Getting Snubbed

Byron was good at spotting people while keeping up a conversation with the guests immediately in front of him, and he saw Emily coming over even before she said anything.

He would have recognized that face anywhere. He thought of her so many times ever since they met on the bridge, the night he came so close to ending his own life. It was almost as if she was there to save him.

With her desperate plea for help, he had forgotten his own heartache.

But he had believed this woman was too fragile and had too many problems of her own to become involved with him.

“Emily,” he said, looking happy, but in a polite and composed way, “So good to see you here. Are you looking for a dog to adopt?”

He offered his hand to shake, and Emily wondered if he was confused by her actions, first yelling at him, then coming here.

“No,” she said, “though I love those puppies, I can’t have any in my apartment. I came here to see you, actually. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for how I behaved.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Byron said. “I was the one being inconsiderate.”

“No, I was being rude. A lot of things happened that day, and I was on edge. I’m so sorry I refused to speak to you.”

“Well, you’re speaking to me now,” he noted, “and we can put it behind us.”

The woman beside him was growing in impatience the whole time, and finally Byron introduced her.

“This is Christine Tourneau. She writes for the Vancouver Chronicle.”

“Hi, nice to meet you,” Christine cooed with an obviously fake smile.

Byron was accosted by a couple of other guests, and Emily found herself talking to Christine all by herself.

“Where did you find that dress?” Christine asked.

“I designed it myself,” Emily said.

“Oh, it’s very nice... for something homemade.”

Emily decided to pretend it was a compliment and said, “Thank you,” looking totally pleased.

“And those hairclips,” the woman continued, “are you still in school? What are you, five years old?”

“Actually, I was making an artistic statement,” Emily blurted out the first thing that came to mind, but she made it sound convincing. “I’m a designer, so I create things, but people like you have to find a name-dropper magazine to copy their style from. I think your dress is straight out of Snob Monthly?”

Christine opened her mouth in shock but couldn’t find anything to say quickly enough.

Emily was giggling inside, but she was not about to listen to any more of that woman’s digs, so she returned to her table where Pam was chatting to some of the other guests.

“How did it go?” Pam asked when they were alone again.

“It was fine,” Emily said, “He was very gracious.”

“I knew it! Did you get his phone number?”

“No.”

“Did he get yours?”

“No.”

“What? Do I have to bring you to another one of these things?”

Emily smiled but shook her head. “I’m glad we came, but maybe Byron is not someone I should be dating. He’s got a girlfriend already, and she’s so mean.”

“Oh pfft! You can always push her aside. A girlfriend is not a wife.”

“I made her think twice about snubbing me again,” Emily said.

She told Pam about the conversation she had with Christine.

“Okay, now I can say I’ve had an entertaining evening out,” Pam concluded, “I wish I could have seen her face. Obviously you can hold your own with these socialites. I’m not sure why you don’t want to date this guy.”

Emily did feel a bit sad not to have talked more with Byron, but she did not want to intrude, especially if this woman made him happy.

“I don’t want to make things complicated for him,” she said, “This woman Christine seemed jealous of me, and I don’t want her to be mad at him because of me.”

“You are too nice!” Pam accused.

Emily smiled wistfully. Byron looked so gorgeous as he made the rounds of the room. Maybe she was being too nice, but she wanted what was best for everyone.

“You were right, Pam,” she said, “I want to be tough, but I don’t want to be someone I’m not.”