Diamonds in the Sky

Sean eased his rental car to a stop in Max and Zoe’s driveway shortly after five that afternoon. He grabbed his luggage and the flowers he had stopped off for and headed for the front door. He rang the doorbell and he could hear the heels clicking across the floor to reach the door. Zoe swung the door open with a smile on her face. She stepped into his arms and hugged him tightly.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said softly to him. Sean smiled and handed her the flowers. Gerber daisies, her favorite in yellows and soft pinks.

“How mad is Max? Should I be worried for my life?”

Zoe laughed and ushered Sean inside. “You know as well as anyone that what I say goes. The man is whipped and everyone knows it. You are my best friend and he is not allowed to harm an inch of your perfect, freckled face. I did however send him and Elise on an errand so we could talk.”

“About?”

“Elise.”

“Zoe...” he warned.

“I made reservations for dinner tonight, just the two of you. You need to hear her out, Sean. Let her explain herself. I’ll drop it if you agree to that.”

“Fine Zoe, we’ll do it your way.”

“Thank you. Now, let’s get you settled in.” She led the way upstairs to their second guest room. Zoe flopped across the bed as Sean unpacked his clothes. They talked about nothing in particular, just catching up since they had last seen each other. Thirty minutes later, the front door slammed closed. Elise’s delicate laugh floated up the stairs and Sean froze at the sound.

“Sean, Sean, Sean,” Zoe clucked. “What am I going to do with you?” She climbed off the bed and took the stairs two at a time to reach Max. He caught her in his arms as she kissed him. “Hi, Elise!” Zoe sang.

“Hey yourself,” Elise laughed. “You left flowers in the kitchen. I put them in water.”

“Shit I forget about those. Thanks girl.”

“Who got you flowers?” Max asked.

“Sean.” Max rolled his eyes.

“Fucker.”

“Hello to you too, Max,” Sean said as he strolled down the stairs. “Its nice to see you also.” Max muttered under his breath in french and stalked from the room. Zoe rolled her eyes after him.

“This is why I like Danny so much,” Zoe said to Elise. “He’s easy going whereas Max and Sean are stubborn assholes.”

“I heard that!” Max yelled from the other room.

“That was the point dumbass!” Zoe called back. “Your reservations are in an hour and a half so go get ready, both of you.” She pushed Elise towards the stairs and shooed her away. Sean watched her as she disappeared up the stairs.

“Hear her out. Listen. Don’t interrupt. Keep an open mind, okay?” Zoe said to him. She held onto his upper arm tightly.

“I promise, Zo.” She nodded and kissed his cheek lightly before walking off to join Max in the kitchen.



The ride to the restaurant was silent and after they were seated, they looked over their menus in silence. Sean sat back, sipping his drink and looking anywhere but Elise as they waited on their waitress to take their order. She studied him and finally broke the quiet and dove head first into her story.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you the whole truth about Henri," she began softly. "I met him three years ago and he was perfect, everything I could ask for in a man. When he proposed, I felt like I was walking on air. We planned together and everything was going so well until the afternoon I took off work early. I knew I had been putting in longer and longer hours at work so I wanted to surprise him. Instead I got the surprise when I walked in on him and Brigitte. They were so nonchalant about the whole thing and had been seeing each other for six months. I put in a transfer request the next day, moved home with my parents for two weeks and then packed up and moved to New York."

"You were engaged, when I met you in Charlotte," he stated flatly.

She nodded. "I was."

"You weren't wearing a ring."

"No, I wasn't. I had dropped it off to be cleaned the day before I flew out."

"Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I was embarrassed. Hurt. Angry."

"No kidding. Elise, you were a mad woman in the bar. You tore a chunk of that girls hair out! How are we supposed to be together when you still have feelings for him?"

She sat back, stunned at his words. "You think I still love Henri?" Sean looked away from her and she reached across the table for his hand but he pulled it away from her. "Sean, I don't love Henri. He betrayed me."

"You didn't tell me about him."

"I told you about him."

"Elise, you lied to me."

"I didn't tell you the whole truth Sean but I never lied. You knew I had an ex, you knew he cheated on me. Now you know all the sordid details."

"It's still a lie."

"I didn't want you to know that I'm a failure, that I'm not worthy of love." She felt the tears forming behind her eyes and abruptly pushed away from the table. She crossed the restaurant to the ladies room and splashed a little cold water on her face, dabbing her eyes and willing the tears not to come. When she stepped out, Sean was leaning against the wall. He helped her into her coat and led the way out of the restaurant. As he pulled out into traffic, he spoke.

"Elise, I'm not good at this. I can count on one hand the number of real relationships I've had. Your reaction to Henri, to Brigitte, made me question how you really feel about me. Are you with me because I'm nothing like him?"

"No! I really like you, Sean. I didn't start seeing you because of Henri, or Max, or Zoe. You are amazing and even though you act like a complete ass sometimes, I still like all of you."

"I don't know if I believe you," Sean said quietly as he stopped at a red light. "I feel like you lied to me.”

“Sean, I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say. I am so sorry. I didn’t mean for you to feel like I lied but I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t want you to know that I am such a bad girlfriend that my fiance needed to cheat on me to get something he wasn't getting from me.” The tears fell hard and fast.

“Henri is an idiot, Elise. You’re perfect,” Sean sighed. “But I just don’t know right now. I just need some space.”

“Sean, please. I know I made a mistake but don’t give up on me.”

“I just can’t.”