In Fate's Hands

It had been a month now since I’d met Rob, and we’d went out on our first date a few days after we met. We saw each other as much as possible with our busy schedules allowed and talked when we couldn’t see each other.

But I still had a secret that I wasn’t willing to tell him just yet, and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to tell him about it.

“I miss you. I can’t wait until you get to come back.” I said into my cell phone as I sat on the couch talking to him.

“I miss you too, but I have a surprise for you. Maybe you should go open your door.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Please just listen to me and open the door.”
“Okay, okay. I’m going.” I got off the couch and went to the door of my apartment. I unlocked it and swung the door open before I gasped.

“I cannot believe you!” I finally said as I snapped my cell phone shut. There he was, standing in my door way.

“Why? I though I’d surprise you. Is that a crime?” He said with one of those breath-taking smiles.

“It might be when you stand there looking like that and completely shocking me.”

“Well I’m sorry. I thought you’d like it. But I suppose I can leave and go back to my flat if you’d like.”

“No! You aren’t going anywhere yet!” I latched my arms around his neck as he bent down to kiss me. “I’m glad you’re back.” I said against his lips.

“Me too.” He responded. We stayed silent for a few seconds before I pulled away.

“Come on inside.” I suggested backing into my apartment again.

“Okay.” He followed me inside before I closed the door.

“Someone has been working a lot in the past week.” He noted as he looked at the coffee table, which was currently covered with drawings, plans, lists, and phone numbers.

“Yeah, so have the others.”

“At home?”

“Probably not. Well no, Em has. Charlotte is too busy with hers.”

“So that leaves you to help Emily?”

“Um yeah.” That is exactly the moment that my phone started ringing. I looked at the caller-id. “Wonderful, it’s Charlotte. Hold on one second.”

“Okay.”

“What do you want Charlotte?” I asked.

“I need help! I cannot decide if I want white roses or light pink roses.” Her voice was in a frantic sounding panic.

“I don’t know, and I don’t care either way Charlotte, I’ll help you later.”
“Just take a look and see what would go better with the day and stuff.”

“It’s too early and besides I can’t right now.”

“But Elise!”

“But nothing. Robert is over. I’ll call you later.”

“You should just tell him.”

“I don’t want your input Charlotte. No offense. But this is my life! Goodbye!” I hit end and placed the phone back in the charge. Rob looked up at me, his eyes questioning.

“She wanted to know about the roses.” I told him, hoping to avoid any further questions.

“What was the rest of it about?”

“Nothing important.”

“Okay whatever you say.” I mentally cursed Charlotte, fully intending on doing it aloud the next time that I saw her.

“Really it’s just Charlotte being annoying again.”

“I believe you.”

“Good. Thank you.”

“Why would I not believe you? In the time I’ve known you, you’ve never lied to me or kept anything from me.” That one hurt, badly. It’s not like he meant to hurt me, but it did. And the worst part was that it was my own fault that it hurt.

Because I was keeping something from him, and it wasn’t some tiny little detail about myself. It was big, very, very big.

“So how was L.A?” I asked in a hurry to change the subject.

“The same as it always is. Did I miss anything good here?”

“Well um Em punched her ex-boyfriend in the face in the office, in front of one of the happy couples. Charlotte actually didn’t eat for a day. My dad stepped foot in the shop for his once-every-six-month-appearance. And that’s really the only highlights of my boring life in the past week.”

“Sounds interesting.”
“Interesting? It seems boring to me. Although it was priceless when Em actually punched him hard enough to make him bleed.” I winced as I remembered the send that had filled the small wedding planner’s shop.

“I miss all the good stuff don’t I?”

“Well that is the only good thing that happened. Are you hungry?”

“A little. Why?”

“Come on, I’ll make us dinner. How does Chinese sound?”

“You don’t have to Elise.”

“But I want to. Are you going to deny me of doing something I want to?”

“Well no but-”

“Then shut up and let me cook, silly.”

“Okay, fine.” He stood up and followed me into the kitchen as I got started on sesame chicken and vegetable lo mein. Not only did I like to cook it got my mind off of what I was hiding, and how incredibly horrible it made me feel.

“Elise are you okay? You seem distracted.” Rob’s voice is what brought me back.

“Oh uh, yeah I’m fine. I was just thinking.”

“Okay.” That night when he left I sat on my couch completely mystified. I’d never felt like such a horrible person (that may be the wrong choice of words though) in my entire life. I finally got up and moved from the living room and got ready for bed. But I didn’t get much sleep that night.

I couldn’t stop thinking of how I could tell him, and the worst possible thing that could happen. But I didn’t find any answer I liked. By the time my alarm went off the next morning I’d gotten probably 3 and half hours of sleep.

Charlotte was so going to hear about this. Starting the minute I walked through that glass door. Let the bitch-fest begin. Let it begin.