Page 3 of Love Rescheduled

“Put her on speaker,” Jolene demanded in her killer alto voice. I could picture her stumbling into Tara’s room in a T-shirt, her wild brunette curls all askew.

“Good morning, darling,” I teased.

She wasn’t buying it. “What’s this about you getting married?”

“I’m not dating anyone. I’m not getting married,” I repeated. “It was just a stupid gut reaction two and a half years ago.”

“Ohhhh,” they said in unison. They were well aware of the circumstances during that fateful time of my life.

Josh had just gotten engaged to his longtime comedic partner who starred in most of his hilarious Instagram and YouTube videos that had catapulted him to fame as one of the most successful stand-up comedians around these days. Josh used to say that he and Camila were just friends, but it only took them five months to get engaged after our breakup. Or I should say, after I broke up with him. Either way, it made me question how friendly they really were. Oddly, they never got married. In fact, Camila was married to someone else now. And yet, the two were still working together. They’d told the press they’d decided they were better off as friends. In the devastation of it all, I scheduled my own wedding, thinking that since I scheduled everything else, why not the eventual ultimate love match? Obviously, I had forgotten that little tidbit until now.

“It’s fine. I’m going to delete it.”

“You can’t do that,” Jolene stated. “Isn’t it you that says if it’s scheduled, it’s in stone?”

“Well, yeah, but this is different.”

“How?” Tara asked. “Out of the three of us, it’s you who wants to be married.”

“Odd, considering my history.” Let’s just say I didn’t grow up in the best environment. Not the worst, but it definitely wasn’t healthy. But it was true. I wanted to be married and have a family of my own. Even though I knew it would add chaos to my order. Alec and I talked about this frequently in our weekly sessions. We were identifying obstacles and strategies. The first obstacle being that I was doing nothing to meet any eligible men. By eligible, I meant they must meet my well-crafted criteria. Alec wasn’t a fan of the criteria.

“I don’t think it’s strange. You crave stability, and let’s face it, you loved being in love.”

“Yeah, I did,” I quietly admitted. “But obviously I didn’t expect my fictitious wedding date to come to fruition. I haven’t even dated anyone since Josh.”

“Maybe you should call him,” Tara suggested. It wasn’t the first time she’d said those words.

“No,” I was quick to say. “He’s moved on and he’s happy in LA.” A place I could never be happy. Besides, Josh told me if I walked away, there was no coming back. I’d broken his heart … and my own … but it was better this way. He needed a woman more like Camila, or even my best friends. Someone who was okay with being in the spotlight and the life of the party. If it was true that every party had a pooper, I would be it. Not that I begrudged anyone else having fun at parties. It’s just I preferred to sit in a corner and read. Or not go at all.

“Okay, so what’s the plan for your September thirtieth wedding?” Jolene asked.

“Seriously, this is so not happening. It was a lapse in judgment brought on by severe emotional anguish.”

“Oh no. I don’t think so. You never schedule anything unless you mean it. Besides, you really need to get out more,” Tara admonished me.

“I was distraught,” I half-whined. It was all coming back to me. When I’d seen Josh’s engagement announcement on that Instagram post on his thirty-first birthday, I immediately made plans for my wedding. I chose that date because it was right before I turned thirty. And for whatever reason, I wanted to be married before I started the next decade. And I had thought a fall wedding with only a few people in the backyard of the tiny cottage my beloved nana left me, which I now call home, would be perfect.

“Be that as it may, you always keep to your schedule. This is so happening.” Jolene sounded way too giddy, considering it was an adjective I wouldn’t have previously used to describe her.

“This is ridiculous. You just don’t schedule love.” Sure, in a moment of deep despair I thought I could, but no one should hold me accountable for that now.

“If anyone can, it’s you.” Tara deadpanned.

That was kind of true. I had a knack for making everything on my schedule work out. But love? That was going to take some major planning and probably extra sessions with Alec. The only time I’d ever been in love, it had caught me by complete surprise. No planning involved on any level. That’s how I ended up with my polar opposite—Josh. He hated schedules and left his underwear on the floor. Worse, he didn’t wash his jeans in between wearing them. Don’t even get me going on how often he washed his towels. Or should I say how infrequently? And his place always smelled like old Chinese takeout. But I loved him despite us constantly driving each other crazy.

“I’m picking out my maid of honor dress,” Jolene chuckled.

“Hey, I’m going to be her maid of honor,” Tara complained.

I smiled even though this was insane talk. “You can both be the maid of honor in my fictitious wedding.”

“No ma’am,” Tara’s southern side came out. “We expect your wedding plan by tomorrow.”

“We know how you love to make a good plan,” Jolene added. “This better be your best one yet. Talk to you soon.”

They hung up, leaving me staring at my phone, crazy thoughts consuming me. Could I really schedule love?

AT EXACTLY 10:00 A.M., I walked out the door into the chilly morning, ready for my daily walk around the nearby city park. I made exceptions for rain and the rare times it snowed. The exception was for location only, as my walk was nonnegotiable. Thank goodness for my treadmill. And in the summers, I walked earlier because of the heat and humidity. One could say I was a creature of habit and comfort. Alec would say I was a creature who lived in the comfort zone. He didn’t say it to be callous. He knew I didn’t grow up in the kindest of situations and I had some pretty embarrassing things from my past that scarred me. Think public humiliations and selfish parents who made me feel ultra-self-conscious. So, he understood my need to control my environment. Was it the healthiest? No. But was I working on it? Uh … slowly. Maybe tomorrow I would leave at 10:01. Maybe.

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