WILLIAM
The store has been busier than ever today, with Valentine's day coming up soon. It's great to see people coming to pick cards for loved ones, a tradition that seems to dwindle with the convenience of electronic cards. I also have my regular customers from the adjacent streets coming to pick stationery supplies. It surprises me they rather come to my modest store instead of shopping at the large retailers. After I took over, I didn't take for granted that they would continue their business with us, but thanks to Dad's networking skills, I still have a very loyal clientele.
Pleased with the wedding invitation in front of me, I save the file and send it to Thomas in an email. I'm glad that I'll be helping him at a wedding on Valentine's because otherwise I would be alone and miserable at home. Nicole broke up with me right before the Christmas holidays and I'm still not over it because I don't understand what went wrong. I believe I'm a good boyfriend and was supportive, loving towards her. She sent me a text message that said things were not working well between us, and that was it.
I get an email from Thomas and realize that it is for a new design and not the one I just sent for feedback. The couple has chosen a beach wedding with cognac and blue as their colors. I can work with this. Before I can open the attachments, I hear the door open.
"Good morning, well, almost good afternoon," I say after looking at my watch.
"Hey."
Nicole stands in the middle of the shop with a box in her hands. So many feelings run through me right now, anger the strongest, but I try to stay calm.
"How can I help you?"
"These are the last things you had at my place," she hands me the box. "How you've been?"
"I'm doing well. How are you?"
"Good... Good. You are ready for Valentine's day," she walks around the shop and stops at a display of cards.
"Not me in particular, but my customers need their cards and decorations."
"No date for Valentine's?"
"A date? I'm not ready to date when you broke up with me less than two months ago. To be honest, I'm still confused about the reason things ended between us."
"Will, you don't want to have this conversation right here, right now," she says with annoyance.
"If not now, then when? Tell me, straight to my face, why did you break up with me?"
Nicole looks pissed, but I don't care.
"You are lousy in bed."
"What? That can't be it."
"You don't know what the hell you are doing most of the time."
"So all your moans and the other stuff..."
"It was fake. And what's with your tongue when you kiss? I've received less sloppy kisses from dogs."
Nicole lifts her purse higher on her shoulder and leaves. I'm frozen to my spot, feeling shocked and humiliated. I've only had three girlfriends in my life and been intimate with as many. Is that the reason things didn't work out with them? For the first time since she sent me the text, I feel hot tears going down my cheeks. Is this even something that I can fix?
Suddenly, I feel a hand on my shoulder. "Will, are you okay? What's going on?"
Thomas stands next to me. I've been so troubled by my thoughts that I didn't even hear the door open. His face shows so much concern that I feel moved and let out a sob. My brother holds me in a hug and I'm thankful because I need it more than ever.
"Hey... Tell me what is wrong," he whispers.
I walk towards my workstation where I blow my nose and clean my face with tissues. The door opens once more and I'm glad I'm behind a shielded area because I'm not in a state to be seen. Thomas asks the customers if he can help them and luckily they only came to buy stamps. When my brother comes back, he brings me a glass of water from the kitchenette. As I drink it, my throat feels raw.
"I closed the door and placed the sign that you'll be right back. What have you like this?"
"Nicole came here a moment ago to bring my stuff back. I demanded from her the reason she broke up with me."
"It's fair since she only sent you that shitty text."
"She told me I'm lousy in bed and can't kiss."
"She really said that?" He laughs. "What a fucking bitch... I hope you didn't take it seriously. That's the lamest way she could think of to hurt you. Nicole never deserved you. I hope you meet a new girl soon, because trust me, you will. And I hope that I'm around to see Nicole turn green when she sees how happy you are and realizes what she lost."
"But what if she's right? Thomas, what if I'm not capable of satisfying a girl in bed?"
"Don't let her get in your head! What if she's a frigid bitch incapable of loving?"
Someone knocks on the door with insistence and Thomas goes to check who is it.
"It's Abigail," he shouts, and I hear the door click.
"This is so embarrassing."
"She's seen you cry before."
"Yeah, but not about something like this."
I hear a hushed conversation between them. Abigail comes inside the workstation and caresses my cheek. Thomas and James are always on her case, but I love my baby sister the most.
