Chapter 3

Planning an engagement party and help run a business was very time consuming and sometimes stressful but I was feeling confident about it all. 

I heard back from some of my friends, not all of them understood but my Best friends Dee, Toni and Megan replied with understanding and love, they were just as excited about the engagement as I was, we planned a lunch for the middle of this week to start planning the engagement party and go supply shopping.

The girls hadn't met Blake yet, I've told them how wonderful, kind and loving he is. I have decided not to tell them about the last couple of arguments after all Dee suffered domestic violent relationship and as a result of her trauma she tends to see red flags in almost everything and I didn't want them to judge Blake on a couple of human errors, after all I knew that wasn't my Blake, he was under stress, he had the pressure of living up to Bronwyn's expectations. 

We met up a little cafe in the main street, I walked in and gasped, it was perfect! I could see Blake and my engagement party here! The building where the cafe was had two levels, the lower level was for seated dining and a beautiful staircase led you up to an area that could be used for dancing. I just new how perfect it was! Dee interrupted my daydreaming by yelling out to me "Ana, over here" I sheepishly went over to the table with the girls. After all I was a little nervous about seeing them again, considering I basically dropped them when Blake and I got serious.       

The girls and I chatted about life, we caught up on almost 8 months worth of no contact. I didn't realise how much I had missed in their lives and how much they had missed in mine. I almost wondered why, why did I lose touch with the girls who had stood by my side through thick and thin? I didn't stay in that thought very long before we realised we had been there for almost four hours! 

I raced to the grocer to start my shift, when I got there Blake wasn't too happy with me. I was fifteen minutes late and he had organised to go back to the gym with his friend Adam, I hadn't met Adam yet, there were a few of Blake's friends I hadn't met and he hadn't met any of mine yet but I knew it was because of how devoted to each other we were, our time just seemed to consumed by each other and I didn't mind one bit. 

Blake commented on how I seemed overly dressed for work, I thought it was odd considering he knew I had my lunch date to plan our engagement party with the girls. Before I could respond Blake had left, I didn't think much of it, I figured I could talk it out with him when I got home. 

My shift at the grocer was pretty mediocre until about ten minutes before closing when I heard a girl yelling, "PLEASE tell me you're open?" I laughed and said "for another ten minutes or so, come on in!". Her name was Andrea, she had just moved to the area and started working at the restaurant a couple of buildings up from the grocer, Andrea said she didn't really have any friends or people to talk too so she usually just chose to work nights so she didn't get bored. I offered to show Andrea around the town and introduce her to the small amount of people I did know, considering we both worked nights. Andrea seemed really cool, she could sing, she sounded a bit country and wrote her own music, she was hoping to make it the music industry one day but for now waitressing paid her bills. We decided to hang out the next day and said we would meet out the front of the grocer, since she knew where it was. 

I closed up the shop and headed home, I couldn't wait to talk to Blake and tell him about Andrea and our plans to get together tomorrow. 

Once at the entrance of our apartment building I realised I had forgotten my security key to enter the main foyer, I called Blake and he was sleeping, I apologised for waking him, he buzzed me in and I ran inside to plant a kiss on his face, Blake pulled away and muttered "your breath stinks, go shower." I looked at Blake and exclaimed "crap, sorry I had garlic at lunch" and ran to the shower. I was in a really happy mood, I was happy to be home, happy the girls had forgiven me, happy to have met Andrea, I was just happy! 

When I got out the shower, Blake was sound asleep. I didn't wake him, he had to be up early to go to the gym again and open the grocer, he was always working so hard and we hadn't found any reliable staff by this point, so it was making us feel drained but that's what being a business owner is about. 

I couldn't sleep much myself that night, I was over excited about all the upcoming things happening and I was so excited to have a new friend, I really hoped Blake liked Andrea. I figured I would introduce her to him when we met up at the grocer for our girls day, we both started at the same tomorrow afternoon so everything was working perfectly, so I thought. 

I woke up with about fifteen minutes to spare the next morning, I got dressed as fast as I could because Andrea and I had organised to meet at the grocer at nine. When I got there Andrea and Blake were chatting away about our plans today, Blake had told Andrea he was happy I had made a real friend not like the fake ones I have, I was slightly taken back by his comment as he had never heard anything negative about my other friends, but im sure he meant it in a different way than what I took it. I kissed Blake see you later and Andrea and I set off to the new shopping centre that had just been built, well it was an old one but they expanded it and put in way better, more modern shops. 

I sent Blake a text, asking him if he would mind If I bought a couple of things, he didn't exactly say no and I had a little of the cash from last night's shift in my bag, I didn't plan on spending much more than one hundred dollars and I didn't think he would mind, I never spent money as Blake was always the one to watch the finances and have the access to money, I didn't see anything wrong with it, even when Dee who is my longest friend mentioned it was controlling, but like I said, Dee had suffered domestic violence so she was sensitive to some things. Andrea got herself some beautiful skirts and tops for her days off and I ended up getting a new bag that had heaps of pockets, I thought it would be awesome for the cash from the grocer and it was big enough I could take my engagement party and wedding planning diary with me everywhere! 

