Two Years Later

Diane stabbed at the keyboard sitting at her dimly lit desk. Her thrift store desk lamp, a memento from college, softly flickered at every other angry keystroke. It was the one of the three items that she decided to bring that was personal to sit on her desk. The startup company did so many re-organizations, it was pointless to bring much else. That lamp was only true thing that belonged to her at the office, and yet, it could barely keep up with her too.

She couldn't believe how long this was taking. She could never get in all her nearly two years of working at this company, somehow she only she, managed to stay after hours on a Friday. She didn't play the martyr game, but the work was interesting enough to keep her running at it. Her more youthful colleagues never missed an opportunity to express gratitude either. Or, was it pity? Either way, they always offered for lunch or drinks after work. Not that she wanted to participate, but her Friday afternoons were more coding, and less happy hour. Thank God Lena didn't have a date tonight and was happy to stay late babysitting. Between this project and the dinner tonight, she would've been screwed. Diane always paid her double, feeling an upcharge was needed getting a teenager to babysit on a Friday night.

Her eyes glanced at her Millennium Falcon desk clock and frowned. "Ugh. I'm never gonna hear the end of this." She heard more buzzing from her phone, but she didn't even have to stop to pick it up to know who it was. "Nope. Not now." A second later it started buzzing again. I'll just have to call her back later I'm almost done and I'm much I lose my rhythm now. She continued to type away, trying to clean up her code the best she could to her she could finally run a couple of scripts to check for bugs. At this point she wasn't ready to deploy but she had to get enough down to where she can spend the majority of her time doing bug cleanup first thing Monday morning. At least that was the plan.

Within a breath, the foreign sound of a desk phone began to ring. Diane stopped typing, scowling at the machine.

"Seriously?", She yelled out loud. With a deep half she picked up the phone and put it to her ear. "What? I said I was on my way!"

"Yeah, I know but you said that an hour ago, Dee." Gina whined.

The saccharin sweet voice was almost convincing if it didn't belong to someone whom she knew so well. She knew how to work people. "Gina," Diane moaned in dismay. "Look, I love you okay, but your bugging the hell out of me and I'm really trying to get this done and as soon as I get it done I promise I will be hop my ass in the car and fly like the wind to my apartment get dressed and meet you there, alright?"

There was a long pause on the phone. There was a bit of faint noise in the background like the mumblings of one-hundred conversations. Diane could only wonder what it is they're gabbing about most likely her for being the terrible friend and even worst Maid of Honor. One who would dare show up late to her best friends rehearsal dinner. The silence got a little bit too long Diane finally spoke, "I promise."

"All right," Gina responded. "I just wanted to make sure, doll. I'll let everyone know that you're on your way. Just don't leave me here when all these assholes okay? You promise you would be here." She paused as if something or someone distracted her. "Everyone's waiting for you and I was hoping that I can introduce you to some of Derek's friends."

Diane noticed that insinuating tone at the end of her statement and she cringed. "Oh no. Look, Gina, don't start."

"What do you mean, doll?"

Diane shook her head at the receiver. "Please, please don't try to hook me up with anyone there. Just please-- just worry about finalizing your own hook up okay? Can you just do that for me? Can you just focus on getting your ass married and just not worry about me? Please Gina."

Gina's lips smacked so loud, Diane thought it was a short in the phone cord. "You don't get to tell me how to treat my BFF, okay?" she chimed. "I'll have you know that I had already chatted you up to one of them and let me tell you he is yummy!"

Diane rolled her eyes and rubbed her temple. "I have a really hard time believing that especially after you led with 'Derek's friend'."

"I'm telling you, he's not like the others."

Diane grunted. "Then that means his judgement is obviously compromised."

"Hey! You promised no shit-talking about Derek with me!"

"I wasn't talking about your fiance. I was talking about his friend. Whoever." Sometimes, she wished that the fates had been kinder to Gina. Derek was clearly out of his league, but yet, Gina fell in love with him all the same. In all honesty, she only had ever tolerated him because he managed to make Gina so incredibly happy. It was hard to understand, but very seldom did love make sense. She was sure at some point, Derek realized that her and Gina's friendship made her happy, and so a shaky kinda truce was created. As long as each continued to keep her happy there won't be a problem between them. Right now, she was just more interested in changing the subject "You know, whatever sweeties. Look I don't want to fight. I'm almost done, alright? Let me complete this and I'll be on my way I promise okay?"

"Alright, fine Dee." Diane could almost hear the pout on her friends face. "Hey, wear that little black dress with the strappy things."

"What?" Diane asked surprised.

