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“Who do you think you are?” Lindsay stated as I told her of my passionate night with Vince.  I didn’t quite know how to answer her.  I wasn’t sure who I was either…  The only reason I gave in to the passion was because I wanted to forget about Aiden.  But had I really forgotten about him?  For a period of time, I had… but now, I was beginning to regret my night with Vince.  “Where is Anne and what have you done with her?” Lindsay added, still waiting for me to answer her.  “I’m becoming a slut, aren’t I, Lindsay?” I asked as I rubbed my forehead.  I heard Lindsay laugh into the receiver.  “You’re not a slut; you’re me,” she answered.  I rolled my eyes.  “That’s not something to be proud of,” I replied.  “Well, I think it’s great; you need to get over Aiden, and you’re doing it.  I think you need more nights out with Vince…” Lindsay suggested.  I shook my head as I flipped through the TV channels.  Suddenly, I stopped on one…  It was playing the movie, Sleeping Beauty.  Thoughts of my day at Aiden’s house rushed back.  I remembered being caught singing along with Aurora…  “Lindsay, do you believe in fairy tale love?” I asked, watching Sleeping Beauty being pursued by Prince Phillip… 

“I mean, is there a love so perfect that there’s no way there won’t be a happy ending?” I added, suddenly feeling depressed.  I was coming off of my “Vince High.”  There was a long pause.  “I don’t think it exists…” she began.  “That’s why it’s called a fairy tale, Anne…  We have no luck; that’s why when you find it, it’s called ‘lucky in love.’  It just doesn’t exist.  I don’t know anyone that’s found it; I certainly haven’t found it…  And it’s because it just isn’t out there.”  I sat on my bed, trying to disagree with Lindsay, but I found myself agreeing with her.  Sure, Lindsay was this cynical, promiscuous girl, and generally, I wouldn’t agree with her, but for some reason, I had really lost myself.  And it scared me…  I couldn’t deal with it anymore.  “I have to go,” I stated as I hung up.  I was feeling terrible.  How could I have been so intimate with Vince when I was so in love with Aiden?  I was turning into something I didn’t want to be; I was losing Anne.  I shrugged my shoulders as I watched my favorite princess movie.  Suddenly, my phone began to vibrate.  I thought it was Lindsay, but when I looked at the caller ID, Vince’s name popped up.

At first, I didn’t want to answer.  I knew he was calling because he wanted another date, but I wasn’t sure I should say yes.  He wasn’t the best influence on my unstable life…  But as I sat there, watching Aurora get the kiss of life from her prince, the words Lindsay said were ringing in my ear.  It just isn’t out there…  I would never find my Prince Phillip; Aurora was meant to go on meaningless dates with other men and never live happily ever after…  So I answered the phone.  “Hello?”

“Hey… It’s Vince… So, I know that the protocol is generally to wait a few days before calling…  But I thought, screw the protocol.  I had a really great time last night, Anne…”

“I had a great time too.”

“So…  You told me I could call you…”

“And I’m glad that you did.”

“Really?  I’m so happy to hear you say that because I wanted to ask you out again…  I can’t get you off of my mind.  I was hoping you would say yes…”

“Well…”

“I know you won’t regret it.  You said you had a great time…  I know we’ll have just as much fun if you go out with me tonight.  I’m telling you, I’ve got some great ideas for our next date…”

I got out of the shower; a shower can really do wonders.  It releases all of that unwanted stress.  It certainly took all of my bad headaches and made me calm; it made me Zen…  That is, until my phone began to vibrate.  It was Aiden calling.  Why was Aiden calling me?  It’s as if he knew I was going out with another man and he wanted to have his say in the matter.  Well, he couldn’t have his say.  Yes, Vince was my ex, but we were getting along so much better the second time around…  I hesitated for a moment and was nearly convinced I shouldn’t answer, but something made me answer anyways.  “Hello?” I answered in annoyance.  “Anne?  We have a problem,” Aiden started.  I knew it; he doesn’t want me dating Vince…  “Look, I don’t have time for this right now; I have to go on my date with Vince and that is final,” I warned.  There was a slight pause as I waited for Aiden to respond.  “I didn’t realize you had a date…  Vince?  Isn’t that your ex-boyfriend?”  Well, if he didn’t know about it before, he just found out…  I sighed as I realized I just set myself up.  “What’s the problem?” I asked, trying to change the subject.  “Our bride-to-be is calling an emergency meeting tonight,” Aiden explained.

