I swallow. “I didn’t mean to leave him out. It was all just so chaotic and overwhelming. I wanted him to be with us. I did.”
“Do you think he knows that?” Val asks gently.
“I don’t know.”
“He said he loved you,” Winnie says. “Did you say it back?”
I shake my head. “I thought it. I wanted to say it.”
“But you didn’t.” Val strokes my hair. “And that’s okay—you were overwhelmed. We get it. It’s not such a big deal. Now that things with Jo are settled, you can work this out. You have time to tell him.”
“But he left.” My lip trembles. “What if he doesn’t come back?”
“Which is like your Kryptonite,” Val says. “But I have a feeling Pat is like a boomerang. He’s coming back. He is. And you’re going to be ready when he does.”
“Look, sometimes it takes two to be dumb,” Winnie says. “You were both dumb back in the day, and you’re both being dumb now.”
“Um, thanks?”
“The point is, this is fixable,” Winnie says. “So, let’s fix it.”
Val claps her hands. “Yes! We’re moving on to the action plan. Action is good.”
I feel like I’m coming out of a fog, and the more the air clears, the more I realize my friends are so right. I’ve been thinking about my own hurt, focusing on the fact that Pat left me. Which—yeah, okay. He did. But Pat’s actions have spoken loudly over the past weeks, confirming the words he said. He loves me. He’s all in.
Now, it’s my turn to show him that I’m all in too. “I don’t even know what to do.”
“Yes, you do,” Val says, giving me a little shake. “It’s Pat. Think big.”
“We need a grand gesture,” Winnie says, and both of our heads swivel her way. “What? I’m not a monster. I’ve read a romance novel or two.”
“You have?” I ask. This is somehow more mind-blowing than my realization about Pat.
“Just for the witty banter.” Winnie pauses, then smooths back her ponytail. “And maybe for the fictional men. But women don’t do the big romantic thing nearly enough. And I think they should. So, let’s figure out a way for you to do something for Mr. Grand Gesture himself.”
The Top Seven Romantic Grand Gestures From Movies
By Birdie Graham
Who doesn’t love a grand gesture? In real life, you should consider yourself lucky if you are on the receiving end of a grand gesture, but they are EVERYWHERE in the movies. Here are my top seven grand gestures from movies in no particular order （because I couldn’t decide on my favorite）。
7. Heath Ledger serenading Julia Stiles in 10 Things I Hate about You. （Oh, Heath. How we miss you!）
6. Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks meeting at the top of the Empire State Building in Sleepless in Seattle.
5. Adam Sandler’s airplane proposal to Drew Barrymore in The Wedding Singer.
4. Billy Crystal finding Meg Ryan at a party for the perfect New Year’s Eve kiss in When Harry Met Sally.
3. John Cusack holding up the boombox outside Ione Skye’s window in Say Anything. （I feel like Peter Gabriel should get a mention here too for being instrumental. The moment wouldn’t have worked with, say, Phil Collins. Love ya, Phil.）
2. Beast giving Belle the library in the cartoon Beauty and the Beast. （Tell me I’m not the only one who preferred the Beast to the man he became???）
1. Mr. Darcy’s final proposal to Elizabeth. （You can’t make me choose between the miniseries and the movie. Sorry. And while the rest are not in order, this is by far my number one.）