"Okay, so what happened at work?" Aurelia asked me. We were sitting in this nice restaurant out to dinner. It was finally just the two of us. The week consistently to me being Eleni's personal maid.
It was mostly my fault though. There was a park that was a block away. One of the days we went to the park and there were so many kids, the parents noticed me so it wasn't a fun experience.
My backyard was big enough so I bought her a swing. Then I decided to redecorate my movie room with the input of the child, she was more indecisive than me.
"Alright, so after they got the warrants, they called me. Said they were making their way to the office. So I had the board meet. Then they came and arrested them. I've never seen people cry so hard." I laughed. She gave me a look. I cleared my throat. "Sorry." I continued on with my story.
After they arrested them they had a detective come and talk to me about the money they were stealing. They were working on getting it back. Tomorrow morning they were booking them. After that, the trial would start.
"So that's what happened. That's why I'm extra giddy I guess."
"I would be too if I was you." She smiled. Our food came and we fell into a comfortable silence. The occasional comment about random things. I ordered us another champagne bottle. "Remember when we were here last time? We were here with different dates."
"Yeah, I figured we make new memories here."
She raised a brow, "Are you sure you want new memories? Because from what I recall you and your date had a lot of fun." I smiled awkwardly.
Irene. The girl I went on a date with. "Do you want to make memories? because you and what's his face seemed to have fun too." I played along.
"I mean you're right, but we didn't end the night having sex in the bathroom."
"Yeah well..." I didn't have a comeback. "That was before you," I mumbled.
"I know, baby," She laughed. The nickname made my heart flutter. "I was just messing with you. I'm guessing that was the last date right?" I nodded taking a sip of my champagne.
"Yeah, wasn't my type." I smiled. "So, what's the plan after this? Wanna go back to mine?" She frowned a little. "Or we can find something to do. Not a big deal." I said reaching for her hand.
"I want to but I can't." She frowned more.
"Oh, why not?"
"I promised Meena that I would come over and help her pack."
"Oh, sorry, I shouldn't have assumed that—" I started pulling my hand away
"No, baby," She reached for my hand, "I want you to assume, I like that you assumed, just not tonight, Cherie." She looked into my eyes. "I'm sorry."
I felt kind of bummed, but I wasn't about to ask her to break a promise to her best friend for me.
"It's fine. I'll just go over to my sister's and get Eleni. I feel like I leave her there a lot." Aurelia laughed.
"Okay. I feel bad though, I should have told you before, I honestly thought we were just getting dinner and then calling it a night." She frowned again.
"We have all the time in the world, relax."
*****
I took my jacket off and hung it up on the rack. "Gaia!" I called out. There was no answer. I called her a couple of more times and again there was no answer.
I heard Gaia's raised voice in the backyard. It confused me because Jesse and Gaia were not the type of couple to argue, especially in front of kids.
"Hey? Is everything." I stopped what I was saying because... "Val," I said breathlessly. I hadn't seen her in like 6 months. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "What is she doing here?" I asked whipping my head to Gaia. "Why are you here? Why the hell are you here?"
"Thalia, I." She looked different. Different, but good. Her hair was still red and her eyes were bright green. She wore a black skin-tight dress. I hated the way I looked her over. It was like an instinct. I pealed my eyes from her.
I had Aurelia.
"No." I stuck my finger up to silence her. I felt anger that I had thought I left behind a while ago. "Why is she here?"
"That's what the hell I'm tryna figure out, d'accord?" Gaia said with her hands flung out. "Elle vient d'apparaître ici" (She just showed up here). She said obviously really irritated.
With a deep breath I faced her. "Why are you here, Valentina," I asked my ex.
"Who gives a fuck why she's here. I was just about to kick her out." She took a step closer to her. "Lucky I don't beat her ass right now, the kids are upstairs with Jesse."
I got in between them. "G, go upstairs, I got it."
"Eh? Non, elle t'a brisé le coeur. Elle-"
"I got it." I told her firmly.
Gaia huffed. She peeked over my shoulder, flipping a middle finger at Valentina, who was still quiet.
When Gaia got in the house I walked to the door to make sure she actually went upstairs.
I turned and faced Val. "Well..." I motioned for her to explain.
"Thalia, I just." She let out a sob, "I'm so sorry. I can't, I'm so sorry that I hurt you, that I hurt you, I betrayed you. I was horrible." She was wrong, she wasn't horrible, she just did a horrible thing.
"Valentina," I started but she stopped me.
"Thalia, you, you gave me everything and I am so sorry I did this to you." She walked up to me and traced the scar on my face. "I thought he, I don't know what I thought, he just, he was there."
I didn't say anything more. There were too many feelings. "Here let's sit down." I moved her hands from my face. I took a seat on one of the lawn chairs. It was dark out but G had lights all over her backyard. It was beautiful.
"I don't know how to talk to you," I said after a moment of silence.
"I don't know what to say, I spent every day trying to figure out how this would go."
"Start from the beginning?" I said. She nodded.
