“Whenever the housekeepers came to “clean” the untouched bed and furniture, they slipped me boxes of Kleenex and bottled water. Looking back, I owe them a great deal of gratitude and hope that my words will somehow reach them.
“Once I finally gained the strength to face the world, I called my parents and told them I was coming home. I took a cab to the brownstone my ex-fiancé and I still shared and changed clothes. I threw whatever outfits I could into my oversized Hermés bag and headed for the airport.
“When I made it to Memphis, I lay in bed for what felt like years, ignoring the numerous phone calls and voice messages that poured in. There was nothing anyone could say to ease my pain. There was nothing anyone could do to erase the humiliation and hurt of my fiancé’s betrayal.
“I’ll admit I opened the wedding gifts with utter excitement and kept all things of value. I felt that I deserved each and every one of them.
“After two weeks of Southern comfort, I returned to work, only to be turned away. So, I convinced my sister to join me on the two week honeymoon my fiancé and I would’ve taken.
“Although I cried the first few days, I enjoyed the next week and a half immensely. I even managed to spend time with a handsome guy, time that ended in a soul searing kiss.
“Yet, as my vacation came to an end and I returned to reality in New York, I realized I was still reeling from the pain.
“Adding salt to my wound was the fact that few people even cared. It was as if I was supposed to quickly get over it, as if my heart was supposed to magically mend. It was if I was supposed to get over the fact that my wedding dress—which took six months to perfect—was now a symbol of wasted money and time. (It now has a home in a black trash bag, and when I stop trying it on every night, it will find its way to the nearest Goodwill.) “I’ve spent the past few days going over what I did wrong, what I could have done better. I’ll even admit that despite my fiancé’s infidelity, I temporarily blamed myself.
“However, I’ve finally accepted that I did not deserve to be left at the altar. I did not deserve to be cheated on, and I did not deserve to have the past six years of my life ripped away in six seconds.
“I’m by no means perfect—I procrastinate on most assignments, I never pay my bills on time, and I have a tendency to use all the dishes in my cabinet before opening the dishwasher.
“But do any of these traits make me a horrible person? Do they make me any less worthy of marrying than the next woman?
“I don’t think so.
“Next time you watch a romantic comedy where the groom leaves his fiancé at the altar, remember that not everyone in that movie gets the happy ending.
“Remember that the woman standing in the background is the one who will have to pick up all the pieces.
“Your friend forever, “Melody Carter.”
I read the sentence about the “handsome guy” and “soul searing kiss” over and over and laughed.
I sent Joan on a two day investigation mission and as usual, she delivered. I was sitting across the street from a large stone apartment complex, waiting for someone to leave.
In two hours I’d eaten two bags of chips, a cheesesteak sub, and a box of Oreo cookies. I was beginning to believe that no one lived in that building until I saw a woman approaching the door.
I jumped out of the car and rushed over. “Excuse me, Miss? Can I ask you for a favor?”
“I don’t have any money,” she fiddled with her keys. “Try the people on the Upper East Side.”
“I’m not asking for money ma’am,” I stepped in front of the door.
“Matt Sterling?”
Damn. I thought the baseball cap and shades would be enough today…
“Umm no. Well yes,” I took off my shades. “I need a huge favor.”
I paced the eighteenth floor landing for at least twenty minutes. When I finally got a hold of myself, I knocked on the door. There was no answer. I knocked again.
“I’m coming! Give me a second!” Melody’s voice cried out.
She swung the door open. “Yes? How may I—what are you doing here?”
“Returning this,” I handed her a business card.
“My realtor’s card? Um thanks? I bought the apartment so I don’t think I need that anymore.”
“You dropped it the day you ran away from me. You’re lucky some stranger didn’t pick it up and track you down.”
Her eyes widened and she took a step back.
That’s right. You’re not getting away from me today.
I sensed she wasn’t going to initiate things. “You know, I could sue you.”
“For what?”
“For libel. For mentioning me in your article the other day.”
“Libel? I never said your name. Besides, how do you know I was referring to you?”
“I don’t. Are you going to invite me in? Isn’t that a courtesy when someone returns something that belongs to you?”
Invite me in!
She blushed. “Sure. You have to leave in five minutes though.”
“And why is that?”