The Rehearsal Dinner
Adrian Lee had arrived at LAX airport and had her picked up her luggage with a tall, dark and handsome young black man strapped to her side. She and Omar had been dating for the past year, and this was the first time she was bringing him home to meet all the family, and friends. He was a third year law student and they met at one of the mixers. She was looking forward to coming back for Amy's wedding and of course seeing Grace. Adrian had moved to New York City four years ago for college, and she had just finished her first year at law school in Colombia University. Four years had passed by quickly and she didn't regret going to New York education was always very important to her and she got to study at one of the best law schools. She even found making friends in college was easier because she didn't have that reputation that she got in high school, wasn't stuck with her. She learnt that she didn't need to put her guard up so much because at college people came from all different backgrounds and were just there to study the things that they were passionate about and make the most of it. There were was no need to be the Adrian drama queen but she still had her moments. College was definitely much better than high school for Adrian.
Grace Bowman had arrived home to Valley Glen, she was coming home for the big weekend from NYU, and she was going to study medicine .She was excited about coming home, but she would never get use to her mom marrying George again. It wasn't that she didn't like George, it's just he was very brash and offensive at times, but still well meaning. She also couldn't stand seeing her mom and George making out every five minutes. Amy and Ashley were even more against their father marrying Kathleen because they saw it as a betrayal to their mother and them. Grace was on better terms with Amy than Ashley, but Grace figured it was part of her personality she didn't let people in very easily just like Adrian who was her best friend.
While walking to the exit gate, in the airport Grace stopped in her tracks and smiled, as she saw Adrian heading out. Adrian caught Grace's eye too, and ran over to her best friend.
"Grace Bowman! Girl, where have you been hiding? We live in the same city and we hardly see each other." Adrian exclaimed, and hugged her best friend tightly.
Grace chuckled at Adrian's remark because every time Adrian had asked her to go out she was always too busy studying but she was really determined to get into a good medical school because it was her lifelong dream. Grace had met a few guys, but she hadn't had any serious relationships with them because she didn't want to mess around in college like she did in high school with Jack and Grant. It was so much easier being single, although Grace did miss the company of a boyfriend.
"I know, I know Adrian but this last year of pre-med was so intense, and I had to organise all these different applications for colleges. But I finally decided on NYU." Grace said proudly.
"Well Good on you Gracie, but I mean look at us there had to be a wedding in Valley Glen for us to catch up and actually hang out."
"Speaking of catching up, Your description of Omar didn't really do him justice, he's gorgeous! I mean seriously wow!" Grace exclaimed, while trying to whisper and be discrete but Omar had overheard her and just smiled. He decided to walk over with Adrian's bag and introduce himself and then the two girls just continued chattering away. Grace went over to Adrian's house before she went back to her home, and it felt like the old days where they would just sit in talk about everything. Omar had family in Valley Glen and he was staying with them but he would meet with Adrian later tonight for the rehearsal dinner.
"So are you looking forward to tonight? I think it'll be fun seeing everyone!" Grace said cheerfully.
"Yeah I 'm really happy for Ben and Amy, those two have always been in love with each other. They had that sickening sweet puppy love, that would make you want to hate them but you couldn't." Adrian said.
Grace laughed at Adrian's remark about Ben and Amy, Adrian had always been so abrasive about her opinions, and she certainly wasn't the mushy gooey romantic type.
"I think it's nice that they are high school sweethearts and they've stayed together all this time and now they are getting married. "
"Yeah, I guess it is but that rarely ever happens and in college the guys are so much better. There are so many to choose from, have you met single handsome future doctors" Adrian said.
"I did actually meet Jason at my orientation he's just finished his first year of medical school and was one of the tour guides at NYU. We talked to me about medicine and gave me good advice; it was nice talking to him."
"Jason he's Lauren's brother right? He was cute, and I mean he'll probably be at the wedding so you should go for it."
"Yeah I'll just wait and see, but after Jack and I broke up it changed my perspective on relationships, and everything, I just feel like I need to have sex to be in a relationship with a guy, because that's why they expect and I don't want to that." Grace said.
