A Year to Remember (5 page)
I laughed out loud when I read his email. Comfortable now that my personal life would remain personal, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
FEBRUARY 27, 2012
DETROIT, MICHIGAN
WEIGHT: 185 LBS.
STATUS: SINGLE
On Monday, I returned to the boring routine I called my life, treating dramatic girls for their teenage angst. I shared an office suite with my mother, also a psychologist, although she only treated adults. Sometimes she saw the mother, while I treated the daughter. When we initially made the arrangement to share an office, I worried we’d quarrel, as we had when I was younger. Yet, it had worked out rather well over the last two years. I didn’t see much of her, despite sharing office space.
Because my clients tended to be in school for most of the day, I didn’t see my first until three in the afternoon. I spent the few hours prior doing paperwork and other mundane tasks.
I used an answering service for emergency calls, but clients could leave a message on my voicemail, if they chose. Today, the flashing light on the telephone informed me I had at least one. Sitting in my comfy chair with a can of Diet Coke, I listened to my messages.
“Hi, this is Megan Trenton from Detroit Channel Four. We saw the video on YouTube and we’d love to do a segment on you. Please call me back at (248) 555-2455 at your earliest convenience.”
“Hello, Ms. Friedman, my name is Jackson Coulter and I’m calling from the
Morning
show in New York. We have a proposal we’d like to discuss with you.” He laughed after he said proposal.
I listened to five more messages, all about the wedding video, which, as I’d feared, had made its way onto YouTube. I pulled out a giant-sized candy bar out of my purse and ate it as I waited impatiently for my computer to warm up.
To my horror, I found the video right away on YouTube’s homepage, listed under Most Viewed. It had nearly a million hits in two days and it wasn’t even funny! Why would anyone care about a fat Jewish girl from Michigan? I cringed as I watched myself talking about soul mates and true love. I didn’t recognize the username of the person who posted the video, but with camera phones these days, it could have been anyone from the wedding.
Curiously, plenty of people posted comments in response to the video. I read some negative ones, which commented on my weight and accused me of being desperate, but most comments fell into the supportive category. Apparently, plenty of women could relate to my plight. I had hundreds of women wishing me luck in reaching my goal and even got a few marriage proposals.
For an hour, I debated whether to call the news stations. I worried my name would forever be associated with the lonely single girl desperate for a husband.
I couldn’t make this kind of decision by myself. I needed to ask Missy for her advice.
I dialed her work number, and she answered on the first ring. After filling her in on the video and the media’s phone calls, she hollered at me to call them back and hung up.
I called the local station first and agreed to an interview the following morning, figuring it couldn’t hurt to get my name out there. Maybe I’d even get a few dates out of the publicity.
Then I called the
Morning
show, choosing it over some of the other ones, because that’s the one I watched. I spoke to Jackson, one of the producers of the show. They wanted to follow my story for the year and offered to throw me a wedding if I succeeded on meeting my soul mate!
I thought about how romantic it would be to have all of America watch my wedding on television. Naturally, I accepted. Jackson said they’d send the paperwork and advised me to have an attorney review it before I faxed it back to him.
Only one attorney came to mind.
Goldman.
I may dislike him, but I knew from my brother that Adam was an excellent attorney.
I studied his bio from his firm’s website. He practiced corporate and real estate, so he could review a contract for me. I tried to ignore the picture of him that accompanied his bio, but I couldn’t help myself. It had been taken recently, because he wore his hair shorter now in a feeble attempt to rid himself of his head of black curls. He used to wear it longer, and I always imagined playing with the ends of his hair that fell on the back of his collar.
Maybe it was better he cut it.
Taking a deep breath, I gathered the nerve to call him. I dialed the phone, hoping I could just leave a message.
No such luck. His secretary put me right through to him.
“Adam Goldman.” At the sound of his rich and deep voice, shivers ran up and down my arms.
“It’s Sara Friedman.”
“Sara. What can I do for you?” His voice remained rich and deep, only now it had a bit of huskiness to it.
“I ... uh ... I was wondering if you could look over a couple of contracts for me?”
“What kind of contracts?”
I didn’t know how to say it without feeling embarrassed. I said it really fast before I lost my nerve.
“The
Morning
show is going to interview me about my toast at Seth’s wedding and they’re going to follow my story throughout the year and if I find the right guy, they’ll throw us a wedding. They want me to sign some contracts and waivers, and you’re the only attorney I personally know, so I called you and could you do it? I mean could you look it over for me?”
Silence.
He didn’t say a word, but I could hear him breathing into the phone.
“I’ll pay you,” I added.
Apparently, that did the trick.
“When you get it, fax it over to me and I’ll take a look. Meet me at Café Marco at eight and we’ll go over it. And, Sara?”
“Yeah?”
“I charge two-fifty an hour.” Then he hung up.
I got to the coffee shop by eight, surprised to find Goldman already relaxing in front of a fireplace, drinking a cup of coffee. He must have come straight from work, because he still wore a suit. Armani would be my guess.
Sexy.
He watched me walk toward the table and stood, clearly in lawyer mode.
“Have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?”
“No thanks. If I have to pay you two-fifty an hour, I can’t afford a coffee in this place.”
I sat and took off my jacket.
“My treat then,” he said, getting up.
“No really, I’m not thirsty. I just want to get this over with.”
He paused for a moment, considering something. “Fine. The contract states you can’t give any other interviews to any news media. It means that you’ll be signing exclusively with them.”
