Harbour Lights
and that heaven is overrated
As soon as Marilyn and Chante arrived at The Windlass restaurant, the two girls went their separate ways and they didn't see each other for the rest of the night. Adam wasted no time in escorting Chante to their table, and as soon as the two were together they seemed to forget that anyone else was around them. Romances could be so sweet in the beginning. It was too bad Marilyn’s own romance ended in so much pain.
Marilyn, on the other hand, had gone into such a state of shock that she could barely breathe. She hardly noticed that Chante had disappeared, because all she could to was stare at her date, Garrett Banks.
She wasn't horrified by his looks, as she imagined she would be. Marilyn was so shocked because, well, Garrett was hot. It seemed that the past two years had been good to him. His once-lanky arms were now pure muscle and his braces were gone, revealing a rather dashing smile. His acne had completely disappeared and Marilyn felt like she was looking at his face for the first time. And damn, his face was handsome.
"I, um, I…" Marilyn stammered, which made Garrett smile.
"It's good to see you again, Marilyn," he said warmly. He placed a strong hand around her waist and guided her to their table, which was far from where Chante and Adam were sitting. (Marilyn was secretly thankful for this: in all honesty, she really did not want to be around to see her two friends sucking face.)
"So, how have you been?" he asked as soon as they sat down.
Somehow, as soon as those five words left Garrett's mouth, the awkwardness was gone and they soared into a very long conversation. Something between them seemed to click, and Marilyn found it surprisingly easy to talk to him. The nervous, geeky boy that she remembered from high school had been drastically transformed into a charismatic, charming man. Maybe that's why they got along so well: both of them understood what it felt like to change so much in so little time.
They seemed to forget everything around them as they sat there, conversing and laughing away, sharing stories about what happened after high school. Garrett was currently attending Dartmouth and he was majoring in engineering, and in two months he was planning to study abroad in England for a semester. When he brought that fact up, their conversation grew even more intense as Marilyn began telling him about how great England was, and how much fun it was to travel to London, and how…
Her words trailed off. Marilyn had been so absorbed in Garrett she had barely taken a glance around the restaurant, and when she did, she saw a sight that made her blood run cold. All current thoughts seemed to have evaporated from her.
The thing that caused this mental lapse was sitting only two tables away.
Will was there, sitting across from a girl. His hand was on top of hers and he was gently stroking her palm with his thumb – something that he used to do to Marilyn whenever they held hands. The girl was chatting away and Will actually looked interested in what she had to say. Apparently, she said something funny, because Will suddenly threw his head back and laughed.
It was one thing to see Will on a daily basis, but it was another thing to see him having fun. Marilyn thought it was bad seeing him miserable and angry, because she felt painfully guilty since his despair was her fault…but seeing him laugh was like being stabbed through the heart.
And seeing him with her, that other girl, that replacement girl, was even worse. She knew that Will wasn't hers anymore, and she knew that he had a girlfriend, but she could never actually envision him with someone else. Seeing him with someone different, someone that wasn't herself, was…too much.
"…rilyn? Marilyn, are you all right?"
Garrett's voice brought her back to her senses. "Y-Yeah, I'm, uh," she stammered, blushing slightly, "I just…Sorry. Excuse me." Before he could say anything, Marilyn had gotten up and was hurrying across the room.
"Um, Marilyn, I think the restroom is the other way," Garrett called after her.
But Marilyn had no intention of going to the bathroom. She was heading straight for the door. She needed to get out of this place.
Unfortunately, the path towards the door happened to pass right by Will's table. Before Marilyn could realize this and turn around to seek an alternate route, Will had already seen her.
"Marilyn? What the hell...?" he said, blinking a few times, as if he was making sure he wasn't imagining this. His expression of surprise transformed into confusion as he saw Garrett stand up and follow her. It wasn't hard to see that Marilyn was on a date. A different emotion passed over Will's features, an emotion that was unmistakably dangerous: Will was angry. His eyes darted from Marilyn to Garrett and then back to Marilyn. Then he glanced back at Evie – and something in his eyes changed. He didn't look mad anymore. Instead, he was smiling slightly, as if he had just thought of a brilliant idea.
Before Marilyn could figure out what he was doing, Will had stood up and was know tapping on the side of his glass with his knife, sending a sharp ringing sound throughout the restaurant. Everyone else heard this and knew that someone was about to make a toast, and the entire place fell silent instantaneously. All eyes were on Will.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Will said loudly, addressing everyone in the restaurant, "I have a very special announcement to make."
A feeling of dread washed over Marilyn. Was Will going to do something similar to his shout-out at the concert? Was he going to publicly humiliate her again?
But Will's eyes were not on Marilyn; they were focused on Evie. Marilyn watched in horror as he fell to one knee.
"Evelyn Grace, you are the most amazing woman I have ever met," Will started. Evie looked so incredibly shocked and happy that she was on the verge of tears. "The past year I've spent with you has been the greatest of my life," he continued.
Marilyn couldn't handle this anymore. With each word Will spoke, something inside her was crumbling apart, and soon it was going to shatter to pieces. She began to run towards the exit, ignoring Garrett calling after her and all of the stares she was receiving.
Will continued to speak, and his last words were the sharpest part of the blade: "Evie, will you marry me?"
Marilyn couldn't make it outside in time. Before she could get out, she was able to hear Evelyn's answer, the exact answer that she had been hoping not to hear, the answer that she had not been able to give Will herself.
