Seven Days (13 page)

She thought he’d come back when she heard the knock on
the door until Luke’s gentle voice ruined the fantasy.

“Milan it’s me. Can I come in?” he knocked a second time.

Not the man she wanted to see. He was, however, a man
that Julian could learn a few lessons from on how to treat a lady—a fiancée.
Her engagement ring sparkled on her finger. She’d been staring at it, trying to
figure out how something so beautiful no longer applied to her.

He knocked again and she took her time getting to the
door, knowing that the comfort she needed was not outside waiting for her.

“Hey,” he cooed when she cracked the door, “I wanted to
check on you. How are you doing?”

Milan pasted an obvious fake smile on her face, “Just
great, please come in,” she swung her arm in exaggerated invitation.

Luke entered and centered himself in the lighted side of
the room. He didn’t say anything about the broken lamp by the door. “I know
what happened. Is there anything I can do? Are you okay?”

Her laugh was bitter. “Am I okay?” She stared him down
until he shifted on his feet. “Maybe I should ask you that question.  Do you
feel better now that you’ve come to see the jilted bride?” She held out her
arms and slowly twirled. “You’ve done your civic duty, Luke. You can go now.”

“I’m not here out of obligation. I came because I care. I
was worried.”

She eyed him then plopped onto the bed, wishing he would
leave.

“I know this won’t break you, but it’s got to hurt. Come
on, this sucks. Do you really want to be alone? I’ll leave if you do. Or,” he
went over to the door and looked at the broken remnants, “I’ll just sit here
quietly and protect the breakables.”

He managed to get a smile out of her and she thought for
a moment that just maybe there might be some sun at the end of her long night.

 “I didn’t see this coming. Not tonight,” she said,
still splayed on the bed. “Maybe Sunday when I thought he had cold feet, but
things had been going well since then. I shook it off,” she shut her eyes, “he
blindsided me.”

“I’m sorry about that.” She felt the bed dip as Luke sat
at its foot, giving her space without leaving her alone.

She lifted her head, “Did you know?” Watching him
formulate his answer was all she needed. She kicked him. “You knew! And you
didn’t tell me,” She kicked him again. “Nice. Get out of here. Pity party’s
over!”

He grabbed at her legs. “No, I didn’t. Milan, I didn’t! I
was thinking about this past week and trying to remember if there had been any
clues. Stop kicking me. STOP!” she ceased as if she’d suddenly been unplugged
and just lay there, drained.

Luke thought about Carolyn and Julian on the back porch;
the kiss at Cera’s Place; their silent communications throughout dinner
tonight. There had been clues, but they all involved Carolyn and he would not
put her in Milan’s line of fire.

“I thought he was just getting nervous, I had no idea he
was thinking of calling it off. If I’d known I would have told you.”

She had been watching him through slivered eyes as he
answered, but closed them when he finished. He let her be.

“I’m so tired,” she finally uttered and he thought she
was asking him to leave, but she kept talking. “Weddings are exhausting;
imagine if I’d actually had one.” Milan lifted her head and gave him a
half-smile, half-grimace. She looked around the room, “I just want to go home.
Will you help me do that?”

“Of course.”

He’d do anything for her.

Milan showered while he packed up her things. It was a
morning wedding, so the bridal party all had rooms filled with their necessary
ceremony and reception gear. By the time she came out of the bathroom he’d
already made one trip to the car. The only item left was her gown.

She wouldn’t let him carry it, but he helped her package
it very carefully in the garment bag. She smoothed her hand along the silk,
almost reverently, and then zipped it up. They made their way through the
lobby, he holding her purse while she carried the voluminous garment bag draped
across both arms as if she were transporting a person. In the parking lot she
placed the bag carefully across the back seat of her car then strapped herself
into the passenger seat, letting Luke drive.

She was quiet on the ride down the Schuylkill Expressway
into Center City and he wished there was something he could say to lift her
mood. When he pulled them off the highway she perked up and seemed to focus on
the activity on the streets.

“Hey, wait. What’s that?” she said craning her neck to
look at something they’d passed. “Turn around.”

Luke went around the block of one-way streets and cruised
by the building that had caught her attention. “Well, would you look at that.
Pull over,” she ordered and started digging in her purse.

Luke did as told then peered out the window. They were at
the restaurant where Julian worked, except it now had a shiny new sign on it
that read Milan’s.

“Guess that was the huge surprise he had for me. Funny
how he trumped himself,” she muttered into her bag. “Here it is,” Milan pulled
out a metal ring with a single key on it. She rubbed her thumb against the flat
of the key for almost a minute then as if she’d come to a decision, she folded
her fingers to form a fist around it. She hopped out of the car, grabbed the
garment bag from the back seat and told Luke she would be right back.

Milan had never been in the restaurant alone, much less
at night after hours. It was dark except for the red glow from the exit signs
at the doors. That was fine; she didn’t need any light for what she planned.

She made her way to the chef’s table, a large circular
booth near the kitchen. This was Julian’s favorite seat in the place. She
unzipped the garment bag and let yards and yards of white silk slip through her
fingers. Her dress was so pretty. She really loved it.

Milan held the dress up to her body and stared at her
reflection in the window. Julian would never see her in it. No one would.
Except her sister. And Luke. She remembered her portrait sitting. Just a few
days ago her future was a completely different picture than what it was now.
Thank you, Julian.

