A Change of Heart

Chapter 38

*Hey readers. I want to make it easier for you to see the bigger time skips, so that it doesn’t seem confusing. So I’m going to start using asterisks (*) to separate show there is a time skip. Please let me know if it helps. God bless*

“I'm sorry, I already have plans for next Friday,” I say. Joanna looks at me sceptically, clearly not convinced that I have a life outside of dating her and work (I don't blame her though). 

“And what are those plans?” Joanna asks.

“I'm going with Anna to her friend's engagement party,” I answer. Joanna is dumbfounded. Wish I could take a picture of her face right now.

“I didn’t know you were friends with Anna,” Joanna says.

“I am, and it wouldn’t be fair to her to cancel,” I explain.

“Well, it’s Gladice’s birthday party and I told her you'll be in town next weekend,” Joanna replies. Just my luck.

“Alright, I’ll tell her I can’t go,” I sigh.

“Good, you’re dismissed,” Joanna says. I leave her office, feeling terrible. I wanted to go to that party with Anna, but I don’t have a choice. 

After work, I tell Anna the bad news. I explained that I didn’t have much of a choice, and really wanted to go. She was definitely disappointed, but understood my situation.

Now, I lie in bed, thinking about today. I'll see if she wants to hang out tomorrow, to make up for it. I get in my blankets and drift off to sleep.

************************************

It’s Friday, and we’re heading to Gladice’s party, which is apparently going to be on a hotel rooftop. I park in the underground parking, and we head to the lobby.

The inside is gorgeous. The walls and pillars are marble, like the tiles of the floor. The glass elevators are rimmed with gold, as are the decorations on the tables. Majority of the furniture is black, white and brown, but the paintings bring the element of colour without standing out too much.

We take the elevator to the rooftop. I look outside, as the street gets smaller and smaller.

“Howard, have you ever been in a glass elevator before?” Joanna asks.

“I have, it’s just been a while,” I answer. We reach the top floor, and the elevator door opens. Caroline (Ms. Flowers)  is the only other person there, excluding Gladice.

“Joanna, lovely to see you. And Howard, so glad you could make it,” Gladice smiles. She kisses Joanna’s cheeks, then mine.

“Hello Gladice, here’s your present,” Joanna hands her the present.

“Oh, you’re too kind. Come join us,” she says.

“Where's Roger?” I ask.

“Oh, we broke up a while ago,” Gladice answers.

Soon, everyone else comes. It's a lot like Caroline's party, but it's outside so I’m not suffocated by the tension. 

“It may be my birthday, but I wanted everyone to feel included. So, I made everyone's favourite dish,” Gladice announces.

“How kind of you,” Pedro (Mr. Diaz) smiles. A servant comes through the elevator with a cart of dishes. They hand out the plates to everyone.

I got a seafood boil with oysters, which I'm guessing Joanna said is my favourite. Is she mad at me? What did I do to her? 

“Chicken fettuccine alfredo is no longer my favourite, but I'll leave it since it's your birthday,” Hillary (Mrs. Reynolds) comments.

“You change your favourite dish every week, it's hard to stay updated,” Gladice replies.

“When you're trying lots of dishes from different countries, your choice changes regularly,” William (Mr. Reynolds) smirks. Wish I was in Chicago right now. I take out my phone and act like I have a missed call.

“Excuse me, I need to call someone back,” I announce. I get up from the table and walk to the edge. I call Anna.

“Hey, Howard. How are you?” she asks.

“Quite miserable honestly, I wish I could have gone to your party,” I say.

“Trust me, it's probably not much worse than it is here,” she replies.

“Well, at least we're both not having fun,” I smile. Anna laughs. 

“I should go, the happy couple is about to make a speech,” she says.

“Alright, see you tomorrow,” I hang up the phone and head back to the table. 

I just finished eating and feel like throwing up. The satisfaction that Joanna has is radiating off of her, even with her poker face.

“I hope you all have room in your stomachs for cake,” Gladice smiles. The servant goes to the table with all the presents and brings the cake to our table. It's a simple floral 3 tiered cake with ‘Happy Birthday Gladice’ in cursive. I can feel my stomach turning. 

“If you'll excuse me, I'd like to head to the bathroom,” I say.

“I can show you to the bar, it has the closest bathroom,” William offers. We get up from our seats and head to the elevator.

William presses one of the buttons. The door closes and we start descending.

“So Howard, what hospital do you work at in Chicago?” William asks.

“Ascension Saint Mary,” I answer. He nods. 

“So, Pedro and I are going to play tennis at my resort tomorrow. Care to join us?” he says.

“Joanna and I have plans for the day,” I reply.

“I bet, seeing how much she must have missed you,” William chuckles. His breath reeks of red wine.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“It’s not Gladice's birthday. Joanna told Gladice to plan this party so that you’d have to come visit her,” William explains. What? She lied about the party? But why? 

My head is spinning, and I feel like vomiting. Not a good duo. William shows me to the bathroom and I hurry into one of the stalls.

As I'm puking, I ponder why Joanna would lie. Then it hits me. I told her I was going out with Anna, and that we're friends. She was jealous.

I never thought I'd see the day. The oysters must have been out of spite. When I'm done hurling, I head back up to the party. 

Everyone’s standing and chatting. William glances at me, clearly pleased with himself. I take my slice of cake from the table and walk over to Joanna, who's gazing at the night sky.

“The oysters were a bit much, don't you think?” I say.

“I have no idea what you're talking about,” Joanna replies. 

“William told me everything,” I tell her. She glares at both Gladice and William, who are completely unaware.

“We're in a relationship now, I'd like to know who your companions are,” Joanna explains.

“All of them, or just the female ones?”I tease. Joanna is not amused.

“You don't have to worry, I don't see Anna that way. She's like my sister, and I'm in love with you and only you,” I say. I can tell Joanna's a bit relieved.

“Joanna, please talk to me. I want to make you feel safe, loved and cared for. I don't see you any differently just because you show your emotions,” I beg. Joanna sighs.

“Your the only person who's ever told me they love me. I guess it doesn't put me at ease that there are other woman you care about that you're not related to,” Joanna mumbles. 

“If I'd wanted Anna, I would've asked her to be my girlfriend and it would have been easy. But instead, I broke one of your mugs and cleaned the entire building just to ask you out. My feelings for you aren't changing anytime soon,” I reassure her. 

Though, it's not true. My feelings are changing, for better. I don't know if I'll ever be in love with Joanna, but I do know that I love her.