Smile

25.
It’s been a whole week since Arabella caught Jonathan cheating on her. She didn’t tell anyone besides Patrick Kane. He tried to tell her to hope for the best but he knew that Jonathan had messed up big time. Never in his life would Patrick imagine Jonathan cheating on his girlfriend when he would always harshly tell Patrick that he should stick to one girl.

“Do you think he’s going to go?” Patrick Kane asked as Arabella was packing her things to leave for Paris. She was giving Jonathan one last chance to fix everything between them.

“If you asked me couple weeks ago I would have said in a heart beat, but now I don’t know.” Arabella replied looking at her suitcase. The rest of her things were at Jonathan and Patrick was going to take it all out of her when she left. Plus she didn’t want to take her things out incase Jonathan said sorry.

Arabella texted Jonathan telling him to meet her at the place where they first met that one night where it all started in an hour. Not knowing if he was going to come she got ready none the less. It was summer outside so Arabella wore a blouse, shorts and sandals. Her nails were painted a peach color as she picked at her fingers on the ride to the art gala.

“Call me, if you need me.” Patrick Kane mumbled hoping that Arabella wouldn’t need him and that she would get back together with Jonathan. It was so weird to see them not together and him with Jenn. Well him and Jenn aren’t dating or anything but when the team would all hang out he hated seeing Jenn there. He wanted to take a few shots to her.

Arabella didn’t know what to say to Kaner but simply just got out of the car. Walking into the art gala made Arabella think of the first time she met Jonathan. She was a scared girl who faked it through life. After meeting Jonathan she changed for the better and she wanted him. She wanted to go back to when times were simpler between them and before she knew Jenn.

Two hours passed and Jonathan was a no show. Calling Patrick in near tears because Jon stood her up he quickly went to go and pick her up. Before leaving the art gala Arabella taped an envelope next to a picture for Jonathan. She wasn’t sure if he was every going to get it but she hoped he would. Once in the car Arabella realized it was time for her to go to the airport. She was going to go to France without Jonathan; without her heart.

Patrick enraged over his captain sped to his apartment after he dropped off Arabella at the airport. Patrick didn’t even wait to knock on the door he just stormed into the apartment to find Jenn sitting on the couch in one of Jonathan’s shirts but Jonathan was no where to be found. He heard the shower turn off and Patrick went into Jonathan’s bedroom to find him in only a towel.

“Dude, what the hell?” Jonathan asked wondering why his teammate was standing in his bedroom looking mad.

“You’re asking me what the hell? I can’t believe you! I should be asking you what the hell!” Patrick shouted back at his captain. Never before have the two fought after hockey sure they would on the bench but that was it. They never fought like how they were going to fight right now.

“What are you talking about man?” Jonathan said as he walked over to his dresser to find something to put on instead of just standing in his towel.

“I’m talking about how Arabella waited for you at some art gala for two frickin hours. She sent you a text asking you to meet her there. But you don’t show up and I find you taking a shower while your whore friend is sitting on the couch with your shirt on.” Kaner said disgusted with his friend. Jonathan’s face was shocked and sort of priceless.

“I never got a text.” Jonathan whispered walking over to his phone to find that he did get a text message from Arabella but it was read. The thing was that he never read the message.

“Jenn, did you read my text message that I got from Ara?” Jonathan asked holding his phone while the other hand held the towel on his hips walking into the living room. Jenn just got up on her eyes trying to look all sexy innocent it disgusted Patrick.

“Oops, I forgot to tell you.” Jenn said smiling wickedly knowing that her plan worked. Ara isn’t going to forgive Jonathan now making him a free man. Jonathan ran to his bedroom throwing on clothes not caring if it matched or not.

Jonathan didn’t know if it was too late or not but it probably was. Yet he still wanted to go to the art gala. It was something that he felt like he needed to do. Not telling where he was going he just left his apartment even though Jenn protested that it was a bad idea. That he was already to late and it was just over. He was Jonathan Toews and nothing was over, yet.

Walking into the gala, Carrie just pointed to the back in the same direction of where he and Arabella had first met. Standing there now was a couple who was looking at pictures walking around the room. When they saw him there they quickly left the room in a fit of smiles of each other. It made Jonathan realize what he really had with Arabella.

There in the spot of where his phone went off was a picture of him. It was in black and white and he was smiling. It wasn’t a full smile where he should his teeth but a sort of half smile. The way it was taken Jonathan remembered that Arabella just had to waste some film so she took pictures of him. She forced him to smile but eventually gave up when he didn’t want to smile nicely.

Next to the picture was a note, a note addressed to him:
Dear Jonathan,
If you’re reading this letter right now that probably means we didn’t get back together and that I’m on a plane to Paris. I don’t really know what to say in this letter besides the fact that I want to thank you. When I first met you at this spot I thought you were just a guy with a stick up his ass. But I got to see the real you, the side that I believe more people should see. When I met you I thought I had my life under control here in Chicago and that no one would no about my past. But that wasn’t the case with you, you showed me that it wasn’t alright. And that I needed to open up to someone.

Mostly importantly you taught me that a smile is something special. That a smile should be earned by something amazing because a smile is to special to just give out like free candy. It taught me to be more real with things and that it was okay not to smile at every single person or every single thing.

Looking back at our relationship I can’t help but smile even though my heart is aching right now. I smile because of you. I smile because maybe sometime in the future if we ever meet again we can sit and talk about our lives. We can talk about life and there will be no hard feelings. Who knows, maybe we could even be friends as crazy as that sounds. You gave me so many experiences of the hockey world especially the playoffs. I will never share that with any other guy so thank you for taking me along for the ride and I wish you well next season.

The picture next to this letter is for my photography class. We had to chose a picture that best represented us and I picked this one. I know the only reason why I took this picture was because I had extra film to waste. This picture best represented me because of how I became a better person because of you. It represented me since you smiled after a lost from the Flyers; a hopefully smile.

The last thing I want you to do is listen to Smile by Nat King Cole. This song played as I wrote countless drafts and finally settled on this letter. And when I said sometime in the future it doesn’t mean the wedding for Abby. I don’t think I can face you that soon.

Love,
Arabella.

Jonathan felt the tears start to fall on the letter. He didn’t even know that he was crying but the tears just couldn’t stop from coming down his face. Jonathan messed up big time. He hurt the person he loved the most and he lost the person he needed the most.

As the plane took off and Arabella left the city of Chicago she couldn’t help but smirk because this wasn’t going to the last of her. The funny thing is that Jenn messed with the wrong girl, she stole from the wrong bitch, and she hurt the wrong lady. You see, Arabella does nothing better than revenge.