The Difference

Chapter 19

After Mrs. Marigold takes Troy away, I leave the theatre in search of Ava. I walk the empty halls and remember all of the fun times I had with Troy here. What does this mean for the family? And the family business? Will Brad have to step in? Why did Mrs. Marigold not seem surprised or even upset about George? I shake my head and I descend the all so familiar stair case. I see Troy in a corner with his mom and Mrs. Marigold. His face is stern as he nods his head listening to what they're saying. It looks serious so I don't interrupt. I walk out of the ballroom and see Ava sitting in the hallway alone. She runs to me and gives me a hug. She was always the strong one, but not even she can keep her composure right now, and I wouldn't expect her to anyway.

"What happened to Troy?" She questions me.

"What do you mean?"

"Brad told me he had to go find him and make sure he was okay. He seemed so worried about him. He said his father was trying to prevent it. He was talking so fast," Ava says, worried.

"Mrs. Marigold told him he must take his father's place now. No clue what she means by that," I admit defeat.

"I have a feeling we're going to find out," she says as we walk out together to spend our Christmas Eve back at our apartment. I don't hear from Troy all day and I start to get worried. I didn't even get to say goodbye to him before I left. Now, I'm completely in the dark about everything and I'm too nervous to ask what's going on. Ava and I cook way too much food and especially baked goods for the occasion, so we decide we will bring some to work with us after Christmas. We both had a lonely holiday this year as Ava's family is from Florida and mine took the trip to South Carolina to see my grandparents. Needless to say, we were actually happy to have two free days to go toward the final preparation of the ball. Ava and I exchange our gifts for one another Christmas morning. I buy her a new coffee maker, a pair of earrings she had been eyeing up for months now but never actually bought, and a monogrammed binder for her event planning papers she lugs around constantly. She tells me to wait here while she runs upstairs for the gift she has been dying to give me.

"It's partially from me and partially from Troy," she tells me. I smile as she pulls out a dress hanger with a cover to protect what's inside. It has a huge sparkly pink bow on the front. I jump to my feet and find the zipper, pulling it down. I nearly scream when I see it. Inside is the most magnificent pink dress. I instantly recognize it from my favorite designer's line, which I often repost to my Instagram story, Teuta Matoshi.

"Oh my god!"

"As soon as Troy saw you post it, he asked me to get it in your size. He paid for it, I just helped him get your size and order it and then I hid it," she says excitedly. "But I did get you something else!"

She hands me a box which I assume is a shoebox. Inside, a beautiful pair of Manolo Blahnik pumps. This time, I do scream.

"Are you serious?!" I jump up, hugging her. They are the same hangisi pair I own, but in a pale pink.

"They match more of your outfits," she says and I can't help but laugh. I pull her into another hug and we both can't stop smiling. "Brad said he wanted to take me dress shopping for the ball tonight."

"Tonight? It's Christmas!"

"I know, but with his father's funeral tomorrow morning he wants to do something to get his mind off everything. I told him I wanted to find a dress for the ball and he offered to come with me. And then I'll probably just stay over the mansion so I can go to the funeral with them all."

I don't realize until she is in the kitchen making coffee that Troy didn't even tell me about the funeral yet. In fact, he still hasn't talked to me since yesterday morning. I walk into my room casually and decide to call him. It rings once and then goes to voicemail. Lovely. I walk back out into the kitchen, reaching for the coffee.

"Are you gonna come to the funeral, too?" Ava questions.

"No."

"Why not?"

Too embarrassed to tell the truth, I lie. "You know how I am. I cry over everything. I'll just be a mess there."

"Okay. Just make sure to check on Troy afterwards, okay?"

"Mhm," I say, as she goes to her room. I lay in bed for most of the day pondering what to do or say to him. I try to call him  just before Ava leaves and again, no answer. I sigh and see I have a text from Eric. I call him without reading it.

"Can you come over?" I say immediately after he answers.

"Is everything okay?"

"I just need a friend."

"Okay, I'll be there in a bit," He says. I say goodbye to Ava and tell her I'll see her tomorrow at the mansion. Next thing I know, I fall asleep. I wake up when Eric walks in the door.

"Hey, the door was unlocked," he calls out to me. He looks in the kitchen, then turns around to see me in bed under at least 4 blankets. "Oh boy."

"What? Why do you always have something to say?" I snap.

"Woah, woah, woah. Easy. I'm here to help, not fight," Eric says, sitting down on the edge of the bed. It takes him one look at me to be able to tell Troy did something wrong.

"I'll kick his ass, I swear to God," Eric says as I begin to tell him what happened.

"I'm so in the dark. I have no clue why he's avoiding me. All I know if he's taking his Dad's place in the business now, or at least that's what I think Mrs. Marigold meant, and he didn't even invite me to the funeral!"

"Something's not right here, Rosemary," he says honestly.

"I know, Eric!" I yell, bursting into tears.

"I don't know what to do."

"We'll figure it out. I promise. First, get dressed. Let's go see what his deal is," Eric says, pulling me out of bed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, if he's not going to answer, then I think you should go see what the problem is."

I look at him blankly before my tears turn into laughter. "That's your solution? A rescue mission?"

"No, a kick his ass mission," he says defensively.

"Oh, hush. You wouldn't hurt a fly," I say, jokingly. Having Eric here instantly makes me feel better.

"Fine, I have another idea," Eric says, grabbing my phone and his. He takes Troy's number from my phone and dials it on his, putting it on speaker.

"Hello?" He says after one ring. I'm silent. Again, he says "hello?"

"I missed the part of a relationship where you ignore your girlfriend," I say through the phone.

"Rosemary, I'm so sorry. It's been crazy here and I just didn't-"

"It's fine. I just wanted to say Merry Christmas," I say through the phone. Eric looks at me sadly.

"Merry Christmas, my love. I wish we could spend it together."

I want to tell him we could've if you weren't ignoring me but I don't understand guys and don't want to upset him anymore. I try to remind myself that everyone copes differently as I say goodbye and tell him I'll see him tomorrow. I thank him for the dress and he seems to be a little happier when I mention it. I spend the rest of the night watching movies with Eric as Ava sends me photos of potential dresses for the ball. Eric lets me pick all the movies which makes me feel better. Surprisingly, he doesn't even argue when I put on Dirty Dancing. He leaves around 10:30 and I head off to bed, hoping to get some answers from my boyfriend tomorrow.