"It started at the Bradford Gala." She said after a deep breath. "We, um, we had a little fight a few hours before." She said looking around trying not to cry,
"Yeah, I remember," I said quietly. I don't know why I felt so nervous, but I did.
"You told me that we would talk after, I forget what the fight was about exactly, it was probably something stupid," She lightly laughed.
"But I remember being really mad at you. And I remember you were networking. I remember feeling jealous because you were talking to this one girl I had to keep reminding myself that it was just for a charity you were working...again." She sniffled and wiped her tears.
"Um, I think I was on my fourth glass of champagne when Anthony came up to me." At the mention of his name coming from his mouth, my heart quickened with anxiety. " He told me how much you loved me, and how we were lucky to find with each other, we started talking a lot and he asked me a lot of questions about work and just from that one conversation I felt seen." She said looking away from me.
"After that gala at every other one, me and Anthony seem to gravitate towards each other. I won't lie, there were flirty comments here and there." She started crying again. "You went on a business trip." She sobbed playing with her hands. "Me and Anthony decided to catch a movie I thought nothing of it. I thought it was just me and my girlfriend's brother hanging out, but at the end of the night...he kissed me and I didn't stop him." She took a pause trying to gather herself.
It didn't work because she kept on crying. I could feel my past self wanting to console her, but that was the past me.
"We didn't sleep together that night. but we ended up hanging out every day that week in the night you were getting home when we finally had sex." She said shamefully.
"I kept coming up with excuses saying it was a mistake and I even told him that, but then it happened again, and again, and again. He told me he loved me, that you told him things, you weren't sure if we were gonna work out, he said you needed to get away from me." She said. I could tell she was telling the truth, she was a terrible liar. "It happened for months and out of guilt, and disgust for myself, I pushed you away." I just looked at her. I felt old wounds slashing open. She didn't meet my eyes. "I resented you for something I was told for a while."
"You're the last person to have ever deserved that. Thalia...I thought I killed you." She broke down again head in her hands. This time I moved to console her.
"Hey, hey. You didn't do this." I ran my hand up and down her back. Sitting this close to her made me get flashbacks. "I decided to drive drunk."
"Thalia! I did do this! I contributed to it! Me and him! Why aren't you mad at me?! You pay off my loans, my car, the apartment?!?!" She said hysterically standing up. I stood up with her with my hands reaching for her. "What the hell?!" She yelled.
"Hit me!" She said. I looked at her confused. "Hit me!" She pushed me back. "Hit me, slap me, punch me!" She yelled all while pushing me back. "Just..hit me." She said holding onto my shirt.
I wrapped my arms around her, "I thought I killed you." She sobbed. I felt my heartache for her.
After a while, I spoke. "I was," I said. "I was mad at you. I really...I hated you. I still do a little bit. But I also still love you, Val. Not the way I used to."I said to her. When she calmed down she looked at me.
"I forgive you, Val. I spent a lot of time trying to hate you and trying to sort out my feelings, I thought if I ever saw you again, I'd break. That I'd be more hostile. I'm choosing to forgive you, I have to let this go, to actually move on."
I didn't want to waste negative energy on her. She was one of the biggest parts of my life. Wouldn't be myself without her. She did fucked up shit, in the end, fucking me up but what good would it do holding it against her.
This is what I needed.
I held her hand in mine, "Valentina, you have to let this go. You're holding too much in. It's okay to let it go." I reassured her.
I stood up pulling her with me. "It's okay," I said hugging her. She cried into me for the second time.
I forgave her. I think I really did a while ago. If all of that didn't happen, I never would have met Eleni, I never would have started whatever was going on with Aurelia.
Life is about experiences and you learn from each one.
I hugged her one last time. I watched her get into her car that was parked on the sidewalk. I shut the door and leaned back on it.
I dug my palms into my face and groaned.
"She is right, you should have hit her," Gaia said standing in front of me with a not-so-friendly face. I shrugged.
"Thalia!" I heard the little angel's voice. I crouched to meet her height. "I missed you!"
"I missed you too!" I said standing up and hugging her. "You ready to go home?" I felt her nod in my arms.
We stayed for another ten minutes. Eventually, Eleni fell asleep in my arms.
"So she's forgiven," Gaia asked. "What about Anthony?"
I stopped and thought for a second. "He is a different story," I said firmly. "He. It's not the same." She nodded in understanding. "I gotta go. Have to get her to bed, then I gotta tell Aurelia what happened, and finish up some work." I sighed. "Wish me luck?" I said nervously.
She laughed. I stuck my hand out and we quickly did our handshake. I walked up to Leroy and messed up his hair. He swatted my hand. I hugged Jesse who wished me luck.
I put Leni in her car seat and Hannibal drove off giving me a questionable look.
This was not how I was expecting this night to end at all.
I got home and put Eleni in her bed. I got downstairs and put away the champagne I was hoping to drink with Aurelia, which reminded me I had to let her know what happened tonight, but not before I put the flower petals I spread on the floor of my living room.
Next, was to call her.
—————————————————————————
Fun fact this was written in one sitting.
—Also I changed Gaia's husbands name to Jesse a while ago. I realized in some chapters his name is "oliviér"