Chapter one, Meet cute #2

They found me, it almost took a week but they found me, no credit is due to them, however, they found me because I couldn’t run anymore, I was weak, I was tired, I was alone, and I came to a predictable safe place. My eyes were sallow, puffy and red, my speech was slurred from dehydration and exhaustion, I’d only eaten junk food for 6 days and even then, the amount was minuscule in comparison to my normal diet. I heard a loud vehicle behind me, the heavy doors to the ambulance shut and my body stopped fighting, I came to a halt and I felt myself drifting to sleep now, my vision blurred as bodies approached me and I began to fall, whether or not I was caught, I’ll never know. 

I awoke to bright lights and a raging headache, my tunnel vision slowly faded as my eyes adjusted to the room around me, my head was heavy and I could barely feel my body, I looked toward the door and saw a barrel-chested and tall body pacing, a phone held to his ear and a hand scratching his head, I wondered where my parents were, I wondered if this was a game injury but I couldn’t recall anything, I realized it was my uncle Ty in the hall and my reality set in... I  was startled awake from a bad dream as my alarm was going off; “On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?” My iPod was completely in tune with my mood this morning and the answer was yes. I threw myself out of bed to get ready for today's big event, curled my hair, picked out stilettos, a killer outfit and a beautiful mauve rose lipstick, I had a great feeling about today. I headed for the door with my shoes in hand, my phone rang just as I made my way out the door and I juggled my belongings into security before I answered. 

“Hello? OOF!” I stumbled over something slick and dropped my purse, and just as it would be for me, anything that could fall down the stairs did. 

“Winnie? Honey? Ya there? Everything alright? Did you get the package I sent you??” I turned to stare at the box that caused me to drop everything on the floor, I sat next to my doorway in utter defeat before I answered. 

“Good morning Aunt Tess, yes, I’m here, I got it but haven't opened it yet and everything is fine.” I tried to sound thankful and not upset, I didn’t have the heart to tell her she’d just ruined my happy morning. We chatted for a few minutes before I made the “I’ve got to get to work” excuse, which wasn’t a lie but I had more time than I made it sound, mostly because I had plans to stop and get coffee on the way. I gathered the items that didn’t roll away and threw them into my purse, picking up the box before heading down the stairs to find the runaways. As I made it to the lobby front doors I leaned my back on the door while I bent down to put on my second shoe, forcefully throwing the door open, I was so focused on opening the door and putting on my shoe that I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings, neither was the gentleman who I just threw my body into. He was part of a group of men walking together on the sidewalk, five of them casually dressed in jeans and t-shirts but going somewhere together. I stumbled when our bodies collided, his arms caught me against him and steadied me before he backed away. For the second time today everything I held in my hands crashed to the ground. “Pardon me, Ma’am, I didn’t mean to �"“ I heard him pause as I was brushing my hair back, I looked up and laid eyes on a face I hadn’t seen in years, but not the face I remembered. 

“Winnie?”

“Jay?” 

We were both stunned to see the other; here, anywhere, ever. 

“Winnie, how have you been??” He excitedly asked me and quickly embraced me. Before I could answer, the group of men he was with finished picking up all my fallen crap and realized I was no stranger to them, either. “Winnie? Oh my gosh, Winnie!!” They all rushed over to engulf me in a familiar group hug as Jay just stared, I wanted to believe he was happy to see me but deep down I knew that probably wasn’t the case. 

“Hey! Tony, Manny, Mitchel, Dean, wow you guys are all still together eh?” We momentarily joshed each other and then everything, everyone fell silent. 

“Have you been here, in Texas, this whole time?” He politely inquired without bringing up ‘the thing’. 

“No, actually, just a few years, I’d love to catch up but I’m on my way to work and its a really big day today…” I wasn’t lying but I really didn’t know what to say here, so I used the only out I had. 

“Well can we walk you to your car?” He was anxious to keep me around I think, perhaps he wanted to confront me. 

“Sure, I’m just in that lot over there though so it's not far.” 

“I’ll take it. Can I carry anything for you?” He didn’t outgrow his manners, I didn’t really want him to help me but I didn’t want to be rude either. I nodded and silently handed him the package I was holding from Aunt T. His friends, our friends, followed along at a distance, knowing he probably wanted a more private conversation with me, I couldn’t decide how that made me feel. He only had time for a few questions so he got right to it. 

“So… What do you do for a living, Winn?” 

