Mission Maya

“How about June 25^th?”

“Umm, I don’t know. I don’t want a summer wedding. I think we should wait till fall. The weather will be nicer and it will give us more time to prepare.”

I have been listening to these two plan their wedding for hours now. Well, it hasn’t been hours, it’s only been around….17 minutes but I’m exhausted. I don’t know how long I can take it.

“We can’t do it in the fall, you know that. I have a work trip, plus summer weddings are so much prettier”, said Josh.

They can’t even decide on a wedding date, how will they survive married life!

“It’s too soon. There’s so much to prepare, I think we should push the wedding to winter then”, argued Maya.

“We’ve been over this, Maya. We can’t have a winter wedding. My parents have had their two-month cruise trip planned for like a year and I don’t know about you but I would like my parents to be at my wedding”.

Josh is frustrated now. This wedding thing is really having a toll on their relationship. I remember when Josh first met Maya, she was all he could talk about. How funny she was, how pretty she was, how much he loved being with her. Even their first meeting was like out of a romance movie. Maya and Josh met on the bus on their way back from work one year, three months, and seven days ago. They’ve been inseparable since.

“Let’s just think about it later, we are boring Matt. Sorry bro, it’s just this wedding stuff is such a pain in the ass”. Josh is a good friend, he’s actually my best friend. It feels weird to say this as a 31-year-old, but he is. We have been friends for 13 years, he’s the closest I have to a brother.

“No problem, I like seeing you two bicker”, I chuckle.

“What about you, Matt? How are things with the girl you were seeing, the one from your office?”, asks Maya.

“I don’t think I’m that into her. We met a couple of times but there was no spark.” I shift in my seat. It feels uncomfortable talking to Maya about my love life. Not because I have been single for a while now but because how do you tell your friend’s fiancée that you’ve been in love with her for one year, two months, and 24 days. I don’t think there’s any easy way around that.

“That’s too bad, I thought she was cute. Josh showed me her picture”. Maya gently pats the back of my hand. There’s a surge of electricity all over my body. Now that’s what I call a spark.

The rest of the dinner was just about…. uh, I don’t know. I didn’t pay attention to the conversation. All I could see was Maya and Josh, their rings, their glances, their playful touches.

Lying in my bed later that night, all I could think was how badly I messed up, I should have told Maya about my feelings, I should have told Josh. It’s too late now.

Or is it?

They aren’t married yet. They were fighting about the wedding details. Maybe it’s not all as lovely as it seems. I can’t give up now. I need to fight, for my love.

                  _____________________________

Josh and I meet up the next day for drinks. It’s been a while since we drank together, just the two of us. Ever since Josh met Maya, they went everywhere together. They are one of those couples, the ones that make you puke.

Maya is out with her sister today. I take it as a sign from the universe to start the first step of breaking up my best friend and his fiancée, “Mission Maya”.

I stayed up all night yesterday, thinking of everything I could do to break these two up. I’m a man with a plan now. And I don’t like to lose.

“So, did you and Maya decide on a wedding date?”, my first attack.

“No, I didn’t know wedding planning was so tiring. We just can’t seem to come to an agreement”, says Josh.

“I don’t know if it’s my place to say this, but I think you should push Maya for a summer date. It’s been your dream, man. You always wanted to get married on the beach. You only get married once.” Josh is now four drinks in. This is enough for him to agree to any of my stupid ideas.

“You are right! This is my wedding too, not just hers. I’ll talk to her tonight. I’ve always wanted the sea breeze in my hair when I’m getting married. It’s just so romantic”, Josh says dreamily.

Round 1: Check

Josh left me a voice mail. I was getting dressed when he called. Did he talk to Maya? What did she say? I can’t stop smiling, I’m feeling so giddy.

“Hey, Matt! I talked to Maya last night and I told her all about how I always dreamed about a beach wedding and she agreed! Save the date man. I’m getting married on June 25^th. Thank you, Matt., I wouldn’t have told her about my dream if it weren’t for you. Call me when you get this.”

OH

GOD

Maya is getting married in a month.

Because of me.

I spend the rest of the day, thinking about how badly I messed up. I look at my plan, the one I crumpled and threw in frustration this morning. It wasn’t just a one-step plan, was it?

 I need to find the right moment and enforce round 2.

                 ________________________________

Getting Maya to meet me wasn’t easy, with her being so busy with the wedding preparations. But then she finally called and said she was free for lunch. I wasn’t, but who cares about some stupid work client. This is what’s important right now.

“So, how’s the wedding preparation going? It must be super hectic, the wedding is so soon”, I ask.

“I’m all over the place but it’s all cool. Plus, Josh has been taking the major share of the work so all I’m worried about is his parents.” I didn’t even have to bring up the parents. This must be my lucky day.

“You know what they did yesterday? Josh’s mom sent me her wedding dress. The one which she wore to her wedding and now she wants me to wear that at my wedding. I mean, I would understand if the dress was at least slightly decent. But no! It’s hideous, Matt. I cannot wear that to my wedding. I don’t know what to do.”

Maya and Josh’s parents have never got along. They think Maya is too stubborn, and Maya thinks they are too nosy. Neither of them is wrong.

“Have you talked to Josh?”, I know she hasn’t but I still ask.

