A Selfish Moment

25 - TWO YEARS LATER - Jubilee

"Will you relax?" Sophie says as I fidget with the curly ends of my hair. "Everett will be here any minute. I'm sure he's just stuck in traffic."

"What if he isn't?"

"Jesus Christ...you are the most anxious independent woman I have ever known. He'll be here."

As I inspect myself in the mirror, again, I flatten the hips of my gown down against my body and shake my head. "I look horrible."

Sophie gives me an I-want-to-slap-you look. "You are being ridiculous. You look beautiful."

"There she is..." Ana Maria says when she walks in. She kisses me on the cheek before performing a quick Sign of the Cross, blessing me with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Even though I'm not a practicing Catholic, it feels nice to receive her blessing.

"Your mother would have been so proud of you," she says with her hand over her mouth. "Ramon can't keep still...he is smoking a cigarette with Isaac outside."

Sophie purses her lips. "I hate when Isaac smokes."

"Ay Sophie, he only smokes when he is nervous, like your father."

"He's been smoking a lot these days. He's got some project at work that's driving him nuts. He's been stressing out about it for almost two weeks."

"So let him smoke a cigarette or two if it helps him relax," I say.

"I know. I just hope he doesn't develop a habit. You know...he did help me pack up my apartment this week...maybe that's what's got him nervous. Maybe he's having second thoughts about us moving in together."

I cross my arms and cock my neck. "Who's being the anxious independent woman now?"

"It's different. Everett's proven himself to you. He's already told you he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you. We're just now starting to really take things seriously. Maybe he thinks we're going too fast. You had to see his face last night when I sealed off the last box. He was so nervous...like he was about to throw up."

I chuckle and glance at Ana Maria. She and I know that the reason Isaac was nervous last night, and has been nervous for the past few weeks, was because he was planning on proposing to Sophie. He called Everett immediately after he left Sophie last night to tell him he chickened out. The next attempt will be tomorrow night when Sophie finally moves all of her belongings into Isaac's apartment.

"Ay, Sophie...who cares about you? This is Jubilee's big day." Ana Maria says after pulling a strand of hair back away from my face. She winks at me again and we both smile.

"You're right, Ma. I'm sorry, girl."

"Oh please...I would love to focus on anything other than why Everett isn't here yet." I raise my eyebrows at Sophie and she nods. She pulls out her phone and dials.

"Where the hell are you?" she says into the phone.

I take a deep breath.

"Are you kidding me?" Sophie shouts into the phone.

I take a more profound breath. Ana Maria moves closer to me and rubs my back.

"No...she's fine, just nervous...yes...good, because if not...I know people who know how to make things look like an accident. Remember, we're Colombian, we know people like that."

I hear Everett laugh through the phone. Ana Maria exhales loudly, as if she too was holding her breath. Sophie chuckles once more before hanging up. A warm smile spreads across her face and her voice softens. "He'll be here soon. He said he had to get you something first, and that took longer than he expected."