“I’m a, an event coordinator and occasional motivational speaker…” I sounded so ridiculous to myself, a motivational speaker who can’t even call up an old boyfriend and apologize for ghosting him… A few more steps and we made it to my jeep, I opened the driver side door to set my purse inside before taking my box from him and setting it on the passenger seat. 

“Winnie,” He softly spoke as I turned back toward him. “Please let me see you again; lunch, dinner, baseball game, I don’t care, just to talk and visit.” 

There it was, the conversation that was inevitable that I didn’t want to have or even think about. I pursed my lips together, thinking about what to say. 

“Jay, Jaysen, maybe I don’t have the right to call you Jay anymore… I uhh… mmm.” He stepped closer to me, not to be overbearing or to control the situation, but to look at me closely, to read me. “Just dinner, I’ll leave you alone forever after that if you want, but just dinner.” I nodded yes and grabbed my purse of the driver's seat; “My office number is the easiest one to reach me at, email is fine too and they are all on there, my assistant will make sure I get the message.” God. I sounded so cocky. ‘My assistant’. Nothing about my personality had changed. He twiddled the card in his hand and slipped it in his back pocket, he grabbed the tips of my fingers and pulled my hand up to his mouth, kissing the top of it, he pulled my car door open further with his other hand as our hands pulled apart, I stepped inside and he closed the door for me, stepping back while I pulled away, I saw him turn toward his friends in the rearview mirror, I imagined they were making all the immature noises they made in high school, after we kissed or parted ways, perhaps with more adult inquiries now, but perhaps not… 

I arrived just on time, my assistant met me with the agenda and a tall coffee, we breezed through all of our pre-show prep in a matter of minutes, and now we wait. I leaned over the railing that overlooked the lobby, looking down at the arriving guests; hopeful brides, overbearing mothers and clueless grooms, all was normal. Except not. Suddenly my heart jumped into my throat and I quickly turned around to run and hide in the bathroom, Jay and all the guys showed up with three other women and I grew nauseous; Was he a best man? Was he a groom? Why would he ask me to dinner if he was the groom? Surely to confront me… a rock grew in my stomach just as my 10-minute warning alarm went off on my phone, this was not good. 

“Deep breaths, it is just a normal day, he is a client, treat him like one.” 

I tried to talk my nerves down as my assistant knocked on the door; “Ms. James, are you there? It is time to begin.” I looked myself over in the mirror one last time and quickly opened the door. “Yes, I’m here, let's go!” She seemed puzzled by my fake smile and obvious frustration but didn’t question me, now anyways. 

The announcer began speaking, as a few of the wedding dress models went to stand along the runway, turning and posing dramatically amongst the onlooking wedding groups, he explained how the morning would go; a brief fashion show to showcase the surrounding bridal boutiques, Q&A with three of the most popular event coordinators available to them (one of them was me), and finally a vendor walk through the hallway, where DJ’s, Bakers, Bartenders, and Florists, to name a few, would be showcasing their packages and price lists. I shook a little as his speech came to a close and my introductory queue passed, I took a very deep breath before walking out from behind the curtain and forced myself not to find Jaysen’s face among the crowd,  which was impossible since they were in the third and fourth rows before me. 

I gave a quick rundown of what an event coordinator does and how it is beneficial to a bride and groom on their big day, I introduced the other two coordinators who would be joining me this morning to answer questions and I congratulated all of the happy couples and surrounding families. 

