“I can do this,” she breathed. She headed down the stairs with Cadbury in tow, wrapping a bright red pea coat around her body before heading outside and walking briskly to Ada’s Coffee. She ordered a tall hot chocolate with all the extras: whipped cream, chocolate curls, and something heavenly called toffee crunch.
Thinking to the groveling to come, she also ordered drinks for each of the staff, and some cranberry zucchini bread. Elly sipped her drink slowly as she walked back, feeling with each step that she should mentally arm herself for what lay ahead. She stood outside her shop and looked in the window. Sitting at her now glass-less table were Kim, Snarky Teenager and Anthony. They were all talking animatedly, with Kim waving her hands around like a maniac. Elly smiled. She truly loved these people, she really did. And she hoped they would love her after this. Cadbury, seeing Kim’s Lexus parked at the curb, started barking excitedly, causing all three to look up to the window.
“Here we go,” mumbled Elly, and stepped inside. Cadbury ran to Kim and collapsed at her feet. He was a total fool for her. It was something she understood well.
Elly stood in front of the group, trying to keep her voice calm and under control. “As you all know, I have decided that we are going to do Aaron’s wedding. I hope that you will respect my decision and understand my reasoning. Now, if that’s all…”
“ELLY. YOU CANNOT DO THIS!” interrupted Kim. “This is WRONG. You cannot handle this wedding! Aaron cheated on you and wrecked your life and you cannot REWARD him by doing this.”
Snarky Teenager piped in. “Are you a masochist or something? Is this you punishing yourself for leaving him? You are dating that hot guy next door now, you don’t need to care about anything that has to do with Aaron.”
Kim went on, livid. “Elly, listen to me. You have spent the past three days sobbing about this dirt bag! And it’s justified! But taking this wedding will just prolong your pain, and it will give Lucia a chance to gloat in your face! Elly, I love you and I think you are a very strong person, but you will not handle this well. I know that much.”
Snarky Teenager flung her arms into the air. “Not to mention that you will be making the bouquet OF THE WOMAN HE LEFT YOU FOR!” She paused, her eyes lighting up with mischief. “We should set it ON FIRE!”
While the two of them continued ranting, Anthony stayed silent, his eyes lingering on Elly. He finally raised his hand, and Kim and Snarky Teenager fell silent. “Elly, why don’t you tell us why you want to take this wedding.”
She paced in front of them. “It’s hard to explain” she started, wearily. “I stayed up all night thinking it through. I know this is the right decision. I…” Elly steeled her nerves. “I can’t let Aaron ruin MY life. He destroyed me. So much that I created a whole new life for myself rather than face what he did. I’ve spent the past few years pushing him out of my mind, the very place that I should have control over.” She paused, catching her breath. “Let’s be honest - I need to move on. If I don’t do the wedding, it will always be there, the fact that Aaron could take one more thing away from me.”
She shakily raised her Ada’s Coffee bag. “Also, I bought you zucchini bread, so you have to do this, okay?”
Utter skepticism was still displayed on their faces. Elly bit her lip out of frustration. Kim rose out of her seat and put her arm around her shoulder. “Elly, we love you. We’re just having a hard time understanding.”
Elly took a deep, purging breath.
“You might not realize this, but not doing this wedding will have repercussions. Sunny is a very well connected woman. We don’t want all of St. Louis society and every hotel owner from here to St. Charles thinking that we cannot handle a large wedding. They won’t know the details of why we pulled out at the last minute; they will just know that we acted unprofessionally.” High point, she thought. They looked half-convinced. “And, I know that this is silly, but I really, really like Sunny. She is a sweet woman, and I wouldn’t be able to tell her why I would suddenly decline the wedding. It’s too late. She would never find another florist who could give her what she wants with this short notice.”
Kim jumped in. “Elly, we aren’t worried about Sunny. We’re worried about you. We just want you to do the best thing for you. I think that you may be making this decision emotionally, out of some stubborn desire…”
Snarky Teenager spoke quietly. “I think you may be mistaking Aaron hiring you for his wedding with Aaron coming back for you.”
Everyone fell silent, as Snarky Teenager had spoken the words that everyone thought but didn’t want to say. Elly put her drink on the table where she sat and looked her workers and best friend in the eyes. “Please understand. I know it won’t be easy. I know that it will probably break me a little more. But I need to do this. I need a resolution. I need my heart to be free from Aaron.” She raised her eyes to the ceiling and muttered quickly: “I also may need to pay off my apartment.”