Wedding number 395…  Carrie Wilkes and Graham Dubois…  They seemed like an altogether happy couple, and they hadn’t really been much of the stress that couples generally are, but something was fishy about their arrangement.  I call it arrangement because Carrie was in love with another man, but her parents were forcing her to marry Graham.  And Graham was in love with another woman, but, just as in Carrie’s case, he was being forced into a loveless marriage.  Apparently, Graham has a very successful business, and the two families would like to be tied together.  The logical solution?  Carrie and Graham get married.  Now there’s society for you; we still have arranged marriages.  But here’s the thing; Carrie was so excited to marry Graham; I think it’s because she gets to plan a lavish wedding.  (She wanted gold silverware and dishware at the reception… and she got it.)  Both families are rich; their income and wealth will accumulate to over millions of dollars in a few short years.  A perfect marriage… if they were in love…

“I can’t go to any meetings tonight.  As I said before, I have a date tonight; I can’t just cancel,” I replied stubbornly.  I mean, I could, but I just didn’t want to spend any time with Aiden.  I also didn’t want to be reminded that people care more about financial gains than love.  I heard Aiden sigh over the receiver.  “You lived with Vince for two years…  He broke up with you over the phone, and here you are telling me that you can’t cancel a date with him…” he exclaimed.  If I wasn’t trying to lose the old Anne and forget about fairy tales and common sense, I would have most certainly agreed with Aiden.  But I WAS, so I didn’t.  “Aiden, you have no right to judge me or my relationships with other people.  Do I judge you because you and Maria, your ex-wife who left you for your best friend, are together?  I haven’t said a word; I think you should do the same,” I countered, feeling a sudden surge of rage.  How dare he?  He really was being a hypocrite…  “Anne, that’s not… forget it,” he stated.  “You have to come and that is final.  This is your JOB; something you’ve been neglecting lately…”

I sighed as I realized it was a job; I didn’t really have a say in the matter, even though it was MY business… technically…  “Fine; I’ll be there in an hour,” I finally gave in, hanging up without hearing what else Aiden had to say.  It made me so mad; I was trying to get over Aiden, but I couldn’t do that if I had to work with him so closely…  My date with Vince was going to help ease the pain and heal.  Now I had to cancel…  It really made me furious; I grabbed my pillow and threw it at the wall.  “This is not funny!” I yelled to no one.  I was talking about my life.  “My life is not some comedy that people watch weekly and get a dose of laughter…  I just want things to be less complicated… for once!” I yelled again.  That’s when I realized I was still just in my towel, and my soaking wet hair was dripping onto the carpet.  I shrugged my shoulders and set down the phone.  I went back into my bathroom and got dressed.  When I was just ready to go, I realized I hadn’t called Vince.  I actually felt terrible about canceling.  He was turning out to be such a great guy…  I did wonder why he wasn’t like that when we were together before, but I shrugged it off and thanked God he had changed.

“Hello?” Vince answered, sounding as though he was in a hurry.

“Vince, it’s Anne,” I began.

“I know; I have caller ID.  What’s up?”

“Well, you see, it’s like this…  I got an emergency phone call from work, and I found out that I have to go in tonight.  I really tried to reschedule, but I just can’t.  I’m so sorry.  I really did want to go out; I was looking forward to what you had in store for me…”

“Oh…  That’s okay, as long as you really did want to go out with me, and this isn’t some excuse…”

“Vince, do you remember last night?  Because I certainly do…”

“Yeah, I remember…”

“Why would I want to make an excuse?  It was amazing…  I was hoping we could reschedule.”

“Yeah; of course.  That gives me some extra time to make this date just as good as the last…  I’ll call you later and set up another day.”

“Good; I can’t wait…  Thanks for understanding,” I stated as I checked my watch.  I was running late…  “I’ll be waiting for another kiss,” Vince replied as he hung up.  I smiled to myself as I grabbed my jacket and keys.  Suddenly I felt really good about my decision to date Vince.  Maybe he was good for me; he told me exactly everything that I wanted to hear.  I liked that…  But my happiness soon began to fade as I drove in my car down to the office.  Suddenly my palms were sweaty, and I grew extremely nervous.  I didn’t quite know what to expect.  And it wasn’t because of the “emergency meeting;” it was because I was going to see Aiden…  I had avoided him ever since our fiasco at the elevator.  I only spoke two words to him; “hi” and “goodbye.”  I just couldn’t look at him anymore.  Every time he walked past me, or got in my way to reach something, I would smell that intoxicating scent and remember how we almost kissed…  It was so hard to forget it; to just push it out of my mind.  I exited my car as little snowflakes planted themselves onto my long hair.  I walked into the building and towards the elevator; I almost took the stairs… 

“Anne, I thought you had a date,” Kip replied as I exited onto our floor.  It was dark outside, and it felt unnatural to be at work in the late hours.  I shrugged my shoulders.  “I did, but apparently we have an emergency meeting…” I stated as I walked over to the conference room.  I could see Graham’s muscular shoulders through the window.  Kip offered his doughnut.  I shook my head as I entered the room.  Aiden was there, sitting in front of the couple.  A shiver went down my spine when he looked at me.  I reluctantly sat down next to him and took off my jacket.  “Okay, so what’s this emergency meeting?” I asked, struggling to ignore Aiden’s intoxicating scent.  Carrie rubbed her forehead.  “It’s what I’ve been getting a headache over…” she began.  I wondered what it could possibly be.  Maybe she was having second thoughts about marrying a total stranger, or maybe she wanted the groom to be the man she truly loved…  “We wanted to change the bridesmaid’s dresses,” she exclaimed.  Graham rolled his eyes adding, “AGAIN.”  Honestly, Carrie had changed her mind on the dresses at least five times.