The Q&A portion was given a green light and as usual, the brides jumped right in, hands flew up at lightning speeds and we quickly weeded out type A brides from type B. We worked in the same order and called on as many people as we could from different sections of the room, I tried hard not to seem like I was singling out the front left corner but I absolutely was… I saw Jay’s friends; my friends, whispering in his ear, his face was happy but serious, it wasn’t my turn to answer the questions thankfully because that group of people was just selected to ask the next question. Manny stood up to speak and all the pieces fell into place, the woman next to him was smitten and her finger was graced with a massive rock, I sighed in relief that it wasn’t Jay… “Why do you do what you do?” My eyes widened slightly and I quickly reset them, I didn’t even know how to answer this question, so glad it wasn’t my turn. Peppy Jamie Lane ruined that for me though. “I think that’s a marvelous question and we should all answer it for you!” I secretly wanted to punch her in the face. She told the most ridiculous story about her dreams of being a beautiful bride and the flowers she would pick and the dress she would wear and blah blah blah and running around the house as a little girl with a white pillowcase on her head as her veil, I wanted to vomit, a few of the audience members probably scratched her name off their list based on the faces they made, I was amused. Shelly Raye told this simple and sweet story about finding the love of her life and wanting to pass that perfection on to someone else. I stumbled on my words at first, I really didn’t know what to say, the truth, however, was this; “I watched my father love my mother fiercely, I knew he would give her the world if she only asked, but she never did, she just wanted him. They eloped just a few months after meeting and that was enough for them, the control freak side of me could never wrap my head around that and I realized that while some brides are okay with simple, and there is nothing wrong with that! Some want the flair, some want the elaborately arranged flowers accompanied by magnificently sized cakes and a dress train that reaches heaven, and since it really should be about the bride and the groom and their undying devotion to one another, it is my job to ensure their focus is on each other, not the lighting or the music or the late vendors, just each other. So no matter how big or small you want your special day, I will be there to ensure its exactly what YOU want.” The crowd was silenced at my answer, it quickly grew awkward for me until Jay started clapping, the room filled with applause and he stood up to exit the row he was seated in, I watched him walk away as we finished up the Q&A, hoping what I said didn't somehow set him off bitterly.

Once we were done I darted to the nearest bartender table and paid them for the tallest glass of available champagne, the crowd slowly filtered themselves in the hallway and I downed the entire glass before turning to engage with potential clients. My assistant met me with my clipboard that held my client application sheet and contracts to hand out to serious inquiries and I handed them out sparingly since its very calendar dependent. I glanced around and didn’t see Jay or the guys and I wondered if they slipped out, perhaps they wanted to avoid me at all costs. Valid. A light tap on my shoulder caused me to turn and my eyes settled on Manny and his bride to be, she pulled me in for an unwelcome hug and introduced herself, she poured out her gratitude for my heartfelt answer to the question she prodded Manny to ask and told me how she would just LOVE for me to be her wedding coordinator, she said she knew Manny and I were friends in high school and while I hoped that Manny tried to sway her elsewhere it seems as though she was a woman who gets her way. I politely thanked her for her interest and gave her all the necessary information, I could always say no if there was a conflict in my schedule right… I felt a little selfish with that thought. She hugged me again before dragging Manny to a table to fill out the application, Jay slowly approached me as the guys ran off to taste cakes and wine. 

“So, twice in one day, I almost feel like a stalker.” He flashed a smile and I immediately reminisced, I laughed lightly and looked down at my feet, I didn’t know what to say. “How about that dinner? Is your evening open?” Of all the nights he could ask for tonight was the absolute worst night for me this week. “Oh, Jay�"sen, I’m sorry its girls night tonight, my best friend just had a bad breakup and I’m heading to go get obscene amounts of wine and chocolate after this…” I wasn’t lying this time, in fact, I was a little disappointed I wasn’t free. I had an idea. “How about brunch? Tomorrow? Eleven-ish? There’s this great little bagel place near my place and we can meet there?” His eyes slowly shrunk into a squint and I knew where this was going. 

“How about I meet you in your building lobby and we go together? Does that work for you?” I knew he was only trying to be a gentleman, that had always been his way, I smiled and lightly nodded yes. He slowly leaned into me, he wrapped his arm around me and rested it in the small of my back, his lips met my temple with a soft kiss and he whispered; “I’ll see you tomorrow, Winnie.” His words were soft and gentle, I still wasn’t sure what was going on; is he over it? Will his anger emerge over pancakes? Am I walking into a trap or does he just hope for closure? I suppose I’ll never know until I go, I owe him at least that. 

Vendors began cleaning up, guests were leaving rapidly as they made their way to the end of the hallway, I stood near the front doors talking to a colleague as everyone exited the building. A few brides made cliche remarks like “See you at my wedding!” and we politely and excitedly shouted “OKAY!” no matter how awkward it felt. 

Out of the corner of my eye I saw the guys walking toward me, everything felt so normal and I wondered if they would include me in our old goodbye ritual, Manny’s fiancé didn’t seem to know the whole story so its possible they’d leave me out of it this time and that was fine too, but as Manny approached me, holding his girl on his left side, his right arm reached out to me and my body answered as if no time had passed between us all. One by one we all did our famous handshake from high school, a regular nothing special handshake, turned thumb hold, turned fingertip release to triple snap drop. It was the epitome of lame but it was us, it had always been us. Jay wasn't with them, he was already waiting outside, the handshake didn't feel quite complete without him but since he normally kissed me afterward, it was probably best he wasn't involved...