"I saw you cry when we were ten because Jimmy chewed on your brushes," she says. "Then I saw you cry because Thomas ripped a corner of the piece of the paper where you were drawing to wrap his chewing gum. You were how old then? Thirteen? And I find those moments justification enough, but Nicole doesn't deserve a tear from you. I've known her since high school and already then her reputation to chew and spit out boyfriends preceded her. When you got together, I thought she had changed, but that's not the case. Don't let her get in your head because she's not worth the trouble."
I nod and drink the rest of my water. Abigail rummages in her bag and hands me a small bottle of eye drops.
"What are you guys doing here? I'm sorry you had to see me like this. I didn't think I would see her again and suddenly there she was."
Thomas pats my shoulder in support. "I need your help with the circus themed wedding I told you about when we went to Jimmy. I have a meeting close by and thought about stopping by."
"I'm running some errands in the area and came to check if you had any orders ready for pick up."
"I have the stuff for the baby shower packed for you. I've been giving some thought to the circus wedding. Even with the little information you shared, it was enough for me to get ideas. You should go for letterpress stationery instead of having it printed digitally. It should feel luxurious, so it doesn't look like a birthday party. Did they pick colors already?"
"Yes, quite traditional circus colors. Candy apple, sky blue and gold," Abigail shows me a mood board on her phone.
"Vintage and glamour is the way to go here. Ringling Brothers meet the Great Gatsby. I can make some drafts to share with you. Is everything ready for the wedding next Friday?"
"I'm confident it will be a success, but I can't see anything else in the color red," Thomas grimaces at the display of Valentine's decorations. "It's a good thing we convinced them to mix it up with other colors and textures, because that reception was about to turn into Club Hell."
I can clearly imagine what Thomas means, and it makes me laugh. A welcome feeling. "I'm closing here early on that day and should be at the venue around four. Am I going to wait on people?" I ask, thinking about what I need to wear on the day.
"Not this time. We need extra eyes to spot crashers looking to spend Valentine's somewhere. Also, there will be an open bar and it might get out of hand. Black on black clothes if that is what you want to know."
"Thanks for letting me know. Back to the circus wedding. You should call Valerie for decorations. Her styling is bold, and I'm sure she'll jump at the chance of making this a wedding to remember. And you said something about popcorn and cotton candy. Are you sure you want that?"
"We found a vendor that makes gourmet snacks," Abigail says and can't hide her excitement. "The offer includes three sorts of popcorn flavors, wasabi is one of them. And he also makes miniature caramel apples and chocolate pretzels. I'm also in contact with Rory Sommer from Moonlight House. I attended one of his cocktail-making workshops and he wants to help coming up with a signature cocktail."
"Looks like you have everything under control, but I still find it a daring plan for a wedding happening already in May," I say.
"And we have sixteen others that will happen before that one. I'm still amused that I have mixed none of the information," Thomas glances at his phone and then fixes his hair in the small mirror I have on the wall. "And I don't have a venue for the circus one and that's stressing the hell out of me."
"Don't know how you both manage everything."
"With a lot of patience," Abigail says. "Some of those events are simpler to plan than others."
"I don't find it much different from the work I did at the bank. I had to manage several accounts and budget. These are also accounts, only with wedding details. I have to head to my appointment. Will, keep strong. Abi, I'll see you at the office."
Thomas leaves and Abigail turns to look at me. "I believe Nicole told you a bullshit story to hurt you. You are a Morgan and we don't do mediocre things."
"That makes me feel slightly better. I hope you are right."
"I don't have plans tonight. Do you want to come to my place for dinner and wine? You can crash in the spare bedroom. I know how you feel. I got dumped right before my wedding and I wondered what I did wrong. Time made me realize he was a dick and I'm better without him."
"Have you dated since then?"
"The event business keeps me so busy that I just want to get home and crash in my bed. Dating feels like an additional task. I also got to go. I need to see some vendors and buy a pair of comfortable shoes for weddings."
"Did you ever get your heels back from Cinderella?"
"No, so two pairs then. I need little convincing to spend additional money on shoes," she laughs.
Abigail leaves to run her errands and I find myself busy helping customers. I want to forget Nicole's words, but the memories are nagging at me.