A Kind Chat

This is the story of how a single conversation with a stranger altered my perception of, well, everything.

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It’s amazing how the mouth and the brain can work independently from each other. I heard my voice saying things like, “Yes—of course!” and “It’d be an honor!” and “I wouldn’t miss it!” But internally? I was thinking that I’d rather eat a grilled cheese sandwich full of rusty nails than be a bridesmaid…and I’m lactose intolerant.

Yet, this was about my dear cousin, Bella. I couldn’t refuse her offer without seriously hurting her feelings. So, I found myself trying on a hideous lilac dress and discussing floral arrangements. She had no idea that I hate weddings. They make queasy, and it didn’t help that I was dumped the same day Bella got engaged. Still, I pushed through my heartburn and heartache like a trooper.

Okay, not really. I couldn’t stop slipping off to the bathroom, where I could cry and pop antacids in peace.

After narrowly surviving the wildest bachelorette party to ever hit the suburbs of Maryland, the special day is upon us. Bella and her fiancé, Stefan, originally wanted to get hitched on the Chesapeake Bay. When they heard that it was supposed to rain buckets all weekend, they moved the wedding to an old hotel near the beach. I have no clue how they pulled off such a quick switch, but I’m thrilled that I won’t get sand in my already uncomfortable three-inch heels.

I joined the bride, her maid of honor, and the other poor sucker wearing purple in one of the hotel rooms. Bella was hardly a Bridezilla, but she was as jumpy as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. As we helped untangle her veil, she fired off a million questions.

“What if the guests didn’t get our messages about moving the wedding to this hotel? What if the makeup artist is late or doesn’t come at all? What if the caterers get lost or run out of quiche? What if one of the plus-one's is allergic to eggs and forgot their EpiPen? What if—”

“Bella.” I took her firmly by those sculpted shoulders. “If you keep worrying at this rate, you’ll run out of things to worry about. Your anxiety disorder wouldn’t like that. Take a few breaths. Everything will be fine. I promise.”

She gripped my wrists for dear life, sucking in a ragged breath. “But Ava…everything changed so fast! Someone is sure to go to the beach instead of coming here.”

I glanced at the window. Raindrops the size of quarters were pounding against the glass. “I think they’ll figure it out when they see the weather. If it would make you feel better, I’ll go post a sign at the beach with the address for this hotel. That way, if anybody does show up in the wrong place, they’ll know to come here. How’s that?”

“Better. Thank you. You’re an angel.”

“I don’t know about that, but I’ll take it. You’d better help Tweedledee and Tweedledum with your veil. I think they’re making the tangles worse.”

We shared a quick embrace before I left Bella’s room. Honestly, as much as I wanted to calm my cousin, I wanted an excuse to get some air. All I could think about was my dead relationship and the hours I spent dreaming of our wedding day. The end was replaying in my head like a sad song I never wanted to forget.

“You know that I love you, Ava. I do. But we want different things.”

There we were, sitting in the kitchen of our apartment with breakfast dishes between us, and I couldn’t stop staring at her big, brown eyes. I used to think they were so sweet, innocent like a child who had yet to know the ugliness of the world, and now they were breaking me.

“You mean that you’d rather play around with your massage therapist than commit to a future with me,” I rephrased.

Those eyes slipped to the surface of her coffee mug. “I never said I wanted marriage and kids.”

I had wandered into the ballroom and taken a seat on a chair in the front row. Tears were on my cheeks as I gazed at the beautiful flowers and the woven bower over the altar. It had been months, and I still couldn’t believe I’d never be standing somewhere like this with her. The pain in my chest was heavy, and the tears became deep sobs. I couldn’t hold them inside, starting to wonder if I’d ever find love at all.

How was I supposed to make it through my cousin’s wedding without blubbering like a fool? The harder I tried to pull it together, the more I fell apart.

“Are you all right?”

I turned to my right. A woman stood in the center of the aisle. She was wearing a tasteful though vintage outfit, and she must have used a whole can of hairspray on her massive, poofy hairdo. I wiped my cheeks with my thumbs and put on a brave face for the stranger.

“I’m fine. Are you here for the wedding?”

“Sort of. I work for the hotel, so I tend to all the weddings. We used to have them every weekend. Not so much lately. Who are you here for, the bride or groom?”

I gestured to my dreadful lilac number. “I’m a bridesmaid. I wouldn’t have dressed myself this way on purpose, you know.”

“Eh, I’ve seen much worse. Forgive me for prying, but why were you crying? They didn’t seem to be happy tears.”

“I was thinking about my ex-girlfriend and how this will never be us. I always believed we’d get married. Now, I wonder if I’ll ever be a bride. No woman wants to be with me for long, it seems.”

The woman sat beside me. She was attractive, in her late forties, and had an elegance about her. Her bright eyes sparkled like the crystal chandelier above us, though they were not looking at me. She was gazing at the altar with a somber smile, like she remembered something that hurt as much as it healed.

