In your arms

C. 2

Thank you to those already joining me on this journey!I'll see you Friday!

From there, it was all a whirlwind of mixed, incomprehensible, and somewhat unmentionable emotions that centrifuged within me. She didn't notice me right away because Luke rushed to get up and hold her in his arms (unintelligible emotion, No. 1), and then do a pirouette (fairly clear emotion, No. 2) and finally show her off to everyone, as if she were the latest hunting trophy he had won at the usual Sunday tournament with his father. Andy and I, as if it were our unspoken agreement, stay behind, waiting for everyone to stand up, introduce themselves, shake hands or be hugged by Her. And it is only at that moment, when everyone disperses and the waters seem to open before us as before Moses, that She crosses Her eyes into mine. For a moment She lays them on the figure beside me, Andy, only to return immediately with Her gaze burning into my skin (very strong emotion, No. 3). What happens next lasts a split second.

A < Ca...> I immediately interrupt her, elbowing her and talking over her.

M < nice to meet you, I'm Maya!> I introduce myself. I hear Andy mumbling next to me, perhaps from the beating she received, but she doesn't understand. Andy does not have the same eternal complicity that I evidently have with Her. I knew right away, in one look, that she had no pleasure in revealing our past acquaintance (incomprehensible, but "domestic" emotion, No. 4). She looks at me gratefully and seems to release a sigh of relief.

C < nice to meet you, I'm Carina!> she exclaims, extending a hand toward me. I sigh and then I'm not sure what's wrong with me, but I practically don't even shake it for her: I just brush it away to let it go in a very short time (confused emotion, very confused, No. 5). She doesn't say anything, but she lays her eyes on Andy again, repeating the skit from the introduction, this time moving closer, and I watch them exchange two kisses on the cheeks and a light hug. I sigh and go to my seat at the table, as the festive mood is rekindled, indeed re - ignited indeed, and soon we can hear the confused chatter of so many cheerful people sharing the joy of being together.
Andy drops down beside me, ousting for a moment her cousin, the only one invited on her side, who as usual had sat beside me attempting for the umpteenth time an approach.

A < but it's her, isn't it?> she whispers in my ear, leaning lightly against my shoulder. I sigh, running a hand over my face: this is the last thing I would have expected from this day. Usually, when I'm in a bad mood and there's such a festive mood around me, I already expect the day to be disastrous and hellish, but not this, this I could never have expected.

M < of course it's her..> I confirm. I look up to try to feign some participation and raise my glass to toast, but almost immediately regret having done so. Carina is sitting on the other side of the table, exactly opposite me. Our eyes lock again, as if attracted by some alien force, then Luke passes an arm around her shoulders, whispers something in her ear that makes her laugh, and she becomes distracted. I lower my face and begin to count how many minutes are left until the end of this unexpected torture.

The conversation flows smoothly, as always, without the need for much participation on my part. I intervene only rarely, for a few laughs at some of Jack's jokes, especially when directed at Andy's cousin, some embarrassing anecdote from Travis, or to answer some direct question from Miranda. The rest of the time I spent in silence, listening to others, gathering information: Carina and Luke have been together for 6 months, he was practically the first person she met after arriving in Los Angeles for only a few days, and by a strange, but pleasant, coincidence of fate, she works at the same hospital as Ben's wife, albeit in different fields. I found out, therefore, that she has become head of the OB/GYN department and that all in all she seems to have found her size in Los Angeles. She obviously meant from a professional point of view and also from the point of view of the climate, the environment, the setting, the house she chose to live in. Jack, however, missed no opportunity to make a joke about Luke's "size," and from there it was all downhill into total awkwardness. The two of them, as always moreover, began to back each other up and launched into a series of camaraderie jokes, forgetting the fact that the girl in question was there, next to them, moreover in front of an audience of strangers, to her at least, and children.