“It’ll be hard to get rid of me,” she said with a smile.
“Good,” he said, then he winked at her before walking out.
“Your husband is so ridiculously attractive,” Kalli said wistfully. I noticed the blush on her face and smiled to myself.
“Yes, I’m aware and so is he. I think he tries to make you blush.”
“Mission accomplished,” she says quietly, making me laugh. “Can I help you with anything?”
“No, you cannot. In fact, I was about to break for lunch. Want to join me?”
“Definitely.”
Thirty minutes later, we were seated at one of my favorite lunch spots, a little delicatessen in downtown Salem.
“So, I haven’t heard much from you since the honeymoon. How was it?” Kalli asked, raising her eyebrows at me, a sly grin on her face.
“Oh my goodness, Kal, it was wonderful. You have to go to Bora Bora sometime. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.” Kalli took a stab at her salad.
“I don’t think it’s a place for single people, Ella. Bora Bora is a place for couples.”
I looked at my friend and knew what she was thinking. I reached out and placed a hand over hers. “You’ll find someone, Kalli. You’re a great girl and any guy would be lucky to have you.” She inhaled deeply and nodded.
“I know, I know.” She shook her head, seemingly trying to erase the thoughts she harbored there. “I’ve just never had a good track record with guys, and the whole thing with Kyle just really put a nail in that coffin.”
I grimaced at her words. I knew she felt guilty about Kyle and I didn’t know how to help her let those feelings go. I had explained, time and time again, that she couldn’t be responsible for his vile and ultimately psychotic behavior, but she harbored those feelings of guilt deep and I couldn’t reach them. Honestly, we’d all been affected by Kyle and what transpired, but Kalli seemed to be the only one who didn’t have someone to help her move past it.
“Don’t let Kyle and what he did make you miserable, Kalli. Don’t give him that kind of control. He doesn’t deserve it,” I stated, wishing she’d do more than listen, wishing she’d hear me. She nodded her head and let out a sigh. Then I watched as she plastered on a fake smile for my benefit.
“How’s Megan holding up? Only four months until the wedding. Has she become a bridezilla yet?”
“No, I think she is starting to see the appeal of doing it the way Porter and I did though.”
“You mean eloping?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I think she’s getting bogged down by details and just wants to be married.” I shrugged. “It’ll be beautiful and over before she knows it.”
“Why did you and Porter elope?”
I thought about the question, trying to put together a good answer for her. “I guess, after everything that happened, we just wanted to be together. After a few months of trying to plan a traditional wedding, thinking about guest lists and table settings, all stuff that didn’t really matter to either of us, we just wanted to skip the planning and start the marriage.”
“Well, that’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” she said with a grin. “Married life suits you.”
“Porter suits me.” I couldn’t help but smile. I remember what life was like without him and I never wanted to be that person again. The idea that I could have gone my whole life without experiencing the way he made me feel was depressing. Everyone deserved to have someone love them the way Porter loved me. His love was transcendent. It lifted me up in so many ways. I would gladly spend the rest of my life trying to make him feel even a small semblance of how he made me feel. It was the least I could do.
“So, you’ll be there tomorrow to try on dresses?” Kalli asked hopefully.
“I’ll be there. It’ll be fantastic.”
That evening when I walked into our rental house in Salem, I didn’t see Porter in the living room so I called out to him, “Babe, you home?”
“I’m in the bedroom,” he responded. I set my purse and bags down on the kitchen table and walked back to the bedroom.
The house was small. Much smaller than I would have ever wanted, but it was only a rental while our house was being completed, so I knew I could deal with it in the meantime. It had been a struggle to find another house that was available so quickly. I never could return to the first house we rented in Salem, never could bring myself to walk back into the house where Kyle abducted me. No one blamed me and Porter didn’t want to go in that house either. We found another house to rent, albeit smaller, until ours was built and move-in ready.