This Was Meant To Be

Leigh smiled, and she found, to her shock, that she believed him.

But she needed to think.

And she needed Emily.

She could only be incredibly grateful that Emily was home again, because she didn’t know how she could possibly sort through everything on her own.

*****

“I think you should go for it.”

Leigh gaped.

That wasn’t really what she had expected.

She’d expected long conversations where they weighed the pros and cons, Emily told her what she would do, she considered what she should do, and then back to square one again. They usually dissected situations and examined them from every possible direction, and a few fairly impossible ones.

But there she was, having just told Emily, who had come over to spend the night again, what Harrison had told her, and apparently that was that.

“Don’t you think there’s more to it than that?”

Emily shrugged.

“Oh, come on, Leigh. You know you over-complicate situations needlessly. I mean, really, you like him, don’t you?”

Leigh was even more taken aback now.

“Well, it’s Harrison.”

But that was an evasion, and both of them knew that.

“Yes, I know it’s Harrison. I’ve always liked him, really. If he hadn’t always had that look in his eyes when you’re around, I’d have given him a good try myself!”

Leigh gaped again.

“What?”

Emily looked at Leigh and laughed.

“Oh come on, Leigh. He is a good man, he’s extremely easy on the eye, he’s rich, he loves his family, he has faced adversity and beaten it, he’s made it to the top mostly thanks to his own tenaciousness, and he has an excellent sense of humor. Not to mention the charm. What else is there to look for in a man? Of course, I don’t think he’d be up for camping in the Arctic with me, so that’s another reason why I haven’t made a play for him.”

Leigh was bewildered.

“You think he’s had a look in his eye when I’m around?”

Emily shook her head at Leigh as if she couldn’t believe the naivety Leigh was revealing.

“I can’t believe you never noticed it. I thought you’ve always known, but chose not to mention it. I mean, the family dynamics would probably make things a bit awkward, but it’s nothing insurmountable, I think. Now, you decided to talk to me about it, instead of deciding on your own and telling me about it. So you’re not sure, which means you might have feelings for him.”

Leigh shifted guiltily, and took another slice of pizza.

When Emily was around, there was always junk food. After how much she had missed junk food for the last few months, Leigh couldn’t ask her to get something healthy, too.

Carl would’ve been grumpy about that. To be honest, Emily would never have come around so often if Carl were still there.

Leigh assumed Carl was off backpacking and happy. It was nice to realize that she was no longer second-guessing what she could and should have done about him.

She was happy with how things had turned out, and that was a revelation in itself.

“I don’t know. He’s important to me, Em. But I don’t want things to turn sour between us. All right, so I’ve had a few feelings for him, but I thought it was just a rebound thing and would fade away. Maybe if I give it time, it will, anyway.”

Emily looked at her steadily.

“And maybe if you give it a chance, it will turn out to be something more. Look, you have faith in your affection for each other, right?”

Leigh nodded.

“So don’t you think it will endure, even if things don’t work out romantically between the two of you?”

Leigh hesitated.

She felt like it might. She knew it should. But could she really put it to the test?

On the other hand, if she didn’t, she might be losing the chance of finding something precious for them. It might be, she knew that.

And everything Emily had said about Harrison was true, but Leigh knew that he was more than all of that. He was just the most wonderful, most giving person she had ever known.

Still, she hesitated.

Emily sighed.

“Leigh, you matter so much to Harrison. He wouldn’t have told you this without considering everything a million times. So he has faith in what he feels for you. Can you have that same faith?”

Emily’s words were quiet and serious, and they hit hard.

She did, realized Leigh. Even when she didn’t have as much faith in herself as she should, she had faith in Harrison. Nothing would shake that. She was sure of that.

Still, Leigh decided to sleep on it and make her decision in the morning.

She woke up to a text from Harrison.

Leigh, I need you to know that I’ll always be here for you, no matter what you decide. I’m always on your side.

She read that, and she couldn’t have stopped the smile that bloomed on her face to save a life.

It made up her mind for her.

She was going to take a chance and go out on a date with Harrison. The future, for once, could take care of itself, because she was going to live in the moment and take a chance.

*****

Leigh was nervous as she waited for Harrison to pick her up.

She had done this so many times and survived just fine, she chided herself.

But it wasn’t the same. She knew that.

There was no point trying to fool herself into thinking it was.

This time, it was a date.

Harrison got there right on time, and she slipped in, something she had done so often.

She looked at him, and for the first time in a long time, wondered if he liked what she was wearing, wondered if he was attracted to her.

“You look lovely. Metallic colors suit you so well,” said Harrison, and his voice held an intimacy that she had never heard before.

It made her feel awkward, but not just awkward. She was pleased, she realized, underneath the awkwardness.

She was wearing a short dress the color of dull, beaten, old gold, and she knew it looked good on her. It made her look glamorous.

“Thank you. Where’re we going?”

Harrison smiled again, and there was pure male appreciation in his eyes. Had she never seen that before?

“It’s a surprise,” he told her, and she settled back to wait.

Leigh would’ve found it hard to relinquish control even a couple of weeks ago. Had that been part of the reason why she had stayed with Carl? He had been so disinterested that Leigh had made all the choices.