She dropped her hands and let the dress drag across the
floor as she went back to Julian’s booth. Carefully, she draped the gown across
the table, spreading the train so that it curved along the leather seat. When
she had it just as she wanted, she took a moment to admire the tableau. It was
perfect.

She backed away from the scene taking in everything until
she was at the door. In the dim light, the white gown drew the eye through the
darkness. Yes, this was right. She didn’t want to keep Luke waiting any longer
than necessary, but she had one last thing to do.

Milan chose a chair from the nearest table and dragged it
to a spot by the hostess stand. She climbed onto it and then reached down to
the bowl on the stand that held the custom matchboxes. She stuck two of the
wooden sticks against the side and watched a flame spring to life. Reaching up
she held it beneath a sprinkler.

It wasn’t long before it started to rain in the
restaurant. Water sprayed out from sprinklers throughout the building, wetting
everything through, including her, but she didn’t care.

She watched for a moment as her dress, waterlogged and
heavy, slipped out of position. That was a small price to pay; he’d still get
the message. She stepped off the chair, locked up and walked to the car.

To his credit, Luke did not say a word.

It was almost midnight when he pulled up in front of her
apartment building. Milan’s was history. Julian was history.

What was next? She looked at Luke who was again bringing
her home after Julian had disappointed her. Luke, a man who wanted to be with
her. She could stand to bask in some of that kind of attention. She’d earned
it, hadn’t she?

 “I’ve got a packed suitcase and two tickets to
Hawaii,” she said and looked at Luke, “You in?”

Carolyn had never much liked gray area, though she
understood it and was right now enveloped in it. Her brothers had left her and
Julian alone and now it was time for full disclosure.

“Okay, so everyone’s made themselves scarce. I need to
know, Jules. Did you call off the wedding because of me?”

She had not meant to be so direct, but the words were
out, no going back now. Julian, however, needed to ease into things.

“If I said ‘Yes’...?”

She held his gaze and forced herself to breathe. Julian’s
actions and the things her brothers had told her led her to this nerve-racking
and exhilarating conclusion, but still...

The past seven days had been so confusing for her. Rhys
had come home and her routine had fallen back into old patterns, but somehow
her relationships had changed. Things were different and she was aware that she
was witnessing the passing of an era. If Julian had called off his wedding
because of her, then things were never going to go back to how they once were.
Maybe that was a good thing. She felt the tension in her face ease into a
tentative smile.

“Well, I’m not opposed to the idea,” she surprised
herself with the confession as she realized what she said.

Julian reached for her as her words settled around them.
“Carolyn, I’ve been so scared. I didn’t know how to tell you how I felt. I was
afraid of ruining our friendship, but I tried to show you.”

A memory of their kiss at the piano flashed through her
mind. Yes, he had shown her.

“This is crazy,” she sprung out of her seat full of
nervous energy and started circling the room. It was too small to put any real
distance between them, which was fine because she was tired of running away
from him.

“I know. Does this mean that you might feel the same way?
That you might love me, too?”

She stopped her manic wandering in front of him and he
took her hands in his again, holding her the way she had gripped his own in the
hospital.

“Monday night at the piano bar was a revelation to say
the least. Everything happened so fast and then you were gone. I do know,” she
was suddenly shy, “that I felt more excited after one kiss from you than I had
my entire time with Mark. I started to realize that I’d been trying to deny all
sorts of things by just soldiering on. It’s worked for me in the past,” Carolyn
smiled but then her face sobered.

“But when you had your accident and I couldn’t make
myself turn onto Lincoln Drive to get to the hospital, it became clear how much
you meant to me. If I’d lost you that day...I don’t know if I could have
recovered.”

She swallowed hard, needing to digest what she was
saying. She had been running from acknowledging any of this for the past week when
the possibility of a relationship with Julian had started to become a reality
for her.

“I broke up with Mark on Tuesday. I had to leave him a
voice mail because he’s so many time zones away. I was waiting until after the
wedding to tell everyone,” she paused, “I didn’t do it because of our kiss. I
did it because I knew Mark and I weren’t right. I know it was hard for you to
leave Milan, especially under these circumstances, but if it wasn’t right—”

“It wasn’t right,” he repeated her words with meaning.

“Then you were very brave,” she cupped his face with both
hands and pulled him close, “and that’s just another thing I love about you,
Jules,” she leaned forward and kissed him.

“I love you too, Carolyn. I’ve waited so long to tell
you.”

“You’ve been telling me for years,” she kissed him again.
“I finally heard you.”

Rhoda Charles writes general fiction with elements of
romance and mystery. She is a Bostonian by birth who migrated to Philadelphia
and spent many years there as a writer and editor for a national entertainment
magazine. She has a passion for all things Italian and enjoys film and theater.
When she’s not driving up and down the east coast to visit family and friends,
she’s at home working on her next novel while her dog, Bristow, sleeps nearby.

Seven Days was my first attempt at a novel and it sat
half-finished on my computer for over a decade while I wrote other things. The
characters, however, never left me alone—
Luke, I’m talking about you!
Fifteen years later, I decided to revisit them and finish their tale. I hope
they are as pleased with how things turned out as I am. If you’ve enjoyed this
story, I’d love to hear from you. And if you’d like to download a deleted scene
told from Milan’s point of view, please visit my website at
www.rhodacharles.com
.

~Rhoda