Everything in Between

Chapter 25

July 2021

When my phone rings, Cece waits for me on a pink velvet sofa outside a Kleinfeld Bridal Boutique dressing room. I drop my eyes to the screen and see a call from Darla Zimmerman. That's weird. I think to myself as I slip on another blue bridesmaid dress. Even though I'm curious to know what she wants, I ignore the call, not because I'm avoiding her, but because we are in a time crunch. We've been shopping for bridesmaid dresses all day, and Kleinifeld is about to close. I quickly leave the dressing room and model yet another silky bridesmaid dress for Cece to decide on for her upcoming wedding to Reggie - next New Year's Eve - in Detroit.  

Reggie finally asked Cece to marry him a few months ago. He booked a cabin on Pontiac Lake - one of Cece's favourite spots. Before sunset, he insisted they go for a boat ride. Cece assumed they were going fishing, so she grabbed a fishing rod and headed to the dock. But when she turned around a corner, she saw their boat had "Will You Marry Me?" painted on the side, and Reggie was down on one knee at the end of the dock.

Needless to say, since their engagement, she's been in full-on wedding planning mode. She even flew to New York for the weekend so I could help her find the perfect bridesmaid dresses for her bride squad; hence, I'm spending an entire Saturday trying on dresses in every bridal boutique in New York.

From what I can tell, Cece is in love with this dress. Her smile is from ear to ear, and she bounces on the sofa with her hands clasped together as I spin in front of her.

"You look so hot," she says, rising from the sofa. "Your body in that dress is on fire."

"Really?" I say and laugh. "You don't think it's too snug on my midsection?" I tug the fabric, hugging my hips. We both look into the mirror's reflection and admire the powdery blue-coloured dress. Cece is right; I do look hot in this dress.

Cece shakes her head. "It's a perfect fit. I love this dress. What do you think?"

I want to say I think I'm tired of trying on bridesmaid dresses, I'm hungry, and I'd wear a potato sack to the wedding at this point if Cece wanted, but instead, I say:

"I think you're right. This dress is the winner."

Cece smiles. "Yay! I'm so lucky to have you as my maid of honour. You and the other girls are going to look stunning. I can't wait."

The saleswoman congratulates Cece on finding her chosen bridesmaid dresses and then whisks me off into the dressing room. I can hear her and Cece on the other side of the curtain discussing how many dresses will be required, the sizing of the bridesmaids, and deposit information.

After I change into my regular clothes and exit the dressing room, my phone rings again. I peek to see it's Darla Zimmerman calling for a second time.

"Who's calling you?" Cece asks.

"Darla."

"Zimmerman?" She turns her curious eyes to me. "What does she want?"

I shrugged at her, then clicked on the call, struggling to understand why Darla would need to get a hold of me. For a moment, I feel anxious, wondering if something has happened to Zach.

"Hello?"

"Annie, hey," Darla's sweet-sounding voice comes through the line. "Sorry to keep calling."

"Everything okay?" I ask, with pinpricks all down my neck - and my worry rises. 

"Yes, yes, everything is great," she says, and I sigh with relief. "I'm calling because I need your help."

"Oh."

Cece watches me; brows pulled low.

"I know you are in New York for the summer," Darla continues. "but as you know, Zach's twenty-fifth birthday is coming up." There's a slight pause on the line. "Anyway, his parents are organizing a surprise birthday party for him the first week in September. You will be back in Michigan by then, right?"

"Yes," I say, absorbing this new information. "I'll be back by then."

"The Zimmermans wanted me to ask you to help compose a guest list of Zach's friends to attend and assist with party planning." My eyes go wide. When I don't respond immediately, Darla follows up: "There's no one closer to Zach than you, so naturally, your help makes the most sense."

It's been weird between Zach and me since I saw a hot brunette wrap her arms around his neck in England. We've still been in contact through text messages and Facetime calls, but any talk about us having slept together has never been discussed, and any talk about missing one another was never brought up again. He decided to extend his Europe trip with Brett an additional six months since then, and they didn't even come home for Christmas as they had initially planned. It was my first Christmas in years without Zach spending the holidays with Mom and me, although he Facetimed us from a resort in Sicily. And it's been an entire year since I've physically seen him. And when he and Brett did end their European adventure and finally returned to Michigan, I had already gone to New York for my summer job. Of course, the Zimmermans would not know how complicated Zach and I's friendship had become since last July 4th.

"Um, yeah," I say, trying to keep my voice steady. "Of course, I'll help."

"Oh, awesome. Thank you," she shouts. "And next time we chat, we can discuss transporting Zach to the surprise party and other details. Sounds good?"

I nod. "Yes, it sounds great."

Except this sounds anything but great. This sounds awkward, and somehow, like I am the best friend Zach kissed, then hooked up with, and now I'm doing something a girlfriend would do...help his family plan a surprise birthday party.

"Give me a call this week with the list of guests, okay?" Darla asks.

I swallow. "Okay."

"Thanks so much, Annie."

We say our goodbyes, and I click off the call.

"What was that about?" Cece asks.

"The Zimmermans are planning a surprise twenty-fifth birthday party for Zach at their Country Club."

"Oh, fun," Cece's first reaction is excitement. Then, she pauses momentarily and glances at me with curiosity and concern. "Wait... you'd said you'd help? Help with what?"

I shrug nonchalantly. "The guest list, getting Zach to the surprise party and other details."

Cece frowns at this, and it honestly sends a sharp pang through my chest about how much I know she knows and that she's about to point out the obvious. "Oh, God. Do you think helping with Zach's birthday is a good idea?"

"I mean, things are fine. It's not awkward."

"You guys still don't know what you are to each other -" She stops, shaking her head. "It doesn't get more awkward than that."

"You're wrong. We know what we are to each other."

Her eyebrows shoot up. "Oh, yeah. Tell me what you two are, then. A one-night stand? A couple? Best friends? Confidants? Fuck pals?"

I pretend to look confused. "All of the above?"

"How often are you in contact?" Cece asks.

Instead of looking defeated, I straightened, confidently saying, "We still message each other all the time, and he even messaged me when he returned to Michigan last month." I reach forward and push open the door of the bridal shop as we step outside and onto the sidewalk.

She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, funny how he finally returned conveniently once you left for New York for the summer."

I try to pretend she hasn't struck a chord. I try to pretend the timing of Zach extending his stay in Europe and his calculated return to Michigan had nothing to do with a busty brunette and our lack of conversation over a year ago.

"Like I've told you before, it'll be fine once we finally see each other. Zach and I will be fine."

She glances over at me, eyes comically wide. "I guess we'll see about that."