After I Stopped Waiting, She Begged Me to Stay

"So... Norman's single? Who's he waiting for?" I looked up. Every pair of eyes in the room turned toward me. Phyllis looked at me too. She frowned. Gave me the tiniest shake of her head. I glanced down at the wedding invitation my mother had sent over, the one that had been ready for days. I shook my head. "Not waiting for anyone. I'm pretty easygoing about it. Whenever my family tells me to get married, I get married." "And when does your family want you to get married?" "Next week." The color drained from Phyllis's face. Hilary let out a soft laugh. "Oh, so that's how it is. I thought you were single because..." His gaze darted toward Phyllis. "...you had your eye on someone." "What are you thinking, Hilary? If Norman really had his eye on Phyllis, he would've made a move ages ago. Why wait until now?" "Exactly." One of Hilary's buddies leaned in close and whispered, "Even if he did make a move, Phyllis has been single for six years. Can't you tell who she's really hung up on?" I smiled bitterly. The truth was, Phyllis and I getting together hadn't been my doing. I liked her, yes. But I also knew she was drawn to someone like Hilary, his looks, his personality. In her words, I was too boring. So I'd never pursued her. She was the one who knocked on my door on a rainy night, soaked to the bone, staring at me. "I like you. Will you be with me?" A jolt went through my chest. A thought struck me suddenly. Her confession, so out of nowhere... could it have had something to do with Hilary? I shook my head and stood up, heading to the restroom. I splashed cold water on my face. Stop overthinking. It didn't matter anymore. It had nothing to do with her now. When I stepped out of the restroom, she was waiting in the hallway. She grabbed my arm and pulled me into an empty room, her brow furrowed. "When did I ever agree to get married next week? Even if you're trying to pressure me, there's a limit! And that thing with Hilary, everyone was just messing around after a few drinks. There's a line, Norman." I looked at her without saying a word. She seemed agitated. "Anyway, no one took it seriously. Just go back in there and tell them you were joking, that you were just trying to lighten the mood." She reached for my hand, ready to drag me back. I pulled it free without a change in expression. "Why would I clarify anything?" She stared at me, eyes narrowing. "You're really planning to marry me next week? I won't agree to it." "Whether you agree or not doesn't matter. The person I'm marrying isn't you." She froze. Then a smile broke across her face. "If not me, then who? I don't have time for these games, Norman. I've told you before, we'll get married eventually. I just need more time." "It really isn't you." I took out my phone. I held up the digital invitation my parents had prepared and showed it to her. "She's the daughter of a family my parents have been close with for years." Phyllis looked at the phone. Then at me. Disbelief flickered across her face as she took the phone from my hand. She zoomed in on the invitation. Zoomed in again. When she saw the name, she let out a scoff. "Norman Farley. You already had our invitation made." I blinked. I leaned in to look. The bride's name... Iris Sullivan? Just one character off from Phyllis Sullivan. "Faking an invitation is one thing, but you couldn't even get my name right." "Norman Farley, you're so desperate to get married that you didn't even proofread the invitation?" "What were you planning to do, send it to everyone here? Force my hand in front of all of them?" Her voice rose, sharp with disgust. "How could you stoop so low?"

"Phyllis, I..." "Ha!" The phone landed on the couch where she'd tossed it. She stared at me, her gaze ice-cold. "You know I hate being pressured more than anything. I never said I wouldn't marry you. Why do you have to keep pushing? If you're so desperate to get married, go find someone else who catches your eye and drag her to the altar. There is no way I'm agreeing to marry you next week." "Phyllis!" She ignored me and turned to leave. The door slammed shut behind her. I clenched my jaw. What were the odds? Just one letter off from her name. I stared at the invitation and let out a sigh. Forget it. It wasn't her anyway. Once this reunion was over, she and I would have nothing to do with each other. When I returned to the party, everyone was crowding around something, whooping and cheering. Hilary and Phyllis had been shoved so close together they were practically pressed against each other. A glass of wine sat in front of each of them. "Lovers' toast! You have to do the lovers' toast! That's the King's command! You two are doing the full wedding ceremony right here, right now!" Phyllis laughed and raised a hand to wave them off. "Okay, okay, this is getting out of hand. I'll just drink. Worst case, I'll take Hilary's penalty drink too..." She stopped mid-sentence. She'd spotted me standing not far away. The hand she'd raised in protest slowly lowered. She picked up her glass instead. "Well then. Lovers' toast it is!" "Yes! Drink the lovers' toast, and your bond will last forever! Drink up!" "You guys are too much..." Hilary was jostled toward Phyllis, stumbling slightly. But the grin on his face was radiant. He willingly linked his arm with hers. Sidney and the others scrambled for their phones, snapping pictures of the two of them drinking with arms intertwined. "Perfect!" A confetti popper burst open out of nowhere. The girls had produced a length of red silk from somewhere. They swept it over Phyllis's head in one swift motion. "Once you've done the lovers' toast, you have to get married!" "Lovers' toast, happiness everlast!" Phyllis laughed. "You guys are taking this way too far." But when the silk blinded her and she stumbled into Hilary's arms, she pressed herself tight against his chest. Something like this had happened before, at a company outing. The dice had landed on me and Phyllis for a lovers' toast. Phyllis had smiled and declined. "We're colleagues of the opposite sex. It wouldn't look appropriate." "Oh, come on! Director Farley is a total workaholic. He doesn't think like that! It's just a game, Ms. Sullivan. Relax, nobody takes it seriously." I'd gripped my glass, looking at her with open expectation. "Still no." She'd turned away and clinked glasses with one of her male subordinates instead. "Going forward, these kinds of games are canceled." I'd set my glass down, smile fading into something sheepish. Back in the present, the crowd refused to let up until Hilary lifted the veil from Phyllis's head. Then everyone noticed me standing off to the side, uninvolved. "Norman." Hilary held the red silk in his hand. "It was just a joke. Nobody took it seriously. Don't take it to heart." "I don't." I smiled. "Whether it's real or fake, it's got nothing to do with me." Phyllis glanced at me. Hilary grinned. "Really? Well, that puts my mind at ease." "At ease? At ease about what?" "Oh my God! So our boy Hilary actually fell for her!" "You two aren't getting out of this wedding! When are you treating your old classmates to the reception?" The crowd erupted into another round of teasing. I didn't join in. I lowered my head and scrolled through the details of the wedding arrangements on my phone. Hilary was being shoved around by the group again. He stumbled sideways and caught himself right next to me. Just in time to see my screen.

