Lovestruck Forever (16 page)

I
couldn’t hear her response through her sobbing. Finally, my
uncle took the phone from her. He sounded exhausted, like he’d
aged years in the last few hours. “Is she okay, Lizzie?”

“She’s
fine, Tio. I promise. We’ll take good care of her.”

He
sighed. “Tell her we want her to come home. We want her with
us.”

“I’ll
tell her. But I think it’s better if she stays with me
tonight.” Sofie made a panicked face at me, shaking her head. I
held up a hand to her. “She’s welcome here as long as she
wants, Tio. But I’ll tell her.”

“Thank
you, Lizzie.” He paused for a long time. “Please tell her
that we love her.”

I
felt tears come to my eyes. I knew that they did, that they loved her
with all their hearts. They may be old fashioned and seemingly
inflexible, but they loved their daughter and wanted what was best
for her. I just hoped they could see that she needed to figure out
what that was for herself.

I
hung up and turned to Sofie. “They say they love you, and they
want you to come home.”

“There’s
no way I’m—”

“I
know, Sof. I’m just relaying the message.”

She
sighed, leaning forward to prop her head against her arms. “How
the hell did everything get so messed up?”

“Life
is messy.” I rubbed her back, wishing there was some way I
could take this away from her. “You’re strong, though,
Sof. You’ll get through this.”

“I
don’t know how to be a mom, Lizzie,” she whispered.

“Does
anyone?”

She
shrugged. “I’m pretty sure Maria did.”

I
laughed. “Well, Maria was born a mother. She was probably
bossing around the doctors in the maternity ward before she was an
hour old.”

Sofie
was quiet, but at least she had stopped crying.

“Do
you need anything? Have you eaten?”

She
shook her head. “Do you mind if I just go lie down for a while?
All this crying has given me a huge headache.”

“Of
course.” I stood, holding out my hand to heave her off the
couch. “Let’s get you settled.”

One
plus about living in a giant mansion was the abundant number of
rooms. I put Sofie in what would have been a master suite in any
other house—a room with a sitting area and an attached
bathroom.
At least she
would be comfortable,
I told myself as I walked back down the stairs to catch Thomas up.

Before
I made it past the foyer, my phone rang again. I looked at the
screen, not bothering to stifle my groan.

“Hey,
Maria,” I said, my voice as bright as I could make it. “What’s
up?”

“What’s
up?” she practically screeched. “You know what’s
up.”

I
sighed, making my way to the kitchen. I had a feeling I was going to
need a healthy dose of wine to get through this conversation. “I
take it you’ve talked to Mama.”

“I’m
with
Mama,” she snapped back. “What on earth were you
thinking, letting her stay there? Tia is freaking out.”

“What
was I supposed to do, Maria? She showed up to my house, crying and
terrified. Was I supposed to tell her she wasn’t welcome? She’s
my family. She’s scared and alone, and she has no idea what to
do. If you think for one minute I was going to turn her away—”

“You’re
right,” Maria interrupted, sounding tired suddenly. “Of
course you should have welcomed her in. I’m sorry. Everyone is
just so upset.”

I
sank into the counter, feeling weary myself. “I know they are.
But they should probably try to think a little bit more about how
she’s
feeling. She’s the one whose entire life just changed.”

“Do
you know this guy?” she asked, and I was relieved that there
was no judgment in her voice, only concern. “Is there any
chance he’ll be there for her?”

“I
don’t know him at all. But she says she doesn’t love him,
so I don’t see her wanting him all that involved.”

Maria
exhaled loudly. “Poor Sof. I can’t imagine going through
a pregnancy on my own.”

“She’s
not totally on her own,” I reminded Maria. “She has a
huge family who are all supposed to love her and support her—no
matter what. Maybe you should remind everyone of that.”

Maria
was quiet for a long moment. “Tell her I love her, okay? That
we all do. And that she can call me if she needs anything.”

Touched
by her unexpected kindness, I assured her that I would pass along the
message. Thomas joined me in the kitchen as I hung up the phone. “Who
will be calling in outrage next?” he asked, standing behind me
and rubbing my shoulders. “Want me to turn the ringer off for
you?”

