“We are now, but it wasn’t a love that hit us at first sight. Or second, or third. We had to work for it,” Agnes said. “Two days before we visited Mom and Dad for Lunar New Year—remember when Mom freaked out about the sticky rice balls not being sticky enough?—we got lost during a hike and had a huge fight. I was ready to throw my ring over the side of the mountain and push Gunnar after it. But we survived, as did our relationship.”
A dog barked in the background, and Agnes waited for it to quiet before continuing, “No one’s perfect. Sometimes, our partners will do things that drive us mad. I know I have habits Gunnar can’t stand. But the difference between the couples who make it and those who don’t is one, understanding what your dealbreakers are, and two, being willing to stick it out through the issues that aren’t dealbreakers.”
“You should be a relationship counselor,” I said. “Your talent is wasted on jewelry marketing.”
She laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind. Just don’t tell Dad, or he’ll make you take the Chief Marketing Officer role.”
I wrinkled my nose at the prospect.
“Would you have really called off the wedding?” Agnes had always been the “better” daughter out of the two of us. More accommodating, less sarcastic. I couldn’t resist a subtle dig now and then, but she was unfailingly genteel at home. “Mom and Dad would’ve…”
“Probably disowned me,” she finished. “I know. But as much as I wanted to make them happy, I couldn’t have tied myself to someone I didn’t like for the rest of my life. That’s one thing I’ve realized now that I’m older, Vivi. You can’t live your life trying to please others. You can be courteous and respectful, and you can compromise, but when it comes down to it? It’s your life. Don’t waste it.”
Emotion tangled in my throat.
I wasn’t sad or upset, but Agnes’s words hit me somewhere that made tears prickle the backs of my eyes.
“But it all worked out for you,” I said.
My sister and her husband Gunnar were the epitome of rustic wedded bliss. When he wasn’t in Athenberg for parliamentary proceedings, they spent their time shopping at the local farmer’s market and cooking together. Their countryside manor in Eldorra looked like something out of a fairytale, complete with two horses, three dogs and, randomly, one sheep.
Our mom refused to stay there whenever she visited because she hated how the animals shed everywhere. I think that only encouraged Agnes to get more pets.
“Yes. I’m very lucky.” Agnes’s voice softened. “Like I said, it took time and effort, but we figured it out. I think you and Dante can, too. I may not be entrenched in East Coast society circles anymore, but I’m well aware of his reputation. He wouldn’t have opened up the way he had if he didn’t have deep feelings for you. The question is, do you have the same feelings toward him?”
I stared across the lake at the buildings gleaming in the distance. I stood at the far end of the Gapstow Bridge, one of my favorite places in Central Park. The crowds were starting to trickle in, but it was early enough I could still hear the birds chirping in the background.
Dante was out there. Eating, showering, and doing normal everyday things that shouldn’t have the impact they had on me. But as mad as I was at him, and as withdrawn as he’d been, just knowing he existed made me feel a little less alone.
“Yes,” I said quietly. “I do.”
“I figured as much.” I heard the smile in Agnes’s voice. “Do you still need to vent, or do you feel better?”
“I’m okay for now. Thanks for keeping me out of jail,” I said with a laugh.
“What are older sisters for?” I heard the dog bark again, followed by the low murmur of Gunnar’s voice. “I have to go. We’re flying to Athenberg tonight for Queen Bridget’s Spring Ball, and I haven’t finished packing. But call me if you need me, okay? And when you get a chance, check on Dad.”
Alarm bells clanged in my head. “Why, what’s wrong? Is he sick?” He’d sounded fine when we talked two weeks ago, before I left for Paris.
“No, nothing like that,” Agnes assured me. “He just sounded off when I called him a few days ago. I’m probably overthinking it, but I live so far away…it would make me feel better if you checked in on him.”
“I will. Enjoy the ball.”
I stayed in the park for another hour after I hung up. In some ways, my talk with my sister provided much-needed clarity regarding my relationship with Dante. Venting did make me feel better, and as aggravating as Dante’s attitude had been, it wasn’t a dealbreaker. Yet.
But what were my actual dealbreakers? Cheating and violence were non-negotiable. But what about lying? Different values? Lack of trust and communication? Where did I draw the line between what I could compromise on, like a little white lie about something small, and what I couldn’t?
I wished there was a definitive guidebook out there for this type of thing. I would pay good money for it.
I would’ve stayed in the park longer, but the previously blue skies suddenly darkened. The wind picked up, and storm clouds gathered overhead, threatening rain.
I quickly joined the other people streaming toward the exit, but I only made it a quarter of the way before rain gushed down, heavy and sudden, like the heavens were dumping buckets of water over the side of a balcony.
Jagged lightning slashed across the sky, accompanied by deafening crashes of thunder.
A curse escaped when I stepped into a puddle and almost slipped. Water plastered my clothes to my skin, and I tried not to think about how transparent my white shirt must be right now.
It’d been such a beautiful day minutes ago, but that was the unpredictability of a New York spring.
One second, it was blue skies and sunshine. The next, it was storming like the world was ending.
Vivian & Dante
VIVIAN
On Monday, I picked up takeout from the Moondust Diner and brought it to Dante’s office for lunch. A burger and his favorite black and white shake for him; a chicken sandwich and a strawberry shake for me.
It was a throwback to our first date and an olive branch on my part. Dante was the one who needed to extend the branch, but if I shut down whenever he shut down, we’d never get anywhere. I didn’t want us to be one of those couples who stewed in passive-aggressive silence.
Plus, there had to be a good reason why Dante was acting so weird, and I was determined to find out what it was.