"Grace, I don't really know how to give you advice about not having sex because I like having sex and I'm not ashamed to admit it."
"I know and you're right but it's still so confusing for me" Grace sighed and went on painting her nails. Adrian knew that Grace tried hard to stick to her beliefs, but she sometimes wondered if Grace even knew why she didn't want to have sex before marriage. It seemed like it was something that was drummed into Grace, but she didn't know the reason for it.
Even though Adrian wouldn't admit it to Grace or anyone else for that matter, she had wanted that she and Ricky to be one of those high school couples that got married, but that was all in the past now Ricky had probably moved on, as soon as they broke up. She had to say that she did too, Omar was a great guy and he was willing to give her the life she wanted. She didn't like to let her mind to those thoughts in the past about her relationship with Ricky because it hurt too much.
Flashback to Adrian's senior year:
Adrian Lee was getting ready for her romantic evening with Ricky. They hadn't spent a lot of alone time together because of finals and everything. She had made dinner, for the two and wore her best lingerie for the night. The best thing was that her parents had decided to go away on vacation for their two year anniversary. Ricky had knocked on the door, and before she answered she straightened her dress and then opened the door. Before she said anything, she grabbed his face and gave him a long passionate kiss, he reciprocated and smiled but Adrian knew that something was up with Ricky. She could tell that there was just something which wasn't quite right about his demure but she chose to ignore it. After dinner, she motioned for Ricky to come into the bed room with her.
"Let's just talk Adrian, there is something I need to tell you" Ricky said cautiously. Adrian didn't like the look on his face, but she chose to sit down anyway.
"Okay so talk" Adrian said rather casually.
"Adrian…I ..can't do this anymore…I can't be the guy you except me to be….I should've done this sooner but we..just..can't be together anymore I'm breaking up with you, I'm sorry" Ricky said hesitantly, trying to try hide his emotions. Adrian was flabbergasted to say the least. She was speechless, trying to come up with something to say and understand why this was happening.
"Is this about New York? I told you I'm not going to school in New York. It's just a school, and I want to stay here with you." Adrian said sternly looking at Ricky straight in the eyes. Ricky sighed, putting his hands on his face.
"Adrian you're saying to me that you weren't excited to get into that school?! You've always wanted to go to school in New York."
"I want us to be together! Ricky why do you always have mess everything up? "Adrian exclaimed, and now she had tears rolling around her eyes. The truth was Ricky was getting scared, because he knew that Adrian would want a commitment somewhere down the line and he couldn't handle hurting her, he just didn't trust himself enough .He loved Adrian so much that it scared him, so he felt that pushing her away from him would be easier and he knew that she would know that which is what made breaking up with her so difficult.
"Adrian I'm not messing things up I'm just being realistic here. I don't want to be the guy that stops you from pursuing you dreams. You're always going to wonder what school is going to be like in New York and you can't just stay with me and except a marriage and kids because it's not going to happen, you'll just end up hurt and disappointed. You and I also both know that we can't make a relationship work long distance."
Adrian just stared with her arms folded "So do you really mean any of that stuff you said about wanting to me marry in the future? "
Ricky looked to the ground ashamed at himself, that he had do this but it was the only way to get Adrian to break up with him ;"I said that stuff because I knew you would be more willing to have sex with me"
Adrian nodded her and pressed her lips together and realised it was done, she was done trying make him change his mind because she was tired of doing that.
"Well, I guess that's it then, I guess you can go screw whatever girl you want now, not that it hasn't stopped you before. Goodbye Ricky" Adrian said coldly. Ricky, just looked at her eyes and he could see she was in pain but she was hiding it just like he was. He could read her like a book, but they were too much the same and that's what made them love so hard and hurt each other so much.
"Goodbye Adrian" Ricky said softly as he walked out.
The wedding rehearsal was going to at a restaurant by a lake side. Amy and her mother were busy getting everything ready for the night. They decorated each of the guests' tables with white flowers and gold candles. They also had little chocolates wrapped in gold on the tables for each guest. The décor was simple and elegant just the way Amy wanted it. The food was served buffet style, and there was a bar.
