to appear like I belonged here. I thanked the woman that took my coat and checked my outfit one last time as I gave the name of the reservation. Surprisingly, no one looked at me strangely as I walked through the restaurant. I was going to have to give Robert a big thank you for helping me out with this outfit.
I smiled at Rebecca as I took the seat across from her. She was eyeing my outfit with amusement.
“What? Did I put this together wrong?”
“No, you look fabulous. I just didn’t expect you to show up in that.”
“Well, Robert convinced me I needed it. I gave him hell for it, but now I think I need to thank him.”
She waved me off. “Don’t worry about all these people. They may gossip about you, but you’ll never have to see any of them again. Besides, I get the feeling that you really don’t care what they think anyway.”
“Honestly, this isn’t my scene.”
“I know, but they have excellent food,” she grinned.
“So, what’s good?”
“Pretty much anything you order. So, why don’t you explain to me why a man like Robert would put a fake diamond on your hand.”
Startled, I glanced down at my hand and resisted the urge to curl my hand and hide it from her. I smiled tightly and told a lie. “Robert gave me this when we were kids. Call it nostalgia. I didn’t want to give it up.”
“You really are very different than someone I would have pictured him with. I have to say, it’s really refreshing to talk to anyone that doesn’t only see dollar signs. But then again, in my divorce, that’s all I’m looking at,” she whispered.
“Yes, but rightfully so. I would be angry also if my husband was doing what yours is.”
She sighed and placed her menu down on the table. “I have no one to talk to about this. That’s why I called you. All of my friends…well, let’s just say that I don’t actually have any friends. I have acquaintances, and if they found out about my plans, the gossip mills would be churning.”
“Maybe the move will be good for you then,” I said, glancing around to make sure no one was close enough to hear. “Maybe you could move and find some real friends.”
“What’s it like?” she asked, leaning forward.
“To have friends?”
“No,” she shook her head. “To live in a small town where everyone knows everyone else.”
“Uh…” I thought about that for a moment, trying to decide what to tell her. “When I was growing up, it felt like hell. Everyone knew that my mother was a drunk. We didn’t have a lot of money, so it was pretty obvious that I was the poor kid based on the way I dressed.”
“And Robert didn’t care,” she said with a smile.
I shook my head. “He was my best friend. But life is different at that age. You don’t look at all the different angles in life. You only see what’s right in front of you.”
“What happened between the two of you?”
“Life happened,” I said evasively. I didn’t know this woman, and as much as I wanted to trust her, I knew I couldn’t. I barely knew her. And Robert wouldn’t appreciate me telling all this to a client. She didn’t pry any further, just smiled at me. The waiter came by to take our orders, and when he left, I finished my story. “He went off to college and I…stayed behind. It turned out that we were just too different. Or maybe we both knew that things wouldn’t turn out the way we planned.”
“And what makes this time different?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you’ve seen Robert. He dresses for the job. He has a nice apartment in the city, which doesn’t come cheap, and he drives a really nice sports car. And you don’t seem to care about any of that.”
“Is it that obvious?” I asked.
“I wish I could say that you’ll make it this time, but the only advice I can give is to use caution. Trust me, it sucks when you realize that the life you’ve built isn’t going to work the way you planned.”
“So, you’re saying I should plan for the inevitable.”
She leaned forward, resting one elbow on the table. “I’m saying, look at what your life will look like if you go through with your wedding. If you like the way it will look, if that will make you happy, then go for it. But if you think you won’t