The Heart Wants What It Wants

She was in the stall when she heard it.

“How long do you think this one is going to last?”

“I’d give it another month. The moment she says the L word, or tries to push him for a commitment, she’s going to be out the door. She’s not even a supermodel or anything, not like the last couple of girls he turned up with.”

Were they talking about her?

“I know, right? She’s pretty ordinary. Pretty enough, but you know, nothing to make you go ‘wow’.”

“Could do with a diet, really. Remember Alison? She was so gorgeous! But she wanted babies. I heard that that’s what ended it. George Hemsworth is never going to be tied down to a woman again. Remember the day we ran into Alison at that restaurant for lunch? She’d been drinking and crying.”

“That’s what a man like him can do to a woman, and that’s when he’s being kind! I bet we’ll have a new one by the next party.”

“I’m not a sucker, no takers! Come on, let’s go and see if there’s more shrimp.”

It took a while for Diana to realize that she was alone, and could come out. She quickly washed her hands, fixed her makeup, and looked at herself.

She didn’t look like her world was threatening to shatter. That was good. She couldn’t afford to let it shatter.

It had just been gossip. There was nothing to it.

It didn’t matter.

She went out, and she had that smile on her face again.

They didn’t know what they were talking about. They didn’t matter.

“You were quiet all night,” said George when they got home.

“I didn’t really know what kind of conversation to have. I didn’t know too many people.”

“I neglected you for too long, didn’t I? Come here. I’ll make it up to you.”

She should say no. But she needed the reassurance of his touch, of what he could do to her.

So she went to him, walked into his arms for that kiss that melted her doubts away.

Just words, said by people who didn’t know them, or what they had.

Her heart wept because she was no longer sure what she’d seen in his eyes.