No, Elena told herself firmly. You called her. She said she would help. Don’t run away now.
She said to herself. She reached the coffee shop and stood outside for a moment, gathering her courage.
Through the window, she could see people inside. Well-dressed people sitting at small tables, typing on laptops, sipping fancy drinks that cost more than Elena usually spent on food in a day.
Would they even let her in? A young man behind the counter was watching her.
He looked like he might be the manager. Elena could see him thinking about whether to ask her to leave.
But before he could say anything, the door opened again and a woman walked in.
Marissa, she looked almost exactly the same as Elena remembered. Stylish, confident, put together. She wore a beautiful coat.
Her hair was perfectly styled and she carried an expensive purse. But her eyes were kind and when they landed on Elena in the corner, they filled with tears.
“Elena,” Marissa whispered, rushing over to the table. Elena stood up, and before she could say anything, Marissa wrapped her in a tight hug.
It had been so long since anyone had hugged Elena that she almost forgot how it felt.
She closed her eyes and let herself be held for just a moment. I can’t believe it’s really you, Marissa said, pulling back to look at Elena’s face.
I’ve missed you so much. I was so worried. I’m sorry, Elena said again. I’m sorry I disappeared on you.
Stop apologizing, Marissa said firmly. She turned to the young man behind the counter. Two large coffees, please.
And two of those blueberry muffins. Actually, make it four muffins. The young man nodded and started preparing the order.
His expression had changed completely now that he saw Elena was with a well-dressed customer.
Marissa sat down across from Elena and reached across the table to hold her hands.
“Tell me everything,” she said. “Tell me what happened. Tell me where you’ve been.” So Elena did.
She told Marissa about the divorce, about how Jonathan’s lawyers had taken everything, about losing her apartment and then her job.
She told her about the first night she spent on the street, how scared she had been.
She told her about learning to survive, about the kindness of some strangers and the cruelty of others.
And she told her about Jonathan’s visits, about how he would drive by just to remind her of how far she had fallen.
Marissa’s face grew harder and harder as Elena talked, her hands tightened around Elena’s. “That man,” she said, her voice shaking with anger.
“That horrible, cruel man. How dare he treat you like that after everything you did for him?”
The coffee and muffins arrived, and Marissa pushed them toward Elena. Eat, she said. Please eat.
Elena was hungry. She was always hungry. But she ate slowly, trying to maintain some dignity, even though her stomach wanted her to gobble everything down at once.
“So Marissa said after Elena had eaten two muffins and drunk half her coffee, you said on the phone that you needed my help with something important.
What is it?” Elena reached into her bag and pulled out the cream colored invitation.
She slid it across the table to Marissa. Marissa picked it up and read it.
Her eyebrows went up higher and higher with each line. “He invited you to his wedding,” she said in disbelief.
“He actually had the nerve to invite you?” “It’s not really an invitation,” Elena explained.
“It’s a trap. He wants me to come so he can humiliate me in front of all his rich friends.
He wants them to see me in my old clothes looking poor and desperate so they can compare me to his new perfect wife.
He wants to show everyone that leaving me was the right choice.” Marissa’s eyes flashed with anger.
That’s disgusting. That’s absolutely disgusting. She put the invitation down on the table. So, you’re not going, right?
