Out of The Box Regifted (24 page)

I look directly in her eyes and grin. “And what does Todd tell you?”

She laughs, “He doesn’t want us to see other people, and the thought of me dating or kissing another guy, makes him want to kick some you know what.”

I snicker, “I’m sure he said a few choice other words, but I’m sure he would do that. He’s pretty sweet on you.”

She smiles at my remark, “Aww Olivia, I know you’re his best friend, besides Tommy. I guess if you feel that way, that’s good enough for me.”

“Just hang in there. At least you’ve got school to keep you busy, and pass the time while they’re gone.” I pat her arm. “Oh did I tell you Ash is taking me to Paris?” I ask, with a happy face.

Her mouth drops open, “Uh, no ma’am, you did not…. Paris is the best! Have you ever been before?”

“I’ve never been outside the United States of America. Can you believe it?” I hold my arms up and snicker.

Her eyes light up, “You’re gonna love it. I’ve been several times with my folks. Lots of good food and shopping….it’s beautiful.”

Of course she’s been to Paris. Everyone has it seems, except me.

Kyra puts her elbow on the table, and rests her cheek on it. “Olivia? Can I tell you something?”

I look at her surprised, “Of course you can, Kyra. You can talk to me about anything.”

She nervously twirls her hair, “Well, it’s not about the wedding or anything. It’s actually kinda personal, and I’m kind of embarrassed to tell you, but…”

I take her hand across the table and lean in. “Don’t be embarrassed. You can talk to me about anything, Kyra, you know that.”

“Todd was the first guy I ever slept with; I mean, I was a virgin. I’d never had sex before, but it just felt so right to be with him.” She looks a bit apprehensive, as she waits for my response.

I raise my eyebrow, “And any regrets?”

“No. Not now, but at first I thought I’d made the biggest mistake of my life. I mean right after it happened, he was really angry with himself. He actually knocked a hole in my wall with his hand, and I think he was upset that I didn’t tell him before things got too far along.”

I shake my head, astonished. Todd didn’t tell me any of this, and I’m perplexed. She looks out the window, as she stirs her coffee, and the sound of the metal spoon going around and around in the glass cup, resonates in my head. Her thoughts come back to the table, as she resumes. “He kind of put the blame on me, and I actually thought after he left that night, I’d never see him again. It was awful, and I was so scared. He told me I should have told him, and not put him in that situation.” At this point, the woman in me has to interject. “Wait - he said
you
shouldn’t have put him in that situation?” I laugh, “Excuse me, but I thought it took two to tango.” I know Todd is my best friend, and I believe the story as he told it, but it’s so like a man to pass the blame. Kyra rubs her eyes and looks at me. “I was so hurt, because when he left, he didn’t say anything. I’d fallen asleep, and when I woke up he was gone; no note, no kiss my ass, nothing.” She waves her hands in a dismissive manner, “It’s like he waited until I fell asleep, so he could leave and not have to talk to me. I kept asking myself what I did wrong, and why he would just leave. I thought for sure he’d call me, but he didn’t.” She starts tearing napkins into little shapes and lining them up on the table, almost with an obsessive compulsive trait. She brings the pile of torn napkins into a circle, almost reeling them in. I wonder, as I watch her, if she doesn’t have some OCD tendencies. She exhales and turns her head to the side, popping her neck. “Days went by and I felt like the biggest fool in the world. I waited and waited for him to call, but he didn’t.” Shaking her head with a sad look on her face, she puts her head on the table. “I’d never been hurt like that—never. I couldn’t even go to class.” A tear falls from her eye and she quickly wipes it, as if she doesn’t want to display any emotion.

At this point, I contemplate telling her the side of the story from Todd’s perspective, but I opt to just listen and not betray the confidence he placed in me. Instead, I offer her my take on the situation as an outsider.

I touch her hand across the table, and give her a womanly look of solidarity, “Kyra, sometimes…” I take a deep breath and exhale, “A lot of times actually, men do crazy stupid things, not realizing how bad they hurt the ones they love the most. My guess is that he was scared, and felt bad for taking your virginity.” I fidget with my earring “Let’s face it; the girls he’s been with are far from pure, I’d safely venture to say. He finally met you, and I think with them leaving to go out on tour, it just got to him. Maybe he thought he didn’t have anything to offer you, in the way of commitment. I’d give him the benefit of the doubt. Just my gut feeling.”

She tilts her head back and puts her hand behind her neck, looking up at the ceiling and chuckles, “It’s weird, because one night, a few days after it happened, he just out of the blue called and said we needed to talk. It scared the crap out of me, because I just knew he was going to tell me that we shouldn’t see each other anymore, and that it had been fun.” She looks at me curiously, “I’m not boring you with this, am I?”

I look at her with a baffled look on my face, as I order us another coffee. “Absolutely not! I love hearing about the two of you. I know you’ve had some rough patches in the road, but I think it’s all been worth it. I haven’t seen Todd this happy in a long time. Listen to me rambling.” I laugh, “Finish your story. I want to hear.”

Her face is beaming, as she finishes the story of her fairytale man. “He came over and we talked. It was so emotional, Olivia; we were both crying like babies. He told me that he was scared, and that hurting me was not what he set out to do. We sat up all night talking, and he said he felt so bad for hurting me, and if he could take it all back, he would, because I didn’t deserve to be treated like that.” She has tears in her eyes, as she looks down at the table. “Whew! I didn’t mean to get emotional. Sorry about that.” She wipes her nose and sniffles. “He told me that he’s never felt feelings he feels for me before.” She puts her hands up to her mouth. “You know he wrote a song about it, don’t you?” I pretend not to know, “Seriously?”