"Love you." Gina replied in a sing-songy voice then hung up.

Taken aback by the sudden silence, Diane slowly returned the receiver to the desk phone. "I love you too." She gave a deep sigh and looked at the clock .She's never gonna finish this. "Fuck me. Can I get anything done these days?" called out to the sky. No one answered. Typical, she thought to herself. She finally saved her work, then closed her laptop. She shoved it into her backpack along with her wallet and lunch bag as she began to mentally calculate how much hustling she'll have to do across town just to get cleaned up and in a presentable fashion to deal with the hordes of people that wanted to celebrate her best friend's upcoming wedding. She toyed with the silver locket in the center of her chest. Well, at least she would get to kiss Chrissy before she went back out into the fray to join the circus of people. Today of all days she wished code review wasn't on Fridays. She didn't even have time to process that Gina was once again trying to fix her up. This was when her best friend's tenacity annoyed the hell outta her. Diane had met Derek's friends before. Yeah, they were total bros and she had no time for such foolishness. She had no time for any of it, period. She was a single parent, so the games and ridiculousness was best reserved for the child. She wasn't even going to get into his siblings, which she's never met the same one twice and if she was a betting woman would assume that the Murphys were Catholics. Either that or a failed casting call for "Eight is Enough." She rubbed her locket. "Hope you're around to protect me in case the alcohol runs low," she spoke to the silver oval necklace as she grabbed her bag and hightailed to the elevators.

Rushing through the door, Diane dropped her keys and backpack at the door of her apartment and kicked off her shoes.

Lena was on the couch with her textbooks and notebooks sprawled all over the sofa and coffee table. Looking up from her ereader, she quickly stood up. "Hi Miss D," she greeted in a soft, but chipper voice.

"Hi," Diane whispered. "How's everything going? Is Chrissy asleep?"

Lena smiled and nodded. "Yes ma'am. She went right to sleep after dinner. We played for a little while, but she was getting a little fussy, so figured she was ready for bed."

"Yeah, the daycare kiddos have been keeping her really busy. Has her heartburn been bothering her?"

"No ma'am. Not since I've been with her."

She sighed. "That's good. Thanks so much for staying late, Lena."

She just waved her hand. "It's no problem, really. She's a cutie and really easy to take care of. I think now, she's lots more comfortable with me. We're fast friends now."

"Fantastic." She handed the money to her. "Thank you again." Diane tiptoed down the hall and quietly stepped into her bedroom. Taking off her clothes in record time, she jumped in her master shower to wash up. Anxiety crept up in her bones thinking of having to deal with a gang of people tonight. There were so many that she hadn't seen in a while. Many who wanted to ask a million questions about where she's been, is she dating, how's Chrissy. And some that will eventually dance around her loss of Christian. She groaned. "And some will try to get into my pants."

Thoroughly washing all the fun parts, she quickly turned off the water and dried herself. Diane brushed her hair and pulled it into an elegant bun. She stared at the black and silver dress she laid on the bed that morning. It wasn't the dress Gina was talking about, but then again, she was a grown ass woman and didn't need her best friend to dress her. With a smug 'hmph', she continued to get dressed.

She refrained from putting lipstick on until she checked on Chrissy. Finally dressed, she snuck in and peaked on her daughter sleeping with her rear end in the air. She couldn't for the life of her figure how in the world that managed to be comfortable, but it was her standard sleep position, unless Diane made her cuddle up in her bed. She stepped closer and peered over to see her sound asleep. Against her better judgment, she picked up Chrissy, too tempted to hold her. Chrissy's eyes were still shut, but instinctively wrapped her little arms around her neck. "Hey there, bumper," she whispered. Kissing her daughter on the head, she quickly felt her bottom to check her pamper. A sigh of relief that she was still dry. Yay, Lena has a reprieve, she thought. Which means I get one too.

Chrissy rubbed her eyes. "Mama," she called softly.

"Hi baby."

Then Chrissy burped loud and spewed a milky substance onto Diane's shoulder. She felt the warm mess slowly run down her chest as she pulled Chrissy away. Holding her out, she looked at her. "Feel better, I bet."

Chrissy smiled and began to close her eyes again.

With a distressed sigh, Diane set her back down and gently wiped her face. Within moments, Chrissy shifted back onto her stomach, with the butt safely in the air.

"Thanks a lot, bumper."

She put the little towel on her dress and did an about face out of the room. That was her bad. She could've left her alone, but what would be the fun in that. "Okay," she said to herself as she marched back into her bedroom. "Black strappy thing, it is."