“Maria
was actually cool, believe it or not. Eventually, at least. Hopefully
she’s the last one we’ll hear from.” I sighed,
thinking of the days ahead. “For tonight, at least.”

“I’m
sorry, Lizzie.”

I
turned on the barstool so that I was facing him. “Sorry? What
do you have to be sorry for?”

“I’m
sorry you have to watch Sof go through this. I know you’re
worried about her.”

I
wrapped my arms around his middle, burying my head against his
stomach. “She’s so scared, Thomas. I hate it.”

“I
know, love.”

“Do
you mind? Her moving in, I mean?”

“Of
course not,” he assured me. “I already told you she was
welcome. Besides, I like the fact that you’ll have company when
I’m gone.”

Not
wanting to think about him going on top of everything else, I shook
my head and focused on Sofie. “You know what I hate the most?
The fact that they made her feel worse than she already did. She was
scared and feeling alone and went to her parents for support, and
this is how they reacted. I get that this isn’t how they would
want things to go for her in an ideal world but…God, I hate
that they made it so much worse for her.”

“It
sucks,” he agreed. “But give them a chance to come
around.”

I
looked up at him. “You know, I think they actually might. Her
dad just sounded so scared that she was gone.”

“They
love her.”

I
nodded. “They do. They just don’t always know how to show
it.” I gave him a rueful smile. “Sounds familiar, doesn’t
it?”

He
tightened his arms around me. “And look how much your parents
have come around.”

“Yeah,
too bad it took my mom almost dying for my dad to realize how dumb he
was being.” I sighed, feeling tired. Had it only been an hour
ago that Thomas and I were joking around in the den? It felt like a
week. “I just hope it doesn’t take another disaster to
get them on Sofie’s side.”

The
morning of my first dress shopping appointment, I found Sofie sitting
on the couch, eating a bowl of some marshmallow-laden cereal while
watching the entertainment news station.

“Hey,”
I said cautiously, sliding onto the end of the couch. “How’s
it going?”

She
sighed loudly. “Oh, you know. I feel sick to my stomach, and
the only thing that doesn’t make me want to hurl is this sugary
garbage.”

I
winced in sympathy. “Sorry, Sof. That has to suck so bad. But
you’re getting close to the end of the first trimester, right?
Laura and Maria both said things got much easier after that.”

“Easy.”
She audibly snorted. “Yeah, I’m so sure. Easy up until
the point that I have to push a giant baby out of my vagina.”

I
stifled my laugh, unsure if she was joking or not. To say that her
moods were a little touchy lately would be a major understatement.

“Are
you, uh, almost ready to go?” I asked, glancing quickly at the
clock on the cable box. We needed to leave in about twenty minutes to
get to the bridal salon on time to meet my family.

“I’m
not going,” she said, her voice just this side of petulant. “I
can’t deal with it, Lizzie. I’m sorry.”

I
stared at her. “What do you mean you’re not going?”
I asked slowly, sure I must have misunderstood her.

She
sighed loudly, leaning her head against the back of the sofa. “Your
mother will be there. Your sisters. I am so not in the mood for the
looks I’m going to get. I just…I can’t.” She
finished her speech with another sigh.

“Sofie…”
I struggled to restrain my anger, to be understanding. I knew that it
was hard for her, being around family right now. Her anger at her
parents was understandable. But this was my wedding dress.

“Sofie,”
I tried again, my voice stronger now. “Look, I know you don’t
really want to see people, but no one is going to say anything to
you.”

She
raised her eyebrows. “Maria isn’t going to say anything?”

I
shook my head quickly. “I’ve talked to her and my mom
about it. They both promised to stay out of it.”

She
gave me a look that made it clear she thought I was naive. “Our
family is physically incapable of staying out of anything and you
know it, Lizzie.”

“It’s
my
wedding dress
,”
I implored, knowing that I was the one sounding petulant now. “I
want you there, Sof. I need you.” I attempted a smile. “Who
else is going to back me up when Maria tries to put me in some
over-poofed monstrosity?”

She
merely shook her head, turning back to her cereal. “I’m
sorry, Lizzie. Enjoy the day with your sisters and mom. I’ll be
fine here.”