She shakes her head, and with a smile proudly reveals, “Fairy Tale Man is about us.”

“I love that song, and I’ll have to admit, I was curious about the meaning of it.” I tell her.

“I feel so much better getting this off my chest Olivia, you have no idea. I haven’t told anyone, not even Emily. It’s kind of embarrassing.”

I know exactly how she feels, which is probably why I never told anyone about my first time. Hearing this from Kyra’s point of view, reassures me that Todd and Kyra care deeply for each other.

“Kyra, I’m so glad you shared that with me. I know that’s a hard subject to talk about, and I’m happy you feel comfortable talking to me. I think you’ve made Todd realize a lot of things; namely that life is not about casual sex, and that finding the right person can turn your life around. You’ve done that for him, you know.”

“Aww, thanks Olivia. That means so much. I really care for him, and I think I may be falling in love with him.”

“Well, here’s to happy days ahead for Todd and Kyra.” I say, as we clink our coffee cups.

The next week is full for me. I’ll be getting my passport, meeting with the caterer, the florist, and I desperately need to find my dress for the wedding. The RSVPs are coming in, and it seems everyone has responded they will attend. I’m so excited and can’t wait for May 4
^th
to get here. Tommy and the guys have been fitted for what they’ll be wearing. The dresses Kyra and Lainey will wear have come in, and are safely hanging in the closet with Emily’s. Tommy has asked a friend of his, Smash, who is a professional deejay and sound engineer, to play the music for the ceremony and reception. He and Emily have given him their music list, and even asked Ash what we would like played for cocktail hour, while they are taking pictures. Emily has opted not to do the first look photos, and I’m so glad. The real beauty of a wedding ceremony is watching the face of the groom beholding his bride, walking down the aisle, not having seen her beforehand.

***

Ash and I have chosen big band music for the cocktail hour; Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, and Michael Buble, to name a few. The rehearsal dinner will be held at our house, since the actual rehearsal will be here, and Reba told us that her gift to Tommy and Emily was to do the food for the rehearsal dinner. She and her friends will cook and serve everyone, and although Ash told her he wanted to cater it, she insisted on single handedly taking this on. I have no doubt this will be a fantastically delicious affair. She’s also offered to work the day of the wedding, but Ash told her he insists she come as a guest, and he will not tolerate the idea of her working during the wedding, and that she will sit with us on the family row. She cried when we told her, “Mr. Harper, Miss Olivia I would be honored to sit with you. Tommy has always been special to me, you know, and I love him as I love my own.”

The night of the surprise shower is here. Emily and Tommy come to the house to ride with us to Ellen’s, thinking we are just going for dinner. As we pull up in Ellen’s driveway, Emily sees all the cars. “Why are all these cars here?” Once we get to the door, they realize it’s a shower for them.

“Are you kidding me? This is awesome.” Tommy yells.

There are beautifully wrapped gifts on a large table in the living room. Ellen has certainly outdone herself. There are wine bottles on each table, and the label on each bottle is a picture of Tommy and Emily, along with the date of the wedding. She’s had koozies made for everyone that are brown, with the same font in Emily’s invitation. They read ‘
Shower them with Love’
on one side and the other side, inside a heart, ‘
Tommy and Emily
.’

Before we eat, Ellen makes sure everyone’s glass is full and she proposes a toast.

“To Tommy and Emily. You two are too darned cute, and we love you so much. We all extend our best wishes to you for lots of love, happiness, and lots of little babies one day.”

Tommy smiles, “No babies just yet, thank you very much. All in good time, though. Thanks everyone. This is awesome. Aunt Ellen, you’re the best.”

Todd stands up, looking surprised, “So wait... she’s NOT pregnant? Shit! I thought that’s what the fucking rush was all about.” Todd laughs, as Kyra playfully puts her hand over his mouth and everyone joins in the laughter.

Mariah finds her way over to me. “Olivia, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure thing. What’s up?”

“Well, Glenn finally called me back and we’re meeting for lunch on Wednesday. I think he may come to the wedding. I’m not 100% sure yet, and he said that if he did come, he wants it to be a surprise.”

Oh, do you think that’s a good idea? I’m not sure Mariah. Emily will already be emotional; do you think that will send her over the edge?”

“Well, Glenn said that as much as he surprised her by exiting her life, he wants to surprise her by coming back into her life. The more I thought about it, it’s not such a bad idea. Glen is a very complex man, Olivia. He has his reasons, and I think we should just let him go with it.”

I’m not sure it’s a good idea, but if that’s the only way we can get him to participate, we have to go with it. I just hope their lunch goes well, and that he’ll finally commit.

Tommy and Emily have gotten such nice gifts at the shower, and we take them back to our house. Todd is letting Tommy and Emily move into Grammy’s old house, and said Emily could fix it up however she wants to. She was worried about where she would live, once they go on tour, so it’s the perfect solution, plus it’s close to us.

Mariah tells me that her and Glen’s lunch is a success. He will be at the wedding, but left explicit instructions that his arrival should be a surprise. I’ve arranged for a car to pick him up from his hotel, and he has agreed. He is firm that this is how he wants it, so at the risk of him not being here, Mariah and I have agreed to keep his secret. I just hope Emily is happy to see him, and that everything works out. Mariah was unsuccessful in locating Hannah, and I’m so sorry we couldn’t do better.

May 3
^rd
is finally here; rehearsal day. Since Emily and I have last minute errands to run, Tommy volunteers to pick Lainey and Kellan up at the airport, and bring them back to the house to get ready.