***

A little over an hour later Diane found herself running up the steps to Chez Louis, Gina's favorite upscale restaurant just within the downtown area. She really had to thank herself for booking a place that had valet parking. Straightening her hair, then her sleek black dress, her run slowed down to a determined walk as she entered the restaurant. The warm tones of cream and sunset really brought on a soft ambience to the place. In the 17th century French sconces on the walls or one of the top three reasons Diane wanted to book the place. It had a real historical feel. Giant canvas painting replicas of Monet and Degas which appeared majestic on the high-vaulted walls. She cleared her throat as she walked up to the maître d'.

He was just in the middle of chastising the waiter when he paused and turned his full attention to her. A plastic, but gleaming smile greeted her.

"Hello, ma'am. How can I help you this evening?," he asked. She wasn't quite sure she needed to be offended by his once over only because she couldn't tell of it was more distasteful or leering. Whatever it was it gave her a feeling of food being on her face.

"I'm with the Murphy- Anderson rehearsal dinner," she replied, which sounded more like an questioned in a statement.

With the squint of his eyes, his head dipped back down to the binder and flipped through the pages. Hmm. She didn't know this place was so old school. For some reason, she figured it was all show because of the tone of the restaurant. She was tempted to ask if she was on the list. That would be her life that she planned a dinner where she wasn't even invited.

Finally he looked up, and his eyes brightened. "Yes!" the maître d' finally responded. He got the attention of one of the nearby waiters "Would you please see to it that this young lady is directed to the Murphy-Anderson rehearsal dinner party? They are in the private room."

"Thank you," Diane said as she trailed behind the enthusiastic waiter. She quietly walked through the aisles and dodged through the couples and tables of people enjoying their meal til she finally reached the double doors to the private room. She thanked the waiter again then took a deep sigh while she said, "Here we go."

Whack!

Before she could reach the door, it suddenly whipped open it smacked her dead in the forehead, nearly making her see stars in the process. "Shit!" she screeched, which paused the chatter in the house area for a whole shock-filled five seconds.

With her hands covering her eyes and head, she could barely see her attacker but she heard him swear under his breath.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" he inquired. "I'm so sorry I didn't realize that the door opened that way."

Diane frowned. "How the hell is a door supposed to open?"

A sheepish grin came and went. "Yeah, I probably deserve that." he conceded. "Alright, let's have a look." he demanded as he gently pushed her hand away to assess the damage.

"I'm fine," Diane brushed his hand and opened her eyes. As the blurriness faded a handsome, chestnut face came into focus in front of her. His chiseled jawline screamed masculinity which juxtaposed with his thick dark lashes framing a pair of bright hazel eyes. He looked otherworldly almost. Definitely a sight for a sore head. She rubbed her eyes just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. "I think only my pride is busted."

His hand gently inspected her as she stood there, his warm touch of his hands cradling her head. "Should be no reason for that. I'm the idiot who came bulldozing through the door. I just want to make sure you aren't concussed."

Diane grimaced. "What are you, a doctor?"

A tight-lipped smile grew on his face, "Actually, I am. I have a penlight and everything. " He raised an eyebrow. "Wanna see?"

Before Diane could say anything, Gina came running out. "Oh my God, what the hell happened?" She walked up to Diane as the gentleman stepped back to give them space. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm okay." She said, but found herself staring at the gentleman, who didn't appear uncomfortable by it in the least. Dressed in a dark suit, Diane didn't miss the fact that he filled it out quite nicely. Broad shoulders and a towering frame, she didn't know who he was, but he looked good enough to eat. "Just a bump, I think." Jesus, stop staring at him!

He nodded. "It was all my fault, I knocked her with the door. But she's fine. I don't think she has a concussion."

Gina crowded her like a frantic mom, rubbing her head and checking for marks. "Ugh, but will she have a bruise? I can't have my BFF slash Maid of Honor rocking a big honkin' knot on her face the day of the wedding!"

Diane fanned her away. "Love where your head's at, bestie. Way to be concerned." She couldn't wait to just get through the doors. Her embarrassment level was reaching new highs today. "I'll be fine, Gina. Please, don't make a fuss. I bought a ton of concealer for emergencies anyway."

The gentleman's eyes, lit up even brighter as if that were possible. "Maid of Honor?" He looked at Gina then back to a confused Diane. "So this is the Diane Howerton you were telling me all about?"

Gina glowed, finally refraining from annoying her friend and switching back into matchmaker/wingchick mode. "Yep. This is my best friend, Dee." She grinned and gently nudged Diane forward. "Dee, this is Dr. Lamoureux," she introduced almost breathless. "He's an old friend of Derek. He's a doctor."

