two stars of the same constellation

26

Astounded by the recent series of revelations I can feel my senses becoming extra aware of every little thing happening around me. My heartbeat works itself in sync with Joseph's incoming footsteps towards me. I give him a bigger than usual smile and act as if we were meeting for the first time ever, "Good evening, Mr. Joseph Garfield, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. That was a great speech and let me formally welcome you to our firm. I really look forward to working with you but for now, I must go have a word with Pam about... to new beginnings," I don't wait for him to respond and turn quickly to leave, my brain repeating one signal again and again: abort mission!

I pick up my dress so I can run away, literally, from this mess I had caused. Why did he have to be the one, ugh? Before I can make my escape, I feel a strong arm pull me by the elbow and I shut my eyes in defeat. There was no way he was going to let this go so easily. "Not so quick, Ms. Adira. That is your real name, right?" now that I had no other way but to confront the misunderstandings, I decided to put on a brave face anyway. "It is, Mr. Joseph Garfield. That is your real name, right? Or should I call you Garry?" I give him a sarcastic smile which fades away quickly because instead of being offended his grin suggested that he was amused. Oh, he was enjoying this. I shake my head and sigh with relief, this wasn't going so bad after all. "And what kind of a name is Garry? So boring, for all the story you cooked up I wish you had picked a better name. Garry? So plain, meh," I say in-between nervous laughs once I find myself a little relaxed but I stop all of a sudden when I find him staring at me with no look of amusement at all.

"My father's name is Garry. Garry Garfield. I never realized it was plain. Or bland either." He looks dead into my eyes and I feel my soul leave my body. How many blunders was I going to make tonight?

I stutter continuously, unable to form a sentence that would fix the situation. Should I just leave the party and never return, I think to myself, but I'll have to face him in the office anyway. "I love Garry," the words just jump out of my mouth and I shut them with both my arms physically when I see the surprised look on his face and realize what I had just said. "Not your father Garry. I mean I'm sure he's a great man but I don't mean I love him that way. The name Garry is just so great. Supreme," I cringe at the word vomit that comes out of my mouth. "Adira, stop." He raises his arms and squints at me, "You don't really think Garry is a great name, do you?" I shake my head in a defeated no. "Great because I would've judged you a little maybe for that opinion, no offense to any Garry's though." When I still don't say a word and stand there with confusion written all over my face he goes on, "My dad's name is Eric. There's no Garry in the picture, relax." By this point have had just too much information, "you made all that up for a joke. You know, on any other day I would've probably laughed at this but I've had a long and tiring day today and I really need a drink. Goodbye Joseph, I'll see you in the office." I roll my eyes and head to the bar. This party needed a revision.

I stand at the bar and order another martini. I shift from one foot to another, I'm tired and my feet ache but the bar is crowded and there's no place to sit. Just as the bartender hands me my drink I feel a 6ft presence beside me. I take in the smell of familiar cologne that makes my body wiggle a bit and I don't have to look over to know who it is. I finish my martini in one go and give the man beside me an unpleasant frown as the vodka burns my throat, "Would you like to buy me a drink?" I asking him as I flirt with him mockingly. "One scotch, single malt and another martini for the lady please" he leans over the bar and points at his drink. "Now that I'm being a gentleman maybe we can start fresh?" he flashes his grin again.

With drinks in our hands, we walk to a quieter place away from the crowd. There's a certain hesitation from both of our sides, did we drag the pranks way too far? I sneakily steal a look at him as he holds his scotch in one hand and traces the rim of the glass with the thumb of the other. I can see he's nervous too. He is having second thoughts about coming here with me? A sudden surge of confidence hits me and I finally decide to end the awkwardness, "So, why Garry though?" He looks at me coyly and we both burst into laughter.

