Life at Best

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

The next morning Julie and Brynne sat at a local Denny's, eating breakfast and discussing what they still needed to complete and when it needed to be completed by in order to keep everything on track to be completed in time for the wedding to go off without a hitch in just four months time.

Brynne nervously picked at her food, not meaning to ignore Julie but, she was definitely inadvertently ignoring her.

"Brynne are you even listening to me?" she asked.

"Huh?"

Julie laughed out loud, "Did you even hear a word I just said to you the last five minutes?"

"No, I'm sorry," she said on a sigh, "I just feel so out of it today and I don't know what to do."

"What's got you so unfocused?"

"Please don't make fun of me, but I'm kind of - totally -  nervous about going to lunch with Martin this afternoon."

"Well, why are you worried dear? It's not like you've never gone out to lunch with him before, plus... you're going to be in public at least and not somewhere by yourselves! You can't get into yourself into trouble or do anything you don't want to in public!"

Brynne sighed, "If you think that Julie, then you really don't know me..." she looked down at her plate and then back up at Julie, "I'm worried I'm going to look into his damn intoxicating eyes and forget everything that's happened between us, and it's not that I don't want to forgive him or be understanding to his situation - because I totally do and I think he deserves to be forgiven, but I'm just not ready to just forget everything right now. I think we need to really talk and take some time and see how things progress... slowly, and I mean very slowly."

"Well... then tell him all that."

"That's easier said than done Julie," Brynne chuckled, "You've never looked into his eyes before and just gotten lost in them..."

"No I definitely haven't looked into his eyes before, but I do stare into a different Junior's every days, and his eyes are just as intoxicating..."

"I am sorry about not listening to what you were talking about, though," Brynne sighed, "What were you saying again?"

"Well, all I was saying was... the things we have to be most concerned about at this point, are the dresses - mine specifically, but yours in important too; we already have the venue for the rehearsal dinner and reception booked and the church is also all set, so definitely the main concern is the attire - my dress and your dress and getting the boys butt in gear to go get their tuxes fitted. And I want to make appointments this week to go taste testing cake! I was going to ask Junior about having you and Martin come with us, because God knows he's going to have no opinion that's helpful to me whatsoever he's already told me that much, so I'm going to need backup on that front."

"Okay so we've definitely got to spend our time dress shopping and cake testing, I can do that! What would be the best day to get all the bridesmaids' together to go try on some dresses?"

"I think Junior and I settled the other night on only having a best man and maid of honor, it's just so much easier with the amount of time we're dealing with to not have to work around more people's schedules, besides the two of you are both of our best friends, who else do we need besides you?"

Brynne smiled and nodded her head, mentally preparing herself for everything the two of them would have to accomplish in the next month or so to get everything booked and in place for this wedding to go off without a hitch. And everything would be perfect if it was the last thing she did.

*

Walked in expecting that you'd be late
But you got here early and you stand and wave
I walk to you
You pull my chair out and help me in
And you don't know how nice that is
But I do

She nervously tucked her hair behind her ear as she stepped out of her car in front of Landmark Restaurant Diner, knowing that behind those doors sat the one person who could make her head spin and her stomach flutter just by smiling at her.

Brynne inhaled deeply as her hand rested on the door handle leading into the restaurant, and after a few more deep breaths, she pulled it open listening to the twinkling of the bell above the door alerting the waitresses to someone entering the restaurant.

A blonde waitress met her at the door almost immediately, a huge smile on her face, "Hi, just one today?"

"Actually," Brynne sighed with a nervous smile, "I'm supposed to be meeting someone here."

"Oh," the waitress nodded, "Do you know if they've arrived yet?"

Brynne let her eyes travel throughout the restaurant until they landed on the brown eyes she'd just been thinking about, her stomach fell to the floor from the look that he sent her way. Forgetting where she was for a minute, everything around her slowed to a stop as they held each other's eyes as if in a standoff.

"Did you find them, honey?" the waitress asked politely.

"Oh um," Brynne cleared her throat, "Oh yeah, he's sitting over there in the corner there..."

"Well then follow me dear and I'll get you a menu to take a look at."

"Thanks," Brynne sighed. She knew this was probably not a good idea from the start; the feelings she'd been holding at bay for months were not so slowly starting to boil to the surface again, just like she knew they would the minute she saw him again and she didn't know how long she was going to be able to keep them to herself.

"Hi," he smiled as she sat down.

"Hi," she breathed with a slight smile.

"How are you?"

"I'm okay, how are you?" She didn't really know how to put into words what she was feeling, or the fact that the emotions were practically choking her trying to come up. So instead she chose not to say anything more than something as generic as 'I'm okay'.  She was honestly anything but okay.

Before he had a chance to answer her, the waitress walked up to the table and smiled at Brynne, "Can I get you something to drink honey?"

"Um... a water is fine," Brynne said. She left the table and left Brynne sitting alone with Martin, his smile still in place and still melting the layers around her heart. "What are you smiling about?"

He debated whether to make something up or to be honest with her. Honesty won out. "I've – it's just that I've been waiting for this moment to happen again forever. Brynne, I don't think you understand uh – understand just how much I've missed you the last few months."

Brynne swallowed, and briefly closed her eyes. It was all right there, she had to bite back from confessing everything to him – how she felt before, how she still felt now.  I love you.  It was as simple as that.  But then it wasn't that simple either.  "It has been a long time..."

When the waitress brought Brynne her water, they ordered their food, the silence settling back over them comfortably. Martin smiled at her and shook his head.

"What?" Brynne asked.

"You're being awfully quiet..."

"What's your point?" Brynne joked.

"You're never quiet, Brynne... at least not as long as I've known you."

Her eyes dropped to the table before rising back up to meet his, "This is still so overwhelming, Martin.  I had just finally got used to things being one away, and then out of nowhere the rug is pulled out from under my feet... I need some time to adjust to how things are now.  Our how things are going to be... once I figure it out for myself."

He closed his eyes and sighed, "You know I'm sorry, right?" She nodded her head. "Let's change that statement, because I know how many times I've said it. But you do know how sorry I am, right?" She met his eyes again. "Because I'd given anything to change how things turned out and to go back in time and just tell you about her psycho ass before she showed up and ruined everything.  There were so many times where it was literally on the tip of my tongue, but things had been going so well, and I was so afraid of ruining everything once I told you about Kaleen and her being pregnant.  In the end, not telling you ruined everything."  Brynne swallowed at the pure, raw emotion in his eyes, having to turn her eyes from him because of the emotions that seeing those emotion in his eyes brought up in her. "I loved you Brynne, so much. I still love you more than I can even express right now."

Brynne breathed out sharply, meeting his eyes once again, "I've – I've missed you Martin. I've missed us."

It was hesitant, but it was more than he ever expected her to say or admit, especially with the way things were between them right now. It may not have been 'I love you', but it certainly was on the right track to that sentiment.  In his eyes, that was a win.

And you throw your head back laughing like a little kid
I think it's strange that you think I'm funny cause he never did
I've been spending the last 8 months
Thinking all love does is break and burn and end
But on a Wednesday in a café, I watched it begin again

***

Song lyrics are from "Begin Again" by Taylor Swift.  Got a little more in depth with Brynne and Martin here.  I think we're making some more progress!