I frowned in puzzlement. “Me? How am I causing you pain?”
“It’s not actually you,” she said. “It’s so hard to find the right words to say. I knew that this was all going to come out wrong.”
“Emily, take a deep breath, and then just tell me whatever is on your mind. We’ve been friends for too long for anything to come between us.”
“But don’t you see? That’s what makes this so hard.”
“It doesn’t have to be any harder than you’re making it,” I said. “Talk to me.”
“Max asked me to marry him,” she said, the words tumbling out of her as though she were afraid that if she didn’t say them quickly enough, she’d never be able to.
“My Max?” I asked, immediately regretting my choice of words.
Emily frowned a little as she replied, “Honestly, I like to think of him as my Max now.”
“Of course he is,” I answered quickly. I’d been married to Max years ago, and he’d done such a good job convincing me that he would be a better husband than he was an actor that I’d grown to call him The Great Impersonator after our time together was over. “What did you say?”
“I said yes,” she answered, and at that moment, I could see her happiness spilling out over her dread. “It makes me a pretty lousy friend, doesn’t it?”
“Emily, he wasn’t right for me. Maybe he’ll be right for you,” I said.
“Suzanne, you set us up, remember? If you hadn’t come to me and pled his case, I never would have gone out with him again.”
“Hang on a second. Don’t blame that on me,” I said.
“I wasn’t blaming you,” she answered curtly.
“I know that. I didn’t mean it that way.” I took a deep breath and tried to buy a little time so I could wrap my head around the idea of Max marrying Emily. No, I just couldn’t do it. It was going to take some time before I could do that. In the meantime, I didn’t want to alienate my good friend. “What it all boils down to is that if you’re happy, then I’m happy for you.”
“I knew you’d understand,” she said as she leaned over the table and hugged me. “That makes my next question so much easier to ask.”
“Would you like me to cater your wedding with donuts?” I asked a little too flippantly.
If she’d caught my tone of voice, she didn’t let on. “What a wonderful idea! Why didn’t I think of that? Of course I’ll have you cater it. Do you think you’ll be able to do that, too?”
“What do you mean, too?” I asked her.
“Since you’re the one who’s responsible for getting us together, it’s only fitting that you be my maid of honor.”
I couldn’t help it. My jaw nearly hit the ground. “Surely there’s someone else who might be a more appropriate choice. How about friends you had growing up?”
“We’ve all drifted apart,” she said. “I understand if you say no, but it would mean a great deal to me if you’d say yes.”
I had to stall a little. “Have you run this idea past Max?” Surely my ex would get me out of this jam. I couldn’t imagine he’d be all that interested in seeing me walk down the aisle ahead of his new bride. It had to be too much of a déjà vu experience for him to even entertain.
“Are you kidding? He thought it sounded wonderful,” Emily said, that smile resurfacing in all of its glory again.
“You really do love him, don’t you? Emily, I hate to ask this, but isn’t this all kind of sudden? After all, you haven’t been dating that long.” I’d been with Jake a lot longer than she’d been with Max, and we hadn’t even discussed the possibility of getting married. My boyfriend had lost his first family in a car accident, and I knew that it had taken nearly everything he’d had to let me into his life.
“How long do you need, when you know that it’s going to last forever?” Emily asked me.
“And you’re sure you want me in your wedding party,” I said. “It’s not too late to change your mind.”
“I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have standing up with me than you,” she said. Were those tears tracking down her cheeks into her smile? That just wasn’t fair. How could I possibly say no to that?
“Okay, if you’re sure it’s what you really want,” I said.
“This is wonderful,” Emily said as she stood quickly. “I can’t thank you enough. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. The wedding is in three days.”