Page 70 of Wanted

He’s wearing leather flip-flops, so I guess he’s right. On the left is the famous Santa Monica Pier with the Ferris wheel and so many people walking everywhere.

I feel like a little girl as we walk closer to the shore. With less than three yards to go, I can’t take it anymore. I don’t mind if my feet get all blistered. I’m at the beach.

Lionel kept his promise and brought me to the ocean.

I untie my shoelaces and smile at Lionel. I leave my Chucks arranged with the socks inside and pick up my long skirt a bit so that it doesn’t get wet as I run off to chase a small wave.

I raise my hands without caring about the clothes when the water almost reaches my knees.

“I’m in the ocean, Lionel,” I yell again like it wasn’t obvious. I’m blown away.

“I’m aware.” He puts his hands in his pockets and although we are separated by a few yards I feel that we are closer than ever.

A thought comes to my mind as shocked as the wave crashing into my calves, splashing salty water everywhere, making me laugh out loud. The trick in life isn’t to have the perfect cards in hand, but to learn to deal with what you have.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Catherine, I need your help,” I say, holding the phone tight as I wait for my new friend to have some fairy godmother skills, like Cinderella’s.

The weekend has gone by as fast as the waves erasing our intertwined names written in the sand. As fast as the roller coaster that Lionel and I rode on the Santa Monica Pier, and it was wonderful. One moment we were in our bed, enjoying our Sunday, the next my husband was waking me up with a coffee before leaving for the office.

Let me pause right here, because God, Lionel in a suit.

Lionel in a suit!

Without a doubt, the man knows how to look good in one. It isn’t the expensive fabric, nor the pristine white of his starched shirt, nor the cut of his tailored suit. It’s him. All of him. The way he smells, the way he moves.

The way he looks at me.

On top of that, I think we are finally finding the way to save our relationship. It isn’t the sex—even though I don’t have any complaints in that department—but we’ve talked a lot about our expectations.

And I think I’m finally ready to let go of the resentment that I have been accumulating all these days. Maybe I forgave him too easily, perhaps someone might think that I’ve been making a storm in a glass of water, turning the same page, but none of those people are in my shoes, none of them had their lives flipped upside down in a blink.

“Did you decide to make a dent in your husband’s credit card?” she asks jokingly when I tell her my plans.

“No,” I reply and it’s the truth. “You see, I have some money saved, money that I never told him about. I suppose this is a good time to make an investment.”

She laughs, and I do the same.

“Agreed, a woman’s wardrobe is always an investment,” she declares decisively. “Dress the part, that’s what they say, right?”

I’ve been thinking a lot this weekend and the time has come to become a slightly more polished version of myself. I don’t expect big changes, just something that seems less out of my town’s thrift shop.

“Something like that.” But there is something that Catherine will need to use all her powers, magic wand and everything for. “Do you know someone who can give me a good haircut?”

She lets out a gasp, I think I might have offended her.

“Girl,” she snaps. “In my client portfolio, I have the brightest stars in this city, I wouldn’t be able to do my job fully if I didn’t have all the resources at my fingertips. Let me make a couple of calls and we’ll make an appointment, you want to do all of this before the agency party, I suppose.”

I think about it a bit before answering. “The sooner, the better. Of course, although I have some money to spend, I can’t go crazy. If you could get a good discount, I would appreciate it.”

Sale is my favorite word, without a doubt.

“Leave everything in my hands, I like this new project. Don’t worry, I will work my magic. The agency party is the event of the year, have you ever heard of the party that Vanity Fair offers after the Oscars? Get ready, because this is something like that. Everyone who boasts of having a name in this city will be there.” God, those words sound almost like a threat. Is it too late to call it off? “And don’t even think about bailing out at the last minute, Lionel attends alone every year. I’m sure that many jaws will hit the floor when they see him arrive with his wife by his side. Let’s get you ready. Oh, Stella, this is going to be a lot of fun.”

Her enthusiasm is so great that it’s even contagious. The gears in my head have started. I can already imagine Lionel’s face when he sees me walking through the door wearing new clothes and with a new haircut.

A thousand butterflies flutter in my stomach as I imagine entering the reception holding hands. I’ve never been to a formal party in my life, my mother never allowed me to go to school dances, those are things of the devil and as the good daughter I am, I always followed the rules to a T, with very few exceptions and with the aid of Ali. I think that is the reason why my mother hasn’t fully accepted her, even after so many years of friendship.

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