All the Goodbyes

Roselle rushed down the hall on her way to see Armani, but along the way, she stumbled into Dylan.

"Ro?" he asked. He looked around, distressed. "I'm really not supposed to be here. Grandma found someone to let me be their plus one to the wedding, so I got in, but what if Armani finds me? I'm not allowed to be at the same event with Lily . . . I might get kicked out before I even get the chance to object. I need to find a place to hide before it's time."

Since she'd given up, there was no worry stirred within her. She knew he'd fail anyway. What was the point? "Well, good luck with that."

He took a pause from his distraught. "Are you okay? You seem . . . kind of very more mellow than usual."

"It's just that it sucks to have come all this way for it all to be nothing in the end. Why are you still even trying, Dylan? It's over. There's nothing we can do."

"There's too much at stake here. I have to at least try."

She shrugged. "I guess I can respect that."

"Well, Ro, I don't know if this helps much, but I want to tell you something: this wasn't all for nothing. Even if you didn't get what you came here for, you still had the journey, right? It was an adventure. I hope you'll look back on your time in D.C. fondly some day."

"I guess so." She gave him a hug. "Good luck. You'll need it. By the way, I saw a storage closet you could hide in down the hall and to the right."

Dylan jumped out of the embrace. "Thanks!" he yelled, running in the direction she told him to.

Even if she was in a bad mood, that made her chuckle, even if just for a moment.

* * *

Roselle found the door that Armani was probably residing in. She knew it was his because it was being heavily guarded. She asked for guards for permission to enter, and after they ensured she had no weapons, she was granted permission.

When she stepped inside she quickly realized that it wasn't a dressing room--it was a women's bathroom. A fancy women's bathroom though. It was huge, filled with knitted carpets and leather furniture.

If this wasn't Armani's dressing room, why was it so heavily guarded?

There was singing coming from one of the stalls--a male's voice. It was melodic and gentle. She felt as though the lullaby was drifting her away into a dream.

But then she slipped out of the trance and realized a very important detail. Roselle banged on the door. "HEY, WHY IS A MAN IN THE LADIES' RESTROOM?!" she screamed.

The person on the other side sighed. He zipped his pants and opened the stall, glaring down at her. It was James. "Fancy meeting you here, peasant."

She froze for a minute, looking for the words to say. "Do you think just because you're a king you can piss wherever you want?"

He sighed and walked over to the sink. "It's not my fault the men's loo is filthy." He washed his hands. "Why should women get the deluxe potties with decent furnishings while the men hardly get a single stall and a urinal?" He grabbed a paper towel, dried his hands, and faced her. "Is that really the kind of loo someone like me deserves?"

"You and your friggin' royal complaints." She facepalmed. "I didn't know you were coming to the wedding. Didn't you go back to England about a week ago?"

"I didn't know I was coming either. I was there, then I came back once I had the invite. Not only am I staying for the wedding, but I've got an invitation to the inauguration. I must say, I'm growing tired of jet planes." He stepped over to her. "What about you, little rose? Are you staying for it?"

"Actually . . ." Roselle rubbed her forearm with her hand. "I'm not. I'm moving back to Michigan today, actually."

He stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. "Hmm. Interesting. Well, good luck with that."

"You're not even going to say goodbye?!"

James snickered. "Why would I say goodbye? It's not as though we're neighbors. I live in England."

She blushed. "Yeah, but, I mean, we won't run into each other anymore."

"Who decided that? Who's to say I won't drop by your house sometime when I want to go back to that eighties diner?"

"You'd come to visit me?"

"I don't see why not. Or better yet, you can come to visit me in England as well. You can stay at my castle."

"What? For real?"

"Sure. You'll be staying in the maids quarters though." He chuckled. "Unless you'd prefer to stay with me."

Roselle rolled her eyes. "Yeah . . . Thanks . . ."

"Genuinely though, I'd love to show you around. Let me know when you'd like a vacation. Staying in Michigan sounds dreadfully boring."

She jumped on him, giving him a solid hug. "Thank you, James."

He was paralyzed and silent for a moment, but eventually hugged back, patting her. "Mention not, Roselle."

* * *

Okay, she had to find Armani's room for sure this time, right? She fumbled down the church halls, looking at every single possible room that could be the one. Finally, there was another room with guards outside, and Eliot was there too.

Roselle walked up to him. "Eliot, is this Armani's room."

"Yeah." He crossed his arms and leaned on the door, groaning. "I got kicked out."

"Why?"

"I kept making," he used air quotations, "some 'inappropriate jokes' about marriage. I'm the best man, dammit! That's my God-given right."

"Oh boy," she said, only imagining the things he could have said that got him kicked out. "Anyway, can you scooch over? I want to talk to Armani."

"What about?"

"Well . . . I just wanted to say goodbye. I'm going back to Michigan today."

"You mean . . . for vacation?"

"No, I'm moving back."

Eliot's puppy-dog face came into play. His eyes were huge, and he was pouting. "Why? You don't like it here?"

"It's not that . . ." Roselle focused on a penny that was caught in between the wall and the floor. "I just have reasons why I can't stay here any longer."

"Oh . . ." He hung his head. "Will you ever come back?"

"Maybe, but I can't say for sure." Her sympathy gave her no other choice but to pat his shoulder. "Take care, alright?"

Eliot glanced at her for a minute, and he wore a sad smile. "You're wearing the earrings I gave you," he said, bittersweet.

"Oh." She touched her ears and grinned back at him. "Yeah. I really like them."

"Can I have a hug?"

"Uhm, I guess--"

He wrapped his arms around her before she could even finish her sentence. "I'll miss you, Ro."

She patted his head, and scruffed up his hair. 'What a child,' she thought to herself. But it was kind of cute. Only kind of, though. "I'll miss you too, Ellie."

* * *

Finally, the awaited moment--the one where she'd give her goodbyes to Armani. She entered the room, and thankfully, he was there this time, looking in the mirror, putting on his tie. He turned towards the door. "Ro?"

"Hey," she said, slowly moving further into the room. "Mind if we talk for a while."

"Yeah, sure. Come on in."

She took a seat on a couch, and he sat down next to her.

"Congratulations on getting married," she said, forcing the words out of her teeth. "I'm happy for you."

He raised a brow. "Thank you for being polite, but how do you really feel?"

"Not too good, actually. That's why I'm here. I came to say goodbye. I won't be staying for the wedding. I'm going back to Michigan today."

"Oh . . ." He stared out the window for a moment, where the snow still fell, then back to her.

"And there's something else. After you get married, I don't think we should see each other anymore . . . It'd hurt too much."

He nodded slowly. "I understand." He sighed. "Things have gotten more complicated since we were kids, haven't they?"

"Definitely."

"For what it's worth, I wish it could've been different."

"So do I, but it's not." She got up. "Goodbye, Armani." She hurried towards the door and did her best not to face him, but before she could open it, he rushed to her and grabbed her from behind, cuddling her.

"I'll always remember you, Roselle."

She slipped herself frontward and returned the embrace. They stayed that way a long time, leaning against the door. However long was too long, they stayed like that time three. She knew she needed to go, but if this would be her only chance to hold Armani, she wouldn't take it for granted.

The door opened, causing Armani and Roselle to fall on each other.

"OW!" Roselle exclaimed. She whipped her head in the direction of the door.

Eliot made himself small. "Sorry . . ." he said meekly.