Amy wore a beautiful sliver sheer layered chiffon sleeveless chiffon cocktail dress and her hair was loose curled. It was seven o' clock and now the guests were arriving and Amy and Ben were greeting them at the door. First all the parents enter; Leo, Betty, George and Kathleen with John, Anne, Nora, Ashley ,Margaret , Shakur, Cindy and Ruben. Ricky later walked in with his date Clementine, Jack and Madison, Lauren and Frank, Adrian and Omar and Grace and finally Alice and Henry. The guests all took their seats, and chatted with each other. Adrian and Ricky avoided each other like a plague, they both just said hi to each other and carried on with their partners. They both would look at each other, from the corner of their eyes but then looked back down and carry on laughing and joking.
As Ben and Amy went to sit down, a perky red hair came in, she was bouncing up and down shouting out Ben's name like some fan girl. Amy narrowed her eye brows and looked at Ben when she saw her. Ben looked nervous but went over to greet Dylan anyway. Dylan's family were on Leo's clients, they always called up Leo for catering of meats to their events, and Ben had met her when he was helping at one of their events.
"Dylan, I'm so happy you could make it" Ben said.
" Aww, I wouldn't miss it Ben thanks for inviting, I'm sorry about the other day, I was just having a really rough time" Dylan said as stroked Ben's arm and he shifted uncomfortably away from her. Amy just stood there looking at her, with her arms folded and pursed lips, Ben looked up at Amy and immediately knew she was annoyed with him. Ben motioned Dylan towards Amy, so they could be introduced.
" Hi you must be Amy Ben's fiancé it's lovely to meet you, Ben told me so much about you and your son. You're so lucky to find a guy like Ben he's such a nice guy" Dylan said, as she turned to look at Ben and rubbed his arm again. Amy just glared at Ben, and then back at Dylan who was increasingly getting on her nerves. Ben ushered her to sit on the table with Adrian, Omar Grace and Adrian's parents. Adrian had noticed the way Dylan looked at Ben, she was quite familiar with that smile Dylan displayed when she saw ben. Adrian immediately shot a snide glare towards Dylan, warning her to watch it.
"Well it's great to meet you to Dylan, please come take a seat." Ricky looked up and dropped his fork when he saw Dylan, "Oh God" he muttered under his breath. Ashley sat across the table from Ricky and smirked at him, knowing all too well that Dylan had one of Ricky's regretful hook-ups in college. Ricky had been with Dylan the one time, little did he know though that she was a clinger. She would call him all the time and ask him what he was doing, and show up at his classes. Ricky had dodged her calls, but one day he had finally had enough and he picked up the phone and yelled at her. She began to cry and explained that it was her first time having sex, she had lied to him about it being a casual thing, and she really liked him. He felt really guilty for what he did and finally decided to make a real change for himself, in order to stop feeling so miserable and hurting others. Clementine was the first woman he had seriously dated since Adrian. She was beautiful, funny, smart and caring. He'd been dating her for a few months now and had not slept with her yet and the temptation to sleep with another woman was difficult to resist at times. Dr. Fields had said that the reason why he pulled away from having commitments with women is because he didn't trust himself to not mess things up, he said that committing to being a part of John's life was easy because that was a child who couldn't hurt him. It was true; he didn't have the belief in himself to fully stop cheating on a woman that he was dating. He liked being with Clementine though because she easy going and wasn't talking about getting serious or anything quite yet.
Clementine noticed Ricky's discomfort "Is everything okay? You seem a little agitated"
"Oh its fine, it's just my past creeping up on me" Ricky said, giving Clementine an assuring smile.
"Oh is it your ex-girlfriend being here that's bothering you." Clementine asked worryingly.
"No this doesn't have to do with Adrian; it's that red head, we sort of know each other". Clementine nodded and went back to eating her food; she knew Ricky's reputation from what other girls at college told her but she decided to give him a chance because she remembered him as a sweet kid from their foster home, and she could see he was a nice guy trying to figure things out.
On other side of the room Ben and Amy are sitting with their parents on the table. Ben puts his arms around Amy's shoulder and she shrugs him off and he looks confused.
