No Boys Allowed

                                                                                    3

Both Natalia and Andrew looked to Elena. Andrew walked over to Elena's side and put his arm around her waist.

" Hey there, gorgeous, you havn't changed your mind, have you ? " Andrew asked.

Elena softly said " No " to Andrew and avoided Natalia's serious glare. Andrew kissed Elena gently and turned to Natalia. Andrew announced to Natalia that he had proposed to Elena and she had accepted and they would be married in Autumn. Natalia's mouth dropped open and her face turned pale white.

" Is this true Elena ? " Natalia asked.

Andrew came up behind Elena and gently put his hands on Elena's shoulders giving her the encouragement she need to say what she needed to say.

" Yes, it is. I love him and I want to marry Andrew. "

" Elena, you know this isn't right ! This is all happenning too quickly !" she said as the words seemed to spill out fast. " You have to come home with me and think things through. "

" Natalia, " Elena interupted her. " I've never been sure of anything in my life. He proposed to me. This is the most happiest moment of my life. Is that all you can think of to say ? Why are you so negative ?" 

Elena then turned to let Andrew take her in his embrace. Though Elena felt sorry for her at the moment, the emotion that motivated her was her love for Andrew. Natalia stormed out angrily, slamming the door as she left. Elena and Andrew just stared at each other for a moment and both of them considered going after her for a few seconds but Elena remained in Andrew's arms, feeling safe, warm and content.

Later that night Elena brought her her belongings to Andrew's place. She left a Natalia a note for her to call but she never did. She had felt bad for the way they had departed but her feelings for Andrew were much stronger. In time, she was sure Natalia would come around once she realized how happy she was with Andrew. By the time they broke the news to Elena's parents, they insisted that they fly out immedietly because they were understandably shocked by the recent turn of events that had occured in her life. As her parents got to know Andrew they saw for themselves how wonderful a person he was for Elena. Elena's father had all the assurance in the world that Andrew would love her and treat her right and he saw them exchange plenty of affection and noticed how they looked at each other with love in their eyes. By the time it was time for her parents to leave her father had welcomed Andrew into the family and Elena's mother was so exited over their upcoming wedding plans, she almost didn't want to leave. She had to urge her mother to get her on the plane. And when Andrew's parents met Elena they more than approved in his choice for a wife after getting to know her and were impressed by her intellect, kindheartedness, charm, wit and the way she expressed how she cared for Andrew. They could see that the love she had for him was real.

Soon Andrew and Elena were looking at houses to buy.

" We want a comfortable place, " Andrew said to Sally Kramer, the real estate agent. " But we also want a place that can grow with us, a place where we can raise our kids. " Elena kissed him impulsively right in front of the agent in a moment of bliss over what he said. She just couldn't help herself. She was a woman in love.

Thoughts of Natalia did come to mind from time to time in Elena's mind. Especially in the middle of all the ecstatic moments of pure happiness of being in love with Andrew, planning a wedding and buying a house together. Elena often wondered what had happened to Natalia since they parted on such bad terms. Instead of being the supportive friend she should have been, she had been angry and resentful thinking Elena was making some sort of mistake marrying Andrew on impulse. Her way of thinking is arrational concerning me, thought Elena. She should have been happy for me like any best friend would have been. It just seemed like she never gave Andrew a chance. Never tried to understand what her happiness with Andrew meant.

Elena's mother had informed her one day through a phone conversation that Natalia had gotten a summer job in town but had no idea if she had any plans to continue her college education. Her mother just told her she was just better off without Natalia's friendship because she seemed to be a negative force and she was glad she was no longer part of her life anymore. After hearing her mother say that Elena said nothing and concealed her true feelings which was she missed Natalia because they had once shared a close friendship for so long. She found herself daydreaming about Natalia coming back into her life with her own version of Andrew by her side. That would have made everything perfect.

After four months had went by Natalia actually did come back into Elena's life. Surprisingly, one day she arrived and rang like the bell like no time had passed. She was not alone.