"An invitation?" Hilary called out, "Norman, didn't you say it had nothing to do with you? Then what's this?" Everyone crowded around. The phone had been snatched from Norman's hand, and the name on the screen was clear for all to see. "No way! Phyllis! It's you!" "The name's slightly off, but that's definitely Phyllis Sullivan!" "Aren't you two both single? How is there already a wedding invitation?" Hilary stared at Phyllis in shock. "Phyllis, what's going on? I thought you were single." Phyllis glanced at the invitation. She tossed the phone back. "I have no idea. It's got nothing to do with me. Norman, why would you make something like this?" I'd already made up my mind to leave. But watching her stand there, washing her hands of the whole thing without a second thought, I couldn't help the bitter smile that crept across my face. In a situation like this, even a casual "Oh, he's just messing around" would've given me something to stand on. The smallest lifeline. I wouldn't have felt so humiliated. But she had to pick the one option, out of every possible response, that left me with nowhere to hide. Sidney sighed. "Norman, come on. Everyone can see what's going on between those two. Making a wedding invitation for the two of you right now? That's a bit much." I turned off the screen. "It's a misunderstanding. My wife isn't her." "That's right. His wife is Iris Sullivan, not me, Phyllis Sullivan. Don't get the wrong idea." Phyllis's words barely managed to give me a way out. Everyone erupted into chatter again. The whole thing was swept under the rug, messy and unresolved. But I could feel it. People had stopped engaging with me. In their eyes, I was the shameless one pining after Hilary's woman. I didn't want to stay in that suffocating atmosphere a second longer. I stepped outside to get some air, but Phyllis followed me out. "I already told you I wouldn't agree to getting married next week. So why did you deliberately let Hilary see the invitation?" She thought I'd done it on purpose. She stood beside me, her voice cold. "Did you think pulling a stunt like that would pressure me into saying yes?" "I told you, it was a misunderstanding." "Enough, Norman." Impatience sharpened her tone. "Can't we deal with this kind of thing in private? You had to drag it out in front of everyone, making us all look bad, and then you'll go home and sulk about it. I'm not saying I'll never marry you. It's just a matter of timing. Why do you have to make it so difficult?" She dropped that complaint and walked away. I stared out at the pitch-black mountain road. I let out a long breath. Timing. Always timing. I thought six years was enough. When she first started the company, it was about protecting its growth. Marriage could wait. Once the company stabilized, there was too much business to handle. Big picture first. When the company finally secured its position at the top, she said she needed to think it over carefully. I was patient. I didn't mind waiting. But today, for the first time, it hit me that this was a wait with no end. I spent the rest of the party texting my parents, going over wedding details. They'd sent me the contact for the woman from the arranged match. I'd just accepted her friend request when the party wound down. Everyone stumbled out of the hillside estate, drunk and loud. Cars pulled away one after another. Then I noticed something was wrong. My car was gone. "Norman." Sidney's window rolled down. "Phyllis said Hilary drank too much and lives far away, so she took your car to drive him home first." The window slid back up, and the car pulled away without another word. The lights inside the estate went dark. A mountain breeze swept through. I stood there, staring down the empty road, alone. It was laughable, really. I was afraid of the dark. Phyllis knew. Every light in the house and at the office stayed on all night long. If the power went out, she'd be at my side in an instant. She'd say it was because she was scared, letting me keep my dignity. She left me here on purpose. Probably because I'd pushed her about getting married. I took out my phone. At this hour, what driver would even be picking up rides? I stared at the contact I'd just added. I hesitated for a moment, then dialed. "Ms. Sullivan, are you free right now? Could you... do me a favor?"