A Most Graceful Life Ch. 07

"Well, that's very nice. It's nice to meet you, Grace," offered Abby, before finally assuming a more dejected look. It was almost as if she was bummed out he now had a girlfriend, but why would that be? She rejected him clearly without a second thought. What changed between now and last week?

"Really nice to meet you, too, Abby!" beamed Grace.

"Er, let's go, babe. Let's go get that ice cream," Stephen said, finally. He lead Grace slowly in the direction of the freezers, and offered an awkward wave back to Abby. "See you, Abby."

Abby just frowned, watching the link of hands between the couple. "Bye Stephen."

It wasn't until they rounded the corner that Stephen felt comfortable enough to ask Grace what just happened.

Grace gave him a serious look. "The poor thing is regretting having turned you down last week."

Stephen almost stopped dead in his tracks, "Really? She was very firm about not wanting anything."

Grace nodded, "She's been having second thoughts since then. Plus her relationship with Ram hasn't worked out very well in the last week. Apparently, after our little visit with him in the mall, he became very self conscious that word was getting around about his 'lack of equipment' problem. He ended up accusing her of spreading it around as gossip."

"Did she? At all, I mean?"

"Good heavens, no. But others have. And Ram wouldn't make much of a distinction anyway. Long story short, their relationship is on the fritz right now and she's been thinking she should have agreed to go out with you."

"Wow. It seems a lot has changed in a week," noted Stephen.

"It gets worse. Now, seeing me in the picture, she feels really dejected. I think we just ruined the poor thing's night," replied Grace.

"Is it wrong of me that I felt a little... satisfied at her reaction?" Stephen asked.

"Not really. That's a very human response. Plus, I can tell you do actually feel bad for her, after you get over the brief moment of satisfaction."

Stephen thought for a moment, "You're right, I do feel slightly bad."

"I think Abby would jump at the chance if you asked her out now. If you want to, that is. She's in the right frame of mind that she's willing to take a chance."

"Really? You really mean she'd go for me?"

Grace nodded, "She would. Do you want her?"

Stephen didn't answer for another moment. "I can't... just can't believe this. I've wanted Abby for so long. Years even. I always thought she was amazing, and beautiful. And we always had a good connection."

Stephen took a deep breath, and then turned to Grace, "But she turned me down. As much as I respected her, and felt that connection with her, I don't want to be anyone's second choice. That's not even mentioning the huge elephant in the room in that I have you, Grace. You're my dream woman, and I can't imagine being with anyone else."

"Did you just call me an elephant?" Her eyes sparkled with mischief.

"You know what I meant," he laughed, reaching over to playfully swat her behind.

"I like teasing you," grinned Grace. "I love you, baby."

"Well, you certainly do it enough," Stephen snorted.

"That's because I greatly enjoy teasing my hunky boyfriend," Grace winked.

Before Stephen had a chance to respond, they rounded a corner in the grocery store, and saw his friend Miguel, who was busy stocking boxes of brownie mix. Stephen hit a quicker pace on his way to see his friend, while casually shooting glances over at Grace. If he knew anything about Miguel, he would appreciate Grace's beauty, and he felt a bit like showing off.

"What's up, buddy?" Stephen called out, strolling up to his friend.

"Hey Stephen, what's going on? You working right now?" Miguel asked, popping up and setting his box on the ground. His eyes noticed Grace immediately, and they began to slightly bulge out of his head upon taking in her breathtaking features.

"Nah, I'm just picking up my check, but I'll be back in later for the closing shift."

"Oh, cool," replied Miguel, while still looking at Grace. His eyes finally drifted back over to his friend, with a single burning question heavily on his mind.

"Let me introduce you to Grace Martin. She's my girlfriend," replied Stephen with a big smile.

"Girlfriend?" Miguel blinked several times, before taking in a long look at Grace.

"Hi Miguel! I've heard a lot about you. Really nice to meet you!" Grace hammed it up again, offering her hand for introduction.

"Um nice to meet you, too," Miguel stammered, before looking back at Stephen. "Sorry, I'm afraid I haven't heard anything about you." Miguel casually stepped closer to his friend, before whispering, "Dude! She's hot!"

Stephen could only chuckle, "We just started seeing each other in the last few days."

