's head. He had just called him a dandy, which Erik knew was synonymous with a fop. Raoul was a fop, and there was no way in hell he was going to take being put in the same category as Raoul lying down; so he fired a counter strike,
"Really?" Erik dropped his voice to a tone of pure venom which sent a shiver up my spine, "I always thought that people who played instruments were…you know…talented and other people were…you know…jealous,"
This was the point in the fight in which your friends pull you apart before you tare your opponents head off,
"Erik, I need a drink," I said quickly, "Will you come with me?"
"You have champagne right in front of you," Erik sneered, still glaring at John Grove,
"I want to save that for later," I put my arm on his,
He knew he would have to forfeit the battle; as much as he wanted to destroy John Grove he had to honor the request of his ally. Erik and I walked to the bar; there was already a line so we had to wait,
"Erik, I know he is acting juvenile, but please please don't fight, Susan is my friend and I just want everything to go well today," I grabbed his hand and squeezed it affectionately,
He sighed; he had to abandon the war for love, "You should tell your friend that her man is an ass," he muttered bitterly,
"He's not; I don't even think he realized what he was saying; all men tend to think other men who play musical instruments are…you know…" I tried to explain this macho complex to him,
"Why?" he asked, bewildered,
"I don't know," I said exasperatedly, "It makes no sense because all women think it's very sexy," I took a step closer to him and straightened his tie,
"Sexy? Really?" Erik was amused, and he rested his hands on my waist,
"Yeah…" I smiled up at him, "Very sexy,"
Erik decided that if being civil meant being able to keep me happy, that was something he wanted to do. However, when we got back to the table, it became apparent to all that some serious diplomatic maneuvering would be needed to keep the cold war between Erik and John Grove from turning hot,
"Look Liv!" Susan shouted as Erik and I sat down, "Look what John just gave me," she held out her wrist to show me a sparkling Tiffany bracelet; giving Susan a bracelet like that was as good as a marriage proposal in her mind and so I understood why she was so excited,
"Well just because you are not getting married today does not mean you should not feel special," John kissed Susan on the lips and I think everyone else at the table rolled their eyes; he also took a large swig out of a beer bottle he had taken as one of the caterers passed by, "it's important to buy your lady something beautiful every now and then, don't you think so Erik?" his question sounded civil enough, but in his voice was a tone of challenge meaning did Erik have the money to buy me expensive jewelry from Tiffany's,
Erik thought for a moment; he needed to respond to the challenge while at the same time keeping things from escalating into an arm wrestling match, "I get her something every now and then," he said, planning to go further and explain the shoes,
"Well what did you do for her today?" John Grove challenged,
"Actually before we left Erik brought me a rose," I said; Grove was starting to tick me off,
"How charming," Jackie said sincerely,
"Romantic," Rebecca added,
"Just one rose?" John said with his eyebrow raised, and he finished his beer,
"Sometimes a small gesture is more meaningful," Erik said in a would be calm voice, "For instance, does Olivia tell you about those strange dreams she has?" he now addressed Jackie, Rebecca and Susan,
"Oh my God yes," Rebecca said, downing her champagne,
"Tell me you bought her therapy," Jackie said wryly,
"Actually I didn't think of that; maybe in the future," Erik teased me,
I smiled and hit his shoulder, "I am never telling you anything again,"
"Anyway," Erik continued, "Has she told you the one about the…"
"Pig people?" Jackie and Rebecca finished his sentence for him before they began to laugh,
"This is not happening," I said and I hid my face in my hand; Erik put his hand on my back,
"Well, I saw a necklace this street vender was selling with a pig pendant on it and I had to get it for her," Erik finished his charming little tale and Rebecca and Jackie laughed; Susan appeared uncomfortable, and John looked smug,
"You bought her something from a street vendor?" John said, taking a glass of champagne off of a try as a waitress passed by and drinking half of it in one gulp,
"Well, I also bought her those shoes from manolo something," Erik added casually,
"Oh Olivia loved those!" Jackie informed Erik, "She was practically bursting when she told us about them,"
"I was just glad she liked them," Erik said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders,
There was a brief cease fire in which everyone sipped their drinks. Erik had won a decisive victory; it was the Cuban Missal Crises of male rivalry, and Erik had come out smelling like a rose. He seemed wonderful with out trying, which he was; and John seemed like a pompous ass, which he was.
However, the armistice did not last long enough. John was about to fire the atomic question;
"So tell me Erik…because I think everyone wants to know, how did a guy like you end up with a woman like Olivia? I mean, the face…what is wrong with it by the way?"
This was below the belt; far below, and I felt like taking a swing at him myself. Erik felt the heat rise in his face as it turned red; this was the point in which he usually ran away and cried over his unfortunate deformity. However this time, Erik thought, he could not run; there was no retreating from this confrontation. He was on the front line and the enemy was before him and he had to shoot or fall,
"I was born this way; do you have a problem with that?" Erik added a new weapon to his arsenal; he had immunity to toxic remarks from slightly inebriated men. For the first time in his life, Erik looked at his face not as his problem, but as everyone else's,
"Oh look! That's Rachel and her husband; I haven't seen them in ages! Come on John, I have to introduce you to them," Susan had sat and watched long enough and now she finally pulled John Grove from the table and away into the crowd,
"That guy…is, I am sorry there is no other word for it; he is a douche bag," Jackie said dryly as they disappeared,
Erik did not know what a douche bag was, but it did not sound like a complement so he was pleased with the comment,
The battle was over; Erik had won and now the territory of the table belonged to us; Susan wisely kept John occupied in other parts of the room for the rest of the wedding. Dinner was almost enjoyable now that John was gone. Erik did not say too much, but he got along well with Rebecca and Jackie and I had no doubt that they liked him; I had no idea what Susan would say about him though.
