You're Invited(8)

MS: Um, yes. About that—

[Pause]

EP: Mr. Spencer?

MS: Yes. Sorry, sorry. [Sighs] My head’s just in such a muddle. Look, I didn’t mention it because Kaavi would be really upset if it got out. She’s very particular about her reputation, you see, and we aren’t technically married yet, and her mother would have had a fit if she knew I was in her room alone last night. Kaavi texted me and asked me to come see her. I thought—well, I thought it might be last-minute nerves or something. But it wasn’t. She just wanted—

[Pause]

Well, Kaavi was always quite, um, demonstrative, I guess you could say. We’ve always been—oh gosh, she would hate me if she found out I said this—quite amorous. And last night, she asked me to come to her room, and, well, I’m sure I don’t need to spell it out for you. We just spent some time alone. For the first time in days. It was reassuring. Which is why—

[Pause]

I just know something has happened to her. This isn’t just cold feet or something like that.

EP: So last night, you went into her room, and then you left?

MS: Yes.

[Pause]

I don’t think I’m missing anything.

EP: Are you sure?

MS: [Pause] Yes—yes, I believe so.

EP: And how did you get that scratch on your face?

MS: [Pause] This?

[Touches face]

Oh, I didn’t even realize it was visible. It happened when we were, um, well, you know. Kaavi reached out for me, and her nail—she had these long false nails done for the wedding—caught me on my cheek. I think she was a little upset that it would ruin the wedding photos, but I figured the photographer could photoshop it out or something, you know.

EP: Tell me more about your relationship with Kaavindi Fonseka. I gather it’s been quite the whirlwind romance.

MS: I guess you could call it that. Kaavi and I, well, we’ve known each other for years. We met first when she was in college in San Francisco, and we reconnected again a few years ago.

I—I know that every man probably thinks the woman he’s marrying is wonderful, but Kaavi, well, Kaavi is truly spectacular. I admire her so deeply. The work she does through her charity, the way she’s seamlessly taking over her father’s business, but more than that, the way she carries herself. She’s been such a strength to me, through and through. I get asked, sometimes, whether it’s too much for me—everything she does. My own friends told me that if I married her, I’d be left holding her purse while she took the spotlight. And they are right. Kaavi’s a strong woman. The strongest. And I’m honored that she chose me to be her partner. Maybe some men would feel intimidated by her. But not me. I love her for everything she is. If something has happened to her I—I don’t know what I would do.

[Voice breaks]

She’s a part of me. She’s everything good in my life.

EP: I understand.

[Pause]

I still have a few more questions. Can we continue?

MS: Yes, yes. I’m sorry. Please, go on.

EP: We understand that you had a prior relationship with Miss Fonseka’s friend. One Miss Amaya Bloom. Could you tell us a little bit about that?

MS: [Pause]

EP: Mr. Spencer?

MS: Yes, Amaya. We dated for a while when Amaya was in college. It’s how I first met Kaavi, actually. But Amaya was quite young back then. So was I, I suppose. It was nothing too serious. Our relationship fizzled out around the time she graduated. We were both taking new directions in life, I guess.

EP: And did she end the relationship, or did you?

MS: It was mutual, at first anyway. I actually thought we ended on good terms. But then I heard that—well, look, this probably isn’t fair of me to say. I know how it sounds. I don’t want to be the kind of asshole guy saying that my ex-girlfriend is crazy. I hate it when men do that—makes us all look bad, you know. I don’t think she’s crazy. Not at all. But Amaya was, she is, complicated, I guess.

EP: Complicated in what way?

MS: Um, well, look—I don’t want to be harsh here, but, well, to use the word obsessed doesn’t seem fair, but she certainly had boundary issues. With me, certainly, and from what I saw, with Kaavi. But, well, I assumed they also drifted apart after graduation or something. I wasn’t sure of the reasons. I never read too much into it. I hadn’t met either of them for years when I reconnected with Kaavi, and I just assumed they’d stopped being friends.

[Pause]

But then, well, Amaya turned up to the wedding. It left everyone feeling quite uncomfortable.





2


AMAYA


Three Months before the Wedding


“WHAT’S THAT YOU got there?” Jessica asked, eyeing my phone.

We were sitting in the LA sun, sipping mimosas at Bella’s Bistro while waiting for our eggs to come. It’s a beautiful day, and I shouldn’t be on my phone. I shouldn’t have come at all. It’s been two days since I found out, and to say I’m a blubbering mess is the understatement of the year.

I didn’t even stay the night at the hotel. I called for the car and left as soon as I could. I needed to get to my laptop. Combing through Kaavi’s social media feeds on my phone wasn’t going to cut it.

I spent the rest of the night and most of the next day checking each of her posts for a hint of a relationship with him. For a sign on when they got together. For a crumb of anything at all that didn’t leave me feeling like my life was spinning out of control.