ʜᴇʀꜱ | 𝔼𝕞𝕞𝕒 𝕎𝕒𝕥𝕤𝕠𝕟

III.

           Imagine waking up and feeling normal for two minutes before reality set in. You were fine, a normal adult working in the film industry and a line-cook gig to pay the bills. You were single and life was less complicated until your phone pinged. You got a new notification - your parents had asked you to come back to the farm to meet your fiance. Emma Watson and her parents were going to be there as well and all you wanted to do was jump in the old wooden barrels of wine and drown. You were scared, this actress was famous and you could look into her public life and get a head start on a proper way to talk to her, but you didn't. You didn't want too, even after your parents sent you information on what they knew about the actress. You started to shut down - become numb. 

        The idea that you were tied down to a public figure who was beloved by millions of people was something that made your stomach turn. She wanted to be in the limelight and you sure as hell didn't. You chose film sets for a reason - to hide in the back you were a line-cook for a reason, no customer interactions. You were always one to work in the shadows and do your job with no one seeing you.

     You sit up and stare at the wall contemplating what exactly to do. You could run away, get a bus ticket to a larger city that would drown out the chance of anyone finding you for at least a couple weeks, maybe longer. You needed more time to process everything, more time to make more options. You looked at your cats as both were staring at you from the end of the bed. They had a habit of sleeping with you every night. 

      "Whaddya think Beans?" You ask the older cat and all she did was blink slowly. 

    You ran your hands through your hair, the prospect of everything not fully sinking in as it should. The marriage had felt like a cold winter's night, the frost sinking in slowly and numbing you until you felt nothing at all. You weren't even sure how to process it after your outburst yesterday on the phone. Your phone dinged - your mom sent you the bus ticket confirmation number. You sighed, knowing her she probably thought you would have waited till the last minute to head back out. You were hoping that by making a shitty impression that would drive them away to the next person, even though there was a hundred some year-old contract about it. That still wasn't broken after three days after being announced to both parties and the rest of the world. 

     Thankfully, your name hadn't slipped around the news outlets - yet. After tomorrow morning? You would never have a normal life of a line-cook again. You stared at your small apartment and wondered if this was one of the last days you would be living here, sure it was small and had issues but it was your home. After the third ping of a text from your mom, you got up and decided to face the music. 

            For Emma, the plane ride was just as nervewracking and unbearable, even after a few glasses of wine to calm her nerves. After her third glass and being a little buzzed she swore she was going mad - on the bottle was your last name and stared at it longer. Was she that drunk? She furrowed her brows and sighed annoyed - her family owned a winery. How daft was she to think that she was looney with seeing your name everywhere? The rest of her day, after she got into her car from that hoard of paparazzi she could feel the folder with your name on it burn a hole in her purse. Two words - one name - held her as a wife and she had no idea who this girl was. 

     The past three days for Emma had been a blur of meetings for the UN, photoshoots planning, talking with her agent for upcoming film roles and checking in on various projects. She couldn't even read the next chapter of her book club's newest edition. Every time she turned a page, your name was in ink and every time she checked again it was gone. You invaded her mind in ways she couldn't tell if it was good or bad, but it was enough to shake the headstrong actress. Her mother lightly grasped her hand and mentioned she needed to rest and the actress agreed. Emma closed her eyes and let herself fall into a strange sleep. 

        Her dreams were riddled with you, they started normally with just a regular day. She was sitting in a small cottage by the sea, wearing pastel pink pajamas and her hair in a singular braid. The cottage bedroom was mostly empty save for a bed and a couple of suitcases. She recognized two of them were hers, but the others - were familiar yet unknown. Emma could hear someone laughing in the distance. She stepped outside, the waves were soothing and she could smell the salty sea air. Emma could spot a person standing on the shoreline. She also noticed that they were the only two people on the beach.

        She felt the sand between her toes, now realizing she was barefoot. Emma walked closer to the figure in the waves. The actress was stepping cautiously toward the other person, seeing that she was a woman roughly about her age. The other woman turned to face her and she smiled. She was wearing a simple pastel blue swimsuit and a large yellow sunhat. It was you. Emma was stunned to see you there, wherever she was at but more importantly she was shocked to see that you were even more beautiful than that photo. 

      You opened your mouth to say something but Emma woke up once the captain announced they were landing the plane. Emma bit her lip, she would be meeting you tomorrow morning for breakfast at a large hotel the Dutchess owned. An engagement party she was told. 

The bus ride back home was more or less eventful, other than meeting a chill dude with long hair and wearing harem pants. You guys got into a conversation and the older lady behind you leaned over. 

      "Sorry - don't mean to pride but can your parents still do that to you?" She was dressed in two shades of purple and wearing a Sunday hat. She had mentioned to you after you explained your situation that she was a leader of a church group and was more than willing to officiate the wedding, even after you had mentioned you were marrying a woman. 

      "Doesn't matter to me honey, nor does it to the good lord. We love our sisters and brothers equally down here." She gave you a card and you and the hippie guy talked about music and various films with good soundtracks. You would have given him a shot at dating if you weren't being forced to marry, but he gave you a mischievous grin. 

      "If you need saving here's my number, otherwise - I think you'll be okay, love's kinda funny like that ya know?" He said.  The conversation on the four or so hour bus ride helped keep your mind at bay. 

         Only when you got to the station did you remember, you would be meeting her tomorrow. You stepped off the bus and saw your parent's truck, getting in you stayed silent as they drove back to the farm. Your mom was talking about the engagement party tomorrow and what you had to wear and say. You were wishing more and more to get back on that bus with the two strangers and drive off to wherever at this point, but the farm was your family's livelihood and losing it would eat at you forever, free or not. Tomorrow was going to be a ride.