“I think this color would be great, Maria.” Rachel was getting tired. It was almost an hour later and she couldn’t even get Maria to agree on a color pattern. She had first tried to get Maria to choose a design, but Maria had said there were just too many choices. So Rachel decided it would be better to maybe start with a color that way Maria could envision what it would look like. But that wasn’t working either.
“I don’t think Michael will like it, and he’s just so difficult Rachel. You know that.” Rachel looked at Maria giving her the, “and you’re not difficult” look. “Don’t look at me like that. You know we have been arguing about this for weeks and it’s driving me crazy.” Rachel understood Maria’s dilemma, but if they didn’t pick out something soon she would make every room white and not care one single bit.
“Maria, what you need to do is make a decision. I can’t be here for a year helping you. You are my best friend and I love you, but if you don’t decide I will be forced quit. And I am not a quitter Maria.” Rachel stated firmly making her way into the kitchen for a cold drink.
“Oh, you’re not a quitter?” Maria questioned following behind her into the kitchen.
“No. I don’t quit. I follow through with everything.”
“Everything?” Maria, raised her eyebrow in question.
“Everything. And what the fuck is up with repeating every last word I say? Did you visit the pet store too many times this week? I told you to stay away from the parakeets, do you not listen to anything I say?” Rachel sighed dramatically while rolling her eyes.
“Ha, ha. Aren’t you the comedian? So let me ask you something Rachel?” Maria settled at the cluttered kitchen table waiting for Rachel to join her. Rachel crossed the room and took a seat next to her friend.
“Go ahead.”
“If you’re not a quitter, then what do you call what you did with Finn?” Maria knew she was hitting a sore spot, but she knew that her friend needed to face the reality of her feelings.
“Excuse me? What I did with Finn? Don’t you think you have it wrong? He left me. He broke up with me. I didn’t tell him to do it, I…” Rachel didn’t and wouldn’t break down. Why was Maria pushing the issue so much? Why couldn’t she leave the past dead and buried?
“I know you didn’t. But he’s here now Rach and you won’t give him a chance.”
“You know Maria, you’re right. Let me think about this for a minute.” Rachel sat back and crossed her arms over her chest, and pretended to ponder the situation.
“Oh I got it! That’s because he doesn’t fucking deserve it! He got his fame, his fortune and I’m sure he has an entire harem of girls waiting to take him to bed. So I’m sorry if I don’t see how I fit into his life, if I were to give him a chance. But let’s not forget the major issue here.”
“Which is?” Maria was lost. She knew that Rachel was hurt, but she was allowing the hurt to cloud her real feelings. Maria knew without a doubt that Finn and Rachel belonged together. They were just too stubborn to realize it.
“Which is. We are too different. I don’t even know him Maria. It’s like he’s this acquaintance. How is that possible? We used to share everything…everything. And now, I don’t even know what television shows he watches or if he still snores lightly in his sleep, or if he still whispers out my name while he’s dreaming or…” Rachel trailed off when she realized she had said too much.
“I knew it!” Maria said triumphantly.
“Knew what?!” Michael swings open the back door with Finn trailing behind him.
Rachel straightened up and tried to look disinterested, but her heart ached. She was so angry with herself. She should not have let Maria know those things. They were the types of things that had run through her head that previous evening. And now, he was there.
“I knew…none of your business. I was having a private conversation with my friend Michael.” Maria realized that she couldn’t repeat what Rachel just said. So she covered it up as best as possible.
“Hi Finn! So did you guys enjoy your game?” Maria asked giving Michael a kiss on his cheek and sending him upstairs to shower.
“Hey Maria. Rach. Yeah we had a good time. But Michael thinks I should stick to my day job.” Finn managed a small chuckle, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Rachel's downcast face. Maria watched the small exchange and knew that she needed to talk to Isabel immediately. They were close to cracking, she just knew it.
“Why’s that Hudson? Do you suck that bad at golf?”
