Resist Me Not

46

That night, Ryan sat on my couch, dumbfounded when I told him everything Mrs. Walton said. Then he looked pissed. "I'm going to kill him!"

I scooted closer and lightly rested my hand on his arm. "I don't think this is his doing. Eric wouldn't. Not after our talk last night."

"You know I never liked his mom growing up." He shifted in his spot to face me, draping his arm against the back of the couch. "She always found a way to indirectly insult or judge my mom. One time, when my parents hosted a charity event, I overheard her telling my mom how it would have been better if it was a plated dinner instead of a buffet."

My jaw practically dropped. "Wow, how rude! What did your mother say?"

Ryan smiled as he recalled the memory. "She reminded Donna that she used a buffet herself during the Walton's last event."

I laughed. "I think I'd like your mom."

He reached his hand up to play with a strand of my hair and smiled. "I thought I remember you talking to her at the Christmas party."

"Yeah, but not for long. Eric and her talked more, which makes sense, since they knew each other."

Suddenly the apartment phone buzzed. I looked at my watch and saw that it was almost seven p.m. I prayed it wasn't Eric. I really wasn't in the mood to see or talk to him then. It buzzed again just as I reached it. "Hello?"

John greeted me softly, "Good evening, Ms. Ashcroft. Your friend Sasha Thompson is here to see you."

It was only then that I remembered that Sasha and I had plans to hang out. "Oh, yes. Thank you, John."

I hung up and leaned against the wall that divided the kitchen from the rest of the apartment, glancing over at Ryan while waiting for Sasha to arrive.

He sat forward and looked at me, quizzically. "Expecting someone?"

I nodded and calmly stated, "Sasha's here. We were going to work on finishing up the seating chart while catching up on 'The Bachelor.'"

"Oh." He shifted back into a natural sitting position, then glanced at me with a stern face. "You aren't really going to do the wedding stuff anymore, right?"

"I think I have to. There's no way I can let Mrs. Walton destroy all that my parents have worked their entire lives building."

He looked at me with a mixture of disbelief and something that resembled disappointment. "You're seriously going to marry Eric? After everything?"

"Ryan! I don't have a choice!"

He stood up and pointed to himself. "Let me help you!"

"How?" I asked, crossing my arms.

Just then the front door knocked. I looked at Ryan for a moment longer before turning to answer it. Sasha greeted me with a loud and dramatic, "Hello, Darling!" and gave me a hug. "Are you ready to finish all this wedding shit?" She made her way in and came to a halt when she saw Ryan standing in front of my couch. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just leaving." He moved around the coffee table and walked towards us. He stopped in front of me and looked me in the eyes. "I'll think of something." He kissed me lightly. "I'll call you tomorrow. It was nice to see you again, Sasha."

Sasha stood there frozen as she watched me close the door behind Ryan. "Lucy! You've got some splaining to do!" She said in her best Ricky accent.

I spent the next half-hour catching Sasha up on everything she had missed that week. From my presentation to Eric showing up at the hotel at the end of the night and fighting with Ryan in front of the Japanese clients, which led to me getting fired. Then about Adam visiting and offering me my job back. Then about Ryan's voicemail, which I let her listen to, and how it led to Eric and me ending things on a cordial level once and for all. Then lastly, I told her about my visit with Eric's mother and everything she said.