The Fiance

Bailey Winters was having an absolutely terrible day.

Over the weekend, she had asked her best girl friends if they would be her bridesmaids. Of course they had all excitedly accepted. But when she had asked them to join her for a celebratory spa day on Monday they all had excuses. They were busy, they couldn't get off work on such a short notice, they hadn't budgeted for such an expense. None of them seemed to appreciate that she'd already made the reservation. It was an exciting time in her life! Didn't they want to celebrate with her?

Bailey kept the spa appointment even though she was the only one that could make it. She still had to pay a cancellation fee for her missing friends. It was a little pricey, but honestly their absence hurt more then the lost money. She tried to just relax and enjoy the spa day, but instead she simply found herself stewing that her friends couldn't make it.

After she left the spa, Bailey had no desire to return home just yet. It was an absolutely beautiful day, so she drove her sapphire blue Porsche to a nearby park. The sun felt warm against her brown skin as she exited her car, and her curly black hair danced in the cool breeze. She exited her car, found a nice bench in the shade, and pulled out her phone. As she sat there, enjoying the weather, she decided to call her fiance.

“Hey Babe, what's up?” Bailey smiled as Thomas answered the phone.

“Oh, I just wanted to give you a call, see how your day was going!” Bailey replied cheerily.

“Good, but busy Babe. I've been working on something big today that could really take me to the next level.”

“That's exciting!” Bailey gushed, “I had a pretty good time at the spa.”

“That's great Babe, just great.” Thomas responded distractedly “Listen, I'm sorry, but I'm really busy and-

“Except none of my friends could make it.” Bailey plowed on, “I'm a little hurt by it...”

“Uh-huh. Babe I really need-”

“I mean, I get it was super short notice, but it's not like they're going to get the chance to be my bridesmaids twice, you know? I just figured they'd make me more of a priority.”

“Right, right. Look Bailey, I need to get back to-”

“I mean, I would have been willing to cover for them if money was an issue! I just really wanted-”

“Yeah, I gotta go sweetheart,” Thomas interrupted, “I'm really sorry, but I've got a very important call coming in.”

“Oh, ok,” Bailey pouted. “I love you!”

But Thomas had already hung up.

Bailey frowned. She had expected her fiance to be a little more sympathetic, but he had been really busy with work lately. Staying late at the office to catch up on something wasn't unusual in Thomas' line of work, but it seemed to be happening with increasing frequency lately. She guessed it must be related to this big project he was trying to land.

Bailey continued to sit on the bench while scrolling through her social media, trolling for any promising looking house parties going on tonight. Bailey loved a good party, and being the daughter of a major studio executive meant she could get into just about any Hollywood house party she wanted. She had actually first met Thomas at just such a party. With her striking good looks and natural curves,, getting hit on was a pretty common occurrence for her, but Thomas had just spent the evening talking and dancing with her. Only after walking her and her friends back to their car afterwards did he ask her for her number.

They met for drinks a few time after that, and Bailey was impressed with how slowly Thomas was taking their courtship. Most of the other guys she encountered at parties were just looking for a quick hook-up (which she wasn't always opposed to) but Thomas actually took the time to get to know her over the course of a couple dates before he tried anything physical with her. It was the most serious relationship she'd ever had, and she was delighted when ten months later Thomas had popped the question. Her parents, however, were not.

Bailey couldn't wrap her head around why her parents disapproved of her engagement. They'd never flat out said it of course. John and Clarissa Winters weren't those type of people, but she knew her parents well enough to read their expressions. Bailey couldn't help but notice that her parents would never initiate a conversation about Thomas or her wedding. Anytime the topics came up their faces fell somewhat, and their questions would become purely logistical. What date had they set,? How many guests? Had they picked a venue? How about a caterer? It was just enough polite interest that, if pressed, their disapproval could be denied.

The most she had ever managed to get out of them was “If you're happy, we're happy,” which just rang hollow to Bailey. This was the happiest she'd ever been. She spent her evenings with friends or her fiance, she regularly attended awesome parties with Hollywood royalty, and she was engaged to a very sexy man. What more could she want? Ever since she'd stopped modeling a year ago her parents had told her she needed to get serious about her life. What could be more serious then marrying the man of her dreams?

Bailey shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the doubt that was creeping in. Through her socials, she had found that a director she knew had just got his latest project greenlit and was having a celebration tonight. He knew how to throw a great party, which is exactly what she needed to get her mind off of how bad her day went. She shot Thomas a text to see if he could come, then she started to walk back to her car. On the way, she decided to swing by the park's public restroom before she left. She pushed the door open, and stepped in, never seeing Thomas' response.

“Can't. Have to work late.”