"Yes!" she cried. "Oh, yes, Will. I love you."
Marilyn burst through the doors, completely out of breath, and barely made it two feet before she broke down. She collapsed to her knees on the sidewalk and, for the first time in two years, she cried.
Marilyn, on the other hand, had gone into such a state of shock that she could barely breathe. She hardly noticed that Chante had disappeared, because all she could to was stare at her date, Garrett Banks.
She wasn't horrified by his looks, as she imagined she would be. Marilyn was so shocked because, well, Garrett was hot. It seemed that the past two years had been good to him. His once-lanky arms were now pure muscle and his braces were gone, revealing a rather dashing smile. His acne had completely disappeared and Marilyn felt like she was looking at his face for the first time. And damn, his face was handsome.
"I, um, I…" Marilyn stammered, which made Garrett smile.
"It's good to see you again, Marilyn," he said warmly. He placed a strong hand around her waist and guided her to their table, which was far from where Chante and Adam were sitting. (Marilyn was secretly thankful for this: in all honesty, she really did not want to be around to see her two friends sucking face.)
"So, how have you been?" he asked as soon as they sat down.
Somehow, as soon as those five words left Garrett's mouth, the awkwardness was gone and they soared into a very long conversation. Something between them seemed to click, and Marilyn found it surprisingly easy to talk to him. The nervous, geeky boy that she remembered from high school had been drastically transformed into a charismatic, charming man. Maybe that's why they got along so well: both of them understood what it felt like to change so much in so little time.
They seemed to forget everything around them as they sat there, conversing and laughing away, sharing stories about what happened after high school. Garrett was currently attending Dartmouth and he was majoring in engineering, and in two months he was planning to study abroad in England for a semester. When he brought that fact up, their conversation grew even more intense as Marilyn began telling him about how great England was, and how much fun it was to travel to London, and how…
Her words trailed off. Marilyn had been so absorbed in Garrett she had barely taken a glance around the restaurant, and when she did, she saw a sight that made her blood run cold. All current thoughts seemed to have evaporated from her.
The thing that caused this mental lapse was sitting only two tables away.
Will was there, sitting across from a girl. His hand was on top of hers and he was gently stroking her palm with his thumb – something that he used to do to Marilyn whenever they held hands. The girl was chatting away and Will actually looked interested in what she had to say. Apparently, she said something funny, because Will suddenly threw his head back and laughed.
It was one thing to see Will on a daily basis, but it was another thing to see him having fun. Marilyn thought it was bad seeing him miserable and angry, because she felt painfully guilty since his despair was her fault…but seeing him laugh was like being stabbed through the heart.
And seeing him with her, that other girl, that replacement girl, was even worse. She knew that Will wasn't hers anymore, and she knew that he had a girlfriend, but she could never actually envision him with someone else. Seeing him with someone different, someone that wasn't herself, was…too much.
"…rilyn? Marilyn, are you all right?"
Garrett's voice brought her back to her senses. "Y-Yeah, I'm, uh," she stammered, blushing slightly, "I just…Sorry. Excuse me." Before he could say anything, Marilyn had gotten up and was hurrying across the room.
"Um, Marilyn, I think the restroom is the other way," Garrett called after her.
But Marilyn had no intention of going to the bathroom. She was heading straight for the door. She needed to get out of this place.
Unfortunately, the path towards the door happened to pass right by Will's table. Before Marilyn could realize this and turn around to seek an alternate route, Will had already seen her.
"Marilyn? What the hell...?" he said, blinking a few times, as if he was making sure he wasn't imagining this. His expression of surprise transformed into confusion as he saw Garrett stand up and follow her. It wasn't hard to see that Marilyn was on a date. A different emotion passed over Will's features, an emotion that was unmistakably dangerous: Will was angry. His eyes darted from Marilyn to Garrett and then back to Marilyn. Then he glanced back at Evie – and something in his eyes changed. He didn't look mad anymore. Instead, he was smiling slightly, as if he had just thought of a brilliant idea.
Before Marilyn could figure out what he was doing, Will had stood up and was know tapping on the side of his glass with his knife, sending a sharp ringing sound throughout the restaurant. Everyone else heard this and knew that someone was about to make a toast, and the entire place fell silent instantaneously. All eyes were on Will.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Will said loudly, addressing everyone in the restaurant, "I have a very special announcement to make."
A feeling of dread washed over Marilyn. Was Will going to do something similar to his shout-out at the concert? Was he going to publicly humiliate her again?
But Will's eyes were not on Marilyn; they were focused on Evie. Marilyn watched in horror as he fell to one knee.
"Evelyn Grace, you are the most amazing woman I have ever met," Will started. Evie looked so incredibly shocked and happy that she was on the verge of tears. "The past year I've spent with you has been the greatest of my life," he continued.
Marilyn couldn't handle this anymore. With each word Will spoke, something inside her was crumbling apart, and soon it was going to shatter to pieces. She began to run towards the exit, ignoring Garrett calling after her and all of the stares she was receiving.
Will continued to speak, and his last words were the sharpest part of the blade: "Evie, will you marry me?"
Marilyn couldn't make it outside in time. Before she could get out, she was able to hear Evelyn's answer, the exact answer that she had been hoping not to hear, the answer that she had not been able to give Will herself.
"Yes!" she cried. "Oh, yes, Will. I love you."
Marilyn burst through the doors, completely out of breath, and barely made it two feet before she broke down. She collapsed to her knees on the sidewalk and, for the first time in two years, she cried.