"You lucky son of... I mean, congratulations!" Miguel recovered, finally assuming a genuine smile.

"Thanks," grinned Stephen. "We just figured we'd stop by on our way to pick up some ice cream for later."

"Ice cream is good," replied Miguel, while rather distracted. "Say Grace, would you happen to have any sisters or anything? Maybe cousins?"

Grace just giggled, "Unfortunately, I'm an only child."

Miguel nudged Stephen's ribs, "Well, it was worth a shot." Grace giggled once more.

"Rest assured, the first single, and sexy woman I come across, I will send her your way, Miguel," replied Grace finally.

"I like her," he said, quietly, to Stephen, while flashing him a thumbs up.

"So do I," laughed Stephen.

"I'm glad to see you aren't taking the whole Abb-, I mean, the situation from last week too hard," said Miguel, quickly recovering and changing his wording, so as to not out his friend. Stephen noticed it as well, and said a silent thank you for him having made the distinction. It was the sign of a true friend.

"I've put that firmly in the past now. Where it belongs," replied Stephen, before putting his arm around Grace, who just nuzzled into him closely.

"Well, I'm jealous now," laughed Miguel. "You two better grab that ice cream before I get any ideas regarding Grace myself."

"So nice to meet you, Miguel. And I mean it, I'll be on the lookout for you!" Grace and Stephen started walking away, while Grace flashed her trademark smile.

"Just make her tall. With really nice boobs," shouted back Miguel.

"Dude," laughed Stephen. "We'll see you later!"

"See you, lovebirds!" Miguel called out.

"I like him," mentioned Grace as they strolled towards the freezer section.

"Yeah, he's definitely a likable guy. He's been a good friend towards me. You know, ever since the Danny thing," said Stephen on a more solemn note.

"He REALLY likes me, though," noted Grace, looking over at Stephen with an amused expression.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, you should have seen some of the things running through his brain just now," she giggled. "Raunchy!"

"That's kind of just Miguel, though. I think he does that with most women."

"Oh, he does. But he was having a real good time doing it just now," she replied. "The poor guy thinks about sex almost constantly. Looking inside his mind is like looking inside Penthouse magazine!"

"Hmm. Grace, if I asked when the last time he got laid would be, can you tell me that?" Stephen asked.

Grace nodded, "Mhmm, for him, it's been about four months. Slightly over in fact."

"Yeesh, no wonder he has such dirty thoughts. Maybe I should help him out there."

She looked at him almost expectantly, waiting on the words of his wish.

"Grace, I wish for Miguel to meet a girl. Someone that he's really compatible with personality-wise. I want her to match up with what he likes physically, and lastly, I want her to have a sex drive that matches his."

"Done," replied Grace, calmly.

"Good," clapped Stephen. "Now, the next time I see him, he can introduce a woman to me and we'll be even!"

"You're a really good friend, baby," replied Grace.

"He's been such a good one to me. It only makes sense to return the favor," replied Stephen. "That reminds me of something I wanted to ask. When I make a wish like that. For him to find a woman that matches him so closely, how do you do that? You don't like conjure up a woman in thin air.. or do you?"

"Goodness no," laughed Grace. "That's next to impossible. No, my technique for that is rather simple. I just start with girls he already knows or runs across on a daily basis. Search their minds and try to find a perfect match. Once I find one who will work, I just arrange for them to come together. Usually only one event is needed for them to be introduced. Either through friends, or a study group, or through work. Then I just keep guiding them along until love works its magic and I don't have to anymore."

"You make it sound so easy," noted Stephen.

"Well, to me, it kind of is. It's what my powers were designed for, so it's not much difficult for me than it is for you to breath. Plus, it's not like I'm exactly finding a needle in the haystack."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Finding love with someone isn't an event that has to make the stars align in place. You'd be surprised by how many people that are on this planet, or that you know, that you could easily fall in love with. On the inside, most humans are the same: same emotions, same fears, same wants and desires. Most just want to be loved and to give love. Once you understand that, it's really not hard to explain why most people fall in love so easily. Why it's described as 'finding your soulmate', I have no idea. You have literally thousands of potential soulmates out there."

"Hmm, well once you put it that way," replied Stephen, thinking it over once more. "It kind of seems to take the importance out of finding your lifetime love. If just anyone could be that person, what's to keep couples together, especially if they know the next 'soulmate' is right around the corner?"