"Please, call me Will, " he replied as he extended his hand out. "It's a pleasure to finally put a face to the name, Diane. I heard a lot about you."

With a polite, tight-lipped smile, she shook his hand. "I hope nothing too incriminating." She turned to Gina, giving her a glare only for her eyes. "Seriously."

"Actually, very good things." Will locked eyes with Diane and his gaze made her heart jump into her stomach. She barely knew the guy and yet, he looked at her as if they've known each other for years. Uneasy, she pushed her hair behind her ear and cleared her throat. Breaking the look, Will opened the door for them. "You ladies should get in here, before they start worrying. Excuse me, I have to make a phone call, but I'll be back in time for the toast, I promise."

Gina pointed her finger at him as they walked past him. "You better!"

They both watched as his lean, masculine frame swaggered off. When the door closed, Gina looked at Diane and squealed. "I'm so glad you're getting to meet Will. Wasn't he a hottie?"

Diane shrugged. Okay. She didn't want to admit it, but yeah, that was not what she was expecting when she heard her friend wanted her to meet one of Derek's buddies. He totally had the kinda looks that made smart women go stupid. But that smile reminded her someone. The someone whom she missed dearly. Don't be stupid, Diane. You can see him in a bowl of cornflakes if you really want to. Lay off. She turned and headed to the big table filled with Gina's wedding circus."Yeah, he's okay, I guess. Still doesn't absolve him from nearly knocking my head off my body." She rubbed her head, despite the pain now non-existent.

Gina fanned her comment away. "Pshh. You always had a penchant for clumsiness, Dee. Knowing you, you probably walked into that door." Her voice changed to a tight-lipped whisper, speaking through her staged smile as they approached the seated crowd of people.

"I did not!" Diane squeezed in under her breath just before they reached the table. She tacked on a big, welcoming smile to match.

"Hey, look who I finally found!," Gina announced in her grandiose fashion, presenting Diane like the guest of honor. She had to give it to her; Gigi always knew how to call attention to herself.

Everyone cheered and greeted Diane's arrival as she hugged Gina's mom and dad. A tirade of kisses and hugs ensued, until Gina's mom, Judy, stood back and examined her with a wide, proud smile. "I felt like I haven't seen you in forever! We have to change that, Dee!"

Her cheeks darkened with a bit of shame. She owed them more than enough gratitude. between them and Gina last year, helping her through the pregnancy, who knows what could've been for her and Chrissy. They never once complained, even when she ruined their $1500 sofa when her water broke. Or later, when newborn Chrissy spit up on them during the christening. "I will. I'm sorry. Between work, Chrissy and being Gina's co-pilot in the wedding planning, I've been kinda busy. But we haven't forgotten you guys."

Gina's mom shook her head, her brown curls with streaks of gray swayed back and forth. "You better not have. And you need to bring Christina around. Gina forwarded us pictures taken on her phone and she's gotten so big and gorgeous." Her brows furrowed. "Just like her mom."

Diane smiled. "Aww. Thank you, Judy." She finally sat down in an empty spot next to Gina and politely waved to Derek. His lopsided smile didn't do a great job hiding his annoyance, but these days, Diane simply lacked caring. Surrounded by his brothers or bros, who was to say the source of said irritation. It was clear both of them had extremely high expectations for each other that neither bothered to aim for.

"Wow. Glad you could finally make it, Didi. I was telling Gina that you probably chickened out on coming or got swallowed by that cyborg you've been building."

She sat down and unfolded the napkin into her lap. That off-brand nickname made her spine shiver. Who the hell was 'Didi? And he had to get some new jokes. That Cyborg one was two years outta date. Still, her tolerance without alcohol or Christian manage to rise to the occasion. "Well, you know things have been kinda hectic lately."

Gina clicked her teeth. "Oh, shut up, Derek. You know our Dee is a busy lady. All I care about is that she's finally here. Thanks so much for setting this up. I want to enjoy everyone laid back."

As she started to reply, she noticed that one of Derek's many siblings sat across and eyed her like his dinner was on her face. The stare was so intense, she purposely put up the menu card just to get some semblance of privacy. It wasn't like the other gentleman. This one had the creeper vibe dialed up to 11. Reading the card over twice, she glanced over to Gina.

"Who is that staring at me like I owe him money?," she whispered.

Gina looked up then gently put her hand over her mouth. "Wow, yeah. That's Trey. Derek's younger brother--well, at least one of 'em."

"He looks thirsty as hell. Why is he looking at me like that? Did you tell him about me?"

"No! I swear! I don't know, maybe Derek chatted you up."

