You Saw Me

69

Gayle and I went out for coffee an afternoon, so I could ask her the question we all knew was inevitable. 

"Gayle, will you be my maid-of-honor?" I asked her as we sat down in a cosy corner in our local Starbuck's. I was pretty sure she'd say yes, but I still felt a little nervous she might say no. Henry and I still hadn't settled on what we wanted our wedding to be like or where, but we'd agreed that we'd make sure it would be possible to gather friends and family. 

Gayle looked at me, put her hand to her chin and pretended to think, long and hard. "Hmmm...", she said dramatically. I giggled at her, my arms crossed, waiting for her to answer. "Do we have a date yet?" She asked. "I might need to check my calendar..." She burst out laughing and hugged me. "Of course, you silly goose. Nothing I want more". 

I hugged her and had some ice coffee. I took a sip, and immediately felt like it didn't sit right with me. I put the cup down and shook my head. "I can't drink this", I said. Gayle looked puzzled and grabbed the cup and took a sip. 

"It tastes like iced coffee. What is going on with you?" She asked, her eyes soft and worried. "Have you started some kind of funky LA diet or something? You hardly eat and I hear you vomiting sometimes. You're not starving yourself, are you?" She whispered so no one would hear her. 

"No!" I exclaimed a little louder than I meant to. I lowered my voice. "No not at all. I've just been having trouble with food, I've been so stressed and nervous, and it's like my body is just not able to keep food in."

"Are you in any pain? Like does your stomach hurt?" She asked, looking worried. 

"I have a bit of a stomach ache, yeah. Might just be muscular, or something". I tried to calm her, but she was adamant. 

"You need to go see a doctor, honey. At our age, we can't take any risks. You remember Laura from College?" Gayle's voice cracked a little. 

I remembered Laura very well. She had been a friend of ours in college, not one of our closest friends, but we got along well. A couple of years ago she was having some health problems, mostly feeling tired and it had turned out she had a tumour. We went to her funeral six months later. I shuddered at the thought. 

"I know, I'll make an appointment, I promise Gayle", I said, feeling anxious again. 

"Oh I know you will, I'm staying until you've been there. I'll come with you", she squeezed my hand and nodded at me. 

***

Henry's single was about to drop. I didn't want to worry him about the talk Gayle and I had had, so I kept it to myself. I made an appointment with my doctor at the end of the week, and Gayle would come along with me for moral support. 

The PR team had been working on the launch of "You Saw Me" and it had been like an online treasure hunt for the fans. Henry's fans were incredible at finding information and putting clues together. A bunch of them would be an asset to the likes of FBI or CIA with their investigative skills. 

Henry was doing the interview with The Rolling Stone in the morning. The article would come out on their online site at midnight the following day and the single would drop at the same time. The PR team would post on social media with a link to the song on music streaming apps at exactly midnight. I couldn't really know what it felt like for him, but I imagined it was like an exam, and he would be waiting for the results. He was tense, even though he said he wasn't really worried. The song was very personal to him, and the only opinion he cared about was mine; which he already knew. 

He was sitting in front of me, his shirt off, as I rubbed his shoulders and neck. We were heading to bed early as he had an early start and I was exhausted. 

"Are you okay?" I asked him, rubbing the muscles on his back. 

"I'm fine, love. You?" He asked, turning to look at me. 

"Mm-hmm", I nodded. Truthfully I wasn't really feeling so good, but I didn't want to worry him. And I knew that as long as I was with him, I'd be fine. 

He turned around and laid down next to me with arms wide open for me to climb into. I snuggled up against his chest and held him close. He kissed the top of my head. 

"I was thinking about our wedding", he started. "What do you think about getting married on the day we met?"

I liked that idea. That would mean, we'd be getting married in May, but that was only a month away. "You mean May next year then?" I concluded. 

"No, I mean in a month", he said. 

I looked up at him, shocked. "In a month? That's fast! Can we even make that work?" 

"Sure we can. I just want to marry you, love. It doesn't need to be grand for me, unless that's what you're dreaming of? Then we'll go big!" He smiled at me, his eyes warm and lovely. 

I shook my head. "Not really, no. I kind of just want our closest friends and family with us. I don't need a church or priest or anything like that." 

"Me neither. I officiated Glenne and Jeff's wedding, you know? I was thinking maybe James could officiate ours?" He suggested. I loved the idea. 

"That's a great idea! Do you think he would do it?" I smiled at him. Henry nodded and kissed me. 

"I love our garden. We could get married here," I gestured towards our backgarden. "We could set up tables and decorate with fairylights and lots of flowers. It would be beautiful and intimate". 

Henry nodded. "I love that! I think we need to start right away, maybe we should get invitations out tomorrow", he chuckled.

"I'll look into it, you just focus on your interview", I kissed him and he pulled me closer, putting his hand on my bottom. 

"I'll focus on this first, if you don't mind", he made me giggle as he squeezed my behind and kissed me passionately.