Back to the Beginning

*A Year Later*

"Yawn!! Yet another day that I HAVEN'T found my fated partner. Sigh. Grandpa literally is showing me how bad my love life is!!" I get out of bed and head to the bathroom to freshen up.

"Can't believe today is a year since my friends and I made that pact that we would come up with a better idea to find my partner." I start brushing my teeth while continuing to think in my head about the plan for today.

'Okay, the first step for today is to go to work and finish up some contracts before going to the arranged meeting location that my friends and I planned. I can't believe this is happening. I actually more so can't believe that it's reached a whole year already. I'm doomed! Two years doesn't seem like enough to me!!" I finish brushing my teeth and then I get a shower before changing into one of my "feel good" outfits. This one is black and is a tight-fitted dress. And then, seeing as there is a slight chill, I decide on a faux fur white shoulder wrap. I of course lastly slide my shades on and tell my butler goodbye.

"Guess it's time for the daily radio station rich person broadcasting time!!" I say enthusiastically. They start off talking about the random current events in our world and then they bring up two different men. One was named Grey Harrison who is a world-renowned fashion designer and then the other is named Issac Monash who is supposedly a real prince of a small city in North Africa. They say nearer to Egypt and those places. It's fun listening every morning to the different rich people in the world and our country. I don't communicate that often to people in my "class" seeing as I don't find them to be the best of company.

Right before I'm about to switch the channel, they start talking about someone else so I stay on. "And to end this segment, we have interesting news about a popular rich person that I'm sure most of you must know. Elizabeth Carnell! Daughter of the family clothing brand "Dolce Vive"! What we heard is that today marks exactly a year since it was found out that she would be getting married at some point. Can you believe it, Phil?" I shut off the radio angrily.

"Can you believe it, Phil?" I say copying the radio host's voice. "Uhhhh, I can't believe everyone's been keeping track of my love life and that they know it's been a year and nothing has been announced. I'm so embarrassed!!!" I hit my head against the steering wheel before sighing out loud.

"You know what? Whatever! Today is the day my friends and I have been planning in order to come up with the best plan to attract men to me!! Muahahaha!" I laugh weirdly before turning my head to look out my OPEN window to the driver next to me who looked to be a young woman who was staring back while smiling awkwardly. I smile back awkwardly before slowly driving away due to the green light.

A couple of hours later I finish work before heading to the meetup location which is a place we have been going to since college... the House of Fancy!!... I'm just kidding... it's just Victoria's house. Her house is clean and homey whenever we want to just hang out.

I reach Vicky's house, park, and head inside. All the girls are huddled in her room while her boyfriend is situated in the family room watching tv.

"Hey, Liz!" He says and I say hey back before heading into Vicky's room.

"The queen has arrived. All rise!!" All the girls stand after Francesca says this. I laugh.

"Fran, you know you just combined two things together right?" I shake my head before sitting down on the ground next to Fran.

"I don't care! You're both the queen and the judge!!" We all laugh.

"Anywho, I see you guys have the brainstorming paper out," I say looking at all the paper situated in the middle of our circle.

"Yep! Now to start, we've been thinking before you got here, and we were thinking something like a.... harem." My jaw drops.

"A what now?" I immediately stand up and start pacing the room, trying not to step on any of the papers lying out on the ground. "You're telling me that you guys have been planning this for months now and what you came up with is a modern-day... harem? I could barely handle one guy and now I have to handle more than one." I keep pacing and the girls are all watching me go back and forth before Victoria answers calmly.

"Eliza, I know it's hard to believe and probably hard to consider a harem in this day and age but it was the best idea we had to allow you to find your choice husband in the time you have so will you sit down and listen to the WHOLE thing?" I think a little before sighing and sitting back down.

"Okay girls... so what's the plan?" I say crossing my arms, ready to listen.

They start talking at different times and getting me caught up and by the end, I like the idea.

"Okay so let me run the whole thing again? So first things first, we'll... I mean, I'll announce that I'll be having a "harem" or a Marriage Candidacy on public television hoping we get a really large group of people "applying." And the applying process will go through all of us. They'll call one of the numbers listed which are numbers I will create specifically for this occasion and we'll talk to them first to see if they sound okay to help get rid of a couple of people before the real choosing begins. And then, we'll get together once again to look through the files collected for each person and pick 6 out of the batch of them. The files will be collected after reaching out to each person after the first "round." And then we'll look at those and determine which person is better fitting for the candidacy. Which then, it's called that because they'll be "staying at my mansion" so I can get to know each person better before picking a husband after a year?" They look at one another before all nodding together in agreement.

"Yep!" Fran says.

I sit, pondering before saying, "One thing, what if, after the phone call round, we have those who are left take a personality test or a test about things they like and dislike to see if they fit "me" seeing as I don't like certain things in people?" They seem to ponder before saying,

"Sure!" At the same time.

"Well... it's a done deal then."