Diane shook her head. "You know that's not realistic. Unless he told him I was easy or something?" They both slowly lowered the menu card to see him grinning at her. She quickly popped back behind the safety of the menu card. "Ew. Turn it off, Gina."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm so sorry. Just ignore him. Ugh, I could just kill Derek and his peeps sometimes."

"Yeah? Then why don't you?"

A brilliant smile grew across her face. "Because, unfortunately, I love him to death, that's why. I'm finally taking those damn vows. I can't kill him now."

Diane turned to set her clutch on the empty chair beside her, when a warm hand gently covered hers. Startled, her eyes shot upward to meet those entrancing eyes of Will.

"Sorry, that um, overzealous gentleman over there shanghai'd my seat. I hope you mind if I sit here instead."

Before Diane could shoot him down, Gina leaned over, grinning. "Nope! Not at all, Will. Please have a seat! Dee, hand me your purse, I'll hold it for ya." Reaching for it, Diane held on tightly until Gina finally ripped it from her. "There! Don't you worry your pretty little head about the security of this bag."

"I hate you." Diane whispered.

"But I love you." Gina whispered back with a devious grin. "Sooo, Will, what have you been up to lately? I heard you did some traveling."

William slightly turned to face Gina's direction, which meant he was awkwardly in Diane's face. Trying to avoid staring, he leaned back a bit. "Um, yeah. I went to London for a week."

"Oh?," Gina smiled. "Business or pleasure?"

Will smiled. "Business. Medical conference, but I managed to indulge in some fun detours."

Gina grinned. "That's so great. Dee, here has been to the UK a few times."

His attention tuned completely to Diane, his inquisitive look was terribly genuine. "Oh really? What were your favorite places there? I love to hear about other people's experience there."

Caught in his gaze again, Diane looked down at her empty plate for a moment, then decided to look outward to Derek and his creepy friend. Ew. I'm completely trapped, she thought as she shifted and finally went back to Will. "I was actually there both times on business, but I frequented shopping at Piccadilly Circus. But, when I needed to relax, I visited The Four Quarters. You probably haven't heard of it." She waved down the waiter. "Some wine, please."

"I have, actually. So you're a bit of a gamer I take it? Arcade?"

Diane taken aback by his response, cleared her throat. "Uh, yes. I play to relax a bit. Do you?"

He nodded. "When time is ever available, yes. I didn't get to visit the gaming pub, but I wish I did. We'll have to talk more about your favorite games."

Gina winked. "Oh yeah. Dee here is your standard nefariously gorgeous nerd. Her bread and butter is the tech industry, so it goes hand and hand. Right Diane?"

Her face turning redder by the second, she simply nodded. "Please, stop talking," she whispered.

Sensing her embarrassment, Will changed the subject. "Anyway, it was a great time and I'd love to go there again. Hopefully, next time for pleasure. Time off in Emergency medicine is rare. But Derek mentioned he'd love to do your honeymoon there."

"We haven't decided yet, actually. I never visited Hawaii so that was my first choice--"

"Yeah," a very loud Derek interrupted, "But everyone and their mother goes to that tropical roach trap for their honeymoon!" He took a gulp of wine. "No offense, Didi."

God, how she hated his nicknames. "Uh, It's Dee and none taken."

Will's eyes widened. "Honeymoon?" He turned to Diane, curious. "Are you married, Miss Diane?"

"No," Derek, Gina and Diane said in unison.

An awkward silence washed over the whole table and Diane immediately took it as her cue to catch her breath.

She stood up and put her napkin on the table. "I need to excuse myself for a moment." Her eyes met Gina, whose eyes were filled with contrition.

"Dee..."

She popped up a counterfeit smile to her bestie and those around. "I'm okay. Going to just step out for a min. I'll be back." She grabbed her clutch, patted Gina's shoulder and walked quickly out the double doors.

Gina watched her friend leave and then turned to give her fiance a look of a thousand fiery daggers. "What the hell was that?" She threw her napkin at Derek, who barely dodged it. "That was totally insensitive."

Derek's eyes became saucers. "I'm sorry! I didn't realize! It just kinda came out! I thought she was getting better at this sort of..." His voice trailed off as Will stood up and turned to Gina.

"Did I miss something?" Will shifted his view between Gina and the rest of the table. 

"Uh, not really," Derek replied. "Diane is a widow, and it's not supposed to be a thing, but it kinda is."

"You kinda made it a thing, hun," Gina corrected her fiancee through clenched teeth.

Will frowned. "Excuse me, I'm going to step out as well. I'll be back." 

Before Gina could say anything, Will left the table and exited the private room.

###