"I knew you were the one who was supposed to come to get me and escort me to the party when you told me your name. Now I could've just introduced myself properly and put an end to your misery but then where's the fun in that," he finally comes clean to me. "Yes, no fun at all," I roll my eyes. "Oh, come on, don't lie. Are you really saying it was no fun at all?" I look at him as if it was even debatable. "Not even the rooftop part?" he leans in closer and I let out an involuntary gasp at the closeness to which his head falls back laughing. I push him away, blushing thoroughly. "Am I making you blush too much for one night, Adira? Anyway, where was I, oh yes about the name. I had to think quickly and the first name that came to mind was Joey but that would've been too obvious, you would've guessed it right away if confronted I wouldn't have lied to you" a sudden seriousness sets in his eyes as he studies my face making sure I knew he wouldn't lie to me. This set a burning sensation within me and I unexpectedly felt a certain relief. I give him a knowing smile and a slight nod. "So, Joey was a no and I needed another alias asap. Hence came Garry from Garfield. I didn't like it and I knew you would definitely hate it so it was a perfect choice," he nudges at my elbow as if he had just revealed some big evil mastermind plot and to hear from me how great it was but I just can't control my laughter anymore.

He joins me and we both poke fun at each other when we hear faint noises from the party as the DJ invites everyone to the dance floor, half an hour to midnight. We look at each other at the exact same time, pick up our empty glasses and head in for another drink before we have had enough alcohol to lead us to the dance floor. All the awkwardness and shyness have left and there's no room for embarrassment between us anymore. The floor is crowded and I drag him to the center. Courtesy of the music that hits me right where it should and the alcohol that makes everything so much more fun, light, and easy, I throw my arms in the air and lose myself to the beats. In between serving moves left and right, hitting the beats and missing way more of them, I look over at Joseph who's just standing there with only his feet doing some movement. "What are you doing? Actually, why aren't you doing anything?" I laugh at him, "do not call that dancing, at its best this is stomping." He looks at me with a bleak expression and I take his arms and give him a swirl at which he bursts into laughter. He says something that I can't hear over the loud music so he leans closer. My brain chooses to ignore whatever he says next as warmth rushes into my body again. I pull him closer and make him move along. By this time, I can feel my speech slur a bit towards the end of sentences and it doesn't help that I feel really tired too. Now that we are closer, I finally ask him, "Why didn't you wait for me?" there's a certain agony in my tone and I know he can see it on my face too because he looks at me with concern. I realize how I must've sounded and add further, "Why didn't you wait for me at the hotel? I was coming to get you." As I complete the question his face relaxes a bit, "I don't like being late. And I hate when I have to wait for someone so I thought I'll just come in myself and meet you here. And see I found you, didn't I?"

"But you didn't even pick the calls I was..." I say but something better crosses my mind. "Am I your girlfriend!" I put my hands around his neck and look him in the eyes brazenly. My confidence was at an all-time high and my nervousness was at a record-breaking low. He looks at me mischievously, "usually there are a few steps involved before two people get there. Dates, dinners, texting, you know. Are we planning on skipping all those and sealing the deal already?"

"No, not that. There was a woman. There was a woman in your room when I got there. She asked me if I was your girlfriend, actually, she asked if I was your wife later. It was unbelievable," I laugh as I recall our meeting. "Oh, you met her," this time he's the one blushing. "She's just someone I met on the plane. She was sweet too; Edith was her name. She too is not my girlfriend either, by the way," he leans forward and tries to clear the air. Oh. Was I jealous?

Right then the DJ starts the countdown and I lean into Garry's chest and smile when he wraps his arms around me keeping me warm. I sniff his cologne and rub my nose against his chest like a baby, "Garry." "Hmm?" I hear him ask. "I'm going to continue calling you Garry. It doesn't suit you at all but it'll be our inside joke," I chuckle as the crowd shouts the numbers backward.

3...., 2..., 1...

I look up and find him grinning. He raises his eyebrows and I know he's thinking what I'm thinking. As the crowd erupts into cheers I stand on my tiptoes and he leans into me as we kiss at midnight stepping into a new year.

New beginnings...