Chapter Two – The Meeting
When I got to the coffee house, Samantha and Charlotte were already there and had ordered me a coffee.
"Thanks, it was hell on Broadway, I thought I was never gonna get here"
"I was just saying how weird it was going to Carrie's empty apartment" Charlotte said "It wasn't right at all, like all the life had been sucked out of there. But" she paused and looked at us "she left her laptop"
Samantha and I looked at each other with troubled looks, Carrie's laptop had been everything to her, she put her heart and soul into the work on that laptop, and it's not something we thought she would have left behind.
Charlotte looked upset "All quiet, neat and tidy" she sighed "And her computer was just sitting there on the bed…" She trailed off, looked at the door and smiled.
There he was. Mr. Big looking like he always did. As Charlotte smiled and greeted him, Samantha and I glared; we hadn't yet forgiven or forgotten his sins with Carrie.
He looked quite worried which gave us a little bit of satisfaction, as he sat opposite me and ordered a coffee.
"Well, lovely to see you all" he started
"Isn't it?" Samantha said abruptly "I haven't decided how I feel about seeing you yet..."
"Thank you so much for meeting us here" said Charlotte
"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to come here and talk to you"
I sat looking at him; I still hadn't said anything yet, I couldn't. At any other time there would have been plenty to say to him, but I loved Carrie too much to jeopardize the chance to get her back here. Big wasn't my favourite person, but I knew in my heart of hearts that Aleksandr Petrovsky was not right for her. On the night if his dinner party, he had been aloof and dismissive, and that, in turn, made Carrie act differently. That was something I really objected to and knew that if it was the other way round, Carrie would object. So keeping that in mind, I listened intently to what Big had to say.
Big and Charlotte made small talk for a while until his coffee arrived, after a couple of mouthfuls of coffee, Samantha cut into the chit chat.
"So you love Carrie do you? " Samantha snorted, "I find that hard to believe"
I looked at Samantha and shook my head for a split second. She could read my expression, knew what I was thinking and stayed quiet as Big began to speak.
"Well I know I haven't been a favourite over the years" he started somberly
"I wouldn't say that" Charlotte said in a more upbeat tone
Samantha snickered loudly "I would!"
Big looked from Samantha to me. I avoided his eyes and looked down to the table; I had to hold back what I thought. I was putting myself in Carrie's shoes for once, giving Big a chance to do good. Big looked sheepish
"Well, God knows I've made some mistakes with Carrie" he paused as we all exchanged glances "I fucked it up" he sighed
Samantha was about to interrupt yet again but Big looked to her and continued "many times, I know that"
She sunk back into her chair and nodded quietly. There was an awkward silence.
Big looked round at all of us and started "Look, I need your advice. You three know her better than anyone. You're the loves of her life and a guy's just lucky to come in fourth"
Those words hit a chord with all of us. Carrie too, was the love our life, she was more than just a friend; she was family, to all of us. That's when we began to trust Big, for him just to acknowledge, that we were more than just 'buddies', made him seem less of a rat and more like someone Carrie should be with.
"But I do love her" he carried on "and if you think there's any chance, I'll be on the next plane to Paris, I'll roam the streets until I find her, I'll do anything"
He seemed very emotional; my respect for him was growing. "But if you think she really is happy" he said as if he would resent it if she was, "well, I wouldn't wanna wreck that for her. And I'll be history."
We all looked at each other. We had to trust him; I knew that he could bring Carrie back. After a long expectant pause, I leant towards him and quietly said, "Go get our girl"
He smiled at me and put his hand over mine. "I promise you" he looked at us intently "all of you, I won't stop until I find her."
I smiled at him timidly.
"You better not let us down" Samantha declared "because if you let us down, you're letting Carrie down"
"And yourself" finished Charlotte. She touched Big's hand, where he touched mine "She loves you"
Big smiled and gulped down the last of his coffee. "Well I better go sort out my business affairs and pack. I'm catching a plane to Paris tomorrow morning" We all stood up. Big looked at us all "Thank you for listening to me and trusting me"
"Thank you for coming" replied Charlotte, she kissed him on the cheek.
We left the coffee house and watched Big get in his car and be driven away. Charlotte touched my arm, "he'll find her"
I watched his car disappear into the distance and hoped that for once he wouldn't let Carrie down.