"It's the experiences that you make. The life that you build, the memories you create. The children you create. Creating a life with someone weaves them in an unbreakable fashion into your very being. It's why you can still remember the names of every crush you ever had. Because they left an imprint onto your life. Once you start creating memories, and creating a life with someone, those bonds are hard to break."

"That makes sense, I suppose. In a slightly fatalistic way," chuckled Stephen. "What's the point of all of this though? If we all have thousands of potential soulmates, what's the purpose of love there?"

Grace turned to him and smiled, "To enjoy love when you find it. And to live it to the fullest. And to know that we are never truly alone, and as long as you put yourself out there, there is someone who can love you the way you yearn to be loved."

"It is hard to believe that anyone would want to love me though," said Stephen, looking down at his feet. "I'm so grateful to have you, but what if I never found your portal, Grace. What would I do then?"

"There's nothing to fear from that. We just saw back there that Abby is having second thoughts. She could have been a love for you, especially if I wasn't here. That's just one woman we've ran into in the last fifteen minutes. There are plenty of others that you would never even have considered, unless thrown together by some event that changes your thinking about them, and gives love potential."

"Hmm, that's a lot to think about. This got a lot more complicated than I expected."

"Sorry, but you asked," Grace giggled. "Just know this: love always finds a way, and that you are with the best possible mate and partner you could ever ask for." She gave him a coy look, before kissing him soundly.

"I can live with that," grinned Stephen.

"I thought you might," chirped Grace in return.

They rounded the corner into the frozen section to search for the ice cream from the circular. "Okay, it looks like the Turkey Hill was on sale. What flavor did you want, babe?"

"Chocolate! Or anything that's fudgey. Or with peanut butter!" said Grace, excitedly.

"Okay, well let's see what they have. It looks like this sale has been rather popular," he noted, looking at the half empty shelves of ice cream. Most of the good flavors were already gone.

Stephen pulled out a carton of Banana Split for himself, while Grace looked at bit more closely at the tags.

"Oh, Stephen! This one is Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup! That soundsamazing," she purred, really emphasizing the last word.

"It looks like it's sold out though," he replied, looking all the way towards the back. Sure enough, none of the chocolate peanut butter cartons were left.

"Shoot! Really?" Grace asked, a pout already forming on her face.

"Hold on, let me check in the back. Since it's a sale item, we probably have more back there."

"Okay, great! I can't wait to make this into an ice cream cone," she replied.

"We need to get some cones, too. I have an idea. I'll go look for the ice cream. The cones are a few aisles over. Why don't you go pick out the kind you like and we'll meet back here?"

"Okay, love," replied Grace, before practically skipping down the aisle on her quest. Stephen couldn't stiffen his grin. Just about everything about Grace made him smile. He turned down the opposite end of the aisle and began to make his way towards the back stock room. Pushing through the double doors, it was just a short right turn and a short walk until he came upon the main freezer for the entire store.

Stephen opened up the freezer door, immediately feeling the rush of chilled air greet him. This particularly freezer was kept at negative ten degrees, and was a very popular spot during the summer months, especially coming in from gathering shopping carts. Searching the ice cream shelf, he found several of the on sale Turkey Hill cartons, and finally spotted the chocolate peanut butter cup that Grace wanted so much. Just as he grabbed the half gallon, he heard a voice behind him.

"Looks like you found the ice cream!" Stephen turned to look into the eyes of Abby, standing near the freezer entrance.

"Oh yeah," replied Stephen with a small smile. "The shelves out front were practically empty so I had to come back here and raid the main freezer." He quickly made his way towards the entrance, as the cool air was already starting to make him shiver.

"She seems like really nice," said Abby, cocking her head in one direction, and already addressing the elephant in the room.

Stephen couldn't help but grin, so proud was he to have someone like Grace. "She's amazing," he replied laconically, while closing the freezer door.

Abby's face, which had started with a smile, casually dropped to one of more neutral complexity. Her wheels were turning, and signs of stress were starting to show upon her pretty face.

"I just can't... believe how fast it all happened. Seems it was just a few days ago that you asked me out," she said, quietly.

"Yeah, it happened rather, quickly," he admitted, his face turning slightly red at the memory of her rejection.

