I Do

She walked out of the salon angrily and made her way to her car. She sat inside for a long minute thinking of her next move. She wanted to call Ethan or Dani.

“What the fu*k…” She held the steering wheel and took a series of deep breaths to calm herself down before she finally buckled herself in and started the engine. She was not sure where she was headed at first but half an hour later, she was parked in front of her building. She got out of the car and made her way to her apartment. Maybe that was what she really needed. Some time in a familiar setting. Some time away from her new life.

“Hey,” Dani said when Josie walked into the apartment.

“Hey yourself.” Josie was surprised to find her there. She was almost never home during the day. “What are you doing here?”

“I went to work in the morning and felt a little funny so I came back home.”

Josie tossed her bag on the chair and sat down next to Dani

“Funny how?” she asked. “Anything serious?”

“I was just dizzy. The doctor in the emergency room told me that I am a little fatigued…nothing a good nap can’t fix.”

Josie looked at the TV screen and smiled.

“This looks like you are catching up on the TV you missed out on.”

“I have four days. Believe me, just being here and not at work is doing wonders for me.” Dani looked at her. “What about you? How is everything going for you? I hardly ever see you nowadays.”

Josie exhaled loudly.

“I know. There is a lot happening all at once. It’s ridiculous, to be honest. I feel like I can hardly breathe.”

“You should get a wedding planner,” Dani pointed out. “Things would be so much better that way.”

“I know but there are some things that I don’t want to outsource like getting a dress, which brings me to this point. I just spent the better part of the last hour with Ethan’s ex.”

Dani switched off the TV and turned to look at Josie.

“What the hell are you talking about?” she asked.

“This woman introduced herself to me the night of the company party and asked me to come to her bridal salon. She also thought that was a great time to point out that she and my fiancé used to be a thing.”

Dani shook her head.

“And you still went to her shop?” she asked. “What would make you do that?”

Josie shook her head.

“I don’t know what I was thinking but what got me angry is what she said to me.”

Dani shrugged.

“Spill,” she said and Josie exhaled loudly.

“Well, according to her, I am a nobody and Ethan and I are mismatched.”

“Mismatched how?” Dani asked.

“Well, it was a nice way of saying that she thought Ethan was too good for me. That I went looking for a billionaire and I struck gold,” Josie said angrily.

Dani looked at her roommate and shrugged.

“Of course, I don’t support the gold-digging mentality. That’s just backward.”

“What about the rest of the stuff she said?” Josie asked, surprised. “Because it sounds like you support the rest of the stuff she said.”

Dani took a long, deep breath.

“Well, you and Ethan are really different people from two opposite ends of the world. Everyone can see that.”

Josie raised an eyebrow over the other.

“Everyone?” She crossed her arms. “And who is everyone exactly?”

“Josie honey, I am on your side…but come on, you saw him at the restaurant. He was struggling…and for us that was a treat.”

“So, what? He lives off caviar and thousand-dollar bottles of champagne but that is just who he is!” Josie rubbed her temple. “You know what su*ks? The fact that I cannot get support, not even from my best friend.”

“No, Josie…” Dani started but Josie was already walking out of the living room. “Josie!” she called out.

“I don’t want to hear it!” Josie said before she slammed her bedroom door.

She laid on her bed and exhaled loudly. It was so weird that the one person she thought would be skeptical turned out to be her biggest supporter. Her mother had always been vocal about the people she chose to date but she was particularly understanding about Ethan. Josie did not know what to read into that, but then again, she could not compare the relationship she had with Dani to the one she had with her mother. She and Dani had been each other’s rocks through their lowest moments. Dani had been there for her through the uncertainty of her relationship with her exes and even after the breakup and Josie had been there for Dani in the same fashion. The two had so much history. If ever there was anyone who knew Josie as well as she knew herself, Josie would have bet everything she had that Dani was that person. But it was now clear that she had misjudged everything. However, as she lay there, Josie could not help but wonder if there was something in all the doubt she was hearing. Could it be that she was ignoring something she should not have been ignoring in the first place?

Josie felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. There was still so much to be done. She still had to officially move her stuff to Ethan’s place. She had to get a wedding planner and still plan when she and Ethan were supposed to go see her family down in Atlanta. She had to do all that and still balance her workload.

She was still lying on the bed when her phone rang. She reached for it and sat up when she saw Ethan’s name on the screen.

“Hello.”

“Hey, baby. How are you doing?” Ethan asked.

“Honestly, I’ve been better.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked and Josie exhaled loudly.

“No. I just want to stay in bed.”

“Are you at your apartment?”

“Yeah. I came over and Dani was here… You know how it goes.”

“I could come and get you.”

Josie shook her head and sat up.

“No, I’ll be fine. I only have a short time left in this apartment anyway.”

“Okay, then. See you at the office tomorrow?”

“Yeah, see you at the office.”

“I love you, Josie,” Ethan said and she smiled.

“I love you too. So much.”

She hung up and put the phone down.

“Maybe that is the problem. I love him too much to make an impartial decision or even think straight,” she wondered.