I couldn’t believe she was going to change it again; their wedding was in two days.  “Carrie, why do you want to change it again?” I asked, growing extremely frustrated with all of the people who would need to be called.  “It just doesn’t feel right.  I was thinking about purple,” Carrie stated.  Aiden shook his head.  “You women and your feelings…” he muttered.  I tried to ignore his comment.  “What is wrong with the dress you chose?” he added as he struggled to get the wedding binder from me.  It had pictures of all the dresses and suits, the cake, the flowers, the guest list, the caterer, the florist, the menu for the reception; you name it, it was in that book.  I was holding it, and Aiden wanted it.  He reached over my arm and put his hand on the binder.  A sudden whiff of his cologne engulfed my nose.  I felt tingles in my arms as my breath began to be heavier and faster.  I could feel my palms become all sweaty.  “Anne?  Can I please have the binder?” Aiden asked as he looked me in the eye.  His face was too close for comfort as I struggled not to grab him right there and kiss him.

“Sure,” I muttered as I looked back at him.  I couldn’t break my gaze… he was hypnotizing.  Snap out of it, Anne, my brain yelled.   I let go of the binder and turned away from Aiden.  “Excuse me, but I need to go to the restroom,” I managed to reply.  I had to get a hold of myself; this was no way to be acting.  I got out of the chair and left the room.  I began to hyperventilate as I reached the bathroom door.  When I got inside, I actually slapped myself.  “Stop it, Anne, just stop it…  You look ridiculous fawning over Aiden; you should be getting over him,” I told myself.  I stood in front of the mirror and looked at myself for a few minutes, struggling to bring down my heart rate.  Before I left the bathroom, I splashed some water on my face.  When I finally exited, I heard voices in the hallway.  They were in the corner, and one of the voices sounded like Carrie.  I figured the other one belonged to Graham, but when the man spoke again, it was a deep baritone, unlike Graham’s tenor…  It certainly wasn’t Aiden who was talking; the man had no English accent.  And it wasn’t Kip; I knew his voice quite well.

So who was it?  I guess my curiosity got the best of me.  I tiptoed over in that direction and peeked my head out just enough to see what was going on.  It was Carrie all right, but it definitely wasn’t Graham.  “Seth, please, don’t be so difficult.  I told you I was marrying Graham.  I still love you, but this is just how it has to be,” Carrie pleaded.  Oh… He’s her lover…  Seth put his hands up on Carrie’s neck and put his forehead against her forehead.  “I know…  I just can’t see you with Graham…  It kills me every time you’re with him.  I want you to marry ME, Carrie, not Graham,” he stated.  Carrie let out a despairing sigh.  “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry… I love you, Seth,” she replied as tears began to fall down her cheeks.  Seth pulled her into an embrace and kissed her.  It made my heart break.  Why was Carrie marrying Graham?  She was so obviously in love with Seth.  It was almost painful.  It was unfair!  Why should she suffer because her family wants to gain more money?  I stood there for a few seconds with my thoughts when I realized Seth had disappeared and Carrie was standing beside me, embarrassed.  “You heard everything, didn’t you?” she asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

I shrugged my shoulders.  “I wasn’t spying.  I came out of the bathroom and I heard voices…  Look, Carrie, I just don’t understand why you won’t marry Seth,” I exclaimed, hoping that I wasn’t prying too much.  Carrie shook her head.  “Of course you don’t; only I do…  It’s hard to explain.  Seth is just… I couldn’t marry him,” was all she could say.  But WHY? “You would rather be filthy rich with Graham than be totally in love with Seth for the rest of your life?” I asked, trying to understand her logic.  “Money won’t make you happy,” I added.  Carrie nodded as she fixed her mascara in her compact mirror.  “Money may not make me happy, but marrying Graham is the right thing to do…” she replied as she shut the mirror and switched modes to “happy Carrie” again.  “Can we go fix the problem with my dresses?  The wedding is in two days and I don’t want to see sea-foam green for my bridesmaid’s dresses…” she warned.

I followed after her into the conference room; Carrie acted as though nothing had happened as I struggled to do the same.  “You girls sure take long in the bathroom,” Graham commented.  Carrie laughed as I mustered up a smile.  “I think we should take care of the problem now,” Aiden added as I sat down.  For a split second, I thought he was talking about OUR problem; that’s when I realized he was talking about the wedding.  I nodded and settled myself in for a long night…