"Listen, Stephen, I just... wanted to say that I'm.. sorry," she blurted out, her hand reaching out to touch his arm.

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?"

"For being a little too harsh with you last week. I didn't really give you a chance and it wasn't fair to you. The truth is, you've always been a good guy, and a good friend. Someone who really listens. I guess I just had you put into your own little box and I didn't really expect what you said."

"My own little box. You mean, like the friend zone?" He joked.

Abby cracked a smile, "Kind of, but to be honest, I... regret saying what I did. Turning you down."

"Don't worry about it, Abbs. Water under the bridge," Stephen replied, using an old nickname for her.

"I hope so. If anything, the last week has shown me that guys who I've thought I knew well, I just really didn't understand them at all."

"I take it, you mean Ram in that category as well?"

Her eyes flashed up to his, "You know about that?"

Stephen looked away, the painful memory of stumbling upon them in this very back room flashing through his mind. "Yeah, I do. Well, you know how Ram is. Rubbed it my face and all, when he found out."

Abby sighed and rolled her eyes, "He's such an asshole. Ugh, he makes me so angry. Well, yes, I do mean him."

"Probably the first time Ram and I have been lumped into the same category," Stephen joked.

"Yeah, but for different reasons. This past week has had some serious bumps along the way with Ram, and he's not the person I thought he was. I can see that now, although, I kind of wish I could have seen it a week earlier," she looked up at him, expectantly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if I had known that earlier, I would have said yes when you asked me out," she said finally.

Stephen just looked at her, as her cheeks slowly filled with color. As much as he wanted to dislike Abby, and forget about her for her stinging rejection, she was still an old friend. He wanted to get along with her, and he genuinely enjoyed her company. He could feel it pulling on his heart strings to see her exposed so openly to him right now. If it wasn't for Grace, he might have considered trying again with Abby. Yet, his entire world had been flipped upside down this past week. There was a new viable, a new person, who made him happier than he'd ever been.

As if sensing his inner confusion, Abby took a step closer. "Is it really serious with her?"

Stephen gulped, "Yes, it is."

"So, even if I offered to go out with you right now. Go to a movie or something, or just go hang out after work. You'd still turn me down?"

The way she was looking at him caused his heart to race. She had a look of a woman right on the cusp of getting everything she ever desired, a woman who was not to be denied. Yet, there was someone else who took precedence. Someone else who had already laid claim to his heart.

"I'm sorry, Abby. I love Grace," he stated, simply.

Abby stopped coming closer, blinking at him, before recoiling backwards awkwardly. She stared at the ground while her cheeks slowly flushed, as if being brought back down to reality. "I'm sorry, Stephen. I.. should have known better than to ask that. Of course, you love her. I can see that. And she loves you. I just thought maybe... there still might be a chance."

"Abby, if you want the honest truth, if Grace had never entered my life, there's no way I could have turned that offer down. I've thought about that, about being with you for so long, that I've even pictured how it might go someday. You're just a week too late, is all."

Abby started to nod, before finally giving him a small, reassuring smile, "You're a good guy, Stephen. Grace is very lucky to have you."

"I think I'm the lucky one, but thank you, Abby. I really appreciate that. For what it's worth, I think you deserve a hell of a lot better than Ram Doyle."

"You think so?" She asked, chewing her lip.

"I know so. You deserve the best, for sure," replied Stephen, confidently.

There was a moment of silence as she digested his bold words, before she finally turned to him with a small grin.

"Are things going to be weird between us now?" She finally giggled.

Stephen broke out in a laugh, "Any more weird than the last week?"

"Good point," laughed Abby. "Well, as long as it's out in the open, let's just go back to being friends, okay? Is that fair?"

"Sounds pretty fair to me," replied Stephen.

"Okay... friend," Abby replied with emphasis, before turning to walk away. "I'm going to get back to my break. I'll talk to you later?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you later, Abbs."

"Bye Stephen."

Just like that, she began to walk in the opposite direction, heading towards their break room. In any other lifetime, he would have been kicking himself for turning down Abby Cutler. To think, of all people, Abby Cutler now had changed her mind, and wanted to date him. It was so far-fetched to possibly be real life. And he had turned her down. She had been the object of his fantasies for years, and he turned down Abby Cutler?