“I used to think that too. I’d watch the weddings from the back of the room. So many happy couples. So many touching vows. So many gold rings. I’d cry every time because I was happy that love existed for someone, though I wasn’t sure why it didn’t exist for me. Was I not pretty enough? Was I not nice enough? Was I not ambitious enough? What, oh what, was keeping me from finding true love?”

There was a slight pause. Curiosity got the better of me. “Did you ever find the answer to that question?”

“I realized it didn’t matter if I answered that question because the question didn’t matter in the first place.”

“What do you mean?”

“Love is a wonderful thing, dear, but it isn’t the only thing that matters. Would it be nice to have a partner to share my life with? Absolutely. Yet, it isn’t necessary. I have built a beautiful world for myself. It is enough. I am enough. If something is meant to be, it will be.”

I glanced at the rose petals around my feet, and I suddenly felt much better. “I suppose me and her weren’t meant to be, then.”

“I suppose not. If there is someone for you out there, you’ll meet her when the time is right. If not, you’ll live a wonderful life on your own. And there’s nothing wrong with that or with you. People like to say there’s a lid for every pot, but some of us are more like gravy boats. We don’t need anything extra. We’re delightfully gorgeous on our own.”

Chuckling, I had to smile. “You must like gravy.”

“Darling, I could bathe in it.” She put a soft hand on my shoulder. It felt light as a feather against me. “Feeling better?”

“Much. Thank you, from one gravy boat to another.”

“You’re most welcome.”

I checked the time and recalled I was supposed to be putting a sign on the beach. “I have to leave a note somewhere. Would the front desk give me the supplies I need, or should I run to the convenience store?” 

“I’m sure we could help. Just go to the desk right out there and ask. The young woman should give you what you need.”

“Great. I’m Ava, by the way.”

“Emma. It was a pleasure chatting, Ava.”

As much as I wanted to stay and talk, I needed to get moving. I left Emma in the ballroom and went to the front desk of the establishment. A young girl was asleep at the desk. I jingled the service bell to rouse her. When she woke, she was so startled she grabbed the phone as if it was ringing. “Bay Hotel.”

“No, it wasn’t the phone. It was me,” I told her. “Do you have some paper, tape, and a marker I could borrow?”

The young girl fetched the items for me. “Here you go, ma’am.”

“Thank you.” Before I left, an idea came to me. “I’d like to talk to whoever’s in charge, if they have a second. Emma was lovely to me a moment ago, and I’d like to tell the boss about it.”

“Who?” the girl asked.

“Emma. She works the weddings here.” I was met with a blank stare, so I kept going. “She’s in her forties. Big hair, outdated fashion sense. Bright eyes. Super sweet.”

The young girl shook her head. “We don’t have anybody here by that name. Not anymore.”

“Not anymore?”

“There used to an event planner who worked here about thirty or forty years ago, but she died when the ballroom caught fire. The flames killed an entire wedding party. The hotel rebuilt that side of the building, but few people have used it since then. Some couples think it has bad juju.”

The mystery as to how Bella and Stefan booked the ballroom on such short notice was solved, but the mystery of Emma was just beginning. I wasn’t convinced that it was the same person. “Are you sure you don’t have someone else here who’d call themselves ‘Emma’?”

“I’m literally the only woman who works here, ma’am. Look, they say the building is haunted. We’ve had guests see things here before. I know I’ve seen things move on their own. If I had to guess, I’d say you were talking to Emma’s spirit. She’s been known to drop by when a guest is in need.”

I took my things and marched back to the ballroom, expecting to see Emma sitting in the same seat where I left her. However, no one was there. How was that possible? We had an entire conversation. I felt her hand on my shoulder. Yet, the woman had vanished—and there was no way I wouldn’t have heard or seen her leave that space.

Naturally, I wasn’t about to tell Bella that her wedding venue was haunted. I made the sign for the beach and rushed to place it, though the pouring rain had ruined it within minutes. I returned to Bella’s room and helped her finish getting dressed. She kept an eye on me, sensing that I was distracted.

“What’s wrong, Ava? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I laughed at that. “Let’s just get you ready for Stefan, huh? He’s going to faint when he sees how pretty you look.”

Despite feeling somewhat weirded out by the entire experience, I got through my cousin’s wedding much easier than I thought I would. It was as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, all because a kind ghost took the time to chat with me. I kept looking for her throughout the ceremony. I even left the reception to search the hotel, yet Emma never showed herself again.

Before I drove away that night, I looked at that hotel with a smile. I was never one to believe in the paranormal, and I certainly wasn’t one to believe in myself, before that conversation. Now, my mind was open to anything, and it felt incredible. I waved at the empty windows, half expecting to see her appear.

“Thanks again, Emma. For everything.”