Before we knew it, Andrea and I had talked and shopped almost till we dropped, it was time for us to head in to the grocer and the restaurant, I really hoped that the shift went as fast as our day out did today.

Once at the grocer, Blake came out from the back office followed by a girl I had never seen before, she had dark hair and was gorgeous, she walked straight past me without even acknowledging me, "who was that?" I asked Blake, he glared at me and snapped back "Lucy, I was interviewing her for the store, since your social life is becoming to hectic for you to help out at the shop!" WHAT was Blake talking about, I always came in, I never called in sick and honestly something wasn't sitting right about the whole situation. I walked behind the counter and went to tell Blake all about my day out with Andrea, before I could he said "you know, we have security cameras here and I could see how you and that girl carried on last night, I think there's something going on with you two!" I screeched back "Blake!? What are on you on about, we met last night, she was in here for no more than ten minutes?!" Blake slammed down his phone on the counter and screamed in my face, "I think you're going to leave her for me, you need to decide now, ME OR HER!" I had absolutely no idea where this was coming from, it made no sense to me but I thought to myself that obviously Blake loved and cared for me so much, he was feeling insecure about not having me to himself. I was devestated, but Blake told me to go home and he would stay for the shift because he didn't trust me with Andrea and she was working tonight at the restaurant, he told me to go home and sleep because I would have to open up the grocer in the morning since my actions were making him work ever harder. I left the grocer completely blank, where had this come from?, then suddenly it hit me, I remembered  Blake had a previous girlfriend who left him for another woman, but that wasn't me, I wasn't interested in anyone other than Blake, I am straight. I have friends, well had friends, who were from all different paths in life but I was one hundred percent devoted to Blake, who couldn't see that, why couldn't he see that? Maybe I just had to work harder in love, life and our business to show him. That's what I planned to do. I still couldn't help but wonder what he thought he saw on the security cameras, I didn't have access to them, only Blake did and it made me want to know even more what was he seeing to warrant his trial of thought?!. In the morning im going to go out the back office and see what Blake thought he saw, so I can fix whatever this is, first I just need to sleep so I'm fresh for my shift In the morning, I know its usually busy until about 11:00am, that will give me about four hours to figure out the security cameras in between random customers. 

The next morning I woke up before my alarm, I dont think I even went into a deep enough sleep to shut off completely. I headed straight in to the grocer while Blake slept, I didn't want to wake him and I didn't want to wait until almost midday when I could look at the security cameras. It was absolutely pouring down rain so I took Blake's car, I didn't have time to wait for a taxi and I checked the weather, it was going to clear up by the time Blake needed to come into the grocer. When I got into Blake's car, it reminded me of when we first started dating, when he would pick me up from my apartment and we would be driving around feeling like the world was at our feet. I pulled in to the undercover car park at the grocer and made it inside the store. I deactivated the alarm, turned on the lights and headed straight to the security cameras out the back, I tried logging into the computer and the password wouldn't work, I tried Blake's birthday, my birthday, I tried his mums birthday and everything else I could think of! Feeling defeated I opened the shop ready for another day in what felt like for one of the first times, repetitive and almost boring. 

The morning customers are different to the night, I guess they were used to seeing Blake as some of then seemed down right rude to me, but the grocer was in what was thought of as a high end area, so I guess they just went about their day differently. After the morning rush was done, I went out the back office one more time to give the password a crack, the only thing I hadn't tried was Blake's favourite food with his favourite number, seemed too simple but I had nothing to lose so I entered Pasta33 and it worked! I rolled my eyes a little as it wasn't exactly a genuis hack proof password but I was in and grateful I didn't have to work out an encrypted secret computer. I went back and tried to replay through night Andrea was in and the while system had been deleted, there was absolutely no footage from the day we took over the store. I was so confused as to why, what did Blake think I was hiding, was Blake hiding something from me? I slummed backwards into the chair and watched the store from the office, what was going on?!. 

Blake came into the grocer about 2 hours early, I wanted to ask him where all the footage had gone but I didn't want him to think I was checking up on his movements and I didn't want him to think I was doubting my own movements. Blake was looking annoyed  and wet, I remembered I had taken his car and honestly I expected the worse of reactions but instead he walked in to the grocer and went out the back to the office, I followed Blake into the office and he shut the door in my face, not wanting to push a reaction I walked away. 

I spent the next hour of my shift feeling awkward that Blake was in the office and I was on the counter, then Lucy the girl Blake had interviewed came into the store and Blake came out of the office and said "Ana, you can go home, Lucy has come in tonight work the shift with me for training" I offered Blake for me to stay as well, hoping he wouldn't notice that I was feeling out of sorts about the whole Lucy scenario. Blake gave me a look like he was dumbfounded so I got my bag and left  

I ended up walking home in the rain, I kept telling myself I had nothing to worry about and I was being completely irrational to doubt Blake's faithfulness to me. I mean if he didn't want to be with just me then he wouldn't have proposed right? We wouldn't be running a business together, would we? We certainly wouldn't be getting married and planning our life together, every couple has rough patches especially if they've moved fast, right? I mean after all I loved Blake and he loved me and this was the beginning of my happy ever after, so I thought.