"What's wrong Amy?"
"Nothing" Amy said abruptly without looking at Ben. Ben sighed and tilted his head back and sighed, he knew that something had upset Amy.
"Amy, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about inviting Dylan, but I felt really bad about her at the function I worked at, she's moved here recently, she doesn't have many friends here and some guy just broke her heart. She wants to be around good people and well I felt bad for her." Ben said sympathetically.
"Yeah and then you just had to go and feel sorry for her. Ben I think she's full of crap she was just standing right in front of me and started flirting you!" Amy exclaimed.
Ben just laughed at Amy, and kissed her forehead "Are you actually jealous of her?" Amy just gave him a cold glare, and scoffed at him. She then put her fork down and turned to look at him.
"Ben I'm not jealous I just don't like that some woman I don't know is flirting with you at our rehearsal it's rude." Amy said softly. Ben realised that maybe Amy did have a point, Dylan was being a little too touchy feely and it wasn't appropriate.
"Okay I get your point but we can just ignore her for the rest night, it's seems like she's mixing and mingling" Ben said as he turned to look over his shoulder at everyone else. Amy smiled and went back to eating her food, underneath the table she held hands with Ben reassuring him that she wasn't angry, and he smiled.
At the bar, Ricky is standing there ordering two drinks and Adrian comes from behind, he doesn't see her and almost bumps into her. He looks up at her, and says "Sorry"
She smiles and says "Oh no don't be, it's been a long time, how are you?"
"I've been good, and you? I heard you got into law school and that's great Adrian"
"I've been good too and thanks I'm really happy"
Ricky smiled and said "Well that's great Adrian, I'm proud of you"
"Yeah and I mean you've graduated from business, what are you doing with that?"
Ricky chuckled at Adrian's abrupt nature "Well, I'm working my way in the butcher shop; you know managing the place, since Bunny's retiring"
"Wow Bunny, I thought she'd work until she stopped walking"
Ricky shrugged and laughed "Yeah well I guess she just got tired of working for the sausage king"
"Yeah, I'm sure she is with her Mercedes"
"Haha yeah, too money much does suck" Ricky saw Clementine staring at him when he was talking to Adrian, he shifted his gaze away from Adrian "I gotta head back, but it was nice talking to you Adrian". Adrian just stared at him, and then pulled out of her gaze "Yeah bye Ricky, it was good catching up and I'll see you later I guess". Adrian turned away, looking saddened as she walked back to Omar with their drinks.
"What took so long babe?" Omar asked, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Those damn bartenders got the wrong order for I said I wanted a gin a tonic, not tonic water"
"That's alright babe, do you want come spend the night over at my place?" Omar asked. She smiled softly at him, and shook her "No not tonight I think I just wanna go home I'm exhausted". She looked over her shoulder and saw Ricky laughing and talking with Clementine. It was hard letting him go, even though she was with Omar who was a great guy. Later that night when Ricky got home, he worked on the time schedule for the employees and then opened his drawer to get ink for a printer. He rifled through his drawer in order to find the ink but he stumbled across some old photos. He smiled as he saw old photos John on his first birthday, at kindergarten and his first day of school and amongst the bunch there was a photo of he and Adrian at prom, and he just stared at it for a while before putting it away. He rubbed his hands over his eyes and closed his drawer and went to bed feeling more exhausted than he thought he was. Everything that happened what for the best he thought before going to sleep.
Grace went to bed that night after staying up and playing cards with Tom feeling more alone than ever. She saw everyone at the rehearsal all happy and loved up and she couldn't help but feel jealous. She knew that choosing to study medicine would take some toll on her love life, but at least she had good friends and her family. It was also nice knowing that she and Jason would be going to the wedding together, but Grace didn't want to think too much about it maybe he didn't feel the same way.
Madison and Lauren took Amy out for her last night as a single woman. They were both Amy's bridesmaids, and Ashley was invited but declined opting to hang out with Griffin instead. The three girls just went to one of the main clubs and danced the night away. Amy smiled at each one of her friends, thinking about how even though she and her friends grew away separately they didn't grow apart.