{WATTYS 2021/2022 SHORTLIST}{Editor's Pick} {Featured Story}
One girl. Two boys. An impossible choice.
Stella LaFever, a theatre student from California, can't wait to spend a summer in Newport, Rhode Island, with her best friend. She is in despera...
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Chapter Song: Lover by Taylor Swift
If the way to mend a broken heart was through love, then I was going to send Spencer my very first handwritten love note.
Not like a paper Valentine's Day card. A real one.
After finishing my croissant and mug of tea, thinking on all the things Turner had said, I concluded that one note wasn't going to be enough to win Spencer back. Not after what I'd done.
He had pushed going to Oxford for a year just so we could stay together. Spencer showed up and cared about me and never once lied about his intentions or his feelings.
Now it was my turn to show him I could be vulnerable and truthful, too. So, in addition to the notes, I had a few phone calls to make.
I hoped what I had in mind wasn't too little too late.
I was surprised by how many people answered their cell phones at three in the morning but thankful nonetheless.
Mr. Godfrey had been more than willing to help me win Spencer back after inadvertently outing West as Joon. When his contact at a small theatre on Broadway heard about my plan to win my boyfriend back through song—they were all in.
The last call I made was to Lia, who had a small part in Beauty and the Beast as one of Gaston's girls. She'd been nice to me from the very first read through, and I saw so much potential in her.
"So, what do you think?" I asked after explaining the offer Mr. Godfrey and I worked out. "Do you accept?"
"Tell me you're not joking!" Lia squealed through the phone. "Tell me this isn't a dream?"
"Nope," I told her, holding my rose pendant for moral support. "This is straight from Godfrey himself."
"Stella, I could kiss you. Thank you so much!"
We hung up, and I stared into my empty mug of tea, feeling oddly at peace with my decision. Even if Spencer didn't want me back, at least I'd made one person happy this evening.
Turner set a bag filled with boxes and colored pens in front of me. "Are you sure you don't want to get some sleep first, Miss Stella?"
I shook my head. "Not until I have every note finished. I won't be able to sleep until I know they're perfect."
So, Turner and I worked through two more cups of tea and the two boxes of blank greeting cards he'd picked up from a nearby drugstore.