“I’m being interviewed locally tomorrow. Will that be a problem?”
“No, just don’t fax it back to them until after the interview. Make sure you tell them about it, though.” He placed the contract on the table and leaned closer. “You’ll be giving them full access to your life, Sara. They can follow you around with cameras, if they want. Are you sure you want to do this?”
It touched me he seemed to care until I remembered he was charging me. The question was based on his role as my attorney and nothing more. I could never forget Goldman didn’t care about anyone but himself. Every time I lowered my guard around him, I got burned. I needed to put my attraction behind me once and for all.
“Yes.”
He nodded and continued to explain the terms of the contract for me. By the time he finished, the clock read five minutes to nine.
“Well, my carriage turns back into a pumpkin in five minutes. I better get going. Thanks for helping,” I added.
“If you need anything...” He didn’t finish and I didn’t give him time.
“Just send the bill to my office, all right?” I put my jacket on. He stood, and we began to walk out of the coffee shop.
“Sara?”
“Yeah?”
I turned to him as we stopped just outside the door. He smelled intoxicating.
He shook his head. “I’m not charging you for this. Even if you don’t think so, I really am your friend.”
He walked away, leaving me to wonder why he seemed offended.
“With us today is Sara Friedman, a twenty-nine-year-old single female searching for her soul mate. You may have seen her on YouTube and she’s live via satellite with us today. Good morning, Sara.”
“Good morning, Bethany,” I responded to Bethany Williams, trying not to fidget in my chair. I had been under the lights of the camera for only a few seconds, and I already felt the sweat bead on my face. I silently prayed it wouldn’t melt the makeup down my face on national television.
“Sara, you’re only twenty-nine years old. Why do you feel the need to marry before you turn thirty?”
That’s a great question and one for which I had no answer. I glanced to the left of the camera. Missy stuck out her tongue. I could always count on her for support, even if she made fun of me at the same time.
“I don’t have to marry by thirty, of course, but I believe if you want something badly enough, you have to work for it. I hadn’t tried very hard to meet anyone since college. I thought somehow it would just happen naturally. Then as I watched my younger brother get married, it occurred to me if I wanted what he had I needed to do the work. I’ve joined a dating site and I’m open to any and all means in meeting my soul mate.”
So far, I thought I sounded intelligent, but I hoped I wouldn’t come off as desperate.
Even though, I really was desperate.
I could not believe I sat on the actual set of the
Morning
show
in front of Bethany Williams. It was the most surreal experience of my life. She was as nice as I hoped she’d be and she really helped me feel more at ease when we’d met earlier in the green room.
“What qualities are you seeking in your soul mate?” she asked seriously, although her eyes had a playful quality to them.
Apparently, I amused her.
“Male, heterosexual, single, and alive would be good.”
She wouldn’t leave it alone.
“Surely you require something more or you would have settled on someone by now.”
I squirmed in my chair as I dreamed up my perfect guy. “I want someone taller than me, with dark hair and dark eyes, not too thin or too heavy but solid, since I want him to be bigger than me. He should be a Reform or Conservative Jew, employed, smart, masculine, sensitive without being too feminine, like animals and children, enjoy traveling and science fiction, and be open to getting married by next February.” I giggled nervously, and, thank goodness, Bethany laughed along with me.
“That doesn’t sound too difficult to find,” she said sarcastically.
Maybe not for Bethany Williams, but for me, it was plenty difficult.
“Why do you think it’s difficult for you?”
Huh? Had I said that out loud?
Crap! I wasn’t even drunk this time.
I guess I’ll be honest.
“I’m on the heavier side. The guys I’m attracted to prefer skinny and athletic women. In fact, most men prefer those types of women. The men that like me tend to have major psychological issues or emotional baggage. They feel safe with me, because they’re not threatened by my average looks and they believe no one else would want me. I stayed with them and let them treat me crappy.” I think I just said way more than I should have, but Bethany seemed curious.
“Why would you stay with someone if they don’t treat you well?”
“It’s not just me. Plenty of women stay in relationships with men that aren’t good for them. Low self-esteem, body issues, fear of abandonment. Oh, and my personal favorite, a woman’s love can change and heal a man. But you can’t. They never change.”
I had given this speech to my friends throughout the years, and they always agreed with me. Bethany nodded in agreement as well.
“Why do you think your story has resonated with so many women?”
“I’ve been waiting for my prince to come along since I first saw
Cinderella
when I was five years old. Waiting for my happily ever after. I think we’re taught at a very young age we won’t be complete until we find our other half. That’s how I feel. Incomplete. I want to feel complete, and I think other women feel the same way.”
Or, maybe it’s just me.
I glanced at Missy, and she had tears in her eyes.
Nope, not just me.
“Well, we look forward to sharing in your journey this year as you search for your soul mate.” Bethany faced the camera. “Sara will be back a couple of times this year to give us an update on her progress, and you can follow her blog through our website. Thanks for coming, Sara.”
“Thanks for having me, Bethany,” I responded naturally. After all, I’d been watching the show since the sixth grade.
We finished the interview, and Missy ran to me to give me a hug. “I can’t believe Bethany Williams has just interviewed you on National television. Between last week’s interview with Detroit Channel Four and the
Morning
show, you’re gonna be famous!”
“You think?” I felt overwhelmed as I fought back the nausea threatening to ruin my moment in the spotlight and my new shirt.
Would men find me charming? Or desperate?
I couldn’t wait to get back and see how many responses I’d get from my profile, now that I had advertised my availability to millions of people.