“No, of course not. You know how he is when it comes to his parents. They could never do any wrong in his eyes. I just don’t want to wear that dress, it’s so ugly. I mean fur on the sleeves ugly”, she chuckles.

“I think you should be honest with Josh and his mom right now. It’s your wedding and you deserve to wear the dress you like. If they are reasonable enough, they’ll understand.” They won’t understand. Knowing Josh’s mom for as long as I have, I know she is not someone who’d be willing to compromise.

“You’re right! I should talk to them. I’ll call her after work today. She won’t be thrilled but a bride’s got to do what a bride’s got to do.”

Maya calls me later that night.

“I can’t believe it! I can’t believe her, Matt.”

Of course, you can’t. I need to hide my obvious excitement.

“What happened Maya? Everything going well with Josh’s mom?”, I ask. I have got to give it to myself, I sound genuinely concerned.

“She agreed! I talked to her about the dress and she said she understood that I wanted to wear my own dress. She was glad I talked to her. We’re having lunch together this Friday.”

WHAT!

Now that woman agrees. And they’re having lunch together? Did I just……pave the beginning for their harmonious relationship?

“Matt? Are you there?”, Maya asks.

“Uh…. Yeah, I’m here. That’s great Maya. I knew Josh’s mom would understand.” I don’t know what to say.

“Thank you, Matt. You really helped me out with a big one. Thank you so much!”

I just dug a big one for myself.

“Anytime, Maya”

I lost two rounds. The wedding is approaching. I need to pull out the big guns.

                 ________________________________

When Josh was 26 years old, he fell in love. And when Josh proposed, Zoey realized that she didn’t want to get married so soon. So, they broke up.

Finding Zoey wasn’t so hard. I just looked her up on LinkedIn and shot her a text. And to my luck, she replied.

Zoey: “Hello Matt! It’s been a while. How are you?”

Matt: “I’m great, Zoey. How are you? How’s your new job?”

Zoey: “Oh, it’s all work.

But I love it.

I was just surprised that you texted me. We haven’t talked since, well, since Josh and I broke up.”

Matt: “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry about that.

I wanted to be in touch you know but, life.”

Zoey: “How’s Josh?”

Matt: “He’s fine. He’s getting married!”

Zoey: “He is? Wow, that’s good. He always wanted that. I’m glad he found someone.”

Matt: “Yeah, that’s the thing you know. He just wanted to get married. I’m not sure he’s making the right choice.”

Zoey: “What do you mean?”

Matt: “You know with you, he was in love. He was happy. You guys were like the dream couple.”

Zoey: “Matt. We broke up a long time ago and he’s clearly moved on. There’s no point in bringing up the past.”

Matt: “Yeah, I know. You are right. Maybe he has moved on. He’ll be happier after he gets married.”

Zoey: “Yes”

I know Zoey loved Josh but the timing wasn’t right. Now that she knows that he’s getting married and thinks that he’s making the wrong choice, she might make a move.

I meet Josh for his tuxedo fitting after a few days. And yes, Zoey did contact him.

“Zoey? Really?”, I ask acting surprised.

“Yeah, man. She texted me out of the blue and congratulated me on the wedding. I guess she heard from somewhere.”

 Josh acts nonchalantly but I know this has affected him. “She wants to meet me.”

Damn Zoey! You made your move fast.

“Woah! What are you going to do?”, I really want to know.

“I don’t know. What do you think?”

“Josh, what you and Zoey had was something special. I had never seen you so happy before. And I know you love Maya but if you felt even a little something in your heart when Zoey texted you, I think you should see her.”

“I’ll think about it.”

I don’t know how long he’ll take to think about it but I know the result of all that thinking. He’s definitely gonna see Zoey.

                  _______________________________

Whenever I have had a crisis, Josh has always helped me. And when the doorbell rings and I see Josh at the door, I can see him taking my hand and pulling me out of my ordeal.

“Josh! This is a surprise. I thought you’d be too busy. The wedding is only in a few days.” Yes, you see Josh took too long to think about it, and now we are very close to the wedding. I get some beer from the refrigerator.

“Yeah, there’s so much to do. Listen, I decided I’m not gonna meet Zoey.” Josh takes a seat at the counter.

“Oh...Why?”, This is bad.

“What you said got me thinking. About how Zoey and I had something special. There was this excitement whenever I was with her. But with Maya, I feel calm, I feel….at peace. There’s no point in digging up the past now.”

WHAT THE HELL

“That’s…. great, man.” 

“I have never been surer about my feelings for Maya. I love her and this Zoey thing just cemented how strongly I feel for Maya.”

You are not the only one who feels strongly for Maya.

“Thank you, Matt. You’ve been such a great help to me throughout the preparations for the wedding. You are my best man for a reason.” Josh gets up and hugs me. Actually hugs me. This is a nightmare.

I’m out of ideas now.

                   ____________________________

It’s the day of the wedding. I’m standing at the altar, to the side of Josh. I see Maya enter. She is walking down the aisle. She looks ethereal. They say their vows. They kiss. They leave. They dance. And then there’s me, standing on the side, with a series of failed plans.

There are a lot of pretty girls here. I could ask someone out. But all I see is Maya.

Then it occurs to me.

People get divorced all the time.