George changed.
Carla doesn't know when it happened, how or even where, but he has. He's not the same man she fell in love with five years ago.
Lando's the one who noticed first, the thought whispered to her when George had plucked the wine out of...
Title from: Both Sides of a Smile by Dave (Carla is screaming this whole verse at George ok iykyk! I struggled just choosing 1 line)
Carla
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"You did so amazing!" Jenny is beaming as she's packing her heels she wore for the whole afternoon into her bag in preparation for her journey home. "I really thought you weren't going to get through the speech without crying." She adds, her Glaswegian accent thickening as she laughs towards the end of the sentence. I just nod in agreement as I dab some concealer recovering a few spots which had smudged in all the excitement of the afternoon.
"I'm surprised too. I really didn't think so many people would show." I admit remembering how hard my heart had been pumping with nerves before three (the time the event started). I had convinced myself that nobody would show in what can only be described a self preservation exercise. I suppose it was better to expect the worst than expect the best with things like this. When over eighty people were looking to me with expectant eyes at the start of the event I felt my heart flutter. Twelve year old me wouldn't have believed that many people would attend something just to see a sneak peak of the clothes I created. I don't even think twenty one year old me would believe it. At twenty five I barely believe it.
Jenny grunts lugging her large bag onto her shoulder after checking each work surface is back where it belongs after the madness of the afternoon. I couldn't have done today without her and I hope she knows that. "There's an envelope for you on the table." I announce reaching for the blush from the makeup bag beside me. After the event I'd went into clean up mode before being shoo'ed away by Jenny, Sian and Darryl to begin getting ready for date night.
Jenny had already wiped away the threat of tears from my eyes fifteen minutes before the beginning of the showcase. It was when I got George's phone call. The one telling me he wasn't going to make it. I had all but burst into tears before putting the phone down on him, only picking up after five redials from him and a pleading text.
He had promised this morning, he swore when he dropped me off at the doors of the studio that he would make it back in time. He guaranteed that since the day was unscheduled there was no way it would run over, 'impossible' is how he put it. George said that everyone would understand he had plans, that this was important to him because it was so important to me.
Of course, none of that turned out to be true.
So when the second phone call ended I was left gasping an explanation to Jenny as tears spilled from me until my eyes stung. She had wiped them away and encouraged me to make the best of it. Assuring me that with, or without, George everything was going to be okay. That I didn't need him to make this a success because look how far I'd come already without his presence. After all, this wasn't his achievement, it's mine!
I did all of this.
So when ten minutes later a huge bunch of Roses with my name and 'I'm sorry - G' scribbled on I had tucked them in the corner of the room and shook it all off. It wasn't like he forgot. This wasn't on purpose. He would be here if he could.