I
was filled with the sudden urge to slap her or yell at her. She would
be fine here? Well that was great for her. I, on the other hand, was
going to have to go try on dresses—the thing I’d been
looking forward to most, the thing she and I had always talked about
doing together—without my maid of honor, my best friend.

“Fine,
Sof.” I stood up from the couch, not bothering to hide my
anger. “I guess I’ll do it without you.”

I
walked quickly to the kitchen, trying not to cry. I wanted to be
sympathetic. I couldn’t imagine how hard this was, to be
pregnant and to feel unsupported and alone. But
I
was being supportive—why was she taking it out on me? I had
made it perfectly clear to my family that anyone who brought up her
situation would be unceremoniously removed from the bridal salon. Did
she think I wouldn’t stand up for her?

The
entire time I drank my coffee and finished getting ready, a part of
me expected her to appear, dressed and ready to go. But she never
did. When I finally couldn’t wait any longer, I pulled on my
jacket, peeking into the living room to see her still sitting in the
same spot on the couch, the TV blaring.

With
a final shake of my head, I left the house, still not really
believing I was about to go and try on wedding dresses for the first
time without Sofie.

***

An
hour later, I was missing her even more. As I had fully expected,
Maria and Laura were quite a handful. They listened politely as I
talked to the consultant about what I wanted—something romantic
and simple with no tulle—but I could read total skepticism in
their faces. Maybe it was the rolling eyes and heavy sighs that gave
them away.

“You
look gorgeous!” my mother cried when I appeared in the
consultant’s first attempt—a cream silk A-line with
little embellishment other than an intricately beaded belt. I stepped
up onto the pedestal in the center of the room, staring in awe in the
mirror. I looked like a bride. The belt sparkled brightly in the
lights every time I moved even slightly, and the A-line, though
tighter than my normal clothes, hugged my curves in a way that made
me feel older, more sophisticated. Beautiful even.

In
the floor-to-ceiling three-way mirrors, I could see my mother dabbing
at her eyes with a Kleenex. “Mom,” I said, not knowing if
I should laugh or join her. “Don’t cry!”

“I
can’t help it, mija,” she said, shaking her head. “You’re
so beautiful!”

I
knew she’d had the same reaction when we first saw Maria and
Laura in wedding dresses, but I was still touched. I turned on the
pedestal to hug her. “Thanks, Mama.”

Still
blubbering a bit, she returned to her seat as I spun a little,
watching the dress twirl out slightly in the mirror. “What do
you think?” I asked my sisters.

They
were quiet for a moment, just long enough for me to know that they
hated it. “You look lovely, Lizzie,” Laura said
diplomatically. “I just…I’m not quite sure it’s
really right.”

“It’s
boring,” Maria said flatly. “You need something with
more
.”

I
closed my eyes, knowing exactly what she had in mind when she said
more. Maria’s own dress had consisted of a low-cut sweetheart
neckline, and miles and miles of tulle and pick-ups in the skirt. As
if that wasn’t “more” enough, the entire thing was
bejeweled to within an inch of its life. She had been beautiful, of
course, the dress perfect for her. But it was the last thing in the
world I would ever choose for my own wedding.

“We
have plenty of options in the dressing room,” the consultant,
Tonya, said kindly. “And plenty of time to try them all.”

As
soon as we returned to the dressing room, Maria and Laura started
trolling the racks on their own for dresses they were confident would
be better than my selections. Before I had even been zipped up into
the next option—a tight satin mermaid style I wasn’t
crazy about—they were knocking on the door with dresses for me
to try next. The consultant looked at me questioningly, but I merely
nodded, resigned. They would never agree to like anything unless I at
least tried on their choices.

Luckily,
we were all in agreement about the mermaid dress, and I quickly
returned to the dressing room. “Well,” Tonya said.
“Should we try on one of ours or…?”

“We
might as well make them happy,” I muttered, pointing to the
three dresses they had left. Tonya laughed and proceeded to help me
get out of the heavy satin and into one of the new dresses. I stared
at myself in the dressing room mirror as she fastened the back. “My
sisters…” I muttered, shaking my head.