After the meal, there was the customary first dance between the bride and groom. As Erik watched the love filled faces of Dr. and Mrs. Elizabeth and Dwight Munroe, he wondered if that was what he had with me. He felt that he was in love with me; but he was not sure how I felt. Erik knew the pain that had come from being set on spending the rest of his life with someone only to have them not return his feelings. He had greatly misjudged Christine; how could he tell if he had misjudged me or not?
I sat there oblivious to his inner turmoil; I thought that we were fine; it did not even cross my mind that I had never said the exact I love you words to him. The truth was, saying 'I love you' is usually awkward for a man to hear, and if you are not completely sure of the response it can lead to a ruined relationship. All this past information had me so screwed up; I did not even recognize the problem,
As I watched the newlywed couple, I wondered just how long it would be before Erik proposed to me. After Mark, I had not been sure that I would ever want to be engaged again, but Erik…I was not sure if it was all the wedding festivities getting to my head, but I knew that if Erik asked me I would say yes.
The first dance ended, and then every couple was allowed to go out on the floor. Erik did not even ask me if I wanted to dance; he simply took my hand and led me out among all the other pairs of dancing people. He was a skilful dancer; at least to a slow song, which was all we would dance to. I had not brought a date to a wedding that I had actually liked in years and the difference was amazing. Instead of the hollow, sad feeling that came with witnessing people who were more happy than me come together in matrimony, I felt hopeful, like that was what I was going to have…soon.
It was no surprise that in our blissful state on the dance floor in which Erik circled his arm tightly around my waist and I rested my head on his chest, neither of us saw it coming.
All of a sudden I saw a blur in the corner of my eye and then I heard Erik cry out in pain and anger. Erik had looked up just in time to see John Grove's elbow coming toward his eye on the marred side of his face, a blatantly unfair violation of a silent peace treaty; Erik stumbled backward slightly in shock and in pain,
"Sorry about that," John Grove managed to sound sincere and people around us stopped dancing to see why Erik had cried out,
Erik was holding his eye when I stepped back from him, "What's wrong?" I asked, concerned,
"John hit him in the eye with his elbow," Susan said before Erik could answer, and by the tone of her voice she was not happy, "John; you have to be more careful,"
Erik took his hand away from his eye and checked to see if he was bleeding, he was, a little bit. Erik felt like punching John Grove square in his smirking mouth, but he knew that by the rules of society, he simply could not deck him right there on the dance floor,
"Oh Erik, this is going to swell if we don't put ice on it," as much as I hated John Grove at that moment I was more concerned with Erik's well being, "Can you see alright?"
"I can see; I feel...fine," Erik stammered out; he did not feel fine; he felt like someone had hit him in the head with a hammer, but he was not going to admit in front of John Grove that he was hurt,
"Let's go home," I guided Erik from the dance floor without saying goodbye to Susan. I informed Rebecca and Jackie that we were leaving and I dragged Erik, who kept assuring me that he was fine, to the street and got a cab.
"Really Olivia, I am fine," Erik insisted when we were back in my apartment,
"Really? Than why is your eye the size of a tennis ball?" I demanded as I searched my freezer for something he could hold over his eye,
"It's not that bad," Erik maintained, getting up to check his eye in a mirror. He was shocked at what he saw; his eye was indeed swollen and the twisted skin around it was turning black and blue. Erik thought he never looked worse.
"Here," I found a frozen bag of corn and wrapped a towel around it and handed it to him, "Put this on your eye,"
Erik stared at me; he loved the concerned look in my eyes for his well being. He decided then that he had to know; he had to know if I wanted to be with him forever,
"Olivia," He began slowly,
"What is it?" I asked him,
"Olivia, I have to ask you something, only do not say anything until I am finished," Oh God, I thought, was he going to propose right now? "Olivia, you have never said…you never have said to me that you love me," I gasped slightly and I wondered how that was possible, but the more I thought about it the more I realized it was true,
"But I don't want you to think that you have to say it," Erik continued, still holding the bag of frozen corn to his eye, "Just tell me…" he wasn't sure what he wanted to hear me say that was not 'I love you,' but words from another lifetime came drifting to him, "Say you want me with you here, beside you,"
He looked so sad, so pleading standing there in my kitchen holding frozen produce to his face. It seemed so unfair, that a man I knew to be so wonderful always ended up getting hurt; there was only one thing I could say, "Erik," I wrapped my arms around his middle and stared up into his good eye, "I love you,"
Erik let the corn fall to the floor so he could hold me with both hands, desperately pressing his lips to mine despite the pain in his face due to his injury. Through his face had never felt worse, his heart had never felt better.
As for the rest of my friends; Rebecca went home with a groomsman, Jackie went home with a lot of cake, and as for Susan and John…
Susan ran out of the Plaza right after we left; telling John she would call him later. John chased her out to her cab, and as Susan pulled open the door it hit him, right in his groin. All and all, it seemed fair.