20: I'm Not Ready

Edra moved to the nearest nurses' station to pick up the line. Someone had been trying to reach her all day but did not leave a message or a voicemail. "Dr. Sarin speaking."

"Hello Dr. Sarin, I'm so sorry to bother you at the hospital. This is Ms. Costello."

"Costello?"

"Yes, Marge, Zola's associate."

"Oh! Of course! Hello, Marge, how can I help you?"

----

"Edra?! What did you get us into?!"

"I don't know, Joce! But Marge is certain and you try saying 'no' to that woman. It cannot be done. We have three days to convince her or surprise her or kidnap her. Marge doesn't care as long as it's done. My God, she's scary!"

"Okay, so what do we do?"

"Let's start with what we can do. You go start tracking down the other chaplains. Beg, bribe, lie. Whatever you need to do to get the time covered. Then go find her supervisor once all the shifts are covered and get it okayed." Edra sighed. "I'll go see Erin tomorrow."

----

"I'm sorry, what?!"

"I know it's a lot to ask, Erin."

"Are you kidding me, Edra?! This isn't 'a lot' to ask; this is so far out of bounds I can't even get my head around it!" Erin shook her head in disbelief. "First, you're telling me that Zola is a, let me say this slowly, a billionaire?! ! Don't you think you could have given me a little 'heads up'?! I wouldn't have made an out of myself trying to get Cora back!"

"Erin, calm down. You know as well as I do that Cora couldn't care less about money."

"Edra, you're asking me to help get the woman I loved. The woman I love, together with a stunning shoe princess. ! ?!"

"Look, I know you love her. But, you love the of you two together just as much. This isn't high school. There are no 'queen bees' here."

Erin grimaced. "Well, fuck you. And tell that to Joce!"

"Okay. That's completely fair." Edra sighed, her voice softened.

"Erin, please just hear me out."

"Cora needs help. She can't see things clearly. She's terrified and in pain. Cora is in pain. The only reason she may even consider this is because of you."

Erin calmed and her heart ached both at the thought of Cora suffering and the thought of her with another woman. "What do you mean?"

"After Casino Night, all Cora could talk about was how you were 'right.' That she can't commit and she was the sole reason why you didn't work." Edra met Erin's gaze. "We both know that's not entirely true."

Erin grimaced. "I hear you."

"Okay, so regardless, she listened to you. Not me, certainly not Joce who's been screaming the obvious at the top of her lungs. She listened to ." Edra sighed, begging,"Come on, Erin, . She loves you too. She connected with you. She trusts you. If you talk to her, she'll listen. Don't you want to help her find happiness? It's not at your expense and you know that."

Erin sighed deeply. As miserable as she was in that moment, she could not bear the thought of Cora in pain. "Fine. What do I have to do?"

----

"Marge? It's Edra. I can honestly say this is my first call to Milan! We're all set over here. We're going to try to spring it on her at the end of her shift in two days so that she can't think about it." Edra gave Marge her cell number and got Matthew's so they could coordinate the pick up.

"Edra, Cora is very fortunate to have friends that care about her so deeply. Thank you, Dr. Sarin."

"You're welcome, Marge. It seems Zola is equally fortunate to have you."

----

"Cora! Wait up!" Erin laughed. "I'm chasing you?"

"Erin! Hi! I was just heading out."

"I know, duh. I need to ask a favor. Got a minute?"

Cora slowed,"Of course."

Cora sat across from Erin trying to read her body language. "What's up Erin you seem anxious. That's unusual for you."

"Yeah, I am, kind of." Erin smiled. "How are you? How's Zola?"

"Oh, she's good. She's out of town right now on a business trip."

Erin smirked. "Riiiight, business trip."

"What, Erin? What's going on? You're making me nervous."

Erin looked at Cora, examining her face, taking her in, contemplating the woman. "I love you, Cora."

"Erin, please ..."

"Cora, just hear me out! I love you." Erin said matter of factly. "I always will. You'll always be 'that girl' for me." Cora raised an eyebrow, confused by the words and the tone. "When you leave this table and head out, there's going to be a driver waiting for you. He'll take you by your place to grab your passport and then you're heading to Italy."

Cora's jaw dropped. Her mind spun and she felt dizzy and nauseous. "Erin? What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, the 'business trip?" Erin pulled out air quotes to emphasize her dripping sarcasm. "I know."

"What?!"

"I , Cora. I know about Zola. I know about the shoes, the money, Fashion Week. I know."

"Wait ... wait ... wait. What is going on?! I'm so confused right now."

"Cora, Zola needs you."

"What?! Erin please! What's happening?!" Cora started to move.

"Okay, Cora, sit down and shut up." Erin's voice was a little harsher than she intended but the effect was exactly what she wanted. Cora slowly lowered herself into her chair and focused on Erin. She nodded.

"Okay, I'll give you the short version. Zola needs you. She's miserable. Her assistant contacted Edra to see if we could get you to her. Zola does not know. ."

". I have work."

"It's taken care of."

"What?!"

"Cora, no less than a dozen people have worked to put this together. Sorry for the guilt trip, but you're getting on that plane."

"Erin, I ... can't. I don't have anything. I'm not ready."

"Edra said Marge was 'handling it.' I'm not sure what that means but it's taken care of."

"I..." Cora voice softened and wavered with meaning. "."

"Cora. Stop. Do you know how hard it is for me to do this?" Cora nodded. "Right, but I am. Do you know why?" Cora shook her head from side-to-side. "Cora, you to be happy.

"You keep doing this. You have to take a chance and let yourself love someone, permanently. And you know what? It might not work out and that sucks." Cora winced, seeing Erin's eyes wash with emotion. "But it's worth the risk. The love, it's worth it. The comfort of knowing you're strong enough to love another person, to risk your heart, it's worth it. Even if there's pain later."

Cora's eyes flooded with tears of emotion. She whispered softly, "I'm scared."

Erin leaned over to Cora and wrapped her in her arms. "Cora, Baby. I understand but this is right, and seeing you happy will make me happy. And you owe me. And I promise you, even if it hurts later, you won't regret a second of it. Trust me, I know."

Erin's eyes also burned with emotion, with love. She stood. Slipping her hand into Cora's, she gently guided her to her feet. "Go, now." Erin grinned. "Quick! Before I kiss you."

"Thank you. How about I kiss you?" Cora kissed Erin gently on the forehead, and murmured,"You're an incredible person."

After Cora walked out, Erin collapsed back into her chair, whispering to herself, "That fucking sucked."