“That’s putting it mildly.” Finn pulled out a chair and took a seat at the table. That’s when he really took notice of all the books and material scattered across it.
“What’s all this shit?” He said while holding a piece of peach fabric in the air.
“This shit, is what I’m going through to help decorate my house.” Maria said gathering some items to make the table look a little more presentable.
“Okay. Wouldn’t be easier to hire a professional designer to handle this stuff?” Finn still looked confused. He knew Maria and Michael all too well, which meant one thing. They couldn’t decide on a mattress without lots of arguing.
“You’re looking at one.” Rachel bit out sarcastically. It was the first time she spoke and Finn's eyes snapped in her direction. He looked surprised to say the least. And why shouldn’t he be? He didn’t know this beauty sitting before him. He used to know everything about her. Did she have any new habits? Did she still giggle when she watched the Pillsbury commercials? And most of all, did she still cuddle up under her blankets, like she never wanted to get out of bed?
Finn wished things turned out differently for them. He wished that he could have made all her dreams come true. Did she have someone back home that was missing her? Did he get to hold her and talk to her when she was scared? Finn longed to be that person, and at one point in his life he was that person. But now…he didn’t want to think about it anymore. It was the past and it’s over.
“I’m hungry. I’m gonna grab something to eat and then I’m going to head back to Isabel’s.” Finn rose from the chair and made his way to the fridge to make a sandwich.
Rachel needed to get out of the room. It was dangerous and she honestly didn’t want to fight with Finn. That was never her intention. She turned to Maria and asked her to go upstairs with her for a few minutes.
Once inside her room with the door closed, Rachel turned to Maria. “When is he leaving?”
“Who? Finn?”
“No. Donald Duck. Of course Finn.” Rachel sighed and took a seat at the edge of her bed. She wanted to crawl back under the covers and sleep until tomorrow.
“I don’t know. I guess I can ask Isabel when we see her later.”
“Later? What are you talking about?”
“I mean we are all having dinner tonight.” Maria said as upbeat as possible, but she was failing miserably. She knew Rachel would be furious.
“Dinner! No we are not having dinner. You and Michael can go have dinner, but I’m going to be in this room, laying in the dark and praying for the sandman.” Rachel hissed out. Why was everyone trying to hurt her? What did she do in her last life to make this life terrible?
“Yes, Rachel. We are having dinner. And you will get out of the bed, take a shower and get beautiful. Why? Because Isabel went to a lot of trouble to get us reservations at Porcini’s.” Maria stood over Rachel making sure she understood that no matter what she said, she was going to dinner.
“Wow! Maria that place is so great. I haven’t been there in so long. You guys are evil you know that right?”
“We know. But you love us. Just like we love you. I promise it’s going to be a great night.”
“Be ready by eight.” Maria smiled brightly and placed a kiss on the top of Rachel's head before leaving the room.
“Oh yeah it’s gonna be a great night. I can see it already.” Rachel sighed and threw herself back on the bed.
“I know you think you are doing a great thing. And I have no doubt you have the best intentions but you can’t push them.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Isabel turned from rummaging through her closet for the perfect dress to wear to dinner. It was a special dinner and everything had to be perfect.
“Isabel…” He said in a warning tone.
“Alex…” She simply mocked him.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I. They don’t realize how good they are together Alex. Finn is my brother and I love him but he’s miserable. He can feed me all the bullshit he wants over the telephone, but his eyes don’t lie. When he looks at that girl, it’s all there. It never went anywhere. And I have to wonder if he didn’t miss our wedding because she was going to be there.”
“Isabel! You know that’s not true. Finn was devastated and I know that even if Rachel were there, if he could have he would have made it.” Alex turned his wife around and made sure she heard every word out of his mouth.
“I know. I do. Really. I just want everything to work out for them. They deserve to be happy.”
“I understand. Just give them time.” Alex pulled her into his arms and kissed her lips softly before allowing her to return to her perusal of her closet.